I never thought we were going to get closure, but perhaps the issue was that we got too much of it. A lot of it just felt, for a lack of a better word, cheesy to me. Complex story lines that were developed over several years were tied up with amazing ease, especially the whole feud with NY. I predicted that Tony would win, but lose something important in the process. I thought that "something important" was someone in his family, but really it was his invincibility. As Agent Harris said, "we won" the battle, but the war is far from over - and the end could come at any moment, whether in the form of grand jury testimony or a shady looking dude coming out of the bathroom.
My real problem was that the way we got there just felt very clumsy.
And the whole thing at the end with Meadow seemed incredibly lame. And sorry to nitpick, but where does one find a $170k a year job at a law firm WHEN YOU HAVEN'T GONE TO LAW SCHOOL? Give me a break. And AJ driving the BMW and having everything go right? I don't know - it just seemed like a cheesy ending better suited for a movie like Mean Girls or something starring Hugh Grant.
As usual, I need to re-watch it, so I'm not ready to call it the worst series finale ever, but it was definitely no Six Feet Under. Right now, though, I'm feeling incredibly underwhelmed. The whole thing felt like a copout - a disappointing, and somewhat cheesy, ending to one of the most brilliant shows ever on television.
Random Thoughts:
The cat was perhaps the most hilarious thing in this episode.
No focus on white shoes in this episode, and none of the macro camera work that appeared in the penultimate episode.
As usual, the music was excellent. Some lyrics to Don't Stop Believing, the Journey song Tony picked, are perhaps particularly relevant.
Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
(chorus)
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlight people
And given the music's importance in the series, was Tony's indecision in picking the music at the end perhaps symbolic of Chase struggling on how to end the series?
Or, as a friend commented: "I don't know about you guys, but while Meadow was parking, I could have SWORE I saw Fonzie roll by and jump over a shark."
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