Some serials are born by breaking the mold, and then sooner or later they adapt to the expectations formed around them, or even lose their old form. Then there is something like (very strange) ‘sopranos‘. It wasn’t the series that invented good television, but its complex serialized narrative or offbeat protagonist broke new ground for the media. And even when it’s time to say goodbye David Chase, creatorHe avoided all kinds of complacency and He wanted the audience to learn to live with uncertainty. Forever. Or at least for a long time.
When we talk about the episode ‘Made in America’ (June 10, 2007), written and directed by Chase, we tend to skip the first fifty-two minutes to focus on the last four and a half minutes. The soprano family met at a restaurant called Holsten’s, to be precise. Complex patriarch Tony (James Gandolin) is first come. Browse the little jukebox on his desk and select the theme ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ by Journeywho started playing like his wife Carmela (edie falco) enter through the door. Daughters Meadow (Jamie Lynn Siger), you are having trouble parking. Enter his son AJ (Robert Iler), right behind an intriguing man who will soon be staring at the family openly from the bar. This last character enters the bathroom as the other two men enter through the door of the facility. Everyone and everything seems to be a threat. Looks like Meadow is finally coming. A ‘ding-a-ling’ sound came from the door and Tony looked up. Cut to black.
black seven long secondsin silence, in silence before a few credits. (The black-on-black was supposed to last until the final appearance of the HBO logo, but the Executives Guild refused to waive the rule that prevented Chase from doing just that.) Viewers are overwhelmed with confusion, and thousands decide to call their cable providers to ask what happened to HBO.
different visions
Not only in the days, but also in the following years, the conversations continued in a heated way. Did Chase insult his audience, or rather, rely on his ability to read certain signals without the need for anything obvious? Were there signs to read or was this really open-ended? It was asked more clearly: Did they kill Tony or not?
For those who believed it, the signs did indeed exist. Tony and his brother-in-law Robert (Steve R Schirripa) talked about how exposed you are when you become a gangster. “You probably won’t even hear it when it happens, right?”Bobby Bacala commented. The recalled conversation in the final moments of ‘Blue Comet’, the episode just before ‘Made in America’, made things worse.
For those who were confident that Tony Soprano would survive (for now), this ending meant that Tony would stay on the alert for the rest of his life. And black seven seconds? Ellipses to be filled as desired; not necessarily with the flavors of death.
Versions of Chase
In an interview with ‘The Star-Ledger’ shortly after the statement was released, Chase said he was not interested in “explaining, defending, reinterpreting or adding to what was out there”. And he remained in this position for many years. The surprise came at the beginning of 2019, when she was interviewed. Alan sepinwall And Matt Zoller Seitz He spoke of the ending for his book ‘The Sopranos Sessions’: “death scene”Something that Holsten later corrected, making sure he was talking about another scene that was left on the road and not his scene.
But in November 2021, he experienced another obvious shift, this time in the middle of a conversation with “The Hollywood Reporter.” as described scott feinbergFor a while, Tony played with a scene where Tony would drive from New Jersey to New York (i.e. the reverse of the iconic opening credits) and arrive at a meeting where he was executed, but eventually changed his mind. It passes by a small restaurant on Ocean Park Boulevard. And for some reason I thought: “Tony should die in a place like this”. Because? I don’t know”
The conundrum appears to be resolved, but it can be argued that the author’s vision of his own work is not the only one and necessarily the most important. So if you want to believe that Tony is still alive and scared somewhere, you’re right. You can fill in these three dots to your liking. Yes definitely, they are overwhelming as a metaphor for sudden death.