Sopranos

Jun 22, 2007 00:54

This is an analysis of the last Sopranos episode form someone who has only ever watched four minutes of The Sopranos ever (the last four minutes). Pay no attention to this entry ( Read more... )

ui

Leave a comment

BobHarris(and You) are wrong! anonymous June 22 2007, 20:45:46 UTC
If Tony died, who killed him? Have you ever thought to raise that very poignant question. He has peace with New York. Phil is dead. Tony's crew is behind him.

Who could have killed (or ordered the killing of) Tony Soprano? If you can't answer this question with information/facts from the series, then the logical conclusion is no one!!!

Can you imagine Chase going through all of this hard work -- as Bob Harris and others allege -- of altering color palettes, redesigning Holstens, airing the commercial in Silvio's hospital room et al AND then forget to even suggest who may not only want to kill Tony but have the means to do it?

Does that make sense to you?

Here are some more of my thoughts:
I watched the final scene again last night (for the third time) and frame by frame.

Bob Harris overstates what he says are “clues” to Tony dieing. First of all, the colors in the diner are not subdued or filtered out. There are light colors there. May be Bob Harris has a crappy TV.

Secondly, not everyone at the table is wearing black. AJ is wearing gray and Tony is wearing a combination of both gray and black.

Thirdly, Bob Harris repeatedly shows screen shots to illustrate the Members Only Jacket guy was constantly staring at Tony. In reality there are only two occasions where he looks over his shoulder. Bob Harris makes it seem like more than that.

Fourthly, the screen goes to black for about 12 to 13 seconds - not 10, based on my count, which debunks the “magic bullet” theory (i.e., the commercial playing in Silvio’s hospital room was a foreshadowing of Tony’s death. This was not a Bob Harris theory but should be debunked nonetheless.)

Fifthly, Bob Harris, and others, describe that whenever someone comes through the door, the viewer is shown Tony’s face then we look at the door through Tony’s eyes, or his point-of-view. They use this to explain that when the screen goes black, we’re looking through Tony’s P-O-V, so when it goes black, it’s as if Tony dies. But rewatch the final scene. When the door opens on some occasions, you see a side view of Tony’s face, not the dead on camera shot straight in Tony’s mug as you see when Meadow is presumably walking in the door before the cut to black.

Lastly, look at Tony’s face right before the screen cuts to black. There is an honest look of terror on his face. I looked at it frame by frame. Before Meadow (we think) walks in, Tony looks like he’s about to put more money in the jukebox and change the song, but then someone comes through the door and there’s this honest look of surprise on his face before we cut to black. Can someone forward some of those screenshots to Mr. Bob Harris? Let’s see if he has the guts to post that?

Reply

Re: BobHarris(and You) are wrong! anonymous March 28 2008, 16:34:21 UTC
I think a lot of what Bob says is true, but Tony's not dead. Here's an email I sent to Bob. BTW, good point about Who?

Your article about the last scene in The Sopranos has a lot of merit, and I have no doubt that much of what you point out is intentionally there. But Tony is not dead and this is why.

He never actually gets shot. Unlike American Beauty, the audience is not questioning who the shooter is, but if the shooting too place. Big difference. As symbolic as this scene is, the deed is never shown. Thus he's alive.

Why would the Members Only man go to the toilet first if he's going to shoot Tony? Just whack him. As a side note, it's possible the Members Only guy knows Tony and is on his side, so to speak. Which would explain why Tony ignores him. Note, Tony is exceptionally good at avoiding death. Sure, he got blindsided by Junior, but that was totally out of left field; and in the end, he survived anyway. In this scene, he's got to still be unsure about his safety. Remember when Junior and his mom tried to kill Tony? Even in his depressed state he managed to escape with his life. Also, when Tony saw John at his house and the police came in, John got caught but Tony escaped. He's got great instincts and personal luck so it's hard to believe he's going to get shot in a restaurant when he's still worried about his safety. In the end, even if the guy comes out intending to shoot Tony, there's no guarantee he would succeed where so many have failed, even given all the symbolism.

The song that's playing is essentially uplifting. In a scene that even you admit is about Tony it just doesn't fly that the song, which dominates the scene and suggests its very mood, is about Carmela. Plus, the song doesn't end at a random spot, it ends on Tony with the words "Don't stop" which is undeniably sung in an inspiring way. Not a deathly comment.

I also want to point out your summation does not sufficiently explain Meadow. I don't know where she's going, she might not even be entering the same restaurant her family's in. But she's a rather important part of this scene and any theory of it should account for that.

Again, good incites, and I understand it's all meant as good fun. Indeed, we need that in this world. The "good times," as Tony and AJ call it.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up