Joel Stein on The Sopranos: It Was So an Ending!

Ahhh, Joel, don't you see, though? That's the big irony - Tony's at "peace" as you put it, but still every other diner at Holsten's is a potential threat, a gunman in his midst, or officer there to arrest him, or FBI agent spying in the hopes of gleaning valuable intelligence. Tony's "peace" is a churning sea of suspicion, paranoia, and unseen threats and dangers. If that is "peace", how awful must "war" be?

And that's why Chase's ending works (at least in my opinion) - we as the audience, after all these years of watching Tony struggle as a "family" family man, in the last minutes of the last episode, were no longer watching Tony, but living vicariously in his world. While many wanted closure, I think Chase did what needed to be done over the course of the final season and in the final moments - he reminded us that Tony Soprano is a sociopath, a monster, and not a role model, and certainly not someone we should ever aspire to be.

I think it is so crude and crass that America is fixated by a family so unethical and immoral as the Sopranos. Many people are under the mistaken impression that viewing such type of entertainment doesn't negatively impact upon one's own morals and teh mmores of society. I just read a book which I am crazy about called Adults Only, which uses scientific and psychological studies to prove what morals and valeus are really all about and how a show like the Sopranos could be so deleterious. Adults Only is avilable at http://www.thebookforadults.com

Nice plug, MS....I'm sure that'll drive up sales.

But in all seriousness, I've heard a form of this argument before. And I wholeheartedly understand people who say "I don't want to watch the Sopranos, because I'm not interested in watching someone as despicable as that for entertainment." That is their right, and I fully understand the thought.

But to say MY morals (or the millions of other viewers) are being negatively impacted because I/we watch the Sopranos? THAT is a stretch. I'm an adult. I know the difference between right and wrong, and consider myself to be (overall) a highly moral person. And I can watch someone like Tony Soprano and his crew without having my values be undermined, regardless of what your book states.

In fact, I'd argue the opposite - Sopranos has valuable moral lessons to teach us, in the vein of Tony (and Carmela, and A.J., and Meadow, and everyone) being at times terrible examples for us, or examples of what happens when we compromise our moral values for materialism. It makes it a lot harder, for example, to rationalize away our own morality when we see the destructive force that rationalization is on the part of Carmela....

Anyways, I suppose some weak-minded individuals get corrupted by watching too much violent/immoral entertainment. But that's part of being an adult - deciding what you should and should not watch, and knowing the difference between TV and real life.

Nice plug, MS....I'm sure that'll drive up sales.

But in all seriousness, I've heard a form of this argument before. And I wholeheartedly understand people who say "I don't want to watch the Sopranos, because I'm not interested in watching someone as despicable as that for entertainment." That is their right, and I fully understand the thought.

But to say MY morals (or the millions of other viewers) are being negatively impacted because I/we watch the Sopranos? THAT is a stretch. I'm an adult. I know the difference between right and wrong, and consider myself to be (overall) a highly moral person. And I can watch someone like Tony Soprano and his crew without having my values be undermined, regardless of what your book states.

In fact, I'd argue the opposite - Sopranos has valuable moral lessons to teach us, in the vein of Tony (and Carmela, and A.J., and Meadow, and everyone) being at times terrible examples for us, or examples of what happens when we compromise our moral values for materialism. It makes it a lot harder, for example, to rationalize away our own morality when we see the destructive force that rationalization is on the part of Carmela....

Anyways, I suppose some weak-minded individuals get corrupted by watching too much violent/immoral entertainment. But that's part of being an adult - deciding what you should and should not watch, and knowing the difference between TV and real life. And I don't need a book to know that difference...

I don't think it was an ending. I think David Chase ran out of ideas and copped out. Oh, and I do know, MS, why we are so enthralled by the Sopranos. Writing, Characters and Acting have something to do with it. Plus, in our tangled family tree, if we go back far enough, has ourlaws, banditi,crooks and what-have you. In the 1950's I had a relative who was mob muscle for the teamsters, and he got assasinated. We identify with these bad boys because they're so human. As an old Latin poet said, 'homo sum, nihil humani a me alienum puto.' I am human--nothing human is foreign to me. That what empathy is all about, Charlie Brown

Couldn't agree more w/ Chaddogg. Many outsiders think that the show glorifies immoral behavior, but in the end, Melfi's decision to cut off Tonym the final moment's depiction of Tony's never-ending dread (nothing to envy), and the ongoing critique of American materialism and television make it far more realistic and moral than the wishful thinking of CSI and its ilk.

What bothers many of us who find the Sopranos mania disquieting is not the creepy amorality, but the show's banality--its ever-so-hip soap opera depiction of life. What bores are Tony and his amigos and the various family members. How trite and cutesy the story line, how vapid and one dimensional the episodes. Our disgust stems not from the violence, though this is reason enough to turn off the series, but the sad commentary on American elites revealed by the adoration of the fans. Yikes!

We don’t know all that much about Tony’s life growing up but we can only imagine. The tough kid who picks up the cute blond after beating up some other kid. The new upstart gangster in Jersey. Being “made” in the family tradition, taking the reins from pops. Heading to the top, all the while being thoroughly depressed: empty inside. But gradually within that utter emptiness, that feeling of nothingness, a pull towards something different, something new, the pull towards a new identity. And gradually finding himself balancing between two different worlds: one made from his past and a new, yet to be fulfilled one arising from his unconscious yearnings and pull to a new identity. And then the anxiety attacks and the therapy (who am I? what’s going on? Note the appearance of the Alzheimer’s disease at this point in the coma dream). And we watch as Tony reaches for that point to let go of his anxiety. Snuffs out Christopher. The dream is over. Not going in the Finnerty house. Dad wake up! It’s me your daughter, Meadow! And that final moment of reaching what’s been pulling him towards for eight years. That final moment at the Diner. Thus awakes Tony!

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