Ok, it's a new season. Time to revive this thread? Anybody have thoughts on the season premiere?
I was interested to see Janice go all Lady Macbeth on Bobby. It almost looks like the final showdown is going to be between Bobby and Tony. Now that Bobby has done his first "wet work," it may be easier for him to kill Tony. They made a big point about how Bobby's dad was a ruthless killer.

I still don't know what the spoiler rules on this thread are, so I'm playing it safe!

Great premier. I think the storyline is very intriguing. The situation with Bobby and Tony is interesting but the Phil issue hasn't even been addressed. In regards to my last post spoiler, we will find out soon. I'm pretty excited to see what happens. Unfortunately, my time machine is out of windshield washer fluid so I have to wait till Sunday like everyone else.

Good job on the spoiler, Kendo. Always better to be safe than sorry.

I like how this show is sticking to separate storylines on a weekly basis that vary while keeping the "big picture" intact. There was hardly a mention of Christopher in week one and he was the focal point yesterday. Also, I found Phil's rant about Da Vinci and immigration to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen on television. I guess John dying was the spoiler I referred to although it wasn't a whack. For some reason, I didn't seem to mind though as he has been out of the loop. The baptism scene at the end was pretty powerful stuff and I'm loving this season. It's hard to top the previous seasons but, with all due respect to Curb Your Enthusiasm, this is my favorite show going.

That was it? That was the big death they were promising? I found it a bit of a let down.
I also think it is a bit cheesy how they seem to be setting everyone up with a motive to take Tony down. This isn't Agatha Christie, for Chrissake! I think Christopher is the most like to move against Tony. The look in his eye during the baptism scene was pretty powerful.It also makes for a nice Oedipal arc.

Meanwhile, it seems to me that AJ and his g/f are just treading water. I can't see why that story arc is in there.

Imo, stupid placeholder episode, and it seems like that was two in a row. When you only have 5 or 6 episodes to go in a series of like, 5 years. it seems to me you would make more of it. It drives me crazy that they suddenly drop, "Oh, Tony's a compulsive gambler." There's never been any suggestion of it in the past. It's clearly a setup for something in the next few episodes, but it really seems cheap to introduce it now, all of a sudden. Clearly, Tony is going to have money problems, and it's going to provoke a crisis. I like what seems to be the looming crisis with Phil, but I've come to conclusion that we're never going to see the all out mob war that should have formed the centerpiece of the series. In the same way that the war formed the centerpiece of the Godfather. And why are we wasting time on Vito, Jr? Imo, now is not the time to introduce new subplots.

There's a small debate going on as to what Tony yelled out loud at the edge of the canyon at the end of last night's episode. I assumed it was "I DID IT!" but am now reading that he in fact yelled "I GET IT!" The "I did it" makes obvious sense, but why would he yell "I get it" if indeed that's what he said?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Hophead,

I heard "I did it," but I'm not sure if it refers specifically to his killing of Christopher, or to a more non-specific, fuller "it." I thought of it as more a proclamation of his survival. The fact that after all of the adversity, he is still standing, when so many of those who were originally around him aren't. In essence, I think it is an exorcism of his feelings of guilt and a return to the amoral Tony of the earlier show. He sleeps with Christopher's contact in Vegas. Had he slept with anyone since he and Carmela got back together?. Of course, if this is true, "I get it," might also make sense in the context.

Update: I just read on the HBO website that the quote was, indeed, "I get it." Hmmm.....

The only thing I can figure him "getting" is by getting rid of his problems, his luck changes and things go better for him. He'd been losing in gambling, money was tight, everything seemed to be going to shit. Then he rids himself of one his nagging problems, and his life immediately improves. Thus, the winning streak at roulette.

So, what's going to happen next? The previews suggest that the Tony/Phil showdown is coming.

Yep, after the episode its clear that Tony and Phil will have it out.

Two episodes left and the question is, does it end good for Tony or bad. I think he will live but lose plenty. My guesses for how it ends:

*Tony lives and remains boss
*Carmella and Tony have a big fight or somehow she finds out Tony had Adrianna killed. She leaves him for good.
*AJ gets killed by Phil

By the way, SPOILER...


the beating Tony gave Coco last night was the nastiest thing I've seen in a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by Hophead:
Yep, after the episode its clear that Tony and Phil will have it out.

Two episodes left and the question is, does it end good for Tony or bad. I think he will live but lose plenty. My guesses for how it ends:

*Tony lives and remains boss
*Carmella and Tony have a big fight or somehow she finds out Tony had Adrianna killed. She leaves him for good.
*AJ gets killed by Phil

You know, I hadn't thought about Carmela finding out about Adriana. You're right. She keeps going on about it. Good call. I don't know about AJ, though...

It looks like they are trying to make up for a horrible final season with two whack-filled finale episodes. Interesting to say the most. I think Tony goes to jail where he belongs. He is really a shit person and there aren't any moral arguments you can really make for him. Most of the storylines this season have been pointless and I don't think anybody cares about AJ or Meadow at this point. Was it just me or did Tony's sister seem remarkably calm after Bobby got whacked? I was sad to see him go though beacuse he was one of the few main characters who had any decency to him. I hated to see Sil get hit as he has been my favorite all along. He will probably die next Sunday because there isn't sufficient recovery time at this point.

I hope Tony stays free, personally. It's not a moral issue. Only a creative one.

My question going into the finale, is David Chase going to leave a crack open for a return/sequel or feature film? Many of the most interesting characters have been whacked. Whom would you populate the Soprano's movie with? I just hope it's not a prequel. Ugh. That'd be hateful

quote:

Originally posted by kendocubano:
My question going into the finale, is David Chase going to leave a crack open for a return/sequel or feature film? Many of the most interesting characters have been whacked. Whom would you populate the Soprano's movie with? I just hope it's not a prequel. Ugh. That'd be hateful

I thought he and HBO had a sit-down where they agreed they'd keep it open. It sure ain't looking that way.

So what did you guys think of the finale? I was actually quite happy with the ending.
Edit: I just realized this is 1000th Post! Woo-hoo!

quote:

Originally posted by Everyoneanindividual:
So what did you guys think of the finale? I was actually quite happy with the ending.
Edit: I just realized this is 1000th Post! Woo-hoo!

I found it a predictable visual fart. Huge disappointment in terms of creative potential, but still it had some nice touches (AJ destroying an SUV, Meadow struggling to park a car and reaffirm that women everywhere cannot parallel park, the hot chick psychologist Tony's NOW going to be fawning over). As soon as I saw "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Any Way You Want It." I said to my wife, "Watch for the fade-to-black any time now."

I just got back from vacation, so I didn't see the ending until a couple of days ago. I took a few days to think about it, and I've come to the conclusion that it was brilliant. The expectations for the ending were so inflated, that there was no way David Chase could end the program.

He did us the courtesy of tying up a few of the many loose ends that the show has always carried. But the show has always sprawled, and tying up too many loose ends would have seemed cheap and unrealistic.

I'm not sure if Tony lived or was killed, though I think that that was the point. I saw the last scene, really, as an extended metaphor.

In the end, Tony and Carmela are together, uneasily perhaps, but together. AJ is back "at the table" with his family. Meadow is struggling to get back to her family, but she's having trouble. And Tony is feeding his appetites, as usual.

I don't think it was just the cliffhanger teaser for the feature length film. The ending was consistent, in my mind, with what made the show so good for so long.