The Sopranos has been hailed for years as one of the greatest things to ever grace American television screens. While I don't think it is nearly as phenomenal or innovative as some people make it out to be, I must agree that it was a riveting series and will definitely stand the test of time in the annals of American popular media. I spent close to eighty five hours of the past few weeks watching the series from start to finish, seeing the trials and tribulations of the New Jersey crime family and the ups and downs of it's leaders actual family. A good number of people and critics have been quick to blast the ending of the series as the "easy way out." I couldn't disagree with them more. I absolutely loved the ending, and in spite of knowing how it was to end it still sent chills down my spine. Here we have a more accurate portrait of an American family than any other shows have been able to achieve. At the head of the family is Tony, a crime boss capable of running New Jersey but perhaps unable to run his own family. The truest presence for me throughout the series was Carmella, Tony's oft loving wife. Tracing her character from season one to season six, I have never seen such a wonderful piece of acting and extensive character development. But back to the end of the series that created such a whirlwind of criticism. Regardless of what you may have seen or heard from the ending, I still found my stomach in knots as the end approached. I thought for sure there would be some way of punishing viewers like me for cheering as Phil Leotardo's face is crushed by his daughter's SUV carrying his two grandkids. No way was David Chase going to let that slide. Although I knew that there was going to be a cut to black right as Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" kicked up, I still thought for sure either that guy in the USA cap, the guy wearing the Members Only jacket or the two thugs browsing the pastries were going to whack Tony. Alas, it is the viewer that gets punished but not by seeing our main character bite the dust. Instead it is the viewer himself that gets killed. We no longer have the privileged vantage point of watching these family dramas play out. A lot has been tossed around about whether or not Tony gets killed. Most people chalk this up to the creator's unwillingness to decide whether or not he would want to bring the series back in the form of a feature film. I personally believe that is bullshit. It is more than probable that Tony didn't survive the night and I'm basing this on the fact that Meadow can't park her car outside. She attempts to parallel park the car three times, the last time being successful. Likewise, two attempts have been made on Tony's life and he has had the chance to live on. Perhaps this time he will not. Either way, whether you think he lives or dies you can't argue with the inherent genius behind the ending. No it isn't a cop out, showing his death would have been a cop out. The only thing I'm truly disappointed in is that I'm going to have to find something else to occupy my time.
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