I just wanted to say, I really did love the way the Soprano's ended. The whole episode was very reflective of most of the Sopranos -- real life goes on, there are no real book-ends. There is resolution of a sort (the NY war). But Tony & family "goes on, and on, and on, and on...." It reminds me of an episode in Season 3, where Patsy Parisi threatens Gloria with a gun mid-episode, and then ends the episode picking up groceries.
Yes, the cut to black was jarring.
Yes, I thought my cable cut out.
When the credits rolled, I laughed.
But, what a scene -- every trick in the book was created to raise tension, to get the viewer into Tony's state of mind. Everyone entering the diner was a potential hit man. Externally, he was just Tony: "focus on the good times". Inside, he was a knot of paranoia. And so were we.
I felt frustrated, but also relieved.
And then, I thought back, and liked the journey.
The ending works, not because it was a cop out, but because it makes you feel. It celebrates the utter ridiculousness of life, like Meadow's inability to parallel park, the weirdness when surrounded by strangers that keep looking at you, and those moments of clarity that happen in the silliest places, like, oh, when you're in a diner, groovin' to a Journey song.
Don't stop believin', indeed.
