I approached this last mini-season of The Sopranos with some trepidation, I must admit. The sixth season (of which this mini-season is technically an extension), disappointed me to no end (which John Busco would agree with). I even found myself changing the channel during the finale; I was that certain that I wouldn’t see anything worthy of holding onto during the seemingly endless wait between seasons that Sopranos fans have learned to endure. As the press buzz regarding the show’s end gained momentum, I remained steadfast in my ambivalence. I declared to friends and family alike that I would no longer be an “appointment viewer” of the show. Nevertheless, as 9pm on Sunday rolled around, I felt compelled to take a peek.

What I found was what had drawn me to the show as a college student in the first place. It was not perfect television, and yes, a soap opera about a mafia family is not the most contemporary forum for modern day angst, but it was still better and more intelligently written and directed than almost anything else out there. Over the years, the show has suffered greatly from the writer’s belief in their own hype, and from momentum lost by the outrageously long layovers between seasons. And while it will never regain the glory of seasons 1-3, The Sopranos, even in it’s dark days, had a unique and fascinating take on relationships, family, violence and power.

So it was, with all of this in mind, that I was pleasantly surprised by the first episode of this last go-round. The show, which centered around Tony and Carmela’s celebration of his 47th birthday at the summer house of in-laws Bobby and Janice, was a return to what connected it to the audience in the first place. The pain and sensitivity of family and relationships, in this case the blistering sibling rivalry and resentment between Tony and Janice, spilled over into a fistfight of all things, between Bobby and Tony, the man to whom Bobby swears his allegiance, and to whose wrath he fears above all else.

As the events at the lake house unfolded, we were filled with dread. The themes of the show: family pain, loyalty, and Tony’s coming to grips with his age and physical limitations, are ones that don’t need the backdrop of organized crime to resonate with people. That’s what extended the show’s reach far beyond hard core mob movie fans and pushed The Sopranos to its legendary status.

So while I’m not yet ready to fully jump back on the bandwagon, I was happy that I was able to watch an episode that reminded me why I began watching The Sopranos so many years ago. And now I’m actually excited for the final eight episodes.

— by Alex Simon
Alex, our only NYC resident, joins us on the west side of the Hudson whenever he remembers how to use the PATH. Which is when he's sober. Which ain't often.

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