Filed under: Features
Do not read if you have yet to see the final episode of The Sopranos!
-spoilers ahead-
If you perceive this to be an unusual first entry for a blog that was initially dedicated to cinema, you wouldn’t be wrong. The topic is a strange one; some would consider an entry detailing the sixth and final season of The Sopranos to be two years too late, with all debate and dissection of the show’s final moments exhausted beyond all reason, and yet new viewers are still working their way through one of the greatest television shows of all time, keeping discussion alive on the countless ideas that the show presents to us through its impeccable character development and subtle presentation.
One of the hot talking points from the sixth season is obviously the final scene from Episode 21, ‘Made in America’. After ridding himself of the hot-tempered Phil Leotardo, the proverbial thorn in his side, Tony Soprano heads to a diner for a family meal. As Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ plays on the jukebox, Tony is first joined by wife Carmela, then his son AJ and finally his daughter Meadow. However, Meadow doesn’t quite make it to the table in time, due to the abrupt cut to black that occurs, ending the scene, and the series, in an original, ambiguous fashion. There has been wild speculation over what could have happened here, namely taking into account two possible endings – was Tony killed or not?. The presence of the man in the ‘Member’s Only’ jacket is certainly suspicious and something that David Chase obviously wants us to take note of, as the only moving shots in this scene follow his movement past the Soprano table.
Chase has gone on record saying he was disgusted that the viewers of the show had spent the past 6 seasons watching Tony Soprano kill and manipulate others, ruining countless lives, only for us to suddenly want to see him meet his own demise in the final episode. To deny the audience the image of Tony swimming in his own blood, Chase decided to direct the episode purely from Tony’s perspective. There are instances throughout the episode where we see a shot of Tony looking forward, followed by a point-of-view shot of what he sees. This is carried forward to the diner scene; every time Tony looks up from his menu, we see his perspective, of each member of his family entering the diner. The only time this occurs differently is when Meadow enters: the shot of her coming into the diner is shown first, and when Tony looks up, his immediate perspective is pitch black. We share his moment of death.
Some people choose to believe Tony survived, with the key giveaway being the sounds of ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ signifying a willingness for him to carry on with his life regardless of the turmoil that constantly surrounds him. However, letting Tony escape punishment for his crimes would appear as weak conclusion to the show. Not long after Bobby took someone’s life for the first time, he was murdered by Phil’s crew. Christopher had it coming too, through his murder of JT among other people, not to mention the raven that he witnesses in Season 3 foreshadowing his demise. Most characters in The Sopranos are stalked by the spectre of death. Those who choose to believe that Tony was murdered will point towards a multitude of clues and foreshadowing present throughout Season 6 – and even the entire series – that would indicate Tony’s inevitable end. One of the best clues mentioned so far concerns Christopher’s coma in Season 2, in which he is reunited with Mikey Palmice who was murdered in the Season 1 finale. Mikey gives an ominous warning to Christopher of ‘3 o’clock’, which just so happens to be the position at which Tony’s assassin would exit the toilet and put the gun to his head. It’s also apparently the time when Paulie receives the phone call that will tell him of his cancer diagnosis. And yet even with these clues in place – as delicately weaved into the complex tapestry of the show as they are – they are not vital to the basic understanding that Tony’s death is the only logical conclusion to The Sopranos.
A Capacity for Change
Season 6 is split into two parts, with the first representing an positive, upward and onward change in the life of Tony Soprano, and the second representing a helpless, undoing downward spiral that leads to his death. In the season premiere, Tony is shot by Uncle Junior, sending him into a deep coma, where he lives a second life through the eyes of a salesman, ‘Kevin Finnerty’. The purpose of these coma sequences is to have Tony question himself and his choices in life, as well as the many lives he has ruined. On coming out of the coma he begins to listen to differing perspectives on his existence, from a man of science and a man of faith. From this point onwards he begins to appreciate the beauty of life, his family, and even begins to soften up in regards to Vito, who is doing some soul-searching of his own.
