42
by lordroad
I see I'm the only one thus far who chose choice D: "None of the above."
Let me explain.
It's simple, really. I lost all emotional ties with the show years ago. I think season 4 and season 5 were by and large awful. Gradually the intriguing anti-hero Tony Soprano, who sought counseling for panic attacks and ultimately "depression," became a psychotic goon without any redeeming affects. And as the show wore on and got more and more tired, I, the viewer, felt like I was getting my nose rubbed in it--as if it were a collective F-you from David Chase to the folks like me who once had some emotional investment in Tony.
Despite the "asshole bully" he is now, Tony was once a sympathetic character... he was charming, a tough guy, actually did care about people on true emotional levels (remember his buddy from high school in season 2 who Tony repeatedly tried to steer away from gambling, only to finally acquiesce once the guy had badgered him so much? Then think of how Chrissy reacted to the same scenario with JT Dolan... like the sociopathic predator Tony ultimately became, Chris revealed that was who he was all along when he nurtured his friend's downfall and got him in his debt). Tony also, arguably, felt remorse for whacking Pussy, as revealed in the flashback Christmas episode of season 3.
For seasons now this Tony has been dead, and in his place is this stereotyped violent thug who I have no emotional regard to and care about as I would horror movie cannon fodder--as in I want to see him die, and I want to see him die hard.
What is interesting about this downfall is it's a proximity bomb. Carmella is as disgusting as Tony is. She's the ultimate enabler, addicted to her lifestyle and the goods Tony constantly provides her, and she really doesn't care about anything aside from her lifestyle anymore. Personally, I'd love to see her go too, and I'd love to see her go down hard.
Reasons for these gradual yet very drastic character shifts? I can only speculate. But I think David Chase is disgusted by us--his fan base. He wants to stick it to us, see how long people can care about these revolting characters. I remember an interview once with Edie Falco and she was talking about how many women write to her telling her how much they admire her, and she was simply shocked as she felt her character was disgusting... and this was back in season 4, IIRC.
While I've enjoyed the majority of the episodes of season 6B, I've found a number of them to be absurd and stupid crap... Tony suddenly is a degenerate gambler? He goes out to the desert and gets high on peyote? Hell, why didn't David Chase save the Vito gay turn for a final episode, but apply it to the main man himself... Tony!
Finally, one thing I'd like to add for the record, is that I felt Tony was totally justified in killing Ade. I could never stand that whiny obnoxious character and it simply boggles my mind why anyone could possibly like her. She got way too much screen time, she was never a decent actress, and her informant story line went on waaaay too long to culminate in its very predictable end. The Chrissy side of the story was much more interesting and ultimately was a key factor in his demise at Tony's hands.
Whatever light, whatever glimmer of conflict within the villainous protagonist that is Tony, went out long ago. What we have now is just a reanimated corpse of an unredeemable, boring, and static thug... a Cleaver, if you will.