Coming To Terms - On The Sopranos Finale, and Beliving the Sopranos is Overrated

[This blog post is part 2 of a 3-part series. Go here for part 1 about "24"]

In Hans Christen Andersen’s fable, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the emperor’s subjects and the townspeople are all terrified of telling the emperor that he’s actually wearing no clothes, for fear of appearing stupid (or perhaps, of being summarily executed). It finally takes a child to point out, “he’s wearing no clothes!” before people finally snap out of their delusional trance.

As people who read this blog know, I can be quite a child sometimes. And today, I’m going to try to be just that.

Despite the fact that I’m driving across the country, I still had a chance to stop off and catch the Sopranos Series Finale this Sunday night. It’s a compelling show that I’ve committed to watching, even if I’ve been disparaging of it in the past.

My views on the Sopranos have been made clear for some time. While I can rehearse the oft-repeated sentiment that “The Sopranos” is better than 99% of what’s on television (and I do believe this to be true), I still think that “The Sopranos” is overrated and is NOT one of the greatest dramas of all time (that honor would belong to a show like “The Wire”). Last night’s episode did nothing to change my mind.

To be fair, this season has been pretty great, with some tremendous performances by all the lead actors. In particular, James Gandolfini’s therapy sessions have been deeper and more textured than before, revealing to us not just the depths of Tony Soprano but the depth of Gandolfini’s acting ability.

For the series finale, there was no way that they were going to be able to tie up all the loose ends in the series in one episode. And sure enough, they didn’t even come close. Paulie is given a few reflective moments with Tony. Junior remains submerged in his mental illness. Janice keeps doing what she’s doing. Meadow seems destined for the same fate as her mom, and AJ’s newly found apathy is strikingly familiar. Melfi’s 180 turnaround regarding therapy that happened OVER THE COURSE OF ONE EPISODE seemed to continue unabated. And that was it.

Leaving open plotlines and open questions is fine when it all serves the storytelling. But the way in which “The Sopranos” does it often appears clumsy. Think of the structure of the entire series: One or two bad apples is whacked every season, until the final season when a whole ton of killing and random deaths occur. To me, it felt as though Chase suddenly realized he was running out of time and had to kill off a whole lot of characters; that is, the deaths did not feel organic to the storyline (particularly Christopher’s). Yet when it finally came to do the final deed (i.e. do away with Tony Soprano), Chase left the issue delightfully unresolved.

“The Sopranos” direction and acting have always been phenomenal. The cinematography has always wowed me. But this is not a show that displays the masterful storytelling found elsewhere. It is self-indulgent, wildly uneven, and most annoyingly of all, grossly overrated. No one is willing to call the finale and most of the series crap, because no one wants to look like a moron. As I’ve demonstrated time and time again, this is not a fear that I possess.

So to all those who ever watched "The Sopranos" and thought to yourself, "Why do people think this show is so good?" my only encouragement to you all is that you're right. And while it may be light years ahead of a great deal of everything else on TV, that doesn't mean it merits the preposterous accolades that have been heaped upon it.

Despite all of this, the final scene…unforgettable. A ultra-tense scene with pitch-perfect music that dared to subvert all expectations that rabid fans of the show had going in. Rather than get frustrated with this ending, I thought it was incredibly well-done, the perfect conclusion to the television series that, frustratingly and unskillfully, never resolves anything.

Why The Sopranos Is Incredibly Overrated

[Update: Thanks to http://blog.nj.com/sopranos/ for linking to my blog! The link can be found here. ]

[Update 2: Now that the series is over, this post has been updated at this link.]

In an SNL sketch many years ago, there was a satirical commercial for “The Sopranos” in which critics spouted hyperbolic reviews about the show, such as “The Sopranos will one day replace air as the thing we breathe to stay alive.” It was a commentary of the ridiculously over-the-top accolades the show was getting at the time. I remember that sketch fondly, as it seems that even today, people have been so busy falling all over themselves in praise of “The Sopranos” they haven’t really taken a look at all the ways the show falls short.

First let’s start with the facts: “The Sopranos” is one of the most popular shows in the history of television. It has helped to transform television in several ways and was at least partially responsible for the rise of the serial drama and the establishment of HBO as an outlet of exciting, creative television. I’ve enjoyed many aspects of this show greatly, including the promos(!), and I think Gandolfini and Falco get all the praise they deserve, but I also think the show is horribly overrated. Here are a few reasons why:

1) Déjà vu - If you think about it, more seasons than not, the Sopranos has been about one thing: Made men misbehaving and doing things they’re not supposed to do. Think about the list through the years - Richie Aprile (and to a lesser extent, Jackie Aprile), Feech La Manna, Tony Blundetto, and most recently, Vito Spatafore.





