‘The Sopranos’ Finale

That T.S. Eliot guy was so smart, predicting that the world would end “not with a bang but a whimper.” So which would he say happened at the end of The Sopranos? Most people still aren’t sure, beyond the fact that Tony, Carmela, and A.J. were munching on onion rings in a diner, Meadow was struggling to parallel park outside, and then—what? In what was arguably the most confounding exit of any TV show ever, the screen went black in midscene. In fact, it was in midlyric, with the Journey song “Don’t Stop Believing” playing on the soundtrack. Did that eerie, dark silence mean that a hitman had finally taken out Tony (the bang)? Did he have another panic attack (the whimper)? Did the damn cable go out again (the nerve!)? The fact is, those aren’t the right questions at all. The Sopranos was the most important show of the decade. With a level of character complexity, psychological depth, and oh-no-he-didn’t storytelling that rivaled film, it made us realize that television could aspire to—and become—art. I think writer David Chase was really giving us a message about the medium he helped elevate. He was saying, don’t stop believing how great television can be, just because The Sopranos is fading away. As long as shows such as Mad Men, Damages, and Breaking Bad make it on the air, Tony Soprano will live—at least in spirit.