Made In America . . . The Sopranos Family Ties Cut Chord

Tomorrow. One day.
And in less than one hour of small screen time, millions will watch a bittersweet ending to The Sopranos.

This feels alot different than anticipating the last episode of MASH, Seinfeld, or Friends.

Mastermind David Chase began picking off our closest "Family Ties" clan before Memorial Day. Tony's cold-blooded suffocation of Christopher left most of us rationalizing the act. Of course Tony would kill Christopher, he'd become more than a liability for Tony, we'd been waiting for Christopher to take a powder.

Of course Dr. Melfi cuts the chord to Tony, we figured she would. Finally. A great line in last Sunday's episode occurred as Melfi sat at a dinner table with fellow shrinks. Discussion turned to the relationship between shrinks and criminal sociopaths. Elliot offers a clue about Melfi's star patient, "the answer is: a female opera singer and gangster." As Silvio and Patsy leave the Bada Bing for Patsy's car, you know it's an ambush waiting to happen. When Bobby heads into the train shop, you know he won't come out.

Can I say this now? I've never cared for the Soprano kids. Not AJ in his meltdown, tragic and ironic as it is. Or Meadow as she matures into a respectable moral beacon of hope for Carmella and Tony. No matter what Meadow becomes, it doesn't stand up to Tony's expectation for AJ. Of course not, gender has a pecking order.



I figure Tony's done for. One day. We'll watch and see.

Photo: HBO