The Sopranos discussion thread

[Snake Plissken]

I binge watched Sopranos my first time too, it’s the best way to watch it in my opinion, I would have went crazy waiting so long season after season.

It was murder waiting between S5-S6, I think it was like two years.

 

[Collectorcol]

OP, you're a brave man. I would never enter a discussion thread about a show I'm half way through never mind start one.

I loved The Sopranos and looked forward to it every week but it's a show I could never imagine sitting through again.
I've watched BrBa twice and already contemplating watching again.

 

[Collectorcol]

Oh, and I think the ending was fitting.

 

[Snake Plissken]

I liked BrBa a lot, but it doesn't have the same rewatchability that the Sopranos does.

 

[pturtle]

Agreed, I've actually watch The Sopranos 3 times, the show gets better with every viewing.

It also helps that the humor on the show still holds up.

 

[pturtle]

It was murder waiting between S5-S6, I think it was like two years.

I wish I would have watched the show when it aired, I remember my father back in the day telling me to watch it with him( even though I was like 11) but I preferred watching stuff like Dragon Ball Z at the time.

If I would have had to wait that long I would have went crazy. At least we know Chase utilized that time to create a well thought out ending to the show.

As soon as the Blu ray collection releases I will probably watch through the series for a fourth time.

 

[Snake Plissken]

It definitely was an experience to watch it when it was running as new. The entire country would pretty much watch it, everyone would be talking about it Monday morning.

 

[batfan08]

I saw that 6A was somewhat divisive, but, after finishing it just now, I really liked it. I actually really liked that stuff they did with Vito. They took a character who was, for all intents and purposes, a piece of the background scenery, and really made him feel real. You liked the guy, and, ultimately, you felt for him. Now, I'm ready for 6B.

 

[batfan08]

I finished this tonight, and, wow. *Breaking Bad Spoilers, as well*

Spoiler

I don't think a show's ever made me feel this way before. At first, I thought, "well, Tony saw Meadow walk through the door, they had dinner, he faced the indictment, and so forth." As I read that article, though, I found myself thinking two steps ahead, if you will. When the author referenced "you'll never hear the shot," I thought of Silvio when Gerry was executed, and then, I thought of how Phil's wife took a moment before the gravity of what was happening set in. He referenced the members only jacket and I thought of Eugene. The Kevin Finity near death experience. There's so much there that indicates Tony's dead, and yet, I don't want to believe it.

As a viewer, his death is meaningless in some ways. To bring everything full circle, it provides meaning, sure, but the idea that's stuck with me isn't whether he died or not, but, rather, why. With New York seemingly cleared up after Phil, there's no logical purpose for it. I'm sure I could dig deeper into the karmic meaning, and how his actions ultimately wrought his doom, but, at a surface level, I couldn't see it. That, when juxtaposed with the bluntness of the way it's presented; there's a brutality to it, and it's very unnerving. I adored Breaking Bad, but, when I saw Walt die, it felt complete. I loved the character, but it didn't stick with me like this did. I was actually trying to fall asleep before I wrote this, and, for some reason, I just couldn't get that final shot of Tony's face out of my mind. The show genuinely made you care about the characters, and thinking about that ending, you don't just think about the implications for Tony, but for his family, as well. A son who's already attempted suicide once, a daughter who worshipped him, and a wife who, ultimately, loved him enough to bring him back from the brink once.

Ultimately, though, I think James Gandolfini's own mortality kind of compounded with the meaning I took from it. I genuinely loved the guy's talent and gravitas as an actor, and, in a weird way, even though he was obviously nothing like his character, his legacy sort of lived on through that character; that was the role that defined him, and, it makes that character's death weigh much heavier in a lot of ways; I'd probably actually go on living in denial, when it comes to accepting that as the ending. That stands as testament to the quality of the material, though; that you could feel such a connection to the characters. I dreaded Bobby's death, as well, but I knew that his loss of innocence ultimately sealed his fate. In a weird way, Tony exacted a death sentence as punishment for raising his hand.

I'm just amazed by the level of storytelling at work here. It was a truly awesome experience.

 

[pturtle]

Glad you liked it Batfan, pretty much sums up why I think it's the greatest ending to any show or movie I've ever seen.

 

[Rambler]

Great post Batfan!!

 

[Snake Plissken]

I finished this tonight, and, wow. *Breaking Bad Spoilers, as well*

Spoiler

I don't think a show's ever made me feel this way before. At first, I thought, "well, Tony saw Meadow walk through the door, they had dinner, he faced the indictment, and so forth." As I read that article, though, I found myself thinking two steps ahead, if you will. When the author referenced "you'll never hear the shot," I thought of Silvio when Gerry was executed, and then, I thought of how Phil's wife took a moment before the gravity of what was happening set in. He referenced the members only jacket and I thought of Eugene. The Kevin Finity near death experience. There's so much there that indicates Tony's dead, and yet, I don't want to believe it.

As a viewer, his death is meaningless in some ways. To bring everything full circle, it provides meaning, sure, but the idea that's stuck with me isn't whether he died or not, but, rather, why. With New York seemingly cleared up after Phil, there's no logical purpose for it. I'm sure I could dig deeper into the karmic meaning, and how his actions ultimately wrought his doom, but, at a surface level, I couldn't see it. That, when juxtaposed with the bluntness of the way it's presented; there's a brutality to it, and it's very unnerving. I adored Breaking Bad, but, when I saw Walt die, it felt complete. I loved the character, but it didn't stick with me like this did. I was actually trying to fall asleep before I wrote this, and, for some reason, I just couldn't get that final shot of Tony's face out of my mind. The show genuinely made you care about the characters, and thinking about that ending, you don't just think about the implications for Tony, but for his family, as well. A son who's already attempted suicide once, a daughter who worshipped him, and a wife who, ultimately, loved him enough to bring him back from the brink once.

Ultimately, though, I think James Gandolfini's own mortality kind of compounded with the meaning I took from it. I genuinely loved the guy's talent and gravitas as an actor, and, in a weird way, even though he was obviously nothing like his character, his legacy sort of lived on through that character; that was the role that defined him, and, it makes that character's death weigh much heavier in a lot of ways; I'd probably actually go on living in denial, when it comes to accepting that as the ending. That stands as testament to the quality of the material, though; that you could feel such a connection to the characters. I dreaded Bobby's death, as well, but I knew that his loss of innocence ultimately sealed his fate. In a weird way, Tony exacted a death sentence as punishment for raising his hand.

I'm just amazed by the level of storytelling at work here. It was a truly awesome experience.

Glad you really enjoyed it. All the evidence was clearly there on the true ending. And it's not just that

Spoiler

Tony was shot dead, but he was having a nice moment with his whole family for a change... and he was murdered in front of him. I've always wondered what happened to the rest of the members in Tony's crew after. Silvio probably was taken off life support, and Paulie... I don't know, he doesn't seem capable running anything and probably did some nickle and dime stuff with New York.