I Love To Hate & Hate To Love The Sopranos Series Finale

After The Many Saints Of Newark was released and it felt like everyone in the universe was talking about Tony Soprano I decided I had to give the show a chance after years of putting it off. Now, I recognize I’m coming to the scene about 10 years too late on this one so no one can get angry with me for any spoilers this may contain. And my anger about the ending of The Sopranos series is probably something many people are over, but it’s definitely more relevant than any spoiler anger someone can have as this is new and fresh to me. 

I have done a lot of research on this topic after finishing the award-winning HBO series starring James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, and many other Hollywood stars. It follows the life of Tony Soprano (Gandolfini) the Italian Mob boss based out of North Jersey. It depicts his life, ranging from his mafia dealings to his home life and the many challenges he faces, from material to parental to yes, Mob boss pressures.

I couldn’t understand for a long time how such a slow-paced show about criminal life had as much hype around it until I watched it for myself. 

Then I hit season 3 and realized how attached I had become to each of the characters and their interpersonal connections. I cared less about the quote-unquote grossly entertaining aspects of it, like the shootouts and mafia relationships but cared much more about the deep family and friend dynamics. And by the end of season 6, I felt like I had become a Soprano. Which leads to why I hated the ending but loved it too. 

As a cinema major, the character development of The Sopranos show is beautiful to me. And, if you break down each episode there is just so much to unpack Talking about each one is like a field day to me. But, after those last 5 seconds of the final episode, I sat there stunned and nearly brought to tears.  It was not because I didn’t know what happened to Tony, I knew he had been shot. But what upset me was that I didn’t know what happened after, to AJ to Meadow, and to Junior and the others. I always knew Tony would eventually die and he did too. They hint at it during the series and even foreshadow it throughout the entire final season. Tony lived his life that way, thinking he was always safe but he never really was. In his business, Tony knew and understood this as he had lived it and we did too. But he never wanted that life for his kids. 

Since the entire final season was very heavily focused on AJ, we wonder what did become of him. Part of me was thankful for the electric truck commercial in the Super Bowl starring Meadow and AJ because at least we learned that they both were okay and still have a good relationship (or at least the commercial makes it seem that way) but what I want to know is did AJ go to war? What did Meadow end up doing and who did she end up with? How was his wife after all those years? 

As for Tony, I feel like we got a lot of closure. He stopped seeing his therapist and was happy in his marriage. He and his sister were finally in a good place, it seems. So, I do love the ending with respect to Tony as a part of me at this point has also grown to love Tony too. But it had become more than Tony, like I said, I always knew he would die. What’s killing ME is that I don’t know what happened after. 

The director was strategic in leaving those last 5 seconds of black, leaving the audience guessing but also having them know deep down what really happened (it’s also a great way to get people buzzing about the show, talk about a marketing genius). Seriously the character development throughout the entire show is something that leaves me in awe. The themes and topics this show covered were rarely being addressed in the early 2000s ranging from toxic masculinity, men being depressed after a breakup, men seeing a therapist, men showing emotions to others and the ridicule that comes with all of it and so much more. His continuity and storyline intertwining was some of the best I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of shows. Like a lot. 

The show, in my personal opinion, was phenomenal and that’s coming from a New Jersey Italian chick who had grandparents from Bloomfield Ave in Newark, NJ (photographed to the left is some of my family’s fresh pasta and gravy from back in the day).  While it does stereotype Italian-Americans from New Jersey in an unflattering way, it's by no means the majority of us. But, it is a reality for some people and they did not glamorize that criminal lifestyle. They addressed the hardships and feelings and emotions that come with that lifestyle, which many do not consider at all. And that is what made it genius. 

So yes. I love to hate and hated to love love to hate and hate to love The Sopranos series finale the same way I love to hate and hate to love Tony (as well as their theme song).