F*ck David Chase

Below is a copy of the email I wrote to my friends about the Sopranos finale. I wanted to ponder it for a while before I posted because I wanted to make sure I was sure how I felt. I will preface by saying, I've watched all 86. I love the show and have been with it every step of the way. Giddyup:


I know there was some confusion by some folks as to who 'Carlo' was. The guy that flipped and went to the FBI.

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/hh/0621597/HH/0621597/ArthurHeadshotOne.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Nascarella,%20Arthur%20J.

that's the guy. He was one of Tony's captains. Weird that he wasn't developed like some of the other guys.

Also, I have been thinking about this for the last few days. Here is what I am going with:

F*ck David Chase. All these critics and fans gabbing on about how they 'got it' reminds me of people looking at a fleck of paint on a canvas and talking about the 'angst of the artist' and how it 'challenges social constraints through its understated aggression'. It's bullsh*t. Give me some f*cking closure man. Maybe i'm simple or something but this symbolic lapdance is just Chase saying to everyone: 'you don't get how smart I am'.

I spent the last 40 minutes poking around online and found some info.

That guy at the bar was indeed Phil Leotardo's nephew. Beyond that, the 2 black guys that came in and looked at the buffet were the same guys that robbed Tony and shot at him in Season 2 or 3, the boys at the diner were also at the train store when Bobby Bacala gets capped, the trucker was the brother of a truck driver that Chrissy killed in Season 2 that identified the body after the crime. What's the point? It's that no one knows what any of this means.

The Godfather references were not subtle. I think it was just another way of teasing us. You show us all this stuff, hint at all these things: "You never know when it's going to come" and then let everyone guess while you are either sitting there smug because you're so clever or biding your time until you can do the movie and make more $. It pisses me off for several reasons:

1) the reactions of all those knuckle-f*ckers who are like: 'I get it. Bravo David Chase!'

2) The fact that Chase has always said he knew exactly how this show would end. Really? That's it? Your ending, that you have always envisioned is no ending at all and a symbolic orgy of subtle references with a black screen that made 1/2 of america think its cable went out?

3) The endings of things should provide closure. Otherwise, they are not endings...they are ceasings or stoppings, not endings. Cheers ended with: 'Sorry, the bar's closed'. That's an ending. The Cosby show ended with all the kids out of the house, Theo graduating college, and Cliff and Claire dancing together. Ending. Growing Pains ended with Maggie getting a tight reporting job in Washington, they move out of the house. Ending. Want more? Mr. Belvedere ended with Mr. Belvedere leaving... you get it.

4) We invested so much in getting to know these characters. They were given too much depth. This is what made this show one of, if not the greatest program ever. That's why I think it's a cop out not to have a resolution of any sort. We deserve to know where they go from here. I refuse to accept that the 86 episodes I watched (yes, all 86) were nothing more than 86 separate 'day in the life of' these people and now my window is closed and I'm left to guess. I watched all the threads not get tied up, all the loose ends go unresolved, and all the non sequitor episodes with the promise that it would end. I defended all these episodes and decisions as part of what made the show so great; the plot points were no where near as important as what they told us about these characters. I feel cheated.

5) Bottom line, Tony should have finished the meal with his family, they should have all gone to their separate cars, Tony should have come out last with a bit of a smile on his face and gotten capped in the back of the head. Then the screen goes black. We only see the gun, but not the shooter. Fulfilling the promise that you never know and it can be over in an instant.

Everyone has high expectations for a series finale, especially a popular one. I think it's a delicate balance between your own vision and giving the fans some satisfaction. The scales were not balanced.