Season Finale!!!!! Sopranos Show #13 "WhiteCaps" (1 Viewer)

[John_Lee]

Why does the fact that his wife has been lying about her diet make Ralphie's comment any less disrespectful?

Johnny had made his wife a martyr to her genes in his mind. He still saw her as the girl he met, but with a medical problem beyond her control. Seeing her hoard the cookies and pies made him realize that she bears at least little responsibility for her condition. It was the subtle difference between disrespecting a loved one and disrespecting a saint.

 

[MikeDeVincenzo]

Shawn
But isn't that how life really works sometimes? Everything doesn't always reach a timely (and I'd argue, artificial) and neat conclusion. And as an audience, I find it refreshing that we're not being catered to at every turn. This reminds me of a long standing debate over the last episodes of the anime series Evangelion..but that's another kettle of fish

 

[Tino]

Excellent finale! Excellent season! Excellent series!
If that finale were a theatrical film, Edie Falco would win Best Actress. Amazing!
This may have been my favorite season yet. Endlessly entertaining, always involving and never dull. Totally and completely satisfying from beginning to end.
Kudos to David Chase and Co. Can't wait for season five. :b

 

[Ike]

By the way, when is season 5?

 

[Michael Reuben]

Season 5 is supposed to begin airing in Sept. 2003.

M.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Excellent finale! Excellent season! Excellent series!

If that finale were a theatrical film, Edie Falco would win Best Actress. Amazing!

This may have been my favorite season yet. Endlessly entertaining, always involving and never dull. Totally and completely satisfying from beginning to end.

I must be watching a different show. IMO, this season was nothing like the others. I'm hoping the series goes out with a bang and not with another season like this one.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the Sopranos. I just think that not a whole lot went on this year. I don't know, maybe I was just expecting a little too much.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Actually, unless they're planning on overlapping, I'd say we won't see Season 5 until at least March 2004. Here's why. I just saw a commercial saying HBO would be running all 4 seasons in a row starting February 2003. That's 52 episodes. Assuming they don't skip a Sunday, that's a year right there.

I think we'll be waiting a little while.

 

[VicRuiz]

No, I think they will be showing two episodes per week. 26 weeks will take us right into September.

 

[Shawn C]

Shawn

But isn't that how life really works sometimes? Everything doesn't always reach a timely (and I'd argue, artificial) and neat conclusion. And as an audience, I find it refreshing that we're not being catered to at every turn. This reminds me of a long standing debate over the last episodes of the anime series Evangelion..but that's another kettle of fish

Well, yeah, BUT. I thought that would have been an excellent way to create tension between he NJ and the Russian mafia. Obviously, the guy made it out since he stole Paulie's car. I would have liked to have seen what happened to they guy when he made it back to his Russian pals with his story.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

That would definitely be cool if they did two a week. I thought the commercial just stated Sundays at 8 EST, but it went by pretty fast.

 

[Tino]

They start shooting season five early next year and is on track for a September 2003 premiere.

Interesting how polarizing this season has been. I loved every minute of it. Go figure.....

 

[doug zdanivsky]

I always thought something would come of the Russian guy Paulie and Christopher failed to whack in Pine Barrens..

Is he still alive? Who else could have stolen the car?

 

[JonZ]

I'd bet money on Paulie getting whacked by the Russian in season 5.

 

[Ken H]

I'm aware of the scene you describe in the basement. I understand that this is the event that caused him to call off the hit. However I do not know WHY. Why does the fact that his wife has been lying about her diet make Ralphie's comment any less disrespectful?

Rob,

First off, he knew the idea of having Ralphie wacked was not approved by Carmine, and would be at best difficult to deal with after. Remember, he made his intentions known to Carmine and was told to leave Ralphie alone.

The whole problem stemmed from Johnny perceiving the comment about his wife as impugning her honor. When he found out she had no honor, the insult no longer seemed misplaced, and by backing out he eliminated having to deal with the aftermath.

 

[Ike]

I think people expecting an action show, and whose expectations of season 5 being a blood bath are preparing themselves for disappointment again. The series really seems to be taking an interesting turn this season-a subtle change in the perception of Tony, which has caused many to view the series in a completely different light.

In previous seasons, Tony was the brooder-the guy who covered his weaknesses by acting like Gary Cooper or the hero loners. He would have an argument with his wife, then he would come back in the club, and the bartender wouldn't know how to work the phone, and he'd beat the shit out of him.

But this season, Tony has been completely torn to shreds. The creators have really shown him in a different light-The Furio/Carm thing showed how much of a perception change there was-Tony comes in drunk after cheating, and he almost blatantly admits it to Carm. He eats her scones. The whole NY/NJ plot line seemed to show that Tony isn't the boss-he really has to answer to other forces. They even have him go to the boss's son, and he also has to fight for time with that guy's step-daughter and her teenage friends.

