The Sopranos' Swan Song

I have only been a fan of "The Sopranos" since its January inception on the A & E television network. Not one to be an avid viewer of any series, I have surprised myself with my addiction to the show. I figure that, in June, we are about one-half way through the series since Meadow was 15 at the beginning of the show and is now 19. I could not resist, however, listening to the ending of the series with the immediate analyses on June 11.

Many theories are floating around about the meaning of the blackout scene as Tony and his family sit in the diner. These include the idea that for Tony and crew life simply goes on. Others, however, insist upon moderating the conclusion to have Tony wake up after a long nightmare to express to his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, his astonishment at dreaming he was a mobster. My favorite, and the one I agree with, is that Tony was killed in the final scene by an unknown assassin; "After all, the best of us never see it coming," one critic said. This conclusion is the most logical, rather than a scenario where he and his family live happily ever after in a witness protection program. After all, Tony is a killer, and sometimes justice can take place on earth. Critics have often commented on the Shakespearean allusions in the series, and I would like to add another comparison to that of King Lear. I believe Tony represents the same type of royalty, albeit Mobster royalty, that Lear does.

Shakespeare begins his famous tragedy with a scene that shows Lear at one of his most prideful moments. He is demanding loyalty and expressions of love from his three daughters. They give him their fealty generally, but one does not utter the words Lear expects. As a result, two daughters are given his kingdom early, and one daughter is disowned. The climax of the play follows the traditional five act structure, and in the middle of the play we see Lear, along with his clown, raving to the heavens about his daughters' mistreatment of him. It is at this point when the audience realizes with horror that Lear has lost his sanity. By the time the play ends, he has ironically realized that the only daughter who loved him was the one he disowned. She and he both die at the play's conclusion.

Likewise, Tony when the series begins is building up his power in the state of New Jersey. The previous mobster Jackie is dying of cancer, and his own uncle, Junior, is becoming weak and irrelevant. Tony demands absolute fealty from his captains and frequently tests their loyalty by having them "wack" the enemies or traitors. One by one as the series goes on, the knights around Tony die. By the series' end, he has an uncle who is so senile that he doesn't remember his days as king of New Jersey; Junior simply replies, "That's nice" when Tony reminds him of his previous power.

For the final scene in the diner, the door opens, and Tony looks up only to have the television screen go blank. Many questions remain, and many have argued writer David Chase has simply left the series open in order to screen a big film later. I tend, however, to agree with Carmela earlier in the series when she says, "Everything's going to end, Tony." I believe it has for this character though we hope for Tony that his daughter Meadow lives (after all she is parking the car and has not entered the diner yet) to become the professional she dreams of being and can somehow make up for all the evil Tony has committed.