Arriverderci

Let me start by saying fuck you David Chase, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

This past weekend, the greatest series on TV ended and it was by far the best ending you could have hoped for. Grant it, I was pissed, like most of you were at first, but when you think about it, it is a ingenious ending.

People spent the last week talking about this ending. Some said it prompted them to cancel their subscription to HBO, while others took it to think of how it really ended. Did Tony die? Was the family massacred? Did Meadow double check her car was parked right? Did those onion rings taste good? Who was that crazy guy that went to the bathroom? The open-ended questions that leave us with no answers doesn't set up for a movie, but with a debate that will never have an answer.

Was it a diabolical move by show creator David Chase? He says no, fans of the show say yes. Either way, Chase had you in his hand in the last ten minutes of that show and smacked you in the face with darkness. He let you in on the path that other characters on the show will follow. He let you see the family together one last time and…cut to black, no music. Silence!

Who was the one whacked? Tony, the family, or you? The movie goes on and on, as the song suggests. It is really whacked out that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is not the anthem for two of the biggest moments in my life watching events. The theme of the 2005 White Sox and the Sopranos finale.

I figured I would give my five favorite episodes of the show, and if you would like to do the same, feel free to e-mail me. No specific order.

5-I really love the first episode. Tony with the birds and you really get a sense of who he is and how troubled his life is. It is a great set up for the rest of the season.

4-The finale of season one. How all the events come down and how it all trickles into the domino effect that puts Tony in charge. You don't know where puss went, Junior goes to jail, Tony gets to all the people who are trying to take him down, and he even goes after his own mother who is on the stretcher on the way into the hospital. Classic.

3-Love the poker game episode with Frank Sinatra Jr. I think that would be tied with the episode where Chris finds our Adriana is working with the feds. The set up for that is so Soprano like.

2-You have to love the one where Tony gets Ralph and you see the head go into the bowling bag. Christopher is so strung out during all of this and you see it through his eyes. Also remember when Tony goes to Gloria's house to eat dinner and gets the steak thrown at his face realizing how crazy she is.

1-The season 2 finale where they shoot Big Pussy. You felt the pain of Tony, Paulie, and Sil but they had to do what they had to do. It was funny because this was reenacted in the last nine with Paulie and Tony. Everyone thought Tony was going to do away with Paulie.

There were many great moments in the show. I will miss the Sopranos and yes I know everyone and their mother thinks this is the setup for a movie. No way! The Sopranos are done and there is nothing we can do about it.

Famiglia del soprano di buona sera. Il dio di maggio li trasmette ad un posto piacevole alla fine.

JAE