Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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A couple of people have mentioned 'Cold Cuts' from season 5. This is one of my favorite endings. Tony is seemingly jealous of Janice's progress with her anger management and cant let her be happy. When she snaps and comes after him with the fork, he says "I'm the boy's uncle", then the smile he makes say's perfectly how satisfied he is that he uncovered Janice's rage. It's kind of an uncomfortable scene, i guess that's what makes it stick in my head. Also, I think The Kinks song was a good song for this.

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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I'm surprised these three haven't been mentioned yet:

"House Arrest" - The crew, bored out of their minds, literally jump out of their seats at the opportunity to see a car crash outside. Then they all have a nice time outside Satriales as "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" plays. The calm before the storm.

"Whitecaps" - The Stugots turns the shoreline "into the Gulf of Sorrento" with some Dean Martin, and the attorney accepts that he has to give Tony his money back.

"Walk Like a Man" - A drunken Christopher stumbles home and pulls a fallen plant upright. The final shot of Christopher entering the house seems to echo the ending of D-Girl where he decides to stay by Tony. I love that song too, "The Valley".

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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Another episode ending I've always liked - Calling All Cars. I love the haunting dream sequence, and how they linger on Tony long after he's awoken. Then there's that lovely transition from the dark, red-lit hotel room to the bright bustling Florida beach. Tony's moment of fear seems to have been left behind, and he's back to being the boss, looking over his "kingdom".

And who knew "Surfin' USA" could be made to sound so dark and foreboding?

Great stuff.

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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All great endings suggested here and probably more no one has mentioned thought of yet.

All Due Respect that ended season 5 with Tony running from Johnny Sack's house after he was arrested and trying to get to his place through the snow. And to the sound of Van Morrison's "Glad Tidings".

But I guess the most memorable for me has to be the ultimate ending for the series.

A brilliantly crafted scene which encapsulates everything that was the Sopranos.

I would say that arguably it was the best ending of any series ever.

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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Well I noticed I commented on many other posts but never put some of my faves. I noted some that are already mentioned as well, just to reiterate their greatness.

Season 1

The Sopranos -- This had the great pan from the Soprano house to the pool while guests walk in, and kids ran shooting each other with squirt guns and the lights dropped to "The Beast in Me." SO good!

Denial, Anger, Acceptance -- While watching Meadow sing in the choir, different scenes of mob justice against Chris and Brendan are acted out. We see the shift on Tony's face, as different moods and thoughts come over him...and the music plays on despite the Chris's terrorism and Brendan's murder.

Boca -- Tony comes home drunk off his head, to which Carmela comes to help him, and he asks for reassurance that he did the right thing [by not murdering the soccer coach], all the while Meadow watches on, and at the last minute, Carmela looks up and they share eye contact.

Season 2

D Girl -- While not a stellar episode, this ending, which again intersperses cuts of different Sopranos clan works staggeringly well. Chris sits outside smoking, deciding whether to walk back in the house or turn his back on organized crime and pursue his movie career, while Pussy cries in the bathroom about betraying his close-friends, and the Soprano family posing for pictures at AJ's confirmation, finally ending with Chris walking back inside.

Full Leather Jacket -- This episode feels the most like a cliffhanger that we had ever experienced thus far in the series. Perhaps only rivaled by Junior's shooting of Tony in season 6. Watching Chris laying in a pool of blood on some steps of a diner was simply heartbreaking.

Knight in White Satin Armor -- As Tony sits with Carmela she explains she needs to get away and tells him she is going on vacation and he will have to take care of the house duties, after he JUST spent all night disposing of Richie Aprile. An exhausted Tony stressed beyond belief has the camera fade to black as "I Saved the World Today" by the Eurythmics plays.

