Tv: I was reading an article last night on Grantland, which if you haven't looked at is one of the best journalism websites out there. The article was a discussion of the end of The Sopranos. It got me thinking about all of my thoughts on the end of the series and I felt compelled to discuss them.
The Sopranos was one of the most ground breaking shows in TV history. Its vision of storytelling and what was possible to do was not only groundbreaking but also possibly unmatched. This sentiment has been diminished in the past few years by shows like Game Of Thrones and Dexter and many more coming out of cable programming to further the abstract and often thought provoking storytelling process in television that The Sopranos revolutionized. But Enough about that. Lets Get going on the end. Which is why we are here. After all it is the five year anniversary.
The end of The Sopranos has be scrutinized to such a degree that it is hard to even comprehend how much has published about it. That last moment in the diner was so vague and controversial. "How could I have not gotten a conclusion?" "How is it possible that Tony didn't die?" "Did the guy coming out of the bathroom shoot Tony or not?" These are questions that will never get answered. These are questions that when you look at the scope of the series are actually irrelevant.
The picturesque scene at the end of the series showing Tony and his family getting ready to have dinner while listening to "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey is certainly what will be remembered. The music, the family, the cuts to all the strangers that Tony is noticing sitting around the diner as his family tries to enjoy a meal. It certainly makes a mark in the memory. But why does that have to be the focus?
This is the show that has made its mark on television with its ability to make the viewer interpret. Dream sequences and talking fish and backwards driving cars and even Tony as a dog protecting Jennifer Melfi from rape are what made the show stand out. Sure there was great violence and the Bada Bing and the impossibly hot mistresses of all those in the "family business". But there was also the afterlife and Uncle Ben and that voice over at the beginning of the sixth season.
The end of the series is more than just dinner in a diner and a members only jacket wearing stranger coming out of the bathroom. It really begins about 2 episodes earlier when the war breaks out and pieces for the future are put in place. It begins with Sil stepping out and killing someone who had crossed Tony without consulting him first. Then there is the shootout outside the Bing that more or less kills Sil and does kill Bobby. With Chris already dead this leaves none but Pauli to help Tony carry on. While an odd choice certainly given his characters quirks, he is the most loyal of all of Tony's captains, making him a worthy last man standing. ("I live to serve my lieges.") The other important piece to the end is A.J. That moment when he goes to see his shrink is the grace note of the series. Sitting legs crossed opposite his more or less all too attractive shrink is the moment of the show. The son becomes the father and the future now has a face.
So now that we have a look at the meaning of the end of the series lets look at the diner scene as it was set. A.J., that heir in waiting showing up for dinner looking happy for the first time in two seasons. Carmella, not quite being complicit in her husbands criminal activities, but certainly aware of them when she asks about the new rat. Meadow running late for dinner as she seems to be the last one to catch up to the family in every respect, including her pursuits as a lawyer, which are to stop the "prejudice against Italian Americans". This is also known as the mother becoming the daughter.
Carmella asks who was flipped and Tony openly tells her. They smile and move on with dinner. This is the story not of a mobster waiting to get killed at the end of a morality tale. Or the story of a guy stuck eating ketchup instead of marinara sauce after reckless endeavors come back to haunt him. It is the story of a man and his family. The message at the end is that life goes on. Tony has dealt with what is behind him and is looking forward. He is doing this both as optimist because of the end of the war with Phil and New York. He also has to look forward with caution with yet another member of his "business" flipping on him, That paranoia and suspicion is shown as he looks at all patrons of the diner, members only jacket wearing fellow included.
The point is life goes on for everyone. Even Tony doesn't have a definitive end to his story because that's how life usually is. This is the great American family of their generation. And that is an important thing to see at the end of the show; that great American family just sitting down at an all American diner for a dinner and the best onion rings in the state. Did that guy in the members only jacket come of the bathroom and kill Tony? I really don't have the answer to that. But live or die his life up to that point was worth being on TV. The great American Family. The dad who and his family who mirrored our own. The mob without morality at the end. Maybe that was the point. Not a fade to black.
No comments:
Post a Comment