My husband and I would not miss one minute of every Sopranos episode.
We are having 26 people over next Saturday night for a party and we were
in the middle of hanging new art work in the foyer of our new home and
we had to stop immediately when we heard the opening song. However, we
were extremely disappointed with the finale. We don't like the dream
episodes. The only thing we want is action; whether soft, hard, quiet
or loud, just ACTION!!! We enjoyed the dumping of Pussy, holding of
Livia, killing of Richie and busride for Janice. I don't know what we
are going to do for the next nine months (we can't have a baby - too
old). I guess we are just stuck watching reruns. We watch them over
and over again; and you are right, each time we watch the same episode,
we find something new. Keep up the good work and can you please make
your season for the Sopranos run maybe two months longer?

Sure, I'll see what I can do! Remeber this is a Fan Site of The Sopranos. This site has nothing to do with HBO, David Chase or any of the actors.

Well, I thought it ROCKED. I may be in the minority but I thought that the
dreams were amazing. Tony seeing the friend that he had killed with Pussy
right there, Silvio in Al's outfit from the Godfather sliding by but man that
fish ROCKED. Tony's subconscience telling him what he already knew but was
to afraid to admit. I actually got teary when they were all on the
boat....hell Tony talking to the fish got me because I knew what was coming.
It did leave somethings unanswered. Is Livia still at the airport? LOL!!!
Will there be no Meadow next year? How serious are the charges?

I am hoping for a little more Furio next season I think he is a GREAT
character and needs to be used more. With Chris and Adriana engaged I can't
help but think they should use their wedding maybe next season for a ton of
stuff to go down. I think they need more Dr. Melfi next year. She really
did not have as much to do this season.

All in all I loved it and can't wait to watch it again

I don't think you'll be in the minority at all. There were a lot of very subtle and hidden meanings in the whole dream scenes. Every scene was very well thought out and I think it's going to take some time to figure out what it all meant. I wouldn't even be surprised if this episode won some kind of award down the road.

I totally agree with you about Furio. He needs to be brought in more. I don't know why but he is still listed as a "supporting cast" member even though he's part of Tony's crew. I also would like to see more of Dr. Melfi next season. We've seen a different side of her this season and she's no longer the innocent Dr. anymore.

Sorry, the last episode stunk. After all the buildup regarding Pussy the story ended very flat. The dream sequence was a big disappointment in that it chewed up so much time on nothing. This was the worst episode of the season (maybe of two seasons).

I guess you call 'em as you see 'em. I'm not sure what you or other people who were disappointed were expecting. What I think is happening is that you are expecting The Sopranos to be something it's not. The premise of the series is to depict the day to day life and times of a modern day crime family in a changing world. Things are different now than they were in the 50's and 60's. Tony was raised in a world of mobs, organized crime and the mafia. His father was in it and everyone he knew was in it. Tony is now living the only life he knows and he's faced with the same problems as we all are. The stress of trying to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors while trying to raise two children and have a happy marriage are a constant struggle. The show begins with Tony having fainting spells and his neighbor recommends Dr. Melfi to help cope with the stress. This is the start and the premise of the show. What follows is the development of Tony's life and how he moves forward trying to balance his two worlds. this is what the episodes are about and it is supposed to depict everyday life. If you don't want to accept this then you'll never be happy with the show because you're hoping that it is something other than what it is intended to be. I personally thought this was a brilliant episode in every way. It's fine if you didn't like this episode or the show in general. Everyone has their own opinions and likes and dislikes. This site is all about the sharing of information and thoughts on the series.

At first, I felt let down (I guess the teasers got to me, and with the penultimate episode with Richie getting clipped by the once-Parvati-earthmama-now-'Jan'-the-country-club-wife-never-to-be really raised expectations), but I agree that this one was intended for repeat viewing:

Here are a few items I interpreted from the dream sequences:

They were precipitated by Tony getting something into his system that had to come out (metaphor for Big Pussy)/

Silvio Dante appearing as the cardigan-wearing Don Michael Corleone mimicking the "enemies have yet to present themselves" line for Tony's apparent amusement (again, Big Pussy).

Tony finding the FBI taping equipment in a false bottom of a cigar box (remember that Pussy doesn't even look at Tony at the beachside dream sequence, but has a stogie firmly clenched in his mouth).

The confirmation of Tony's subconscious suspicions regarding Pussy coming (brilliantly) from a talking fish (I thought there was a nod to the "Sicilian Message" from the first Godfather in this scene, particularly when the fish with Pussy's voice says that he is between two other "sleeping fishes," which forced Tony to confront what he, in "the life," had to do, i.e., kill Pussy).

There are plenty of other scenes that I'm trying to figure out: What was the significance that the food that made Tony so sick was Indian (did it have something to do with the butter that Artie described which hastened the funeral pyre of Indira Ghandi?) [we know Chase doesn't throw in these details for no reason); why did Pussy want his eyes?; Can Tony really be so sentimental that he would propose Chris "get his button"/get "made" just because it was Meadow's graduation (Furio sure knew how to take care of a hand-job house that wasn't paying its cut to Tony's crew, not like Chris)?

Tony isn't convincing Dr. Melfi that he has resolved his sadness over Pussy (I though the 'pup tent' Tony was sporting at the dream session with Melfi was hilarious); will Carmela really go spend three weeks shopping in Rome (and maybe meeting the Holy Father? Would Carmela be so bold as to ask for an annulment from the Pope so that she can "be free" to hang paper with whoever she wants?)

