Sopranos Season 6B Episode 9: "Made in America"

Spencer: CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, first of all, I hope you appreciate the appropriate picture I have put up as the top picture in this post.

After finally recovering from last night's shocking has-the-cable-gone-out ending, I've realized that I actually really enjoyed this ending. We all knew that Chase was going to do the unexpected, but after last week's "Blue Comet" gave us enough pause - is he actually going to end this with the violence and drama that the fans have been clamoring for? - he spent the first half of this episode de-fusing the entire situation. The build-up of the ending - the climax of anti-climaxes if you will - was really quite spectacular. Thinking about the artifice of the whole thing is quite amusing - where else would a rather dull video of Meadow parking her car take on such significance?

Perusing the blogosphere this morning, I found out that the video of Meadow trying to parallel park had actually leaked, but people could not figure out how that would possibly be worked into the episode. By the time it rolled around, every Sopranos fan was at the edge of their seats, sure that Meadow at any moment would be steamrolled by a semi, or hit crossing the street...not to be.

I'll admit I was initially frustrated by the sudden black-out/ending, but as others have said, it really was the best way for the show to end. I've been harping the past few weeks about how major developments (Chrissy's death) have felt empty and more a product of the show ending than an appropriate progression of the show. If Meadow had been suddenly killed - or Tony, or if Paulie was a rat etc., that would have felt the same way. Chase was truest to his characters and to the show and its legacy by NOT copping-out to a plot filled ending. Tony continues (or doesn't, depending on your interpretation) as he does, fearing each and every stranger in the diner, loving his family while wreaking havoc on those outside of his inner circle.

In large part, we saw a sympathetic and funny Tony this week, much like the Tony of seasons old, and not the cold killer Chase has revealed to us in past weeks. At first, I thought Chase was backing off of the bleak view he'd set out for us in past episodes. However, on second thought, I think behaviors this week were consistent with Chase's "people never change" hypothesis. In fact, as a friend of mine pointed out, this week's episode was largely a display of all the major characters acting...well, like they always do. Janice being Janice, criticizing her mother while acting her. Carmela complaining about her things and her house(s). A.J., well, being A.J. The characters are who they've always been...and partly for that reason...there's nothing left to say about them.

After the action of last week, the finale was shocking for just how much it felt like a typical Sopranos episode. But it really was - from Paulie's antics with the cat to AJ blowing up his car - this was typical of any episode from the series run. I think there were some great moments (loved the use of the Dylan song in the AJ scene as well as the reaction of the passerby's when Phil's head was crunched) as well as some tired ones (Agent Harris?? The sudden reversal of Phil's 2nd in command) - I don't think it was necessarily a great episode in and of itself, but more a typical one.

And, of course, Chase never backed off his criticisms of his audience. This week was certainly no less of a "screw you" than previous weeks, but AJ's little speech at the dinner table - in response to American Idol and Dreamgirls - almost certainly reflects Chase's cynical view of what being "Made in America" really is. And we see AJ, 20 minutes later, enjoying his new beamer.

Looking back over the past season, which I've had some problems with, I certainly would not call it the best season of the Sopranos, but I would call it one of the most ambitious and certainly the most interesting. Thinking about "Sopranos Home Movies" it's amazing how much ground the show has covered since then, sometimes haltingly and poorly I would argue, but never lazily. This was really a kaleidoscopic season, and I'm going to enjoy re-watching it.

Kate: I do appreciate that picture! Nice touch.

I don’t know why I was surprised- I told myself not to be surprised if the last episode of the Sopranos was simply the first 20 minutes of 2001 Space Odyssey. Immediately after the episode, I went through the 5 stages of grieving- with anger being the most prominent. When I finally began to ‘accept’ the death of The Sopranos I really started to realize how satisfying this finale really was. Every theme that Chase considers important had its last battle cry and without the over the top flamboyance that most television finales produce.

I will start off by saying that I loved what they did with Meadow and AJ, which is interesting because I really don’t care about them as characters and I had no idea where Chase was going with either of their story lines. I love how Chase, in a zig-zag way, slowly but surely, created a modern day Carmella and Tony out of these two bores.

AJ joins an organization which I believe Chase equates with the Mob: the film industry (which is so god damn perfect for AJ and I never in a million years would have scene that coming.) He also shows his father’s fickle heartlessness and his ability to go from crying over injustices in America, to enjoying watching his car burn, to enjoying driving a beamer and picking up his hot high school girlfriend. Has AJ ever seemed more like Tony? Didn’t they even both ever order onion rings at the end (I could be wrong about that…)? And Meadow- marrying the mobster’s son with delusions of being anything else then a housewife (what was that quote that her future husband says? “Hun, don’t devalue yourself!” patronizing, no?). And the hypocritical nature of her profession in general sets her up to be a little Carmella. She is not living up to her potential (although, why is being a lawyer so disappointing to Tony and Carmella? I mean aren’t lawyers what keep Tony on the streets? Anyways) , just like Carmella, and you can almost see the future: a frustrated Meadow throwing the portable phone at her bewildered, bumbling husband, as she threatens to volunteer at a human rights shelter until he buys her a big honkin’ Safire.

