The perfect ending to the perfect show

After digesting hundreds of posts on Television Without Pity, Sepinwall's column and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on with regards to the series finale of "The Sopranos," I once again find myself perplexed that many purported fans of the show even bothered to watch it in the first place.

Though I seem to be one of the few satisfied with the ending (TWoP posters, I hardly knew ye. I always thought it was one of the more intelligent message boards around, but the scads of people demanding David Chase refund their money for eight years of incredible television is disheartening), I can't entirely begrudge people who wanted some sort of conclusion. We did invest 86 hours of our lives in this show (many of us far more due to rewatching the series on DVD), and I for one wouldn't have at least minded seeing Meadow sit down to join the family and then the obligatory fade to black. That last shot of Tony somewhat apprehensively looking up at the door is a bit haunting, to be sure.

Cutting to a black screen has proven to be a stroke of brilliance on Chase's part, as everyone and their mother has a theory regarding what happened to Tony. It seems many folks are buying into the immediate cut to black representing Tony getting shot; however this doesn't make any sense, as the show has never been shot from a first-person perspective. Additionally, despite ratcheting up the tension something ridiculous, if you rewatch the scene without thinking "Shit, there are only two minutes left in the series, how the hell are they going to wrap this up?" it's actually fairly innocuous. Tony and the family could've been doing pretty much anything and it would've been tension-filled since the audience knows we're nearing the end. Additionally, it shouldn't surprise anyone who has watched the show from the beginning that Chase would choose to wrap it up with the family having dinner together yet again.

Chase wants us to think every "shifty"-looking character the camera shows is going to harm Tony. I've read theories that Nikki Leotardo was the man in the Member's Only jacket, and that the two black guys were the same duo who tried to whack Tony at Junior's request in Season One. Wrong. Chase purposely populated the scene with people resembling previous characters so the audience would do exactly what he wanted us to do: overanalyze the situation. The use of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" was a stroke of genius as well (anyone else still humming it to themselves?) - by scoring the final scene to a cheesy 80s power ballad and whose lyrics sort of match up to the action, Chase is deliberately tugging at our emotions with both the song and camerawork, as we fully expect the scene to crescendo into orgiastic violence.

However, those in the "Tony got shot" camp have yet to provide a feasible explanation as to (a) How anyone gunning for Tony would know he was having dinner at Holsten's, and (b) After having brokered peace with New York, who's going to shoot Tony Soprano? The man survived 86 episodes; it would be completely out of character for the show to end with Tony getting murdered by some random character. Would that really have satisfied the audience? Tony and family covered in blood as the camera pushes out? Not this viewer.

I've long contended that I watch "The Sopranos" on a completely different level than many folks, and a lot of the irate postings I've read continue to bolster that idea. Life goes on for Tony, Carmela, A.J. and Meadow, only it's a pretty shitty life at that. Despite their flailing attempts, none of the characters have ever really changed. Going back to what I wrote on Friday regarding the ducks flying away in the very first episode correlating with Tony's fear of losing his family, poster LeanneHock on TWoP put it very aptly:

"In my humble opinion the ending is simple and satisfying:

In the first episode the ducks (a mother and her babies) leave. The ducks, according to Melfi, symbolize his wife and children and his fear of them leaving.

Each of the family members leave in their own way:

Carmella 'leaves' when they split up. She sleeps with Wegler, before that she fantasized about the wallpaper guy. She makes some money on her own (granted she took or got help from Tony).

Meadow 'leaves' when she questions her father about his work. She goes to college, she dates men that offend her father's sensibilities. She goes to California--she tries to pursue a 'regular' life. She quits med school and rejects her father's dream.

A.J. 'leaves' --most notably-- when he attempts suicide. Before that, he tried to be a 'regular' guy and leave the family's circle of influence to make a new family with Blanca (and gets dumped for it). He contemplates joining the army.

In the end all the ducks return. One by one they return to Tony at Holsteins. Mother duck with ducklings in tow. When Meadow, the last one arrives, the story is complete...no need to continue."

Well said.

Tony has also told us several times throughout the show that it can only end two ways for guys like him: Jail or death. Ultimately what we should take from the final scene is that Tony will have to live in fear every day of his life, whether it's the FBI finally having a strong enough case against him, or finding himself on the business end of a pistol. I'm just thankful Chase didn't feel the need to pander and give us a typical Hollywood ending.

I could go on, but instead I'll point you over to a couple of folks who are far more eloquent than myself:

Every single person who watched "The Sopranos" should read the brilliant Matt Zoller Seitz's take on the series finale: Sopranos Mondays: Season 6, Ep. 22, "Made in America."

And if you haven't already, Alan Sepinwall, the nation's foremost "Sopranos" critic, is required reading as well: Sopranos' creator's last word: End speaks for itself.