The Sopranos Final Season: A House Of Mirrors

“Violence is man re-creating himself.” – Frantz Fanon

As The Sopranos comes down its final stretch, observers have been frantically trying to predict the ending. It’s almost universally accepted that the finale will involve Tony Soprano’s death, leading to widespread speculation concerning by whose hands he’ll meet his ultimate demise.

Since his mother once ordered a hit on him, will his wife, Carmela, or sister, Janice, pull the trigger, bringing the power of women in this series full circle? Or perhaps even Dr. Melfi? Internally, perhaps Christopher Moltisanti, his apprentice, will eventually succumb to his rage concerning the murder of his fiance, Adriana, and seek revenge on Tony, with whom numerous other points of conflict have been brewing? Staying within his own family, will Silvio Dante or, especially, Paulie Walnuts tire of waiting in the wings and pursue a coup d’etat? Maybe Bobby Bacala, Janice’s husband, will be scared enough of reprisals concerning an earlier fight with Tony to make a pre-emptive strike? Or maybe it will be Uncle Junior, who lies wasting away in a retirement home after already shooting Tony once? Or perhaps even the unstable Artie Bucco, owner and chef of Vesuvio, who has blamed Tony for everything that has gone wrong in his life? Are son A.J. or daughter Meadow capable of turning suppressed guilt and anger toward their father into violence?

In the world of more literal enemies and threats to Tony’s DiMeo crime family, the power void and resulting instability within the Lupertazzi family has that organization teetering on the brink of all-out chaos. With Johnny Sack succumbing to cancer so quickly and a hit on one of the assumed potential replacements already occurring, a battle appears to brewing between different factions of that crime family. Phil Leotardo’s health issues once had him pondering an escape from the life, but as he’s seen colleague after colleague fall, he now wonders about his legacy and what he will be remembered for, if anything. He voiced a resolution to stop rolling over, an ominous sign for the DiMeo-Lupertazzi fragile peace. After killing one of Tony’s captains, could Phil’s relationship with Tony sour enough for a previously unthinkable hit on a boss? Or will “Little Carmine,” who has withdrawn from the family, get dragged back in?

Christopher had been his heir apparent, but Tony’s flirtation with Adriana, her ratting out the family to the feds and subsequent murder have created a seemingly irreconcilable rift between the boss and the next-in-line to the throne. Throw in the fact that Christopher won over one of Tony’s girlfriends and Christopher increasingly distancing himself from the family due to his addictions and pursuit of other endeavors such as film-making, and you have a potentially combustible flare-up waiting to happen. One would think that creator David Chase is setting up an inevitable Tony vs. Christopher finale – especially considering the ending of Christopher’s film project, “Cleaver” – but whenever you think you have The Sopranos figured out, Chase hits the monkey over the head with the wrench.

The first couple of episodes of the second part of the final season have dealt with Tony’s increased isolation, distrust and paranoia. As boss, is he surrounded merely by “yes” men, leeches who laugh at his bad jokes and impatiently wait for him to step aside? He’s let down every significant person in his life in some tangible way, so what is he left with? He has stared his own mortality in the face on multiple occasions, increasingly forcing him to evaluate what his life has become and whether he is ultimately turning into his mother. As he takes stock, Tony has become increasingly emotional and erratic, fearing his own death around every corner and seemingly helpless to alter his destiny or what will be written on his tombstone. This internal struggle has allowed Chase to tinker with the pacing during the final nine episodes, starting at a crawl and incrementally ramping up with the rhythm and tension of the show. As a result, The Sopranos takes on the qualities of percolation right now, a slow boil, a simmer that could spark at the slightest turn of a knob. Watching, you begin to wonder which friend is really a foe, which ally is really an enemy, with loyalist is a rat at heart. It all combines to make the final seven episodes a textbook case of dramatic television and storytelling … for a show that may never be adequately replaced.