i've come across a couple of websites/message boards where supposed endings were posted. one of them even predicted tonights episode exactly, but i didnt read further into what happens in the last show on the off chance it might be right. thank God i didnt.

What a brilliant, heart-pounding, satisfying episode!!

I thought Sil may have been the one to turn, when he and Tony were discussing Phil's going into hiding. Sil said something like "He's gone underground, that's what they call it" and Tony shot back, very concerned "Who calls it that?!" I thought Sil may have revealed a conversation he had with NY. Don't think that's the case now, for obvious reasons.

Anyone else think Paulie was way too calm - taking time to drool over AJ's friend in the driveway right after the #2 and #3 got shot? Could he have turned and be getting close to Tony?

It appears Carm and Meadow didn't take Tony's advice to get out of town, and stopped by Janice's house. Could that be a problem that they are still in town??

Did the agent's flippant remark about the mafia going after Hitler essentially put an end to the Tony going after the terrorist story line?

Why on earth would Sil not have a gun on him, and instead have to go search for one in his briefcase?

Any significance to the motorcycle dude getting run over - possibly several witnesses from the Bing (including the nekkid girls) could have seen the plate # for the hitmen?

I loved Tony, Sil, and Bobby shadow-boxing in the restaurant while they discussed taking out Phil and crew. Hopefully Tony will still get that chance!

Wow. I agree with you guys-- I felt so emotionally invested in the episode it was unbelievable. Bobby and Sil are two very likeable cahracters (excluding the sociopathic nature of their business) so those deaths were hard to take.

- All during 6A I wondered what the deal was with Bobby and his trains. Who knew he would die while partaking in his most innocent pastime. Very sad.

- After Bobby's death, you knew Sil was going to be attempted next. I was still in shock the entire time though. I don't think Sil pulls through. What was the deal with the motorcyclist though?

- Was anybodying else hoping to see Furio come over as one of the hitmen? It was nice to see them use the 2 Italian hitmen from 6A.

- I thought Melfi closing the office doors was a very powerful moment. It was one more person Tony severed a relationship with. Through everything, Tony could always count on having Melfi there to talk to. That luxury is now gone during the most stressful time of his life.

- Tony drained his pool, which is where we were first introduced to his beloved ducks. Many people think the ducks represented a happy family or life. The ducks now have no place to come back to at his house. Tony's desire for the happy family/life is no longer.

- We are left seeing Tony alone and paranoid, clutching an assault rifle (a gift from Bobby in the first episode) all by himself. He has isolated himself further from his "friends" (something he has been doing all season)

I don't know if I can wait an entire week!!! I plan on having Ziti next Sunday for the finale. I can't beleive this is ending...

I just saw the episodew because I was at baseball




wtf WITH SHOOOTING SIL?

quote:

---

What was the deal with the motorcyclist though?

---

just rewatched the episode. this struck me as well. i feel like this should mean something or be some kind of foreshadowing....but then again....Chase often throws things in there to make it look like it might mean something, and it never does. this could very well just be a guy riding his bike was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

as for Paulie being calm...he's not all there as we've come to know him. the screws being loose in his head stop him from getting too emotionally invested into the situation even though Sil was probably his closest friend in the crew.

i wonder if there is any significance to the whole "Meadow dropping MD to go to Law" story. i mean Tony, Artie, Charmaine, and Carmella used a good 5 minutes of the show discussing it. idle banter...or something we're missing??

soon as Tony found out from the Agent that he was a target, him and his crew shoulda 'gone to the mattresses' Godfather style until it was all sorted out. they coulda used their underassociates/underbosses to run their operations for a few weeks.

Sil was second in command- they targeted Bobby Sil and Tony- I see Tony and Phil meeting one on one and ending it- bye bye Anthony Soprano

Charmaine/Artie were probably bringing up the Soprano's kids (they also asked about AJ) as a way to "stick it" to Carm/Tony. They knew that Meadow dropped her dream of being a Doctor and AJ's attempted suicide. After all the **** Tony has caused, it was their way to hurt Carm/Tony-- bring up two areas of shame in a very prideful household.

quote:

---

i dont think i've ever watched a television show in which i felt like i had so much emotionally invested. my heart was racing a mile minute the entire episode.

---

Me too. It was like watching my friends run around trying to get away from danger.

quote:

---

Anyone else think Paulie was way too calm - taking time to drool over AJ's friend in the driveway right after the #2 and #3 got shot?

---

I thought it was simply Paulie being who he is - someone who's seen (and caused) way too much sh*t to be affected by shooting and death. He may not be very likeable, but he is one calm badass.

quote:

---

Was anybodying else hoping to see Furio come over as one of the hitmen?

