'The Sopranos' took the midnight train going...?

'You probably don't even hear it when it happens." That's what Bobby told Tony Soprano about death as they sat in a boat together. Earlier in the season Silvio was eating in a restaurant next to a man who was murdered. Silvio didn't realize the man was killed until afterward. Phil Leotardo never realized it because he was taken out so quick in front of his wife. Foreshadowing?

Well, let's look at Tony. He's sitting with his wife and son and waiting for his daughter. Journey is playing "Don't Stop Believing" as a number of suspicious characters are seen entering the place where they are eating. One man in particular heads to the men's room and may or may not be there to kill Tony. We see his daughter Meadow enter, hear another ring of the bell as we have with everyone that has entered, Tony looks up, and we cut to a black screen as we hear the song cut off at Steve Perry singing, "Don't stop."

It's been a few weeks but it's still on everyone's minds. There have been theories from people that have looked into it too much and not enough. Yes, the show we've obsessed over, speculated on, and thought we could predict has ended. Many still want closure but David Chase knows life doesn't work that way, and that might explain why he chose the ending song he did. Observe some lyrics and my take on them:

"Some will win" - Paulie has been promoted. "Some will lose" - Christopher, Bobby, Phil, and countless other widows and their families. Uncle Junior has lost who he was. "Some were born to sing the blues" - Tony and A.J. "Oh, the movie never ends it goes on and on and on and on" - Just like our constant speculation about this final episode no doubt will.

There is no definite answer to life so why should there be for "The Sopranos?" We've emotionally invested ourselves in both only to get no definitive answer. Either way we "don't stop believin'" and "hold on to the feeling." We are the "streetlight people living just to find emotion." We have with a passion been watching "The Sopranos" the last eight years. We've loved, hated and cared for them, and many now feel all this investment was made on a "midnight train going" who knows where?

We will all stop one day after we've had our share of winning, losing and singing the blues. Some of us might be so wrapped up in all that life is and has thrown at us that we may not realize it's over when the time comes.

Maybe that happened to Tony or maybe not. Maybe, like Bobby said, "You probably don't even hear it when it happens." That would explain those last five seconds of silence we all observed before the ending credits came up.

Darren DeBari

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