I have watched every episode of The Sopranos faithfully. I don’t know exactly why the show became one of my favorites but it did. And, once you’re into this family, there’s no getting out.
At times it was a gruesome show but you couldn’t help but like Tony even though you knew he was a sociopathic killer. Part of my fascination with the show was the juxtaposition of Tony’s two families. A home life where everything seemed fairly normal and a life of crime where nothing is what you would think of as normal. How do you go from chit-chatting about who’s coming for Sunday dinner to breaking a guy’s legs to make a point? Tony and his crew could do it without batting an eye.
No matter what horrific things Tony and his crew did, the strong bonds between the characters kept you from despising them entirely. Love, friendship, family ties, a mutual respect for “this thing of ours”. They were kind of like a weird uncle you might have. Sure they’ve got lame outfits, slicked back old-fashioned hairdos, goofy jokes, and chauvinistic attitudes, but eh, what can you do, they’re family.
The show sucked you in to it’s dark side almost without you even knowing it. There were so many times I found myself saying to Steve “they need to off that guy” or “what else could he do (s)he was a rat” over the years we’ve watched. Even last night, I was rooting for Tony’s crew to find and eliminate Phil Leotardo in the hopes that doing so would save Tony and the guys.
At first, I thought something had happened to the cable - we’d been having severe thunderstorms all day. Then I was irritated - “WTH! That’s the end?!?” Then, after I thought about it for a while, it was perfect. Every other ending would have been so lame and played out. Tony and the family all get killed? Would have hated it. Happy family at the diner? This ain’t no Gilmore Girls. It was kind of like what Bobby said to Tony in the first episode of this season. When the end comes, you never see it. It’s just fade to black.
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