The Sopranos: “Fade To Black”

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The last episode of The Sopranos debuted last night, and once again the writers left the gate wide open. The series ended with Tony waiting on his family in a diner. Yeah, that’s it. After 85 episodes the series ended like that. It left the viewer to assume its own closing. Yes, he did do away with his major enemy, but what about Tony? Is he going to get indicted by the feds? His son seemed to do away with his demons, and Meadow looked to be on track for a successful career as an attorney, but what about the family? Tony went and buried the hatchet with his Uncle Junior, made peace with the New York Mafia, and went and visited his crony Silvio in the hospital. As usual the writers left the doors open on another story. Remember the Russian guy that Pauly and Christopher was chasing through the woods, or what about the guy that was in love with Carmella that wanted to kill Tony? Just so many parts of the story left unfinished. With everyone wondering what would happen to Tony in this last episode, no one imagined a finish like this one. The ending left the viewers wanting more, but with some of the actors not wanting to be in character anymore, we will just have to live with the results. I couldn’t have imagined a better resolve for the series, the death of Tony would have been like so many other gangster movies. So letting him live was the best resolution, at least Phil went out in a comical way (getting shot in the dome, and then having his head crushed by his own car!) Some speculate about a movie, I’ve heard about a prequel movie, but the way it ended last night I wonder will the movie be a continuation where it left off, or will it even be a movie? But with all of that said, I would like to bid farewell to one of my favorite shows on television. What to do on Sundays now there’s no more Sopranos? I know this much, this has been one of the best directing and acting jobs on television, and Sundays will never be the same.