Soprano's 5th Season Finale (6/4) (Spoilers)

I'm disappointed. This episode stunk. About the only good thing was seeing A.J.'s new girlfriend.

Overall, this season had it's moments but it was a big down.

 

As I've said before, I think the eight extra episodes really hurt Chase in these 12. There were several storylines throughout the season that were obviously stretched -- Vito's shit was one of them, Carmella and that damn spec house was another.

If I remember correctly, this season was originally supposed to have just 10 episodes and that was to be all. Then Chase came back and said he needed a few more and the season was stretched to 16 episodes. At some point, he came back and said he needed at least a two-hour series finale to wrap it all up and the HBO folks then pitched the 12+8 format. Can't remember where I read that, but it was some time ago.

Anyway, I think all of that really crushed the flow of this season. You boil it down to the basics of this season and things aren't bad. But you flesh it out to 12 episodes, it's not so damn good. I don't think Chase is struggling with how to end the show. I think he was struggling trying to fill up all this time. I believe he's known how he wanted to end it all for some time now. He's just got to get there. And he's had one helluva time doing that over the last 12 shows.

 

I waited two years...for this?

 

So who wants to start the first Entourage thread?
"Wanna hug it out bitch?"

 

in case you haven't figured it out, alan sepinwall is so far up chase's backside you'd need a submarine to fish him out. he's no different from a homer columnist who thinks he's friends with the head coach. chase explains to sepinwall what he's thinking with the episodes and sepinwall writes a rationalization each week of why we shouldn't be bored.

 

It would have worked better as a series finale than a season finale. This season was about Tony's redemption, but really was about the compromises that he makes in learning to live with himself. He (and most others) are, to different degrees, happier, but nowhere near happy or safe. His parenting worked well with AJ, but he is not really a better husband to Carm.

I thought that the Chrissy story was, in a way, supposed to parallel, Tony's. Chrissy is trying to rationalize the chocies and sacrifices which he has made in life, and is failing. They were teasing his death in every scene and from every angle as well.

Having said that, I agree with Sepinwall (who is an excellent columnist and nowhere near a homer). This episode left me cold at the end. Chase is never going to wrap everything (or maybe anything) up in a neat bow and the final scenes of most seasons are usually strange. But when you compare it to something like Whitecaps, it was lacking in emotional energy.

 

yeah JW, we've figured that out.

i agree that this episode sucked. the whole season was frustrating. i'll tune in for the final eight just to see how it all ends because i've been watching since the beginning and this is still better than 85 percent of TV.

AJ might be exhibiting signs of being a responsible adult, but no way is he ready to be a father figure to a three-year-old. that relationship has the potential for fireworks and disaster. i suspect phil won't remember what tony said to him and someone on tony's team will get whacked. here's hoping it's paule, syl or chris and not some loser nobody like doogie howser's pal. oh, and agent harris' tip was interesting -- does that go anywhere?

some of the plotlines were just stupid yesterday. we all know carmela deludes herself into thinking that her husband is a nice guy but how could she possibly not understand that adrianna was whacked? i think a real mob boss' wife doesn't ask so many questions. she has to know what happened. it's part of the bargain of marrying into the mob and living the lifestyle.

 

Kind of like columnists who write what an honest and moral man Herm Edwards is.

 

Well, now that Herm Edwards is the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, he's the best person in the NFL.

 

Anybody else think that Phil's lieutenant, the little guy who spoke to Tony as he left Phil's room, will wind up igniting the war we're all hoping for?

 

Maybe, or he may have been proof that Syl's line about "the devil you know" was correct.

 

I would have been so pissed if they whacked Chris... He's by far the coolest character on the show...

Margulies looks amazing and she's gotta be mid-40s... Her career hasn't exactly been too stellar since she turned down a small fortune and left ER.