My major TV-watching project this year has been watching The Sopranos. Lisa and I started watching it together around the beginning of 2010, but when I broke my arm in the second week of the year, it resulted in way too much sitting-around-and-resting time for me to wait for her to watch the rest. So, over the course of the last few months, I've plowed through the series' 86 hour-long episodes on my own. This culminated in a mini-marathon yesterday, when I watched the final six episodes and eventually, at about 1:30 am, saw that infamous "Don't Stop Believin"(*) final scene that I'd read so much about. Loved it. The performances, the story arcs, the dream sequences. It was all great.
(*) I'm on the fence about Glee as a whole, but the pilot for that show was fantastic, and pretty much defined by the performance of "Don't Stop Believin" at the end. Add that to this Sopranos episode and even a pretty solid moment in a third season episode of Scrubs and I feel like it's become the go-to TV-moment song. "Hallelujah," you're yesterday's news.
So, as a sort of instant, reactionary exercise, a few indelible moments from the series as a whole. Those who don't want to be spoiled should probably stop reading now, if you haven't already....
Livia and Junior conspire to kill Tony
1.10: Nobody Knows Anything
YouTube
I have to admit that it took me a while to appreciate how amazing Livia was as a character. The way she played the "poor me" (not to be confused with "oh, poor you") angle while subtly manipulating everyone around her was a pretty terrific character study. Her ability to put the idea of whacking Tony into Junior's head and then back away from any responsibility in these scenes is amazing.
The failed hit on Tony
1.12: Isabella
YouTube
The first really memorable action sequence involving one of the main characters, this scene was also a good example of how well The Sopranos utilized music to create a certain mood. Sure, The Wire's ability to avoid it altogether was admirable, but sometimes the right song, edited the right way, can have a huge impact. Here, it depicted Tony finally snapping out of a depression-induced haze and saving his life.
Livia's wake
3.2: Proshai, Livushka
YouTube
I'm glad this Youtube sequence is as long at is, but I wish it was even longer. Because the scenes leading up to the wake, showing how the various characters prepared for it, were tremendous too. But man... this scene just brings one great moment after another. Janice awkwardly forcing people to try to something nice about Livia. Fanny, the woman who Livia once ran over with her car, being the only one to say something nice about her. Chris, high out of his mind, delivering a nonsensical monologue that ended with him unable to remember what his point was. And finally, Carmela and her dad telling it like it is.
Ralph kills Tracee the stripper
3.6: University
YouTube
This was the episode that killed any notion I had that these characters weren't that bad. It wasn't just this horrifically violent scene, where Ralph destroys Tracee's dreams, then kills her and their unborn child. It was the treatment she received from a slew of the series' protagonists over the course of the hour. Because of this episode, the Kinks' "Living on a Thin Line," which Tracee dances to at one point, still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Jackie Jr.'s failed attempt to rob the card game
3.12: Amour Fou
YouTube
One of the best action sequences of the series, this reminded me of the episode in the second season of The Wire where Ziggy Sobotka seals his fate by shooting up Double-G and company. Jackie Aprile Jr. had been established as a screw-up, but to see him ruin his life in such dramatic, devastating fashion was mesmerizing.
Christopher's intervention
4.10: The Strong, Silent Type
YouTube
All due respect to Arrested Development, this is the most hilariously disastrous intervention I've ever seen on television. I'm not an expert on these things, but I don't think they're supposed to end with the subject of the intervention cracking his skull after being attacked by his supporters. The sequence also features one of my favourite exchanges in the entire series:
Silvio: "When I came in to open up one morning, there you were with your head half in the toilet. Your hair was in the toilet water. Disgusting."
Christopher: "I told you I had the flu!"
Silvio: "I said my piece, Chrissy."
It's impossible for me to watch this without laughing.
Tony and Carmela separate
4.13: Whitecaps
YouTube
The acting throughout the entire series was mostly superb, but if I had to point to one episode as a tour-de-force display of acting prowess, it'd be "Whitecaps." The domestic problems between Tony and Carmela came to a head in this one, and James Gandolfini and Edie Falco just nailed it in every one of their scenes. Incredible.
A.J.'s suicide attempt + Tony knocks Coco's teeth out
6.19: The Second Coming
YouTube + YouTube
One of my favourite episodes of the series in large part due to these two sequences. A.J. immediately regretting his attempt to kill himself but unable to save himself until Tony came home was one of the most devastating scenes I've ever seen on television. I have to admit there was times during the series when I wasn't a huge fan of Robert Iler (A.J.), but that sequence... wow. As for Tony's retaliation on the New York crew after Coco harassed Meadow... well, the series had some brutal moments, but Coco getting his teeth knocked out was the only one that made me yell at my screen in shock/disgust/whatever-else. Brutal.
The final scene
6.21: Made in America
YouTube
Everyone's already said everything that can be said about this scene and this episode, so I'll just add: I love it, and I'm totally on board with David Chase's style of television-making. I really like something he said in regard to the Russian from "Pine Barrens," whose whereabouts remained unknown: "They shot a guy. Who knows where he went? Who cares about some Russian? This is what Hollywood has done to America. Do you have to have closure on every little thing? Isn't there any mystery in the world?" I think the same could be said about the series' final scene. Who knows what happened after the screen went black. Whether Tony was killed, arrested, or continued to eat onion rings in peace is up for the viewer to decide, with the help of a slew of hints. And that's all I need. People who want everything spelled out explicitly are the most irritating kind of TV viewers, and I imagine I'll be saying the same thing on Monday, after Lost's series finale. Do you have to have closure on every little thing? Of course, in fairness, I also don't expect Lost to leave questions unanswered as effectively and interestingly as The Sopranos did. Kudos, David Chase.
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