Tony has also begun to understand how easily he could wind up dead. There have been plot lines (the insurance/business deal with Carm) and a few lines here and there. When they buy Whitecaps, he tells the kids that they'll inherit it. Meadow doesn't like that.

He is being made an island, he is losing everything-he is losing his impulse control, he lost Melfi by pushing her away, he lost Carmela and the children, he lost Big Pussy by his own hand (even if it was justified), he lost Ralphie by his own hand (not justified), he seems to be losing Paulie, he hurt his relationship with Meadow, A.J. seems distant, he lost his mother, he lost Furio, he lost his horse, he lost his trust in Christopher, he lost his trust in Paulie and Syl, and he lost Gloria. The mob seems to be trying to swallow him up. If that didn't make for a compelling season-seeing all this subtly weighing in on him-I don't know what you were expecting.

And while I hate to predict what's going to happen, I can't see this winding up good for Tony. But I can forsee lots of, "Who wants to watch a show about a guy being miserable? It's all whining!"

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Phew! What a season finale though! I doubt I was the only one who took their wife out to dinner after that one!
Too bad Carm let the cat out of the bag about Furio. I was hoping he'd be back next season..

 

[JimC_A]

Did anybody see Big Pussy and Bobby (I don't know their real names) ringside at the Byrd/Holyfield fight tonight?

 

[Chuck C]

well put, Ike

 

[Paul McElligott]

He's supposed to be this big tough guy to do the dirty work and here he is whining over some woman. Gag me. No real mobster muscle would have fallen apart like that.

And how many real-life mobsters have you known?

 

[Joel Turpin]

Count me in as one of the dissenting voices (out of this forum at least) who thought this was an excellent finale to an excellent season.
I suppose you can also count me as one who considers the show to be as much about Tony's personal life as his mob life, and that way from the very first episode of the first season. Heck, the entire first season, IMO, revolved around his relationship with his mother, a member of his family.
I love it when the show bursts into violence. Moreso because I never know when that will be. It's not at the prescribed time that a predictable show would do it.
Many members here have legitimate gripes and dislikes about the series and this season. Some I agree with, others respectfully dissent. Some others would likely be better served by watching something with a higher body count. Pacino's Scarface, perhaps. Reading through the lengthy season thread comes out something like "Boring episode, no whacking" "Boring episode, no one got whacked" "Boring episode, they called off the whacking" "Best episode ever, Ralphie got whacked" "Boring finale, not enough whacking"
If the argument goes that the show was off this season because none of the storylines was compelling or that the execution was poor, I'd disagree but consider the points perfectly valid. No whacking=boring or "jumped the shark" or "I know how they should have written every episode this season and here it is"... Well, those arguments seem to point to persons who would be much happier with other entertainment options entirely. Que sera sera.
What I liked most about this season:
Carmela v. Tony - Great to see her finally stand up for herself. Powerful acting in finale.
Johnny Sacks - Man, it's been tough to see all of the angles this guy's been playing. Definitely seems to be in a perfect position for next season's "villain".
Ralphie gets whacked - Hey, I never said I didn't like the whackings, just don't need 3-4 per week. Besides, I've been wanting him dead since midway through S3, and my wife might have quit watching entirely if he'd made it all the way through this year.
Christopher's intervention - Just one of those classic "fish out of water" moments with the mobsters doing something that normal people would, with hilarious results.
Construction - Found the various permutations of construction schemes fascinating, both in their planning and their execution. Not to mention the amount of trouble that each new scheme caused within the families.
Pie-Oh-My - The ongoing subplot with the horse, Ralphie and Tony made for an oddly fun "triangle". And then it was the catalyst for Ralphie's downfall to boot. Gotta love the mob / horse storylines.
Not so enthusiastic about:
Janice - she could leave the series anytime and I wouldn't miss her at all. When she had her mother to play off of, she provided some nice scheming on the family side of things for Tony. Since then... blech.
Let's not even mention the "scene" with Ralphie. I've tried to burn it from my memory.
Dr. Melfi - Most of the scenes with her this season felt a bit forced to me. Just kind of treading water. Don't necessarily want her off of the show, mind you. But it would be nice to have her feel more like a vital piece of the show and less like an obligation. Just MO.
On the fence about:
Junior - He cracks me up pretty consistently, but I'd like to see him able to do a little bit more on the show if he's going to stick around. Maybe the end of his trial will allow for that.
Carmella / Furio - This too felt a little forced, especially when it first reared it's head. However, I felt they did a good job of playing it out once it got rolling. I do hope he returns at some point next season.
Meadow / AJ - I like the family bits on the show, but neither of these characters really did much for me this season. That is, until the finale, when their reaction to Tony's departure caught me off guard and choked me up a little.
Well, got that rant off of my chest. Probably no one will even get around to reading it, as my viewing was a couple of weeks behind at all times this season (friend taping the shows for me).
Here's to hoping that Season five is so incredible that no one is disappointed!
Joel