Funhouse -- This is perhaps my favorite episode ending of all time. Once again we get an epic presentation of the Sopranos web. Though this time, the montage is much longer and not just showing scenes that were a part of the episode we watched. Instead these scenes call back to episodes from both this season as well as the first, as the camera zooms in on Tony smoking a cigar in slow motion. A stoic look on his face and then fades to the ocean which Tony just buried his best friend in. All to the Rolling Stone's "Thru & Thru", simply brilliant!

Season 3

Employee of the Month -- If you don't know why the end of this episode is so great, seriously--go watch it again. Despite the emotionally charged performances by Gandolfini (so wanting to help Melfi, perhaps in one of his only selfless moments of the series) and Bracco (displaying such vulnerability, while also trying to hold things together). What I REALLY love is the pause while Melfi considers her options, and then the snap to black (unlike our usual, calm fade) and "No" immediately thereafter.

Season 4

For All Debts Public & Private -- Chris pasting the money on his mother's fridge after killing his dad's own killer (maybe?) as "World Destruction" by Time Zone plays. Just always seemed like the epitome of an excellent Sopranos episode to me. Tony using his power to influence those around him, while also just being a regular guy in many ways (his dinner with Bobby) and it ending with the impact of Tony's choices and decisions long after he has stopped thinking about it. Similarly is the extra long and extra deep zoom in on the bill.

Pie-O-My -- As Pie lays sick in her stable, Tony pays her a midnight visit, and strokes her lovingly. Just such a simple ending to an episode, yet so amazing.

Watching Too Much Television -- What an abrupt ending. Tony, driving home, hears a song on the radio, when he then impulsively drives to Zellman's house and whips him with a belt in front of Irina. It is this kind of ending that is so out of left field, yet completely makes sense to those that love Sopranos. Was anyone expecting it? Doubtful, but it still seemed very appropriate based on what we know of Tony.

Whoever Did This -- The last 30 minutes of this episode are simply fantastic. No music or anything to lighten the mood. As Tony stumbles through the Bada Bing, a picture of Tracee, the dead stripper catches his eye, a flash of Meadow appears on-screen, and Tony forces his beat-down, exhausted body out of the pitch black strip club into the sunny, outside light.

Whitecaps -- Tony's influence stretches out to the lawyer who has made his life very unpleasant regarding the house by the ocean. As innocent people at a party try to eat their dinner, Sinatra booms over a loud-speaker on a boat. Terrorizing them, the fourth season fades to black.

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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Season 5

Two Tonys -- Tony sitting on his porch, looking out for a bear, such a symbolic and cool ending to an episode. Then Emmy Lou Harris's "Heaven Only Knows" blasts, great stuff.

Where's Johnny -- I adore this episode's ending. Tony & Junior sit while a Discovery Channel show plays, and Tony sadly questions Junior why he can't repeat and remember any of the good times they spent. At which point Junior tears up. So melancholy and detached at the same time.

In Camelot -- This ending is SO cool, yet also heart-breaking. Tony sits in the Bing, glorifying his dad and his antics of the good ol' days, while heavily drinking and smoking. You can tell through Gandolfini's amazing work that based on the episode's information, he has some serious doubts. His hero may not have been that great at all--and Tony's response? Drink the feelings away.

Long Term Parking -- This goes way up at the top of the list as one of my favorite endings. Tony & Carm happily (Tony probably less so) peruse the land that Carm intends to build on. The leaves fall, and as their feet crunch the leaves we are reminded that this is not too different an area than where Tony just had Ade murdered. Tony looks off distant as Carmela asks if he is okay, "Absolutely" he responds, and it fades to black. Just doesn't get much better than this.

Season 6

Join the Club -- While I like the previous episode's ending (Tony lying in blood waiting on 911), and it was shocking and such, but I never felt like Tony was in too big of danger, it was the beginning of a season after all. However Join the Club's ending, Kevin Finnerty sitting in an empty room with the lighthouse on the horizon spinning and Moby's "When its Cold I'd Like to Die" playing.

Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request -- I just love that Tony, albeit injured feels the need to retain his alpha status by beating up the new help. However implausible it may have been, I like to think that Tony could have done it...then that frightening grin that he gives himself before vomitting more blood as penance for exerting himself.

Sopranos Home Movies -- Just a touching ending with Bobby clutching his daughter after "making his bones." Tony's influence ruins yet another, and the sentimental "This Magic Moment" is just perfect.

Stage 5 -- Phil scanning the faces of departed mobsters, which then turns to Chris's child's christening and that horribly awkward moment between Tony & Chris all to the nihilistic sounds of "Evidently Chickentown".

Kennedy & Heidi -- What an unexpected place for an episode to end. Yet, Tony's peyote trip in Vegas fits his character to a T! Someone so unbelievably selfish and out of touch with his own feelings suppresses them more by getting nightmarishly high in the desert with a girl his adopted son used to fuck. It is haunting and disturbing--yet also beautiful.

The Blue Comet -- With the series coming to an end, I was sure hoping for an episode ending like this. Tony, when the shit finally hit the fan, forced into exile from his family. He is left with himself, and his gun (given to him by Bobby who was murdered earlier on, mind you). The camera zooms in on Tony and the doorknob in a final scene that would give Hitchcock anxiety.

Made in America -- So much has been said about this ending that it seems silly to paraphrase what so many others have have said more eloquently and better than I ever could. But what I will say is this...to bookend my comment about the previous episode: As scary as it is that idea of Tony utterly alone, the reality is much worse. The reality is now that Tony's life will go on and he may be knocked off at some point (perhaps in the restaurant that night, perhaps not), but the truely horrible part is that his family is also in harms way. Tony complains about the how he missed the golden-age of the mob in the first episode. A time when things where done right. And through the series we have seen the reasoning for retaliation decline (i.e. Ralphie was killed for his POTENTIAL killing of Pie-O-My, Ralphie was almost killed for a comment regarding Sac's wife, Vito was killed for being homosexual, etc etc). But I digress...to put it succinctly, the "rules" of the mob are quickly disolving, which means Tony's family may be fair game. And with his own crew going to court to testify against him, this is the life he has created for himself. A life of danger, murder, stress, panic, and anxiety...all so his family can order onion rings at what may be their final meal....or not...who is to say?

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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FlyOnMelfisWall wrote:Enjoyed your ending recaps, Garth. Always nice to be reminded of why this show is and will always be the gold standard of long form drama.
I didn't go in depth with them as much as I wanted, because when I started to break them down some of the episodes would require almost a full recap. And much too lengthy of a write up to explain why the culmination of plots in the ending are so brilliant. But thanks for reading, Fly!!!

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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So many great endings in this episode, but my personal favorite is the ending to Soprano Home Movies. It's actaully one of the main reasons that it's my favorite episode. I just love that last scene of Bobby returning to the lake house after his first kill. This Magic Moment playing as his daughter yells "daddy" and runs into his arms. I really feel for him at this moment. He's now a changed man and this episode also leads to him being number three in the family which we know will eventually lead to his demise in The Blue Comet. It literally gives me the chills everytime I watch it.

Re: Your Favorite Episode Ending?

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Whoever Did This. I love the way the episode pares itself down to the bone halfway through, after Ralphie gets it. From then on, a couple brief cutaway scenes excepted, we only follow Tony and Chris and their methodical yet surreal disposal of the body. In fact, the whole back half has this surreal, moody feeling to it; perhaps it's the sense that T and Chris' relationship is starting to strain. And then at the end, just darkness: the Bing seems even eerier than when Paulie later had his vision in there. Chris being gone is a perfect touch, further emphasizing the episode's growing feeling of emptiness and solitude; and then, the harsh glow of daylight intruding in as we just as soon cut to black and credits with that fantastic, desolate track.

It's a great episode partly because it starts out so much like "regular" TV (relatively speaking, anyway), and ends in total confused, isolated darkness.
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