---

TOTALLY! I really thought that's what they were leading up to. I even envisioned the scene - JFK airport, a camera behind a guy walking calmly through the airport carrying his duffel bag - and a ponytail hanging down his back. That would have been sweet.
I probably would have watched the rest of the show standing up.

They are still pricy, but Best Buy has all season sets on "sale" this week if you are looking to build up your collection.

1-3: $40
4-6: $50

yeah, furio with a baseball bat would have been pretty sweet.

quote:

---

We are left seeing Tony alone and paranoid, clutching an assault rifle (a gift from Bobby in the first episode) all by himself. He has isolated himself further from his "friends" (something he has been doing all season)

---

Great point. His family is in hiding, and his "family" is all but gone - he's surrounded at the end with annoying Paulie and some new younger guys we barely know. Melfi's left him, Bobby's dead and Silvio may be dying.

Whose house are they in? Is it Livia's?

Fantastic episode tonight.

The way it was being set up I thought the series would end with Sil becoming the head of the family. It was apparent that Bobby would be taking a dirt nap and I still think Tony will be following next week.

So, what are your thoughts on what the final episode will bring.

Food for thought -
They were making too much of Meadow becoming a lawyer (last apt with Dr. Melfi, at Artie's restaurant), so here is one possibility.

Paulie gives up Tony. He could kill T himself, or just provide the info on where to find him. Show does a flash forward several years after Meadow graduating and working in the DAs office of NY. She assists in the prosecution of Phil Leotardo and his two captains for conspiracy to commit murder and has them put away.

I have no idea what happens with AJ. I can't see him suddenly having the stomach to join what's left of the crew, even with his father being murdered.

The last 10 minutes of the show is a flash back with all the feature characters (dead and alive) in 'happier' times.

I realize there isn't enough time in a one hour show for all that to happen, but what the hell.

It's been a great ride...

Sil would have never been number one - he had his shot while Tony was in the hospital having weird dreams, and Sil didn't like it at all.

FYI - I believe they are holed up at Uncle Junior's house

And I would have loved for Furio to come back and take out Phil but I seriously doubt Furio would have made that kind of mistake in taking out the wrong guy.

True enough about Sil, but who would have been/is left with the charisma and intelligence to hold the position? Certainly not Paulie.

Talk on other boards is that they are at Uncle Junior's house, which was the house TOny grew up in and apparently Tony is in his mother's old room? Maternal/womb references there?

I've said it before and I just refuse to believe Tony will die at the end of this show. That just seems like a really crappy way for Chase to end things.

I did think Melfi cutting Tony off was abrupt, but i guess with the pressure from her therapist (talk about an *******), she felt cornered. I really wanted her to go off on him a little more than she did at that dinner table, though.

quote:

---

It's crazy that none of us have any idea what is going to happen next week!

---

I know what's going to happen the week after that

Halfway through the episode, my best guess would be that Tony sees his world crumbling around him, with his business family in ruins. Seeing that everything is lost, he decides to save his family and contact the FBI agent and go into witness protection.

But after the move to the house where they are apparently awaiting a "last stand", I'm not so sure.

But I don't see them killing Tony off. Seems to predictable.

yeah, during the scene i thought it was Uncle Jr. House also. the kitchen/living room setup was exactly the same.

but i too read on another board that its either Livia's or Sil's side House. (Cardboard cutout of Sil in the corner)

I too thought it was Jr's house, but the Foxnews recap said it was Tony's Mom's place.

Tony will die. I don't think there's anyway to stop that now. I think Patsy will give him up . . . that's why they've been talking about Meadow and Patty hooking up and yet almost never show them together. Plus Patsy's always been a little slimy to me, so I think it fits his character.

I don't get all the hate for Paulie. To me, he is the best character in the show. He's definately got a screw loose, but the one thing he has shown time and time again is that he is extremely loyal. He's been tight with the NY guys in the past (especially Phil), but he would be the first one to whack Phil out of loyalty to the family. He's certainly a flawed character (who on this show isn't?), but to me he's one of the two or three characters that make the show go (Tony, Carmela and Junior being three more). Without him, the show isn't nearly as good.

Wow. That was crazy.

I think everyone is reading way too much into Meadow going into law. Tony told Melfi how upset Carm was about her leaving med school. Then, the first thing that Carm tells Arti is how happy she is.

Carm is putting on a show as not to show her true feelings just like Tony. She doesnt want her family so be seen in a bad light.

I think that the show will end with Tony all alone, maybe at Sils bedside. He will be left alive knowing that all the people he really loved are dead because of him. The only guys left from his generation are Paulie and Patsy. He and Paulie have grown apart and he isnt very happy about Med with Patsy's son, which Carm also lied about.

Who knows what is going to happen and when it does I am sure that I will be sad to see them all go. Like most of you I have also become attached to this show. I remember when Chistopher went to rehab (his intervention is my favorite scene in show history). When the episode ended I said, "I'm really gald Chris is getting help." My roommate looked at me and said, "you do know these arent real people right?"

