EARLY ACCESS: THE SOPRANOS | The Finale | First Time Watching | TV Reaction

man when the soprano finale was on air, people with cable literally started smacking their tv thinking the signal got cut. XD I can't remember a single TV or movie that ended so abruptly like Sopranos did. But regardless of whether Tony died or not, the story is over, that is the message, nothing else mattes because the story teller is done/.

hotslimjim

Go watch Fargo the tv series.

Jonathan

I got to watch every episode of my favorite show with you guys - thank you for the ride!! I HIGHLY recommend watching the 20 year reunion of the cast, on their Today show interview (youtube). It's sad not to see James Gandolfini with them, but you can really sense the love that the cast had for each other.

Dusty J

Deadwood and Rome.. TWo favorites.

Dan Leas (Elzar760)

🤦🏽‍♀️

Man, Carnivale is one of my favorite shows ever. So unique and original, unlike any other show or any film for that matter. I HATE it was canceled short of its intended 6 season run, those two seasons are some truly inventive amazing stuff. I'd love to see them react to it, that show needs a resurgence and to finally get it's due credit. More people need to see it. I'll never get over it being taken, though the finale is an amazing ending to a lot of the story, just so much more that was planned. Love that show to death. HBO really was the pinnacle of artistic, untampered wide open storytelling in the 2000s, partly 2010s. Also had FX and etc following them for a while, amazing time. The Shield is another top show. HBO really fell off at some point and TV as a whole kind of has I think. It's sad thinking back on just how amazing and sprawling things were back then, pure artistry, only intent in that time was to make great art and tell great stories seemed like, the true golden age of television.

No, it's the exact OPPOSITE of that. That was the whole point I was making. There is no "secret ending." There are hints and indications but we're left without a resolution.

Patrick Flanagan

Yep. The supernatural stuff is so often overlooked on this show but I think it’s one it’s more fascinating aspects. Like…how many shows that are “serious crime dramas” have ghosts appear in mirror’s, psychic’s that aren’t revealed to be frauds in the end, Virgin Mary sightings, and trips to purgatory/alternate dimensions.

Stan the Man

@Nathan. I’ve always wondered if Meadow was going to announce she was pregnant. Carmela mentions she went to the doctor to switch Birth Control, she clearly frazzled and excited about something. All Tony wanted in the world was to “hold Meadow’s grandkids on his lap” so the ending becomes extra tragic if that’s what Meadow was rushing into the restaurant to tell her family. Instead she saw her father getting his head blown off. Man…I seriously think the ending of this show is one of the finest artistic statements and achievements in television history. There’s so many levels to it and it was so perfectly “The Sopranos” in all it confounding anti climactic glory

Stan the Man

I 2nd Deadwood. Some of the greatest dialogue ever written in that show. I think they should go “The Wire” next, then Deadwood, then Rome. Man..HBO was really the shit back in the day. Band of Brothers, Sopranos, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Deadwood, Rome. I even loved Carnivale.

Stan the Man

Some people get it and some people don’t. Apparently Mr. Flanagan is under the impression nothing mysterious happened in this show and everything is neatly packaged in a nice bow.

Stan the Man

Definitely The Wire.

Stan the Man

These fan theories are why this is one of the greatest endings of all time. What other finale has this much discourse and such a strong legacy. Lost maybe? But not in the same way and certainly not in a positive way lol. This one is more evenly split where both interpretations or a third "it doesn't matter" answer are all good endings of the show. There's a reason while initial reactions to the ending where mixed when it aired and has become more positive as time went on. There's a lot of depth to it.

Veya

Yeah I loved the movie. I watched the show when it was airing and rewatched a million times over the years and eventually got where I thought new Deadwood would never ever happen. To see the movie happen was amazing after all those years and the fact it managed to capture the spirit and feel of the show as if not a beat was skipped, unlike so so many other years later revivals, amazing. Glad David Milch managed to do it when he did since he sadly apparently has been diagnosed with alzheimers. One of the best writers of all time.

Deadwood has a movie though that ended that series beautifully. That final scene of the movie is one of the best I've seen and so perfectly encapsulates the show. I wouldn't mind a deadwood reaction (if they haven't watched of course).

