Soprano's finale - SPOILER ALERT

[Alafair Burke]

If you haven't watched the end of the Sopranos yet, DON'T READ THIS. If you have, please read on. (If you never plan to, who the heck are you and where have you been the past eight years?)

After all the speculation that Tony or AJ would be killed, or that Adrianna would rise from the dead, ending with a blank dark screen was a bold choice that is bound to piss off a ton of people. However, once I was finished yelling "It's over?" at said blank screen, I finally embranced the ending as one that was precisely true both to the themes of the show and the ways in which the show was unlike other TV.
I loved the tension of the guy at the bar stool, headed for the men's room ala The Godfather, while the family sucked down onion rings and Meadow couldn't parallel park. The scene was consistent with the show's depiction of Tony's extraordinary life unfolding in the same mundane world as ours. Because the show never was one for soap-opera-like plot developments (Adrianna back from the grave - give me a break), it made perfect sense to me that the cameras turned off at a seemingly random moment while Tony continues to live his evolving life, surrounded by his family.

And the use of the Holsten's setting was awesome. (I wonder how many people downloaded Journey's Don't Stop Believin' from iTunes last night.) In Tony's view, the best years have always been in the past, as much as the past has haunted him.

Anyway, that's my take. On the other hand, I read online that some people think the screen went black because Tony died, so maybe I'm whack.
What did you think?

[Alafair Burke]

Nope, I've never been to Holsten's, but I think you're right it'll be jam packed for the foreseeable future. And the poor folks who work there will eventually have to insist on pulling Don't Stop Believing from the jukebox.

[Dave White]

Alafair, have you been to Holsten's? I'm from around there and remember having my first "real" ice cream soda there. I'm just ticked that now it's going to be impossible to get into.