Second Chances

After all the uproar over the way The Sopranos series finale ended, I decided to give it a little time before I talked about it. I’ll admit, I called bullshit when it ended. Maybe I wanted closure, but whatever it was, that abrupt cutoff rubbed me the wrong way. (And for that matter, so do all the reviewers who have referred to it as a “fade to black.” There was no fade, people. If it had faded, nobody would have been saying that they thought their cable cut out.) But, not wanting to be hasty, I let my thoughts stew for a few days, and tonight I rewatched the episode, and I felt better. While the ambiguous ending still bothers me, I was more comfortable with it this time around. No matter what theory you subscribe to (the black screen signifies Tony’s death, or the whole episode was Tony’s dream and the black screen was him waking up, or Tony lives, but all the suspicious characters in the restaurant were there to signify the paranoia he has to live with for the rest of his life), the final scene was a masterful piece of filmmaking. Sure, there were some ragged cuts, but as a whole, it was a strong episode. And really, any viewers who endured all the long delays between seasons and tangential plotlines that never went anywhere shouldn’t be surprised that they ended up with the TV equivalent of blue balls. I can live with all that.

My biggest problem with the finale is what David Chase has done to the Sopranos’ legacy. The word genius it being attached to his name an awful lot in reviews of the finale. But here’s the problem with that: Leaving the ending up to the viewer’s imagination is not the mark of genius—it’s a cop out, plain and simple. Why else would Chase have fled to France to escape the blowback? Honestly, I think all these people conferring genius status on Chase are just as disappointed as the rest of us, and I don’t care how many wild theories and allusions to existentialist European cinema they throw around to cover it up. Maybe some of those things are true, but I highly doubt it. Ultimately, what we’re left with is this: The Sopranos changed the game when it came to what TV could be. It should go down in history as an incredibly complex and cinematic show which, coupled with some bravura performances from the cast (Edie Falco in particular), raised the bar for everybody else in the television industry. Instead, all people are going to remember is a caricature: Lots of violence, a gimmick ending, and a Journey song. And that’s what really disappoints me.