That's gotta be the new threadcrap GIF.

I agree that he may be up to something.

It was definitely weird how this ep ended, I thought Tony might have had her whacked, or might have placed an Insurance Policy on her to pay off his debt. But ultimately I think it makes most sense that this was just bad timing by the show and he is paying off his debt and offering his condolences at the same time.

Tony's unspooling, and I thought it was a good ep.

As far as this being the greatest show of all time yadaydayada, The Shield has been pretty awesome in the same time span here, and has not suffered the peaks and valleys that this show has yielded.

Indeed, this has been a great show, and when it does end, there will be other great shows to take its place.

Let's just see it finish strong and go off on the high note it deserves.

That is exactly what happened with Six Feet Under, let's hope Chase bring this puppy home.

I never have said this about a Sopranos ep., but this really wasn't that great. We got a look at how sever a gambling problme Tony has, but other than that I didn't feel like anything was accomplished. Anytime scatological matter is used in a storyline, you have hit rock bottom.

The highlight of the ep for me was the new addition to my sig. Always count on Chrissy for the words of wisdom in a crisis.

Yeah, that's what most disturbs me as well. You'd think at some point, he'd say something. Sil's got the dream life - he runs a strip club and passively 'advises.'

I was on the edge of my seat too..reaching for the remote to change the channel

Not only is that an awesome gif, but it looks to me like he's purposely trying to squeeze it out, like he planned to do something with it.

Tony has had an issue with people liking him/respecting him in the past. There was a couple of episodes they focused on how people only "like" him because he is boss....that people laugh at his jokes that arent funny...

Syl just reinforces this point. Tony surrounds himself with yes men. Syl would never dare to call out Tony on his gambling. He says what Tony NEEDS to hear, not what he should tell him.

Yeah, the distracting, excessive shakycam bothered me, and felt really un-Sopranos. It's a cheap way to create tension when the script isn't providing it, and a shooting style that's long past being innovative (I mean, I kept expecting Sipowicz to enter a scene.)

Huh? I don't know if you're joking but he did do it on purpose. He did it after the kid called him a F****T.

Really? I thought he looked ashamed afterwards like it slipped out or something. Now I'm confused. Why would he shit the shower on purpose after being ridiculed? That would only lead to more...ridicule.

The only thing worse than the people who incessantly bash a show are the people who incessantly defend a show and can't find any fault in it.

Look, having these episodes at some other point in the show's history would have been fine. The content itself wasn't terrible, but I. could. care. less. about. some. characters. I don't need a full episode swan song for Hesh. Was he really considered a major character? I viewed him as a guy Tony respected, due to his relationship with his father, and he could be someone Tony could go to in order to get an out of the family opinion. At this point in the series' lifeline, I don't care about his emotional state after the sudden death of his woman.

Did we really need to re-introduce the Vito storyline to show that Tony and Phil are cold-hearted pricks who put money before anything else?

And Junior...he got his farewell episode last week. I didn't need it though. I would feel fine exiting the series knowing he is stuck in a facility/jail, continuing to go further down the road towards delusional, without any of his family wanting to see him.

We've been building towards a NY/NJ battle for 3 seasons. Let's get this ball rolling.

It's looking more and more like we will either get:
- no major resolution for Tony
- a major resolution that comes out of nowhere in the last couple episodes; i.e. the Feds have been building their case for years, and BANG, here it is. Roll credits.

Ding, ding.

The show does NOT have a history or reputation for long climaxes. An entire season's worth of tension and drama come to a climax and conclusion in literally seconds. That has happened every season. The show also has a history of including a lot of stuff that goes nowhere and seems pointless.

So to get all in a huff because the show is doing what the show has always done is a bit silly.

Well, the shower scene is obviously representing Tony's arc. At one time, he was showered with praise and admiration, but now is being shit upon. When Vito Jr. stepped in it, it was indicative of Tony trying to stamp out all of the problems he's been having lately. Unfortunately, like the feces, Tony will eventually go down the drain. It's all about symbolism. JESUS, do I have to explain EVERYTHING to you people?!?

Niiiiiice. Good job Charlie Goose. Vito Jr. isn't the only one here full of shit. Where were you when I had to analyze The Great Gatsby in the 10th grade?

If you want realism then that is how it will probably end. I doubt it will be some shootout gang war. That's not in the shows style at all.

He solved a problem. He was being called gay and that shame was so great, he no longer wanted to be known in the school as the gay kid...now he won't be.

A crappy solution.... but it worked.

True.
But if this Vito Jr had any balls at all, he woulda picked up that duke and smeared it in that jackass's face!

After that, I doubt anybody'd be calling Vito Jr any fucking names!

that kid who shat in the shower really stole the show

It must be amazing to be able to shit on demand.

He wasn't ashamed, he just lost his mind and did something crazy. Kids were after him and he did them most screwed up thing he could think of to let them know not to screw with him. He shit in the shower and he stepped in it. He so doesn't give a shit anymore that he will shit in the shower at school. I don't think anyone would screw with him again after that.

You don't think giving each character a token "goodbye" episode qualifies as a "long climax?"

Does the show have a history of long climaxes? No.

If you wish to characterize these token goodbye episodes as a long climax, then you are using the word "climax" in a way that I'm not familiar with. These episodes have been winding things down... not cranking them up. You see these as unnecessary and apparently were expecting some sustained dash to the end.

The criticism leveled against these last episodes could have been said about any of the episodes of the last 3 or so seasons. But for some reason some here expect the show to suddenly be different because they are the final episodes of the series.

Again, it is unrealistic to expect the climax and conclusion of this season/series to last more than 60 seconds of airtime... 120 at the max. I'd be happy if the entirety of the last 2 episodes really came to a really big bang, but I'm not expecting it.