Spread through all the seasons, these guys did stupid, stupid things and forced Tony to resolve their issues in increasingly painstaking ways. Whether it was starting an unauthorized side business or whacking a guy they weren’t supposed to (or in Vito’s case, whacking off a guy he wasn’t supposed to! Shoot me), these guys’ storylines transformed “The Sopranos” into “Variations on a Theme of Wayward Mobsters,” for better or worse.

2) Contrived plots – Paulie’s aunt is his real mother? A hot Hispanic chick, quickly and implausibly falling in love with AJ at a construction site? Chris hooking up with that Jamba Juice woman who he coincidentally met at a support group meeting (which by the way, it seems, is a plotline that has been completely dropped [See #3])? “The Sopranos” has always been fueled by a strong dose of soap-opera, but sometimes, as Lisa Simpson once put it, it watches like something that came out of Charles Dickens…or Melrose Place.

This was clearest in the Season 4 plotline in which Assemblyman Zellman starts dating Tony’s Russian ex-girlfriend. What are the odds that a) Zellman would actually meet this woman in the course of daily events, and b) Upon meeting her and finding out she was Tony’s ex, would decide to sleep with her without thinking of the consequences? If there’s even the chance that you’d piss off a mob boss, wouldn’t you try to get another girl? Certainly someone Zellman’s government position and his dashing good looks could land another beautiful woman. I mean just look at the guy:
Hot. Anyway, this gave us a one-episode arc for Zellman which ended with Tony beating Zellman with his belt. How dramatic.

C’mon “Sopranos,” you’re better than this.

3) Unfinished Storylines –

I recently saw this 7-minute video, which made its rounds on a bunch of major outlets:


(From Youtube user palgy83)

The video is brilliant, summarizing all the major plot developments in the Sopranos while simultaneously giving some sly commentary. But while the video does actually motivate you to watch this show, it also reveals what I call one of the show’s greatest flaws: Unfinished subplots.


This is best demonstrated by one of the finest episodes of Season 3, “Pine Barrens.” Whatever happened to that Russian guy? Why was his body never found? What happened to Chris and Paulie’s car? Many will argue that these unanswered questions are what makes the Sopranos great. Not everything is brought to a conclusion, just like in real life, and any show that does answer all the questions is being too convenient. I strongly disagree.

In movies (and to a similar degree, in TV), I’ve heard that scenes generally exist for one of two purposes: 1) To move the plot along, or 2) For character development. The best shows on TV, like “The Wire” or “The Shield” (both of which I think are superior to “The Sopranos) are able to deftly use episodes and scenes to accomplish BOTH of these things. Despite my problems with season 4 of “The Wire,” I still think it is the one of the only shows on television able to masterfully juggle dozens of characters’ storylines, and do so in a way that’s responsible and that gives resolution to each one. “The Shield” has also managed to deliver on almost every single one of its storylines, with very few exceptions.

In “The Sopranos,” many characters drop in, sometimes only to disappear or die just a few episodes later. When Eugene Pontecorvo made a big appearance at the beginning of Season Six only to hang himself shortly afterwards, it made me feel manipulated and cheap. Here was a man who just wanted out, and the show makes us feel for him by giving us glimpses of his dysfunctional family. But rather than build this character up and afford him the decency of screen time, they killed him off unceremoniously (in the most unceremonious way possible, actually), to drive home its broader point of how inescapable the mafia is.

I could go on and on about this point about characters’ subplots. Artie and his wife constantly pop up every now and then for an episode or two, then vanish. Paulie’s cancer storyline went nowhere. Whatever happened to that guy that was stealing from Artie in Season 6 (Doogie Howser’s old friend)? AJ’s panic attacks? Melfi’s rapist? Do we even care anymore? The list goes on and on. It’s gotten to the point where if an intriguing plot is introduced, you can have no confidence whatsoever that it will be brought to a logical conclusion.

At best, all of these untied loose ends are unsatisfying. At worst, it’s lazy writing.

But I will give credit where credit is due: One of the most satisfying plotlines has been Chris Moltisanti’s, precisely because they’ve stuck with it throughout all the years. Moltisanti was being bred to be Tony’s successor, then turned his back on it to pursue his Hollywood dreams. His story is given room to breathe and is given a resonance that other storylines sorely lack.

**

All that being said, I still like the show and look forward to watching it to its conclusion (Last Sunday's episode was incredibly powerful). But let’s try to be realistic: “The Sopranos” has substantial flaws, just like many other shows on television, and it should be evaluated as such.

BONUS VIDEO: A&E recently bought the rights to rebroadcast “The Sopranos.” Here’s a take on how the show might look on television, edited.


(From Youtube user noscha)