Well, it's nice to see that you ran through the five stages of grief so quickly, FOMW!
I'm still pondering this, but I too have been contemplating the circles and orbits and such. I think you've really nailed most of it, but I wanted to add that perhaps we haven't come full circle from the last episode back to the first, but have moved in a spiral (the widening gyre), where Tony/we keep on circling back while at the same time moving forward (on and on and on and on). On the one hand, Tony is right where he was at the beginning of the series, right where he was from the moment he entered the mob, in fact: with the twin threats of arrest and death hanging over his head. But he has, in fact, evolved and progressed. He hasn't had a panic attack in ages, he is more aware of his feelings, his family history, etc. He's even more accepting of Janice. And he comes right out and says the cat stays--he doesn't have to go to Melfi to ponder his feelings for the ducks or Pie-o-My or worry that his fondness for animals will be seen as a sign of weakness by the rest of the guys (what few are left).
One of my favorite films of all time is Before the Rain. I remember reading an interview with the director, Milcho Manchevski, and he talked about how history is a spiral--it repeats itself, but it's not a simple circle. It's easy to get caught in the spiral of war (violence spiraling out of control, death spirals, etc.) and keep going around endlessly. But in a spiral there is also forward momentum, and therefore opportunity for change and growth, because you never come back to exact same point in space and time again: you move both forward and out in ever widening circles, so we're not necessarily doomed to repeat a vicious cycle endlessly unless we allow ourselves to stay on spin cycle, so to speak, instead of maintaining that forward momentum.
So, instead of an arc, maybe Tony has been on a character spiral instead. There's room for limited growth and change, limited exercise of free will. You can't become a different person (become Kevin Finnerty), but you can slowly evolve.
Re: Orbits, Solar Systems, & Onion Rings (or How Circular Tr
21Oh, there's my coffee. Well, didn't you bring me
any donuts or sweet rolls?
--Hank Quinlan
any donuts or sweet rolls?
--Hank Quinlan