I needed to wait until later to respond to these comments, but I didn't want to ignore them, they were so good. Needed some time to think...and work (damn work.)
badabellisima wrote:Actually, IMHO, the way you just said it was just as succinct and clear as your other communications- and shorter too! i can agree with you more easily now. And if he indeed continues living in the physical flesh, well then, there is still some chances for him to decide to stop being a gangster before he actually expires. And until then, he lives in a hell on Earth that he helped create for himself. i gotta say, i can believe this, because there are times when i have created a situation here on Earth i'd rather not have had to live with, but i'm glad i stuck in there and no one wrote me off, because then i made other choices and now its all good. Now ofcourse, i wasn't an ax murderer or anything, but sometimes it really is all relative. i'd like to believe that Tony can pay for his crimes and be redeemed, but i'm not sure if Chase believes that. In fact- i actually do think that Chase has some anger and pissed-offness with the Catholic Church (who doesn't these days?) that he uses Tony as a vehicle to express, and Chase shakes his fist at G-d sometimes. So even if someday Chase tells us an exact interpretation that says Tony actually got his brains blown out, well, i guess i would just accept it, but like many have said- does that matter now? i like the blackout, the not knowing for sure about someone else's fate- gives me chance to feel hopeful for them, for humanity, for myself- even if all the odds are against a good outcome. Don't forget- i am a lightning strike survivor- pretty slim odds, and by the Grace of God. i never like to buy into standard statistics or give up on anyone (not that i could ever be Tony's ACLU attorney or criminal defense attorney...).
I really don't know that it is so much about others "giving up" on Tony as much as he might have given up on himself. In the end, our judgment comes from God (in my belief) and only God. If we have lived a life worthy of entering heaven, then well and good. But it takes the man to make that very choice. So yes, it's entirely possible that Tony might live and someday turn to the God personally and truly rather than simply offering platitudes on Sundays and funerals (which we all know he hates.) In fact, he mentioned that he hated these occasions precisely because he didn't like acting a way he did not feel. And blamed it on THEM. If he dies now, I imagine he's going straight to hell. So for those who want swift justice, him dying is probably the best way to go. But for those who would rather see him wage a pitiful existence for years to come without ever changing his ways in the process since we know he won't, him living is a must.
richieaprile wrote:Maybe, of course this is all very subjective. To me the idea of dying an instantanous death without ever seeing the killer or ever knowing why is suffering enough for me. He has no chance to say goodbye or reflect or have a second chance. It is just so wasteful and tragic. To have it happen in front of his family, in front of the very people who he has been trying to protect from his other "family" for the length of the series rings very poetic to me and true to Chase's sensibilities. He gets no grand death of a gangster but a simple abrupt cut to black. Look at the quote again
To me it indicates that Chase does not want to express a simple message of "Crime doesnt pay". But also note he says "we decide our fate, we make our own bed". This seems to indicate that there will be some "fate" that will befall Tony b/c of his actions. Chase's intentions (IMO) are to show that Tony's death is a natural extension of his actions, his own free will. He had his chance to change from his NDE but didn't. I think his "hopefully" is very telling. I think he does not want Tony's death to be seen as a simple "bad people are punished" theme but as a logical extension of Tony's choices in the final season.
Which brings me to your comment. To me, Tony's death is not tragic. Never tragic. It is inevitable. And it will not be pretty. If it's instantaneous and in front of his family, then they really suffer more than he. His suffering comes later, which I am convinced will happen regardless. So you can see why I prefer the slow painful death.
Either way, it gets the job done as far as Chase in concerned, I suppose, depending on the way you want to view the ending. But in yet another beauty of Chase's creation, he left that open to us, whether he intended to or not. A happy accident or a maddening predicament? I prefer the former.