Parental influence is everything, and it will haunt you, especially if you are a Soprano.

I have always been a Janice fan so I was happy that Janice had one more scene in which to be maudlin. “Little Livia” sitting outside on the porch, in the cold with a blanket (Reminisent of Livia on her couch, Livia in the hospital, Livia in a wheelchair) , claiming how she is a ‘good mother’ and how much she ‘tries’ was brilliant. Tony brings her a gift, just like the cd player he buys for his mother in the pilot, but the gift brings Janice no happiness. This is when the cyclical nature of The Sopranos is at its best.

The scene where it was just Paulie and Tony in front of the Satriales and Tony is convincing Paulie to take over Carlo’s position struck me as really sad- yet complete. The idea that Tony is acting like this is some kind of promotion when Paulie (in my opinion) knows that ‘this thing of ours” is over, is eerie. It’s just them sitting outside at that metal table alone , where in every other season this scene would been littered with mobsters, people stopping by for sit downs, and lively conversation. No Sil, no Jackie, no Pussy, no Ritchie, no Chrissy, no Ralphie, no Carlo- just Paulie. Paulie’s antics about the cat and the Virgin Mary sighting suddenly became pathetic when there was no one to laugh at Tony’s “shrine” joke with, however, I appreciate that the faithful soldier stands by Tony (albeit with a little prodding) until the end. A captain going down with his ship (skip.)

I feel as if Junior’s demise, while not exactly a death, was treated with more sensitivity then any of the other characters this season. To see this man, a father figure, so powerful in Tony’s eyes (positively and negatively) crumble into nothing- was incredibly hard to watch. For some reason the idea of him not knowing Tony brought me right back to the scene (not sure what episode, perhaps in season 4?) where it ends with Tony saying’ Don’t you love me?” and Junior just crying. All these characters will never truly be able to communicate, marbles or no marbles- but I loved their last scene

Of course, I do have a few problems with this episode, but would I be a true Sopranos lover is I was pleasantly pleased all the time? One issue I have is the lack of Melfi- come on Chase, at one time, she was the point of the show. I know that she had her ‘scene’ in the Blue Comet, but one more shot of her, or a scene with Eliot would have been nice, albeit Kate (crowd) pleasing. The second is no dream sequence! I never though I would say that, but it’s a big part of how the Sopranos tells it’s story and it feels strange that there was a dream sequence in these final 9. And finally, I feel like Carmella deserved a bigger good-bye. One more great scene, storyline, etc. But of course, I’m biased.

And finally- Carlo flipping? LAME. It’s funny because I almost wrote in a previous post that I thought that Chase was heavily laying on the “Carlo’s going to Flip” bricks. Too heavily. Carlo’s son being prominently displayed as an imbecile, Tony screaming at him in the car about him being far more profitable than Vito, and finally the fact that no would car if Carlo flipped. Who cares about Carlo? He is like a Star Trek character dressed in red- a sacrifice. Carlo could have never shown his face again and I wouldn’t care- Chase wanted to have him flip so that part of the audience would have the “Tony is going to Jail’ pillow to curl up with at night for all of eternity.

However, I think they ended it the best way they could. RIP My darling The Sopranos.

P.S. Hunter Spin off?

P.S.S. It’s too soon to joke about Spin offs.

P.S.S.S. Let alone spin offs staring someone as seriously ugly as Hunter.

Sopranos Season 6B Episode 8: "The Blue Comet"

Kate: I want to first apologize for not writing about last week’s episode- I guess I’ll say “life intervened” which I hope everyone (Spencer) understands to mean “was drinking too much.”(if only to mourn this fantastic thing of ours…)

“The Blue Comet” will, without a doubt, go down as one of the most exciting (if not the most exciting) Sopranos episode of all time. From the time that guy-Sil-killed-a-la-Tony-in-College walked down his driveway to pick up his paper to the scene of Tony cradleing a shot gun in bed (which REALLY creeped me out. It seemed like a terrible nightmare…sitting in a dark room, afraid to fall asleep and just waiting for someone to come and kill you- shudder) I was (literally) on the edge of my seat.

I’d like to get this party started with the eating of my words - I’m pretty sure you were correct about Chase this entire time. You have said throughout all of your Sopranos discussions with me (and almost every single post on this blog) that you think Chase is saying a big “Fuck You” to the audience with his ending of this show (not only the finale but in the episodes of season 6 leading up to the finale.) In fact, for someone who I usually trust to find interesting ways to prove a point (Chase), I was surprised by how obvious he proved you correct in “The Blue Comet”

Melfi ends therapy with Tony because she realizes that it’s not doing him any good, but rather just improving his skills as a sociopath. I had trouble with this for two reasons: one, because, it does seem like a “Fuck You” to the audience (if Melfi is a representation of law abiding citizens, which no doubt most of Sopranos viewers are, then we are all using Tony for a cheap thrill and never really expected him to change or become a better man. Q: What does that make us? A: (by Chase) Asses.