Phil Leotardo is a key parallel to Tony in this season, essentially following the exact same trajectory as his New Jersey rival. At the end of Season 6 Part 1, Phil has a heart attack and is visited by Tony in hospital, who informs him that it would be in his best interest to put down the weapons and appreciate what he has in life, his grandchildren for example. This leads to Phil becoming a much happier, content person by the time Season 6 Part 2 comes around; however, this is not to last.
The changes in Phil’s attitude closely parallel Tony’s own shifts; whilst Season 6 Part 1 is the positive ascension, charting Tony’s awareness of his existence, Part 2 is the downward spiral in which he reverts to his old ways. He cheats on his wife once more, he burns his bridge with Hesh, and in one of the most disturbing episodes in the show’s history, he murders his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. By this point, it is clear that Tony is incapable of change. He initially considers the wrongs he has done, but his violent, reckless nature ensures that he will always stay the same. When Phil meets his end, murdered in front of his family by a gunshot to the side of the head, this chilling moment serves as a blatant foreshadowing of Tony’s fate.
Tony isn’t the only one to refuse to learn his lesson. AJ has his own existential crisis this season, gradually becoming a pseudo-humanitarian, desperate to change the world in some way, shape or form. Despite this, a quick chat with Tony and Carmela pertaining to a position within Little Carmine’s production company soon puts paid to his concerns. AJ quickly abandons all the ideals he had once resolutely clung to, and sells out to a corporate interest in the blink of an eye.
At the end of Season 3, Meadow ran out of Jackie Jr.’s wake, and when Tony chased after her, she disassociated herself from the Mafia lifestyle with a shriek of “It’s all bullshit!” Fast foward to the final episode, and it is revealed that she’s now studying discrimination against Italian-Americans – this is her way of effectively pinning the blame elsewhere, choosing to be oblivious to the dangers of the Mafia that once affected her personal relationships a great deal. Carmela is far from innocent; her trip to Paris earlier in the season filled her with awe, wonder and most importantly a thirst for answers as to where she was going not just in life but beyond the grave. These questions are non-existent by season’s end, as she and the rest of the family settle at the diner, resuming their luxury lifestyle whilst a dark shadow hangs over them.
At this juncture, AJ says to Tony that they should ‘remember the good times’, a throwback to the Season 1 finale in which Tony says the exact same thing to his family in Vesuvio’s. In the present moment, Tony emits a confused response to this statement, forgetting that he even said it in the first place. This signifies the place Tony is in now; he’s cut out all existential concerns. He isn’t ‘looking over his shoulder’ as those who attest he survived would have you believe; he’s thrown away life’s questions and instead has become content with his flawed existence. Now that there is no obvious danger, he can safely resume his ignorance of the pain and suffering that he has caused throughout his lifetime. It is this ignorance that allows him to let his guard down and ultimately lose his life. He doesn’t see it coming, he doesn’t hear it, and neither do we.
A Criminal Complicity
The themes of the sixth season of The Sopranos speak deeply to every one of us. You don’t need to be a mafia don to identify with the individual crises of each of these characters. As each day passes, we go about our business, serving our best interests and ignoring the pain of others. On occasion we acknowledge the suffering in the world, and express a desire to change things. But how often do we make a significant change for the better, for ourselves and for the rest of the world? Do we ever shift our attitude permanently, our will our inherent, selfish human nature always get the better of us? Is the allure of a materialistic lifestyle satisfactory enough to eradicate the need for answers regarding our own existence? How far can we carry on before we begin to question ourselves?
There aren’t many likeable characters in The Sopranos, but they’re all fascinating in their individual ways. The most prevalent theme of the show is Tony’s constant struggle to reconcile his mafia family with his real family, and even in this the show is painfully accurate in its portrayal of the dynamics of family life; but even then, the show aims for and succeeds in being so much more. In its sixth and final season – arguably its greatest season, and one of the greatest achievements in television history – The Sopranos turned the mirror on its audience, forcing us to look inside ourselves and question our human nature. In sharing the death of Tony Soprano in the final scene, we were denied the right to remain sadistic voyeurs until the very end. We were given a glimpse of what it would feel like to lose an unfulfilled life, allowing us to reflect on our own existence, even if momentarily.
