THE SOPRANOS WILL END WITH A BANG OR A WHIMPER?

 THE LAST SHOW WILL END IN THE FOLLOWING WAY ?????????????????????????????

First a few comments.

 This is one TV show I will greatly miss. I find it rare that I would plan to make Tuesday nights on HBO at 10 PM a ritual. But that has been exactly what I have been doing, avidly following the vicissitudes of Tony Soprano, his family, and a true cast of "characters."

 I will not enumerate the multiple thrills this show has provided me. If you love it as much as I have each of you will have your own list of favorite details. But sadly as they say "all good things must come to an end."

 So what is your prediction for the final show and why.? Here's mine.

 Tony is too "big" a person in multiple ways to stay alive, so he must die. Death by what means? The Sopranos, although fiction has the verisimilitude of psychological reality except for one noteworthy exception occurring in last weeks episode. His therapist was out of character throwing Tony out of treatment in a totally unprofessional manner. I think the writers panicked needing a way to have even his trusted allies gang up on him personally and his associates collectively.  This intentional ganging up has set the emotional stage for the final chapter where it is impossible to to miss the feeling of the "gathering storm."

 So who whacks Tony?

I will get right to the point.

 His son has been viewed as progressively more troubled - narrowly avoided suiciding, having a complete nervous breakdown, and on the verge of suffering a major crisis of conscience. Added to this is the horrendously insensitive manner Tony responded to his son's undisguised psychological weakness in last week's story line.

Under this boy's sullen insecurity I imagine lies a volcano of repressed and suppressed fury at his father Tony - Tone for short. I know from hard won personal and professional experience that people who are treated like slaves typically put up with extremes of abuse until they hit their own inevitable breaking point. Then they snap and react violently.

In this light I would think it apt to highlight the boys ongoing struggle to take a stand against his charming but ultimately pathological and characterologically twisted father bending the shows themes towards the son's being so provoked that near the end he snaps and whacks his father. The method doesn't matter it is the motivation that does.

If this happens as far as I am concerned I would feel sad for Tony and his family yet at the same time I think justice will have been served.

As far as the Sopranos is concerned:  BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!