Thats when I knew I had a problem with this show...



Let's Hug It Out B*tch - Ari Gold

[This message has been edited by LHIOB (edited 6/4/2007 10:20a).]

Paulie Walnuts is easily the best character on the show- I think people are still freaked out from when he killed the old lady at the nursing home

Lots of potential endings - one thing you can say for sure is that Tony will either be dead of very much alone by 9pm next Sunday night.

Here's how it will end:



Phil will capture Tony and take him to an old abandoned lumber operation. Once there, he will tie Tony onto one of the logs and turn the machine on so that it slooooowly begins pulling the log down the conveyor belt towards a huge saw.

While Phil is waiting for Tony to be pulled into the saw, he will casually reveal all of his mob secrets and business dealings to Tony, including offshore bank account numbers, names and phone numbers of associates, etc.

Then, just as Tony gets to the saw and is about to be killed, SILVIO breaks through the door still wearing his hospital gown and shoots Phil and all his goons.

Sil then races to the machine and turns it off just as a hair on Tonys head is shaved off by the saw.

He unties Tony, they high-five, and then run out to take over NY.

The final image of the show is of Sil's ass hanging out of the hospital gown as they leave.

it'll end one of these ways:

1) Dr. Melfi wakes up, and it was all her dream and Tony Soprano and the Jersey Mafia doesnt even exist.

2) Tony wakes up, after having that first panic attack in season one, sees where his life and loved ones are headed, and decides to 'retire'.

3) AJ finally sees that his real problem in life is that he's always had a thing for big sis Meadow. the last scene is AJ and Meadow's wedding, Meadow throws the bouquet, and Janice catches it and smiles at Paulie Walnuts.

4) Artie takes over as Boss as Tony gets whacked and Artie is unanamously voted in as new boss.

5) Furio and 'the Russian' show up and whack Tony in the end, and Furio ends the show making mad love to Carmella





on a more serious note......the reason i mentioned Patsy as possibly turning on Tony is that he might still be carrying a grudge against Tony for whacking his twin brother. remember when he almost shot Tony in his backyard while the Feds were planting their surveillance system? instead he just took a leak in Tony's pool.

I think there is an all out war with NJ and NY - and NY wins hands down. Tony is holed up somewhere, alone. We then see his family having fallen apart.

The "life" only led to misery for everyone involved, and they deserve to go where they have chosen to go - to hell.

Why Paulie could be turncoat. WARNING: SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE.

1. When Bobby and Sil sent out the hit on Phil, Paulie challenged them and hesitated. He was clearly flustered.

2. Contrast Paulie's reaction to the hit on Phil, above, with his calmness when TS was packing up. He was flip enough to "look at the stems on blondie." He also wasn't anxious at Junior's house. He wouldn't be that calm unless he knew when and where it would happen.

3. When Paulie met with Patsy (presumably to discuss setting up the hit on Phil) we were only shown traces of two conversations, one at the bar and another at the head. Something big could have been edited from those conversations. All we really heard was Paulie saying "Don't worry."

4. More importantly, when Paulie went outside to introduce Patsy to the guys from Naples, he sped off in his car. I remember a previous episode where the test for loyalty was how quickly the person drove off in a car after a meeting: if they drove off normally, then they were loyal; if they sped off (gravel, etc.), then they were anxious because they were not loyal. Paulie sped off and you could hear the gravel.

5. Paulie could have leaked the information to Phil allowing him to set up a doppleganger at his routine "meetings."

6. After the hit on Phil's doppleganger, Paulie met with Sil and wanted to leave town. He would have left if not for the unfortunante newspaper article and picture. Paulie could have wanted to leave because he new it would get bad for Jersey.

7. When New York was sending out the hits, somehow they knew that Bobby was the number 3 man. That could only come from the inside (i.e., Paulie).

8. When New York was sending out the hits, they purposfully left out Paulie from the list.

9. Paulie's episode with TS, where they went to Florida and the two went fishing, scared him. He's previously courted New York and likely is courting them again out of self preservation.

10. Paulie is old school. Phil is old school.

I don't think Paulie turns on Tony. While he's been a jackass with his peers, I think he's old school in that his loyalty to Tony when it comes to this s*** won't waver. I take his hesitation at it's face, he wanted to make sure Tony was in the loop re: a move on Phil since it's a huge move. While the two jackasses killed the wrong guy, he clearly followed through on at least trying to kill Phil.

I think one of two things happens: (1) someone in Tony's crew (other than Paulie) tips off NY on how to find Tony or (2) Tony gets a drop on Phil's location and tries to do something. In any case, I think this all ends with Tony's death because they've reached a point of no return and there's no way NJ wins this thing.

