LAST LICKS

So the finale of “The Sopranos” was an eating scene in an ice cream parlor in Bloomfield. But we only got to the onion rings; we didn’t make it to dessert.

Last night and today, there’s been a ton of discourse everywhere I watch, everywhere I listen, about the ambiguity of the final episode. Lots of folks are totally ticked that there wasn’t a big-bang ending of some sort, a conclusive conclusion. After I (like everyone else in the HBO universe) realized my TV hadn’t failed me, I said, “Bizarre.”

Then, a second later, I loved it. I loved the ending because it brought to mind another ending I’ve never forgotten: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Freeze frame; the outlaws live forever – never making it to the barrage of bullets that await.

Pop to black; the Sopranos live forever, too, never making it to whatever was out there for them. We can argue the scheme of things right and good vs. the attachment we felt for modern-day criminals all day, all night, but that’s pretty ambiguous, too. It was, after all, entertainment.

Have an ice cream sundae, ignore the consequences, and say goodnight. Right now, I’m going to watch it again. Who knows? Maybe they’ll show another of the three endings those folks said they filmed.

Andy
6.11.07