Grid Effect

Well, I suppose there isn’t much to discuss today other than the premiere of John From Cincinnati, but lets first get that pesky Sopranos finale out of the way (If you are David Milch, is it a blessing or a curse to follow the series finale of what will certainly be one of the most unforgettable series in the history of the medium?).

Last night’s episode, “Made In America”, is bound to draw the ire of many, if not most fans of the series. David Chase has expected this, and has stated before that he really couldn’t care less, because the saga of Tony Soprano and his two families goes beyond the life and death of any individual. Ironically, AJ’s sordid tale embodied what the series is trying to accomplish. Through his disgust at dinner with everyones inconsequential conversation about “The fucking Oscars” to his transformation after watching his car ser ablaze, AJ had recovered from his depression much like his father. Instead of questioning the world at large around him he chose to accept it and ignore his convictions with a BMW and a job at a small film studio.

This development was somewhat depressing to me, I was holding out that despite AJ’s non-sensical ramblings about the follies of capitalism and all of his other shortcomings, he might actually call his parents out on what they actually are, pull a less self-serving “Janice” and get the hell out of dodge. His plan to join the Army, despite how unsuited he is for such work detail was an honestly noble one founded on legitimate concerns, but his parents wanted him to receive the discipline without the reprecussions, hence the change of heart between military school for his education and military duty for his profession at a time of war.

Chase gave us one more like father, like son experience, while in the throws of passion with his bulimic, sixteen year-old girlfriend his car catches on fire while parked over some leaves (up until AJ said “we’re really good friends” I thought they were planning a dual suicide in the manner they were ominously parked in the woods). After watching this, and realizing he was in the car just moments beforehand, he rediscovers a reason to live. This paralleled his dad’s resurgence from depression in season one’s penultimate episode, “Isabella”. In which a hit on Tony went awry as he was having a difficult time coping with the disappearance of Pussy, managed to bring him back to reality as he confessed to Melfi, “I may have not wanted to live, but at that moment I knew, with every fiber of my being, that I didn’t want to die”. Incredible.

As far as the end of the series is concerned, we got closure on numerous subplots, including the war with New York (it’s amazing how petty these guys can be, as Butchie completely betrays Phil because he yells at him while he stumbles into Chinatown out of the marginalized Little Italy), AJ and Medows future, Paulie, the last remaining original soldier of Tony’s from season one; and really we can assume Tony ends up being hauled off to prison with Carlo testifying against him. No chance in hell he could beat all the charges Carlo could have him indicted on.

Now, that very last scene that left many a viewer frustrated and confused, it is what it is. Tony, who’s lived his life feeding off the misery of others, is left to live the rest of his own miserable, pathetic life constantly looking over his shoulder, skeptical of every person in his immediate viscinity. That tension we all felt with numerous people filing in and out of the restaurant, the man at the counter that led AJ inside who went to the bathroom (Michael Corleone came to mind here, one of two flashes of Godfather this episode), the two black men milling around (another way Chase exploits his audience, take a tension laden scene/situation, throw an African/American in the scene and we all are immediately suscpicious, thanks for making me feel like an asshole, Chase), Tony will feel until the day he dies, incarcerated or otherwise.

I suppose I am in the minority on this, but I found the series finale to be satisfying. This epic killed off virtually every major criminal, set aside Paulie (probably the least ethical of all of them, just to establish the shows ongoing theme about the absence of karma and that justice seldom prevails) and the one who virtually never gets his comeuppance: The Boss. For those who thought the finale wasnt’s gory enough (safe for that Phil Leotardo hit and subsequent car… incident), the body of the series should have fed your bloodlust.

But most of all I enjoyed “Made In America” because it refused to sell out. Imagine how absurd and atypical it would have been for this series if an unnamed and unseen assailant stormed into the restaurant and uzi-ed the place taking out AJ, Carmela and Tony, leaving Meadow to assume the position as boss of the family business. It would have been laughable. The Sopranos has always tried to lay realism as the foundation of the series, with this ending I feel as if they stayed consistent and my respect for Chase and everyone else involved with the series remains unharmed.

More to come later this week on The Finale. Stay tuned.