Oofa! Madone! It's really gone....*sniff*

OK, to be fair, I wasn't in any sort of denial about the ending of the Sopranos as a series.  And, as usual, the previous episode was far bloodier and action packed than the actual finale.  But therein lies the brilliance of David Chase - never predictable....yet....I totally predicted this ending.  I'm not boasting or anything, I'm just a little surprised by my overly simple insight.  My friend asked me a few days ago what I thought was going to happen and I shrugged in a Silvio-esque manner and said "Tony will take out Phil and everything else will go back to normal."  Which is exactly what happened....we think.  Chase took a cinematic brain twist in the last five seconds that may leave some people guessing.  In the last scene, we see the Sopranos, one by one, show up for a family dinner at a diner.  Tony waits, playing and fidgeting with the little juke box at his table top allowing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" to swell up and grab onto our hearts as if we've reached a triumphant moment at the end of an 80's movie.  A few sketchy characters eye Tony.  Then Carmela arrives, then AJ.   A blue collar man gets up from the bar, walks towards them and turns, heading to the Men's room (phew!!).  A group of street thugs enter.  Then after watching Meadow's painfully long parallel parking struggle, we assume she enters the restaurant next, only to see Tony's face acknowledge her presence coming through the door - all goes black.  And silent.  And the credits role. 

So life goes on....or does it?