Veya

The editing definitely is a strong argument for his death and I always liked how it was so uniquely shot. But there's arguments for either he lives, or it simply doesn't matter as well. If it's his POV, and the show and *MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK SPOILERS* heavily implies in the former and outright confirms in the latter that there is indeed an afterlife, why would it go black for Tony? That more implies that there's nothing after death. There also wasn't really a strong plot reason for his death. Chase left it ambiguous and some small threads that can invite some theories, but from plot perspective they're all pretty weak. Not saying he's definitely alive and I lean towards that he's dead as well but this show always leaned on ambiguity and I don't think you could actually definitively say which is true because at the end of the day, they did end it with a black screen and a long pause.

Veya

Yeah, think I said it somewhere else, Mad Men would not be the best reaction for this channel if we're judging from the Sopranos one. It's theme heavy with even less big things happening. It's also less funny. Still one of the best shows just maybe not the best fit. The Wire would probably make a better reaction.

Veya

I'm with you on Deadwood! Excellent show that was prematurely cancelled for bullshit reasons (budget). But I recall Mr. Movies mentioning on YT that they've already seen it. Could be wrong though.

JG

Please do Deadwood now! You gotta do all the classic HBO golden age series, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Rome, etc. Deadwood would be my top choice though, just brilliant and right up there with Sopranos imo. On another note, Boardwalk Empire would maybe be a fun show to react to and it is kind of a follow up to The Sopranos in that it is a HBO gangster themed show written by Terrence Winter of Sopranos fame. Great show.

Yes, and Meadow failing to parallel park twice and then succeeding the third time symbolizes the attempts on Tony's life that happened in the series. He was shot 2 times and lived, but the 3rd time got him.

Nathan Bishop

Paulie's life also almost ended from 3 o'clock. Tony was at Paulie's 3 o'clock when he was contemplating killing him on the boat.

Nathan Bishop

ugh, all these annoying fan theories, haha

Patrick Flanagan

I saw a great breakdown of the scene and what they theorized everything in the ending moments meant. One thing I totally agreed with from that video was that every time the bell rang for someone coming in, you see tony look up at the door, then it cuts to what Tony sees from his viewpoint. The last time the bell rings, Tony looks up, and then there’s just a black screen, because they couldn’t cut to tony’s viewpoint again because he didn’t have a viewpoint because he was dead. I always thought he lived, but that explanation and the fact that it repeats the pattern several times except the last one kinda makes me think it’s correct.

Dan Leas (Elzar760)

Mad Men is a great show. One of the greatest. But I’m not sure it would make the best “reaction” content. Sopranos has betrayals and beatings and killings and gun violence + the comedy and the drama. Mad Men has the drama + the comedy but besides a dudes foot getting run over by a lawn mower there isn’t too much violence or action.

Stan the Man

And that guy, Eugene, wore a “Members Only” jacket(which Vito mentions). The guy who probably killed Tony is wearing that exact same Members Only jacket

Stan the Man

Or Mad Men. It's considered to be the spiritual successor to The Sopranos.

Pete

The gunshot came at Tony's...wait for it...3:00. Both Tony & Paulie received a message from hell when Christopher was in a coma, the message was 3:00. Only Tony & Paulie had paranormal experiences throughout the show. Only Paulie heeded the warnings and changed his ways with his mother after the final paranormal experience with the Virgin Mary. Tony blew off every experience from the beyond that he had, and never changed his ways. In the end Paulie is the sole survivor of our original crew, and Tony's life cut to black.

Wayne Delaune (cardaderdention)

So speaking of when Chris was made.. there was another guy made at the same time. Early in ssn 6 that guy asked to leave the family, to move with his wife n kids to Florida. Tony said no and the guy hanged himself.

abz

Such a great series and great journey with you two. Go back and watch when Tony enters the restaurant. Tony sees himself sitting at the table when he enters. Which is a death omen. I've heard some theories that he was purgatory by then.

The Wire. The next show has gotta be The Wire.

Stan the Man