And secondly because are we supposed to really believe that Tony is a sociopath? I’m not sure I can, after last episode when he was cradeling AJ (and, yes, you could make the argument that in this episode he threw AJ in the closet, but he can be a whiny bitch sometimes….did I just write that?) after he attempted suicide. How Tony acts in a situation when no one is watching him and how he acts when he must ‘perform’ for society are very different and thus I would have to believe that a lot of his personality quirks (or murderous impulses, if you want to got there) stem from both external AND internal problems. Sigh- or I just don’t want to accept the fact that I totally fell for Chase’s antics.

Some other questions for discussion: Why not kill Sil? Is he going to jump up and be alive again in the finale like the last scene in a horror movie? Is he going to have a Kevin Finnerty like existence for awhile and is that what the finale is going to be? A co-worker suggested that it added a sense of realism to the story; that sometimes people get shot 5 times and just don’t die. I’m not sure if wasn’t just to give Sil one last bad-ass moment. Either way, I have a feeling that we are never going to know what happens to Sil- I doubt Chase is into fake bio pic paragraphs.

And the Big Kahuna- the fate of Tony: Death, jail, or does crime, actually pay and therapy sucks.
All yours answer man.

P.S. Spencer, Wesley has predicted since the names of the last 9 episodes were released that “The Blue Comet” was going to be the best episode in Sopranos history.

Spencer: "Psychopathy is currently defined in psychiatry and clinical psychology as a condition characterized by lack of empathy or conscience, and poor impulse control or manipulative behaviors" - the always right Wikipedia. One of the cruxes of the mob drama (be it in film or on "The Sopranos") is the way the likeability of the characters and their lifestyles shields the audience from their inherent unlikeability - the destructive forces that they are on society. We all really like Tony - in fact, probably 90% of the Sopranos audience would like to be good friends with him - but he is, without a doubt, a sociopath. His displays of empathy (with AJ at times, despite the throwing him against the wall :)) make him human, but that's the double standard Tony has always set for himself. Tony never seemed to sad about the son of his gambler friend, whose car he happily gave to Meadow. Certainly the rest of the list (lack of conscience, poor impulse control, manipulative behaviors) fits Tony to a T.

You say that the episode implies that the audience (and Melfi) have been watching Tony in essence for a "cheap thrill". I think that's right - and it's unsurprising that this revelation happens in the rare episode where Chase gives those thrill-seekers exactly what they want - nearly 60 minutes of mob violence. It had sort of a "this is what you want? well here you go, you ignorant idiots, but i'm going to cut you down to size while I do it" feeling. Sorry David, I love the dream sequences, but hey, we all love a little of the ultraviolence sometimes... (Kubrick reference for you..)

What did you think of the actual episode? Everything was obviously exciting but the show has really deadened these characters to a point where the deaths have felt meaningless to me - more like machinations in Chase's endgame then true character deaths. When (Wire Spoiler for those who haven't seen season 3) Stringer Bell met his death, it felt like a real loss - in fact, many questioned whether the show could go on successfully without his presence. Here, it's the opposite, where the show IS ending, and the deaths have to some extent lost their significance because of it.

I was discussing this with a friend the other day - I often forget the end of movies and books. I just finished reading "Clockers" by Richard Price (excellent read by the way for fans of "The Wire"), and three weeks later, I couldn't for the life of me remember how it ended. I think that's partly just the way our memory works but to quote a lame Aerosmith high school yearbook quote - it's a journey, not a destination. It's rare that the ending is why something is great - the "Usual Suspects" comes to mind although that's more because the ending makes you re-examine the rest of the film - although it is often why something can fail.

Why the tangent? Well, I think the current mass killing spree that the show has on has lost much of its impact because of the way Chase has backloaded everything in these past few episodes. The ending is the ending, and when re-watching the other 6/7 seasons, as we will, will knowing that Bobby and Sil (agree with you about leaving him alive - why bother?) die in the end change the way we experience the rest of the series? I don't think so, because it doesn't really change the way we experience them in the prior episodes, and we don't have to experience the show without them.

I'm looking forward to re-watching this season because I think the show has really been all over the place - from Johnny's cancer death to last night's whackfest to Tony's gambling addiction - it's hard to process from week to week (HBO shows are always better viewed on DVD in bulk). I think part of my problem with this season has been that it's so reactive to the audience and to the fact that the series is ending (all the red herrings that others seem to enjoy I find annoying) - but I'll expand on that in my next post. All yours.