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The Sopranos: The Final Episodes
- Thread starter IJ Reilly
- Start date
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I could see Tony ending up in the end,powerless,with nothing or any family. The FBI saying,"Yeah,he used to be somebody important.Now he's a nobody,not worth our time". I'd love to see the Russian guy from the Pine Barron's episode make a comeback.
I loved the first two seasons.Was the never the same since they killed Big ***** 🙁
I loved the first two seasons.Was the never the same since they killed Big ***** 🙁
Has British TV caught up then?
I hesitate to predict. They've dragged so many red herrings lately, just about anything could happen in the last two episodes. The whole business of Meadow dating the son of one of Tony's guys has me concerned that too much of final plot will depend on this. She was always the one distancing herself from the family business so it won't ring true if she's suddenly at the center of it all. I think Carmella's intricate system of denial is starting to crack, though. Lots of emotional potential there.
Nope. And I don't even have a TV. 😀
I can't help but hang around some of the fan sites and I'll see it when it's out on DVD here.
I don't mind spoilers as it's so intriguing, the whole quality of everything about its production is so ingeniously crafted, and the writing and performances are so multi-layered and nuanced that even spoilers don't spoil it for me.
I'm not so interested in what happens, rather how it happens.
Good point, and that's why the series is worth watching repeatedly. I surprised myself by investing so much in the first five seasons of DVDs, but it was worth it -- we've run through them twice now. The story arc is remarkably well constructed, and with a few small exceptions, internally consistent. You get more out of watching the early episodes even though you know how it will turn out.
Only a few days left -- time to place your final wagers.
Here's mine. Patsy does not get found by Phil's guys, he calls them. A small plot element at the beginning of a season a few years ago had Tony bumping off Patsy's brother. Tony denied it of course, but Patsy probably never completely believed him. His loyalty has been an issue ever since. Patsy knows where Tony is holed up, information he's willing to exchange for his life.
Tony is now without his most loyal captains. He's down to a handful of lower-level guys, and the unreliable Paulie. Tony knows he can't win, but he can still take Phil down with him, by calling his friend at the FBI, the one who warned him about what was coming down. In fact the FBI may in some ways be behind all of this. They've always been portrayed as a sort of alternative mob.
As for Paulie, I think he dies, at Tony's hand. He's had it coming for a long time.
Here's mine. Patsy does not get found by Phil's guys, he calls them. A small plot element at the beginning of a season a few years ago had Tony bumping off Patsy's brother. Tony denied it of course, but Patsy probably never completely believed him. His loyalty has been an issue ever since. Patsy knows where Tony is holed up, information he's willing to exchange for his life.
Tony is now without his most loyal captains. He's down to a handful of lower-level guys, and the unreliable Paulie. Tony knows he can't win, but he can still take Phil down with him, by calling his friend at the FBI, the one who warned him about what was coming down. In fact the FBI may in some ways be behind all of this. They've always been portrayed as a sort of alternative mob.
As for Paulie, I think he dies, at Tony's hand. He's had it coming for a long time.
Paulie, despite his flirtation with Johnny Sack and Carmine, has always seemed to me one of the most loyal... old-skool, overlooked, a bit creepy.
I think he'd take a bullet for Tony.
I think he'd take a bullet for Tony.
balamw
Moderator emeritus
Yeah, but they spent a whole episode on his loose lips and Tony thinking about cutting him loose. My guess is that it would be Paulie that would inadvertently tell Phil's men where Tony is.
B
Sure, Paulie is dangerously stupid, but the episode ended with him being holed up with Tony. I think Patsy escaped the hit for a reason. We'll see.
As for loyalty, I get the impression Paulie would go wherever he was made to feel important. He's very simple that way. I think we were meant to get that message when he appeared completely ready to switch sides to Johnny Sack. The totally loyal ones (Silvio, Bobby) are out of the picture. Tony is now a general without an army. Dr. Melphi kicking him out also emphasizes how very alone he is now. The only question in my mind is whether his sense of self-preseration is strong enough for him to make the only move he's got left.
As for loyalty, I get the impression Paulie would go wherever he was made to feel important. He's very simple that way. I think we were meant to get that message when he appeared completely ready to switch sides to Johnny Sack. The totally loyal ones (Silvio, Bobby) are out of the picture. Tony is now a general without an army. Dr. Melphi kicking him out also emphasizes how very alone he is now. The only question in my mind is whether his sense of self-preseration is strong enough for him to make the only move he's got left.
But The Sopranos has been very good at setting up characters to be seen as one thing, only for those expectations to change in the light of events. Big Psusy was the rat and Ralphie, for instance, was consistently portrayed as a complete sociopath, but that picture changed when his son had the accident with the arrow. Later in the same episode, he was killed by Tony.
