The Sopranos Finale?

Sunday was the much-anticipated finale of the HBO series, "The Sopranos." It was on HBO since 1999, and it became one of my favorite shows. If any of you have not seen the finale yet and will be seeing it soon, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU SKIP THIS POST.

It all came to an end tonight. I watched the show at midnight, as I was out playing softball tonight and didn't get home until 10 PM. When the show ended, I immediately ran for my computer to gauge the reaction to the finale.

If creator David Chase was looking for a memorable, controversial ending, he found it.

I didn't like the ending at all. And I'm not alone in thinking that either.

I won't go into every plot line, but Phil Leotardo gets whacked in this episode, so it looks like the situation has settled for Tony. But he's about to be prosecuted the feds, as one of his guys, Carlo, has turned on him. The final scenes have Tony meeting his family at a local diner, but Meadow is running late. They focus on a number of people in the diner, and a few look suspicious. As Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is playing in the background, Meadow walks into the diner, Tony looks up, the words "don't stop" from the song are heard...and that's it.

The screen goes dark. At first I thought there was a problem with the cable or TV, but then the credits silently roll. It's over.

I was to say the least disappointed. The show left a lot of the plotlines hanging. I guess the very last seconds of the show are open to interpretation. It may have been Tony's last seconds on this Earth before he gets killed. (I'm sure this is exactly what Chase will say about it.) We'll never know for sure, if this indeed is the end of the show.

From the blog search I did tonight, it sounds like most Sopranos fans are let down by this ending. Some called it "brilliant," while some others said it "sucked." I'm sure on Monday the papers will be all over this, and everyone from the garbage man to President Bush will have their say on this. (So I'm glad I saw it tonight.)

This finale, of course, leaves open the possibility of a movie based on the series. That will be denied up and down by David Chase and everyone involved with the show.

But I was let down by this conclusion. I hate shows that leave the air for good so open-ended and up to "interpretation."

It was a lousy ending to a once-great show. Too many loose ends weren't tied up. And I'm sure the controversy regarding this ending has only just begun.

And I bet David Chase is laughing all the way to the bank.