Truly a Finale?

Like the other 20 million Sopranos fans that chose to tune in to the series finale over the N.B.A. Finals, by the time it abruptly cut to a blank and dark screen I was left utterly confused. As I sat there in silence for what seemed like at least 10 minutes (in actuality more like 30 seconds), my confusion immediately turned into fury once the final credits started rolling and the music began. I felt lost…cheated…even bewildered. My expression could only be paralleled to that of Jodie Foster’s just after that bar scene in The Accused (thank you Mr. Vaughn). I cursed David Chase, Sopranos creator and final episode writer/director, and all that he stood for. I pounded the arm of the leather chair I was seemingly plastered to, and was a good 10 minutes into the next undoubtedly great HBO production before I realized that was actually it. Of course, we were able to finally see Phil Leotardo get what he had coming to him in what had to be one of the best and most gruesome ‘hits’ of the series, but aside from Chase deciding to throw his daughter back in the show (wanna adopt me Mr. Chase? PLEASE?) as Meadow’s long-lost friend, the finale was totally devoid of any twists or turns.

Then, unlike many of the other disgusted viewers that crashed the HBO website within an hour of the East Coast airing with their outcry, I took a moment and asked myself: What did I expect? Any other outcome, other then life going on as usual for Tony and his dual-families would have truly cheated the legions on fans and unwavering supporters of the show. The more I considered this, the more I realized the true genius in what Chase did. Not only did he ensure that people would be talking about this for weeks to come, but he also left things so that it stayed true to the essence of the show at the same time as setting things up for an epic Sopranos movie. Anyone that believes they’ve seen the last of this saga is sorely mistaken. Unless, of course, Mr. Gandolfini decides he’s truly had enough of the character (to which he would undoubtedly be pelted with money in order to reconsider), expect a Sopranos motion picture within 2 years.