While the full nature of these otherworldly forces remains mysterious, there is no question as to their existence. The supernatural is real in the Sopranos there is an afterlife, there are ghosts, and the hand of the divine routinely reaches into this world from beyond the veil of reality.
But whereas those films explored the psychological effect of religion on their characters, The Sopranos flat-out embraces the numinous. Mob dramas have always come laden with religious symbolism, particularly those that, like The Sopranos -such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy and Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets -devote as much attention to the ethnic heritage and traditions of their Italian American communities as they do their criminal underworlds. In this, the show wasn’t exactly breaking any new ground. From the earliest episodes, we watch these characters struggle to rectify their immoral lifestyles-which, in the case of both of Tony’s families, lay atop a foundation of avarice and bloodshed-with their sincere faith in a larger moral universal order. Mystery, particularly its relation to salvation, lay at the heart of Catholicism, and so it goes for the series. Rather, I want to use it as a springboard into the show’s relationship with mystery in and of itself.Īlong with being one of the greatest mob dramas to ever grace our screens, big or small, The Sopranos is also one of our greatest spiritual, and specifically Catholic, dramas. The only thing that’s certain is that the ambiguity was the point, and I have no desire to re-litigate the matter here. Did Tony get whacked, the sudden cut to black signaling his exit from this world? Or is the lack of resolution meant to show that Tony simply continues to live his life in a constant state of anxiety and paranoia? 2 Right away, fans debated what it all meant. Suffice to say, to an American television audience largely unacquainted with narrative ambiguity, that ending proved both instantly iconic and instantly contentious (as well as confusing-many a viewer thought their cable had cut out). We get one final close-up of Tony looking up towards the front door at the sound of the bell set off by Meadow then-nothing. She finally succeeds, then rushes, rather carelessly, across the street and into the restaurant, as the sense of dread builds to a crescendo alongside the soundtrack. Outside, daughter Meadow, running late, struggles to parallel park. All around them, their fellow Jerseyites-families, couples, old timers, as well as one shadowy white loner in a Member’s Only jacket and two young African American men whom Tony seems to clock as suspicious 1 -enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. Much has been and no doubt will continue to be written about the show’s climax, which sees the family Soprano-troubled New Jersey mob boss Tony, wife Carmella and son AJ-seated in a booth at a popular Americana diner, chowing down on onion rings and listening to the Journey rock anthem “Don’t Stop Believing” from the table-top juke box. Fifteen years ago, The Sopranos ended its six-season run on HBO, going out with neither a bang nor a whimper.
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