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This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
The bar is set incredibly low (a blackout! $%#@ YOU David Chase!
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(14 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Mar 6, 2008 5:22 AM
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I have been a fan of The Sopranos and The Wire from their very start, and only at the end of both series do they're epic scope become realized.
When I first saw The Sopranos series finale, I was as confused as everyone else as to the meaning of the ending. THEN, I watched the first season again, and it all became clear...
The Sopranos is about one thing above all others, TONY SOPRANO, and the sickness from which he suffers. Tony is a combination of his father's passion, loyalty, and zeal for life, while at the same time, he suffers from what his mother suffered from: a hole so deep down and black inside of him, that the only way he can fill it, is to destroy (kill) off those closest to him, and in essence, kill off parts of himself.
At this point, your probably asking, where is my evidence for any of this? Well, to see the big picture, we have to start from the beginning. The first time we meet Tony, he witnesses some ducks, floating in his pool. The ducks touch Tony inside himself somewhere deep down, only to fly away and never return. This moment leads us to what will eventually be Tony's complete, personal downfall, much like Michael Corleone's (after Godfather II), only much more in depth.
From the first season on, Tony deals with his business, enemies from within his organization, his family life, and most of all, himself. At the end of season 1, after Tony's mother tried to have him killed, Dr. Melfi describes Livia (his mother) as having a disorder from which she derives no joy from life, and manipulates those close to her against each other. Listen closely, because while she is describing Livia, she is describing really Tony.
Now I get to what I call, "The Blackness". Throughout the series, we have watched as Tony has murdered many of those closest to him. When Tony murdered Pussy, it is important to note how sick he got before the deed, because it reveals its true nature in the last season. In the first season, in the episode, Boca, Tony stumbles into the house one night, in glee, because he had let Meadow's high school soccer teacher live, after it had become known he slept with a girl on the team, but more importantly, he is happy because "He didn't hurt nobody". This is one of the few moments of the show when Tony is relieved from himself, because further down his life, he will hurt and destroy many more lives.
Back to "The Blackness", there is an episode in the last season, where Tony contemplates killing Paulie, not for anything Paulie has done, but simply because he has an urge to. This urge to kill Paulie, manifests itself in physical symptoms of distress again, while Tony is on a boat with Paulie, fighting against his instincts to murder his friend. At the end of the episode, Paulie experiences a dream, where Big Pussy is cooking in Paulie's kitchen, and warns Paulie that he could be next.
Now to the thick of it. Tony's "Fredo" moment, when he kills Christopher. Christopher in many ways is the person closest to Tony, perhaps even more than his own son, because he shares the life that Tony lives, and relates to him in a way A.J. can't. After suffering a horrific car crash on the way back from a meeting with the New York crew, Tony kills Christopher in the most brutal way: he pinches Christopher's nose shut, while Christopher bleeds internally at the steering wheel, suffocating him to death. Tony makes the decision right then and there, as if he is experimenting with fate, and the consequences of his actions. During the episode, Tony shows no remorse, and during a trip to one of Christopher's mistresses in Nevada, Tony gets high on an exotic pepper, and declares while standing in the Nevada desert, that he "gets it." But what does Tony finally understand?
Here it is, he understands his own sickness. There is something inside of him, a darkness, which has dictated his life, and its main urge is to destroy those closest to him, perhaps as a way of punishing himself. It is Tony confronting his ID, the driving force inside him, that Dr. Melfi could never help. All those connected to Tony, are in constant danger.
THE LAST SCENE- The last scene is not meant to be taken literally, it is meant to be a reminder of Tony's life. The black guys in the diner represent the two black men hired to kill Tony, by Junior. The man in the jacket at the bar, represent many of Tony's past sins and crimes against others in the mob, and the constant threat of revenge against him because of it. The father of the kids with the FBI hat is self explanatory. What lingers most of all though in the scene, is death, or otherwise, "The Darkness". It looms over every shot, and pierces the scene like a knife. Why? Because now that Tony has killed almost all those closest to him, the people who are now in the greatest danger, are his immediate family. The death seems to loom over Meadow the most, who perhaps Tony loves the most. Tony's love is a curse to the receiver of it. When they eat the onion rings, it resembles last communion, because Carmela and A.J. have both compromised their lives for the splendors of Tony's crimes. In the end, Sylvio lies in a coma, in a state of uncertain future. Paulie is in constant danger. Tony's family is in danger too. The last shot is of Tony's face, and then the darkness, which boils inside of Tony, and spreads out as the hand of death to all those associated with him.
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Edited by emperorzombie at 03/06/2008 2:31 AM
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(13 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 29, 2008 5:17 PM
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> Although I do not expect all my questions to be
> answered in a single finale episode, The Sopranos
> left TOO MANY! Were we watching the Soprano family's
> final moments? Were those men coming to kill Tony or
> someone else in the restaurant? Why the hell can't
> Meadow parallel park?
>
> I just hope The Wire doesn't do something like that
> to me, to us.
>
> --
> If you don't stand for something, you will fall for
> anything!
>
> Got that Greenhouse Gas!! Shit is hot!!
>
> --
Agreed. I need more answers than that. Not to mention all the mysteries throughout that series that never got solved. The money dammit! Where is that money that Janice and Jr. were always looking for?
