SOPRANOS Season 6: Season Finally!!!.. Episode 12: "KAISHA" (1 Viewer)

[Steve K.H.]

No Doubt... some people on here need to "get a room"

(hint... None of the rest of us care if any of you might be partially right or wrong on your theories so please leave it alone or take it somewhere else.

Put another way, even if you are more right than the next person - do you win some large trophy or does this add to your personal legacy?

er... no...

Supplementing rhetoric with personal attacks in a public forum is beyond childish... it causes others to question the social intellect of the contributors.)

---

Now, I too agree this is a different series from previous seasons. I expected as much. To wrap up a season requires a number of episodes creating mini-events that will ultimately explain the master set of eventual circumstances.

The theme of the season appears to me that Tony has now "seen the light" and he is trying to sooth his soul and create a legacy through several contradicatory acts.

It's clear that he is struggling with the fact that that one piece of goodwill is always at the expense of some other party's loss.

E.G.
Johnny Sack is salvaging what he can in a hopeless situation.
Tony is playing the Samaritan to Johnny Sack on the front end yet supplementing this with distasteful business practices - i.e. greater cuts, taking the house at a discount.

The entire season should be entitled "House of Cards". To me, Chase demonstrate a message that the family foundation is extremely fragile and on the verge of collapse - through internal and external pressures.

 

[Steve K.H.]

No Doubt... some people on here need to "get a room"

(hint... None of the rest of us care if any of you might be partially right or wrong on your theories so please leave it alone or take it somewhere else.

Put another way, even if you are more right than the next person - do you win some large trophy or does this add to your personal legacy?

er... no...

Supplementing rhetoric with personal attacks in a public forum is beyond childish... it causes others to question the social intellect of the contributors.)

---

 

[Brent M]

Sadly, you're right and that's my main problem with the show nowadays. It didn't used to be a "soap opera", it was just a powerful and gripping drama. It's definitely not a positive in my eyes when you can lump The Sopranos in with soaps like Desperate Housewives and f***ing Grey's Anatomy instead of great drama like The Shield. Oh, and "I love you Johnny Cakes" has got to be the worst line of dialogue uttered in the history of the show.

BUT, I'm still hoping tonight's next-to-last episode of the season is good.

 

[Tino]

Been doin that for a while now.

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

I thought tonight's episode was really good. Frankly I didn't care for any of Carm's stuff in Paris. However, Tony's side of things are shaping up for what I think is a full out war between Jersey and New York.

Could somebody tell me if there was a previous for the final episode, and if so, what it showed?

 

[todbnla]

Pool Que Vito

Well it appears a battle royale is brewing...a lot of fluff in the episode but the Tony side of it was good...

 

[ScottH]

Yeah...what was that all about? Just more evidence that Chase is limping to the finish line. The rest of the episode was okay, nothing great.

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

Well I'm assuming the extra 8 episodes will be for a war between Jersey and New York. I haven't seen the previews for the last episode, so I don't know. I could probably see 2 episodes worth of stuff being skimmed from this season in order to make everything a little tighter, but overall I'm very happy.

I just think Carm's new found depression and uselessness is being poorly executed, and placing her in Paris hindered that story line furthur.

I know many people here have complained about the focus on second teir characters like Artie and Vito this season, but I think they've been nice little side stories to push along Tony's road to recovery and the losening ties between Jersey and New York. As a whole I think this seaosn is very strong and a lot has happened. The gaps in between episode airings can damage this perception (I've learned to deal with this from previous seasons), so I think many people will have a change of heart when rewatching this season on DVD.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I Figured the "Whacking" Crowd would like it. It was an all around good episode and the "Carm" stuff continues Carm's Eventual Path, what with seeing Adrieanna which leads to her talking to Tony Next week. I Know are expecting a war but be prepared Chase may do this off screen between the break and pick up with the final Eight dealing with the Aftermath. And I'll know they'll be screaming bloody Murder around here if that happens.

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

Well I don't know if I want to "see" the war so much as see it's aftermath or what it does to these two families. It's a really cool concept which Chase and co. have been dangling in front of us for quite some time now. And it the opportunity seems more then ripe - particularly since we know this is the end of the series.

 

[TravisR]

Solid episode. At least, I won't have to read about Vito's storyline ruining the show anymore.

