The Sopranos Finale (spoilers)

[SFHoya99]

Great ending. If you didn't like it, you either have no taste for subtelty or missed the whole point of the series.

I really doubt there will be a movie. Chase doesn't seem like the type, nor does Gandolfini.

[thebin]

What strikes me about the movie possibility is that Chase is barely denying it will happen- just saying maybe you never know, if a good idea comes along, etc...those are very weak denials in Hollywoodspeak. You have to figure that will every passing year Chase and Gandolfini move away from the limelight (count on that) it becomes more likely.

[RDF]

The thing with the movie is that Chase is insistent on making one when Uncle Junior and Jonny Soprano were running things or even prior to that--when Soprano family moved over from old country. That has no interest whatsoever with most fans and would bomb at the box office. Why not make a movie about Artie Bucco's restaurant while you're at it.

The movie won't be made and if Chase does make one--it'll be something that won't interest the fanbase--and he's burned enough bridges with his finale (I know--it's genius and everyone who didn't like it is socially retarded : that it'd bomb. When you say "Sopranos" everyone thinks of Gandolfini and if he's not in it or it's not focused around his character--why bother?

[SFHoya99]

RDF, I wasn't trying to say if you didn't like it you're socially retarded. I was simply saying that people who didn't like it have no taste for sublety and possibly don't understand the series to begin with. I'm not saying that as an insult, but it seems to me people wanted this violent blowup and dramatic actions. They prefer the unsubtle to the subtle. But the series was never about mob wars -- it was about these characters living in denial of who they really were -- of Tony wanting to think he's a good guy, of Meadow worrying about the FBI discriminating against Italians -- and having to live in constant worry of the next shoe dropping.

If you didn't like it, I don't think you're an idiot or less sophisticated; I think people who didn't like it simply don't like the things that David Chase likes.

[Nevada Hoya]

I have never watched the Sopranos. We don't have cable, but even if we had, I don't think I would be a regular viewer. At this time of my life I don't need violence as part of my entertainment. I was watching one of the Godfather repeats and found that I was looking for the next big hit, which frightened me a bit. I used to be an avid viewer of 24 and Prison Break, but decided that there is enough violence in the real world. Lost is my remaining hold out, as it is ongoing and I want to find out all the secrets. Actually, I wanted next year to be the last one, but, sigh, I will have to wait three years for the grand finale. So the Sopranos might have been about subtly, but it was about a violent bunch of people.

[SirSaxa]

sfhoya99 said:

RDF, I wasn't trying to say if you didn't like it you're socially retarded. I was simply saying that people who didn't like it have no taste for sublety and possibly don't understand the series to begin with. I'm not saying that as an insult, but it seems to me people wanted this violent blowup and dramatic actions. They prefer the unsubtle to the subtle. But the series was never about mob wars -- it was about these characters living in denial of who they really were -- of Tony wanting to think he's a good guy, of Meadow worrying about the FBI discriminating against Italians -- and having to live in constant worry of the next shoe dropping.

If you didn't like it, I don't think you're an idiot or less sophisticated; I think people who didn't like it simply don't like the things that David Chase likes.

I have read that people who didn't like the ending wanted "the violent blowup and dramatic actions". I have also read they wanted a Disney/Hollywood feel good ending. These, of course, were interpretations by people who liked the ending, maybe even thougth it was genius.

But I don't see it that way at all. Wanting "an ending" does not necessarily mean a violent one, a happy one, or a Disney one. It simply means an ending.

Now I am also reading that people who didn't like the ending simply don't like the things tha David Chase likes. So how does that explain the millions of people who watched the series over the 8 or so years it was on..... and then still didn't like the "ending"?

I don't believe that those who didn't like the ending:

• Don't understand David Chase
  
• Don't understand the series and never did
  
• Don't appreciate subtlety (Like the "subtlety" of a Head crushed by an SUV? OR the "subtelty" of carving up Ralphie's body in the bathtub? or the "subtlety" of an intense build up of tension and suspense only to go to a hard cut to black and silence?)
  
• Are somehow unworthy of having watched the series at all
  

[Coast2CoastHoya]

Dude, you guys take TV too seriously

[SFHoya99]

sirsaxa said:

sfhoya99 said:

RDF, I wasn't trying to say if you didn't like it you're socially retarded. I was simply saying that people who didn't like it have no taste for sublety and possibly don't understand the series to begin with. I'm not saying that as an insult, but it seems to me people wanted this violent blowup and dramatic actions. They prefer the unsubtle to the subtle. But the series was never about mob wars -- it was about these characters living in denial of who they really were -- of Tony wanting to think he's a good guy, of Meadow worrying about the FBI discriminating against Italians -- and having to live in constant worry of the next shoe dropping.