Patsy definitely has more grudges to bear than Paulie.
Nobody knows nothin'. 😀
Paulie is one, big grudge. He holds a grudge against the world. That's part of what makes him so dangerous and unreliable (in addition to being completely self-centered and very dim).
Not sure what you mean about Big P. not being what he seemed. We the audience knew he was being squeezed by the Feds, living a double life, just as Adriana was later. In both cases it was only a matter of when they'd be found out and whacked, not if.
I don't know nuthin' neither but I'm trying to pick up on some of the major themes of the series as a way of guessing the outcome. Big Theme 1: Tony is about Tony. He's a survivor, the quintessential sociopathic egomaniac. Big Theme 2: the Feds are the other mafia. They treat people as brutally as the mob. I don't want to fall too in love with the idea, but I have to believe the writers have also thought of the concept of Tony rushing to embrace the FBI mafia at the moment when his own mafia abandons him.
The other recent plot development which pushes my thinking in this direction is Meadow's romance with Patsy's son. If Tony calls the Feds and pulls the plug on the mob, one of the people who presumably takes a fall is his daughter's beau. Again, the theme of it always being about Tony.
Not sure what you mean about Big P. not being what he seemed. We the audience knew he was being squeezed by the Feds, living a double life, just as Adriana was later. In both cases it was only a matter of when they'd be found out and whacked, not if.
I don't know nuthin' neither but I'm trying to pick up on some of the major themes of the series as a way of guessing the outcome. Big Theme 1: Tony is about Tony. He's a survivor, the quintessential sociopathic egomaniac. Big Theme 2: the Feds are the other mafia. They treat people as brutally as the mob. I don't want to fall too in love with the idea, but I have to believe the writers have also thought of the concept of Tony rushing to embrace the FBI mafia at the moment when his own mafia abandons him.
The other recent plot development which pushes my thinking in this direction is Meadow's romance with Patsy's son. If Tony calls the Feds and pulls the plug on the mob, one of the people who presumably takes a fall is his daughter's beau. Again, the theme of it always being about Tony.
2nyRiggz
macrumors 603
I can see that happening. I can see Tony getting the better out of this thing in the end...everyone is on high alert.
Bless
If you think Paulie is the most loyal of Tony's captains, then you need to re-watch some of the earlier seasons. Many times over the years Paulie's ego, paranoia and narcissism have been offended by Tony's remarks or actions. Then he plays both sides of the street. This is loyalty? Bobby and Silvio OTOH were the good soldiers -- but they're gone. I don't think it's any accident that Tony is left with only the least trustworthy of his guys. I expect Paulie will take a bullet all right, but not for Tony.
You can end it any way you think it should end is the message, I suppose. Make up your own ending -- it's just a story.
Still, it doesn't make much sense for all those suspicious-looking guys in the restaurant to be hit men. With Phil dead, who would they be working for?
Still, it doesn't make much sense for all those suspicious-looking guys in the restaurant to be hit men. With Phil dead, who would they be working for?
corywoolf
macrumors 65816
Pretty good ending. I just moved from NJ back to MI. I lived in Bloomfield, right down the street as this map shows. My brother was walking the dog by the place while they filmed the final scene a couple months ago. He saw most of the cast there. It was a huge deal for the town. They almost didn't film there, as you can read here. Last but not least, the restaurant's website. I also ran into one of the stars when I was on my way to work one day in NYC. He was being interviewed for Letterman in the picture below.
Attachments
I liked the ending. I think David Chase played brilliantly on the audiences expectations of a final bloodbath only to leave us with that feeling of impending doom that Tony will undoubtedly live with from now on.
I really liked the bit with Meadow trying to park the car. It made me think that she would be the only surviving member of the Soprano family, having been spared being shot by taking so long to get her Lexus parked.
I really liked the bit with Meadow trying to park the car. It made me think that she would be the only surviving member of the Soprano family, having been spared being shot by taking so long to get her Lexus parked.
That final episode was horrible.. Really, the show went on a few seasons too long, but it was so great in those earlier years that we all looked past it, I know I did.. But looking back, they seemed to just be filling time for awhile now.. It's kind of unfair to judge them on how great the show was at one point, but that's the way it goes.. They raised the bar and ultimately haven't been able to live up to it..
It was still a great show, and James Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano may have been the best acting we've seen in a long time..
It was still a great show, and James Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano may have been the best acting we've seen in a long time..
Foxglove9
macrumors 68000
I disagree. Sopranos is such a brilliant show it could go on another 10 years easily. Just like Simpsons and other great shows, even the bad epsiodes are great compared to anything else on TV.
Which brings up a question for myself. Now that Sopranos is over, what is there to look forward to watching?