Famiglia: The Sopranos and family values

Only three weeks ago I first watched David Chase's critically lauded drama,The Sopranos. I was hooked from the beginning, but the concluding episode's final scene really cemented the sheer artistic brilliance of this series for me. It proved that although the focus of the narrative seemed to revolve around the lifestyle of an Italian American Mafia boss, the true underlying theme was the importance of family.

In the previous few episodes we witnessed Tony and crew gearing up for war, however after many suspenseful scenes this plot was tied up in a quick, run-of-the-mill, shooting of Phil Leotardo. This left viewers wondering how the series could now possibly end, and the ending we were giving somehow managed initially shock, but after further thought summed up the essence of what the show had been from the beginning. After all, the title is The Sopranos, and from that alone we can gather this important theme.

As for the scene itself: the first aspect worth mentioning is, as Tony sits in a diner waiting for his family, a woman enters who bears an extremely uncanny resemblance to his sister Janice. This hints towards the paranoia Tony is feeling, as the audience views most of the scene from his point of view.
After Carmella joins him, a man wearing a cap comes through the front door followed closely behind by A.J. Notice that every time another customer walks through that diner door, a bell rings and Tony looks towards it, which again adds to the heightened sense of paranoia as he is clearly expecting something.
The amount of time it takes Meadow to park her car creates an element of suspense as we, the viewer, are aware now of Tony's fears. Just before Meadow finally walks through that door, the camera cuts to the man in the cap going to the bathroom. Then, just as Meadow enters, the screen cuts to black.

Whether this mysterious man shoots Tony, or whether Tony's concerns lie elsewhere, this is an intense scene, made more so by his jukebox choice of The Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin', a song ultimately cheesy, but a perfect fit for these last few moments as the family join together for possibly the last time.

The series ended in the way it always should have. Carmella, A.J and Meadow have always been essential to the show, and this finale emphasises the values which remain of major significance to Italian Americans, as have been shown throughout film history, and Chase deserves commendation for embedding in our minds the boss spending his (or at least our) last few moments with his blood family and not of his Mafia.