“Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey (an instantly recognizable hit from the 1980s) is the song Tony Soprano picks on the table jukebox as he waits for his family in the diner. Later AJ reminds him that he once said to “Remember the good times” as a way to get through current difficulties. Okay, Mr. David Chase, we get it: It’s all about process, moving forward, the journey is literally more important than getting there. Thus, we got nowhere last night and, in essence, that’s just where Mr. Chase wants us to be.
Many viewers probably did what I did last night when the screen went blank as Tony Soprano looks up as the bell jingles on the door. I immediately reached for my remote and was worried something was wrong with my cable system. No such luck, right? We were all victims of the black screen and then the silent credits. I stewed for a few moments, wanting to throw the remote at the television screen. How could Mr. Chase do this to us? How could it be?
The answer is that we the viewers got exactly what we deserved. For weeks everyone has been complaining about the series not being up to par; then we get a superior episode like last week’s “The Blue Comet,” and suddenly everyone is excited again and geared up for a bang-zoom grand finale. However, Mr. Chase has been true all along to an artistic vision, no matter how controversial or criticized, in which the development of characters and the plotline were to follow no format but what was true to the vision.
For 86 episodes we have been treated to something that is nothing like what we’re used to on television. Despite a few excellent recent broadcast television shows like 24, Lost, and Ugly Betty, the real deal has always been found on cable in the form of The Sopranos. No matter how angry I got (usually because I took exception with the portrayal of Italian Americans), I still watched because it was just like reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and getting the point that racism is an important part of the story because it is a truth about what life was like back in the 1840s.
The Sopranos always has come across as particularly truthful, whether it was the violence that so influenced the lives (and deaths) of the characters, or the philandering of the men with women who were not their wives and girlfriends. There was also real human interaction between characters: love, hatred, anger, jealousy, and rage. The dynamics that were established could make us laugh one week (think Christopher and Paulie lost in the snowy woods), make us cringe the next (Tony and Carmela having a blow-up), or make us cry (like the death of Adriana).
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Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Just some interesting info about Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." Heard a report today that sales of the song online are soaring; people are also buying the Journey album Escape (1981) online as well. I imagine the band must be more than happy with this. I think the song broke the Top Ten in 1981 but never made it to number 1. Now, maybe it has a chance. Strange.