When Tony talked to Agent Harris, Harris mentioned that they had someone on the inside in the NY family. Tony might be able to get Agent Harris to give up this information.

For whatever reason Agent Harris has been helping Tony out over the past few months.

Three things that have not been talked about yet:

1. Eric Mangini's cameo
2. The comment about the stipper falling off her shoes and getting hurt. (I was laughing my ass off)
3. The amazing music that ended the episode. It was haunting.



Let's Hug It Out B*tch - Ari Gold

quote:

---

For whatever reason Agent Harris has been helping Tony out over the past few months.

---

With regards to notifying Tony about the hit out on him-- it's not a completely unheard of situation. I read a book (I think it was Gangland by Howard Blum) which detailed the fact that an FBI agent had once told John Gotti about a hit out on him.


-Oh and I loved the Eric Mangini cameo. That was awesome.

I still think that Carmella gets caught in the crossfire, and Tony either kills himself, or dies as a result of a panic attack.

---------------
Ooh, he really brought the lumber on that one.

The best part of the cameo was Tony saying he better go introduce himself, as if Magnini would love to meet the boss of NJ.

I know some of this has probably been posted on here, but I just copied and pasted it from my thoughts on another board, and I wanted to give my two cents here...

So, the time has come, the week leading up the to the final episode of the greatest show in television history. Many people are speculating how it will all end. One of the popular/lame theories is that Tony will go into witness protection and the show will end with him out on a boat enjoying life or something. Whatever. I like Tony in that convoluted way the show makes you like such horrible, scummy people, but the show can't end with him being unscathed.

Another theory is that from the time Christopher and Adrianna left (I think after Season Four) to go work on his movie (or maybe it was Season Three??) is all his script. So Adrianna was never killed (remember, there was never a body). I also think this would be extremely lame and I don't think the Sopranos brass would go out like that.

Another one is that everything that's happened since Tony went into a coma has been his dreams and he'll wake up and the season will end...JUMP THE SHARK. No way.

The only way this show can end is in a collosal blood bath, and last night's episode seeemed to set that up nicely with fat Bobby and Silvio getting it (well, Silvio's "barely hanging on".

Tony has to die, and he will. The big twist of next week's finale will be "whodunnit?" The obvious, easy choice would be Phil Leotardo or one of his cronies, but my theory is that Paulie will kill Tony, therefore my least favorite character on the show will be running the New Jersey mob with no one left under him, like a true dumbass.

You may say Paulie is loyal to Tony because he was in the mix with his father and stuff, but we all know Paulie is the scummiest of the scummy on the show.

There was some tidbits last night that really lead me to believe he's the one that's gonna do it...

1. Paulie set up the hit on Phil, and they happened to kill a guy that "looked like him" on accident. Hmm...

2. Phil was talking to his crew about who they'd whack in Jersey. The three selected were Tony, Bobby and Sil. Paulie's been in the family longer than any of them and has ties back to the old ways. If they truly wanted to hit the family where it hurts, would it not have included Paulie? I know he's fallen down the totem pole in recent years, but still...I think Phil will let Paulie run the Jersey mob after he offs Tony. But again, no one will be left to run.

3. When they got to safe house to hide out, the first thing Paulie suggests is ordering pizza. Either A) he's a dumbass (true), or B) he's trying to get some kind of public knowledge of where everyone is hiding out and Philly will find out.

4. Like I said, Paulie has fallen dramatically over the years in the grand scheme of things and is obviously disgruntled. That's the simplest reason, but it still rings true.

Anyway, I had a couple of other reasons stored in my head, but they temporarily disappeared. So...book it, Tony will die at the hands of Paulie freaking Walnuts. That gray-hair streaked son of a *****.

Salud!

END

Also, a couple of points I agree with...the music in the credits was awesome. And, Chase said he's had the final episode credit music chosen since the series began. So that's something to look forward to.

I don't get how people like Paulie, but to each his own, I guess.

The great thing about this show is that it makes you sympathetic toward such horrible people. That's the sign of a good TV show. Kind of like The Shield but to a much greater extent.

Then again, my favorite character was Christopher, so I'm sure a lot of people hate him too.

Also, I know many people don't like AJ, but I think the actor that plays him has been phenomenal this season. Every scene he's in he nails. The past two weeks have been especially good, I think, for AJ.

Also, Tony won't kill himself. It's not him.

That's it for my smorgusborg of opinions. What a great damn show.

I'm gonna miss this show. I don't know what the hell am I gonna do with my life, I guess watch Sunday Night Football and have my ears bleed as I listen to Madden.

I also think Paulie is the one that betrays Tony. I don't think he kills Tony himself but he does rat him out to Phil. It was a shame to see Sil go out like that, getting punked.