If you didn't like it, I don't think you're an idiot or less sophisticated; I think people who didn't like it simply don't like the things that David Chase likes.

I have read that people who didn't like the ending wanted "the violent blowup and dramatic actions". I have also read they wanted a Disney/Hollywood feel good ending. These, of course, were interpretations by people who liked the ending, maybe even thougth it was genius.

But I don't see it that way at all. Wanting "an ending" does not necessarily mean a violent one, a happy one, or a Disney one. It simply means an ending.

Now I am also reading that people who didn't like the ending simply don't like the things tha David Chase likes. So how does that explain the millions of people who watched the series over the 8 or so years it was on..... and then still didn't like the "ending"?

I don't believe that those who didn't like the ending:

• Don't understand David Chase
  
• Don't understand the series and never did
  
• Don't appreciate subtlety (Like the "subtlety" of a Head crushed by an SUV? OR the "subtelty" of carving up Ralphie's body in the bathtub? or the "subtlety" of an intense build up of tension and suspense only to go to a hard cut to black and silence?)
  
• Are somehow unworthy of having watched the series at all
  

I didn't say the entire series was subtle or that anyone was unworthy. The ending was subtle and very David Chase. The final episode had its violent moment but the violence is there not as the point but as a contrast.

What did you dislike about the ending?

[CTHoya08]

I kind of agree with SirSaxa here. While I didn't mind the fact that there was no real ending, I hate having to hear how "genius" the ending was. People like to equate unexpected with genius. I think the idea of the show ending with the characters going about their lives as before was fine, but the sudden blackout was unnecessary and irritating. I also think that while the ending was subtle, (until the blackout) the show lost much of its subtlety in the final season. There were many episodes that felt like Chase had lost faith in the attention span and intelligence of his audience. Bobby talks about having never had to kill someone, then kills someone a few minutes later. Tony has a gambling problem materialize from nowhere, cause him major problems, then disappear just as quickly. There is a report on the news that there is a power vacuum in New York, (even though, from all appearances, Phil is totally in control) the talking heads name some people who could take power, and then we see them all getting killed. It just seems to me that the show lost a lot of its subtlety this season, and while Chase did manage to regain some of it with the "see what it's like to be Tony" ending scene, the blackout is indicative of this loss.

[SFHoya99]

I don't think the ending was genius, just very good/great. I guess people were very bothered by the blackout. It was fairly incidental to me.

[RDF]

I wasn't bothered by the blackout, I was bothered by the character changes in less then an episode. Tony goes years without a gambling problem--then we find out he's a degenerate gambler who Editedes away money? Then he doesn't gamble at all? If you have addiction--it's much more like Chase painted the character of Christopher--and we see Butch pull a 180 just as NY is wiping out the entire NJ crew--and NY backs down--because Phil has gone a bit over the edge? Patsy is talking with Feds and all of the sudden that never comes back into the storyline? To me that is lazy writing and not genius--it's not explaining why you take characters and put them in situations--why waste an entire episode on Tony's gambling problems as the series winds down and then it just goes away, I just think it's stupid.

I did like how Chase made a point to show that despite all of their "holier then thou" talk, when it came down to it, Carmela hated not being in the fancy, big house--even if it was a result of what her husband does for a living, that AJ was proven to be what we all knew--a lazy slob who does things for himself, and that Meadow went from being an idealist to a person who feels need to defend her "dad" from stereotypes. My only disappointment was the focus on AJ--who anyone who watched more then 1 show--knew would end up a moron--and unfortunately he was entire focus of the final season and way too much of the focal point of last episode.

As for Tony's ending--maybe he was going to ask the Members Only Jacket guy if he could bet him how many onion rings he could eat in a minute--afterall that is type of thing a gambling addict might do--or was that all a mirage/another wasted episode?

Being creative is cool--if I don't understand something or dislike how it ends--doesn't mean I don't respect it--but I am also intelligent enough to figure out sloppy, drawn out writing/storylines to just extend time and some of the scenes/episodes had no meaning or point in a story being told. If you go to the Feds and talk--and then nothing comes of it, what was point? If you are a gambling addict in 1 episode out of 80+, wouldn't that play more of a part in the show? Just seems stupid and lazy, but that's coming from someone who doesn't understand genius writing.

[kchoya]

Maybe some of you will like this ending better:

deadspin.com/sports/don.t-stop-believin./the-pirates-mascot-loves-the-onion-rings-270127.php

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

I actually like this ending more: www.collegehumor.com/video:1764260