What makes this show so remarkable is that anyone even cares to this degree (like I admit I do - - March 2001 can't come by fast enough to rescue T.V.

We enjoyed the season finale immensely. I believe the reason that its
quality seems to split viewers down the middle (they love it or hate it) is
because it required participation by the viewer. The entire series is about
Tony trying to reconcile himself with his two families. We have seen his
character grow through his sessions with Melfi, his interactions with those
close to him personally and professionally, and, repeatedly, though his
dreams.

Many viewers simply don't like being required to invest their imaginations
and intellect into the dreams, instead calling them "stupid" because they
would have much preferred to have these their television as obvious as a
hammer. But one of the things that we all enjoy about this series is its
engaging complexity of character, and complex characters will often act as
indicated by complex motives. Sometimes we have to use our brains to
completely figure them out. Our reward is that the experience is much more
personal for us.

So Tony wanted to kill himself (after all, he's his own worst enemy),
"smoking" himself, as he initially thought all of his enemies had been
smoked. He he ultimately considers that perhaps the Drs are wrong, that he
won't ultimately betray himself as surely as a cancer victim is betrayed by
his own body.

He comes to grips with the fact that someone close to him is selling him out.
Will he have to kill Paulie? No. Paulie frustrates him on occasion, but
their true enemy has yet to reveal himself. The dream Melfi helps him
recognize that he has a hardon for Pussy... and he sees that he will be
moving with the younger crowd in the future, including a"made" Chris and
Furio, who will replace Pussy and protect Tony's ass. Finally, the Pussyfish
confirms Tony's suspicions, and it's a good thing that Tony has had him on
ice since he returned from Puerto Rico, ignoring him while giving Silvio and
Paulie a bump. Now its clear that Pussy must sleep with the fishes.

In the end, Tony does what needs to be done, though it troubles him more than
it might have in the past. Bear in mind that Tony does a lot of the hits
himself, which is unheard of for a top guy in the real mob; he usually likes
doing it. While Tony is brutal enough (like Paulie) to pull his gun out
first, as he must, he is also sentimental enough (like Silvio) to regret it
so much that Melfi senses his dispair. But business is business. Typically,
he buries his regret and walks out on Melfi.

His daughter makes him proud, and his family celebrates in typical fashion.
We see the good life that he enjoys with his family and also the way he
finances it: garbage collection (ironically), porno booths, turning a decent
hotel into a place for people who are too drunk or stoned to tend a
cigarette, and poor Dave Scatino... who, having lost his business and his
family, is moving closer to Vegas (some "new day").

Tony is happy and proud for just a moment, so he lights up a smoke to
celebrate and reflect. Meanwhile, there's a wet Pussy out there somewhere,
and the tide may be rising.

After watching the episode a second time, I think it's brilliant. I, too
was a little disappointed after the first viewing because I'd expected to be
surprised by the kind of plot twists that were in the last episode (which
blew me away). I wanted that kind of excitement. But the dreams were a
wonderful way to see into Tony's interior life. They also helped Tony
realize consciously that Pussy was a rat. So the dreams served many
purposes, including the kind of humor we haven't seen before, such as Tony's
encounter with Melfi. His being dressed at that time in his t-shirt
underwear reminded me of Stanley Kowalsky in Streetcar Named Desire. (Maybe
now I'll imagine Stanley aroused like Tony obviously was.) The talking fish
was so clever, with Pussy confessing and telling Tony he knew it all along
which is why he passed him over for promotion. The food poisoning was a
smart story idea, because it allowed Tony to search Pussy's belongings and
learn the truth. I love to watch Tony's face. Gandolfini is one of the
best actors around. I'd rather watch him than DeNiro anyday. I watch the
episodes over and over and the story gets better and better because I
discover new things, new details. I LOVE the details on this show. And the
pauses, watching people think. I'd begun to enjoy Pussy, so I'll miss him.
I'd fantasized that he would either go bonkers or pretend to, so he wouldn't
be competent to rat on Tony. He'd do his time for pushing H and I imagined
Tony visiting him in prison next season. A caller to a talk show mentioned
that last week Pussy messed up his leg badly, and this week, even in his
underwear there was no sign of that injury. So he thought it was all a
dream. But I think either enough time had gone by for the leg to heal, or
it was just a continuity flaw. Anyway, Vincent Pastore said that he was
told last December that it would be a good season for Pussy, but the bad
news was that he would be rubbed out. So goodbye Pussy. I also liked the
montage at the end showing aspects of their criminal enterprise, interwoven
with the crew and family enjoying themselves at the party. ( I, too, thought
that Carmella was looking for Pussy. ) By the way, the scene with the mink
was wonderful, and she looked gorgeous. I don't think Tony "bought" her
with the coat. I think she's looking for any reason to believe their
relationship can work, and if he gives a little, it means alot to her,
emotionally. The fact that he reached out to her in any way is what
mattered. Also, she'd complained about the lack of sex and Tony was sweet
and cute about it and I think won her heart again. Not that I think that
will last very long. But at that moment and the rest of the episode, she
loved him completely. And she's in denial, seeing the FBI as persecutors of
her family. I read in the NY Times that the next season won't air til next
March to give Chase more time to "map out where he wants his characters to
go." It will give him the opportunity to think out two seasons at once,
since they made a deal for 26 more episodes. I hope they change their
minds. Thanks for this forum!