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1,100
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12/13/04
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(12 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 29, 2008 2:43 PM
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It wasn't the ending to the Sopranos that sucked, it was the entire final season. The ending was an appropriate ending to the way that show floundered into mediocrity. About the only good episode in the whole last season of the Sopranos was the next to last, The Blue Comet. The Wire has already done better than the last season of the Sopranos, but I am wondering if they would not have been better off stopping after S-4.
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" "A Man must have a Code" The Bunk
"Its what a war is. Once you in it you in it." Slim Charles
"That Halibut is good enough for Jehovah!!! " Mathias, Son of Deuteronomy of Gath
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82
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(11 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 29, 2008 12:51 PM
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Although I do not expect all my questions to be answered in a single finale episode, The Sopranos left TOO MANY! Were we watching the Soprano family's final moments? Were those men coming to kill Tony or someone else in the restaurant? Why the hell can't Meadow parallel park?
I just hope The Wire doesn't do something like that to me, to us.
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If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything!
Got that Greenhouse Gas!! Shit is hot!!
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Edited by CuttyzCutie at 02/29/2008 9:52 AM
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2
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3/31/02
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(10 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 29, 2008 12:38 PM
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Hell, I thought the Sopranos ended pretty well!
We're still talking about it. We'll ALWAYS remember that one.
I don't remember the last scene of most shows.
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82
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(9 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 7:58 PM
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All i know is it better not be a black out. I would lose my mind! IMO, all of the season finales have left me wanting more closure but I anticipate this one to be the best one yet.
--
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything!
Got that Greenhouse Gas!! Shit is hot!!
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17
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1/30/08
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(8 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 7:52 PM
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I hope it is in fact better but I'm sad to see this one go...The Sopranos went for what 7 seasons??? I think this one could have gone longer.
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Fuzy_GSXR1000
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(7 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 4:48 PM
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> On one hand, the Sopranos' season finale was
> brilliant. On the other hand, that soap opera clung
> on about a season too long. Let's be glad The Wire is
> going out standing tall and looking good, rather than
> limping along like a wounded cockroach.
>
> The Denny's commercial with the Monopoly money is
> better than the last season of the Sopranos, for
> those who have caught that and laughed a bit. I know
> I laughed.
>
> --
> KBB
>
> "Oh, man, m-my BREW!"
>
> "History learned through knowledge shared."
I FEEL SORRY FOR ALL THOSE GUYS
ALL THE DO IS MAKE PARODIES OF THEM SELVES
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sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
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235
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(6 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 4:42 PM
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> The Soprano ending was throwed, but here's an idea
> that I stole from another thread....Maybe Tony NEVER
> came out of the coma in the first place. Cause
> remember in part one of season six when he was talkin
> to his brother-in-law, they was saying how when you
> die everything turns black? Just a thought.
It's possible, but to be honest, what some call brilliance and allowing the viewers to think for themselves, I call laziness, and cashing a paycheck before filming began.
What I suspected was that there was an actual ending, but it leaked out, so Chase decided to cut it short for the sake of disproving spoilers. He's done that in seasons past, writing shit on the fly the moment anyone dared figured out where that piece of shit show was next heading.
But alas, I'm beginning to rant...
My ONLY concern with this series finale, is that in seasons past, the final ep always seemed to fall just short of its preceding episode. It seems that the penultimate ep is always the best of the season. And considering how great Ep 9 was (personally my all-time favorite Wire episode), it's tough to envision them matching, never mind surpassing.
With 93 minutes to spare, no question they go out with a bang. I just hope that it's A LOT packed into 93 minutes, the Season 4 finale seemed stretched out at times, and that was only 10 minutes extra, although it had a better ending than Season 2.
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2/28/08
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(5 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 3:50 PM
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The Wire is so far superior to The Sopranos that there is little need to speculate.
It's unlikely that The Wire could have been made without the Sopranos arriving first, and it was a great show for 4 seasons. However, The Wire has improved with each new season and the quality has been consistent from show to show.
I expect the finale to be brilliant. I have no fear of disappointment.
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228
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11/13/06
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(4 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 3:37 PM
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On one hand, the Sopranos' season finale was brilliant. On the other hand, that soap opera clung on about a season too long. Let's be glad The Wire is going out standing tall and looking good, rather than limping along like a wounded cockroach.
The Denny's commercial with the Monopoly money is better than the last season of the Sopranos, for those who have caught that and laughed a bit. I know I laughed.
--
KBB
"Oh, man, m-my BREW!"
"History learned through knowledge shared."
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(3 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 3:27 PM
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The Soprano ending was throwed, but here's an idea that I stole from another thread....Maybe Tony NEVER came out of the coma in the first place. Cause remember in part one of season six when he was talkin to his brother-in-law, they was saying how when you die everything turns black? Just a thought.
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50
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10/2/07
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(2 of 29)
Re: How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 28, 2008 1:09 AM
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anything will be better than that shit of an ending. right after i saw the ending i said "fuck this shit i did not waste all that money on the dvds for this shit!". i sold all my sopranos dvds the next day. i didn't buy the season 6 set either. i'm watching the finale of the wire and buying the set the day it comes out on dvd.
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10
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2/20/08
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(1 of 29)
How much better will the Wire's Series Finale be than the Sopranos'?
Feb 27, 2008 11:27 PM
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The bar is set incredibly low (a blackout! $%#@ YOU David Chase!
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