I find Carmela much more interesting than in the last two seasons. Now that her marriage is (sorta) better, she's much less of a shrill bitch. Tony's poor treatment of her was a good reason for her to be that but she irritated me when all's her character was scream and shout at Tony.

It was funny seeing Silvio and Carlo kill Fat Dom with a hand vac and a butcher knife. And Sil's line about not wanting to cut him up in Satriale's because of "all the DNA" was great.

I'd be surprised if there was any type of mob war next season. It'd be cool to see but I don't think it'll happen.

 

[Chris]

As someone who finds the Shield totally unwatchable, I would take that as a compliment

Tonights episode of Sopranos was damn near perfect for me. This entire season has been phenomenal. Tonight's episode was a series of "what ifs" that played out, and we were able to see how they effected the lives of the characters.

Vito had episodes away, where he could have lived a happy life, but he couldn't give up his old life.. and when he comes back, not only is he killed, but his death is the catalyst for more killing. First, as we saw last week, a man who he hit with a vehicle, then another made man with Silvio, and a brewing conflict with New York. The use of his family (SIL) being placed in their home as a reminder of how cruel the whole situation played out was brilliant, IMHO.

I thought it really played out a nice commentary on the entire Johny Cakes storyline. Of all the people who were around Vito, his own family had no love lost for him ("He'll go to Hell") and were willing to kill him (Phil) but Vito's death immediately followed his rejection by Johnny Cakes, someone who loved & accepted him. I thought that was utterly brilliant.

I thought the Carmella storyline was also very strong; by trying to get away from things she realize she never really could get away. Her high school/college ambitions of being an educated socialite were thrown in her face when Meadow rejected it to follow a man, and following when she couldn't drag herself to speak french while in France, despire her having bragged to Tony that she had taken several years of french. I see other people portraying it as a depression, I didn't see it that way. I felt as though she had come to reality. She realized that she had been living vicariously through Meadow and Meadow's successes in school, and when Meadow turned her back on it, it was crushing to her.. and Tony just fell asleep. When she went away, she realized she too had made basically the same choice. Her nest was going to be empty of the one she put the most faith in. All those little lies you tell yourself about who you think you are; Carmella realized she was not that person. I thought placing it in France made it far more powerful, not because of the depression, but because as early as Season 2, Carmella had talked about "seeing the world" and becoming more high-society. When she actually does it, she realizes it's not the person she is anymore. Brilliant.

I get it, I see people in this thread who want to attack each other, fine. If you enjoy the show or not, that's fine. I don't care. I personally enjoy it. And I have found the writing, the nuance, and the storylines of this season to be better then almost anything else on TV. Period.

 

[Brent M]

Since this is a Sopranos thread, I'm not going to debate the greatness of The Shield with you. All I'll say is that I think it's the best written/acted show currently on TV and it's been as consistenly compelling as The Sopranos used to be.

As for tonight, I thought the episode was much better than the last few weeks and I was glad to finally see SOMETHING happen. I thought the Carmella in France stuff dragged a bit, but it was tolerable because everything else about the episode was so good. I definitely give it a strong .

 

[Jed M]

I tend to agree with everything you said Chris. Good write up.

 

[Alex-C]

Damn !!!
And I thought I watched tonight's episode.

well done and thank you.

 

[Jeremiah]

I thought the epsiode was average. Maybe the Soprano's isn't for me. I hated the entire Carm storyline and fast forward(first time ever with the show) through a lot of her Paris trip.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I was cheering when Tony was reading AJ the riot act. Finally.

 

[MikeM]

I thought the very last scene was pretty funny. It was a not-so-subtle reference to Chase killing off Vito's character for the actor Joseph Gannascoli doing Celebrity Fit Club. "Hey, I shot that guy for club fit!"

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

You sir, have 'owned me' and my intelligence. I bow to your greatness.

Reading that has given me a new found respect for Camela's storyline. Thank you.

 

[Sam Favate]

I agree. I was particularly struck by her attention to the beauty of Paris, the ornate buildings, lamp posts, bridges, etc. That's a stark contrast to the flat, dull architecture of New Jersey and most of the modern world. Seeing those sculptures on storefronts made her realize what people of other cultures and other times valued in contrast to what the people she knows value, and it was obviously an eye-opening experience. She's not only not who she wants to be, she's not living in the world she wants to live in.

Great episode. Strong storylines all around, but particularly Carmela's.