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Made in America (The Sopranos)

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"Made in America (The Sopranos)"

"Made in America" is the 86th and final episode of the HBO television series, The Sopranos. It is the ninth episode in the second half of the sixth season. It first aired on Sunday June 10, 2007, attracting 12 million viewers, the largest audience since the season five premiere.[1]

The plot details Tony Soprano's attempts to avoid assassination, marked by rival mob boss Phil Leotardo of the Brooklyn-based Lupertazzi family in the previous episode. "Made in America" was written and directed by the series creator David Chase, marking the first time Chase has directed an episode since the series premiere.

The closing scene of "Made in America" has been widely discussed and debated. It became iconic enough to be spoofed by the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign, ABC's World News Now and WCBS-FM Radio's switch from Jack FM back to their oldies format.[2]

Plot summary

The episode opens with Tony waking up in the bed of the safehouse. The core surviving members of the crew are there, and have been for some period of time, and a cat has taken to living with them. Tony has a meeting at a nearby airport, offering Agent Dwight Harris the name of the bank used by the two Arabs who frequented the Bada Bing. Tony asks Harris if he knows Leotardo's location but Agent Harris laughs at him. Tony is next seen at the safe house where his family is living and AJ is then shown developing his relationship with Rhiannon.

The next scene begins with a video of FBI surveillance of Bobby Baccalieri's funeral. At the dinner afterwards , AJ announces his disaffection with the American Dream and the government's war on terror to the people at his table, telling them that they are all "living in a dream," but most of them express disinterest or confusion.

At the safe house where Tony is staying, members of his crew bring their payments to him and they are all light, signs that the war is affecting everyone's business and that the Soprano crew is feeling the pinch. In a surprise move, Agent Harris notifies Tony that calls allegedly made by Leotardo are coming from a payphone in Oyster Bay, New York. Tony's crew sets out to look for gas stations containing payphones, but they are unable to locate Phil.

Once again, we overhear FBI surveillance, where Tony appears to ask a neutral party to arrange a sitdown with Butchie. Tony and Paulie have a sitdown with Butch DeConcini and Albie Cianflone, hosted by George Paglieri. The Lupertazzi family members agree to stop pursuing the war. Butch refuses to tell Tony where Phil is hiding, but tells Tony "do what you have to do". Tony also asks for reparations for the killing of Bobby Baccalieri and Butch agrees to a monetary payment for Janice at a future date.

Tony then comes out of hiding and he and his family return to their North Caldwell home. His crew returns to the Bada Bing. Meadow plans a wedding with Patrick Parisi. Life begins to return to normal for Tony, his family and his crew. The exception is AJ, who decides that joining the Army is his only recourse to contribute to fixing things, but both his parents and his girlfriend Rhiannon are against this. AJ as well as Tony and Carmela are shown discussing this turn of events with AJ's therapist. Ultimately though, Tony and Carmela distract AJ from his Army ambitions by getting him involved in producing a movie with Little Carmine's production company, and supplying him with a BMW M3 to replace his SUV, which burned to a crisp after he injudiciously parked it in some dry leaves while listening to Bob Dylan and making out with Rhiannon.

Phil is shown getting out of his SUV at a gas station, and says goodbye to his wife and grandchildren. Walden Belfiore shoots once in the head and a second time in the chest, killing him as he stands by the passenger side window. Phil's wife Patty then runs out of her Ford Expedition screaming, and the car is left in drive with the two babies inside. The car crawls forward, rolling over and crushing Phil's head, causing an onlooker to vomit. After hearing that Phil had been killed, Agent Harris yells, "We're gonna win this thing!".[3][4][5]

Tony visits Silvio, who remains in a coma. Tony's lawyer Neil Mink informs Tony someone is testifying to a grand jury (Tony believes it to be Carlo Gervasi) and that Tony is likely to be indicted. Tony offers the leadership of the Aprile crew to Paulie. Paulie, unsettled by a stray cat that keeps staring at a picture of Chris in the backroom of Satriale's, also feels superstitious about the apparent curse that has struck the leaders of that crew. After he turns down the offer, Tony says that he will offer the position to Patsy Parisi, which drives Paulie to accept the promotion after all.

Uncle Junior is visited in the state mental hospital by Janice who wants to find out where he has hidden his stash of cash, but his dementia is so far advanced that he doesn't recognize anyone. He thinks Janice is Livia, and that Janice's daughter Domenica is Janice. When she tells him that Bobby is dead, he answers "yeah, Ambassador Hotel," a reference to the location of the 1968 assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Tony finally goes to visit him hoping to convince Junior to turn over his stash to safeguard it for for Bobby's children, but Junior doesn't recognize him or remember that he shot Tony. He looks confusedly at Tony, when Tony tells him that he was involved in "this thing of ours" and that "you and my Dad - you two ran North Jersey". Junior, surprised, simply replies, "That's nice."

At the end of the episode, Tony meets his family at a restaurant. He arrives first and selects Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" from the tabletop jukebox. Various people enter and Tony looks at each of them. Carmela enters and joins him, asking about his meeting with Mink. Tony tells her Carlo is going to testify and she takes the news with a sigh. AJ arrives next, complaining about the more mundane tasks of his job but quotes old advice from his father: "Try to remember the times that were good." Meadow is late and has difficulty parallel parking her Lexus outside. A man at the counter orders coffee, looks in Tony's direction a couple of times, then walks towards him, going past to the restroom. Tony, Carmela, and A.J. each pop an onion ring in their mouths and finally, Meadow parks and rushes across the street, approaching the door. Tony hears the bell on the door ring and glances up. The screen then abruptly cuts to black and the music stops (on the word 'stop'). After several seconds, the credits roll in silence.

Final scene interpretation

The final shot of "Made in America"

Vanity Fair stated in an early interview with David Chase that "in true Sopranos fashion, Chase won't have tied up all loose ends".[6] True to the prediction, the ending is said to offer no closure or catharsis for viewers.[7] A major point of contention among fans lies in the fate of Tony Soprano in the episode's final moments and thereafter: some interpret that he is killed while others believe that he remains alive.[8]

One argument for the former points to a conversation that Tony had in "Soprano Home Movies" with his brother-in-law Bobby in which he comments on how suddenly and without sound death can happen in their lives as gangsters.[9] When questioned on the theory, HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer stated that the conversation is a legitimate hint.[10] The final scene showing a man credited as "Man in Members Only jacket" who goes to the bathroom has been interpreted as a nod to Tony's favorite scene from The Godfather in which Michael Corleone retrieves a gun from the bathroom before shooting his enemies.[11] The jacket has also been speculated to be a reference to the title of the opening episode of the season, where Tony is shot, and as a symbolic reference to membership in the mafia by the 'mystery man'.[12]

Arguments are also made with equally strong conviction that the meaning of the final scene was that life is fraught with fear and danger but it goes on, as the lyrics of the closing song are believed to imply.[8][13] Supporters of this interpretation point out that because of Tony's peace agreement with the Lupertazzi family and their tacit sanction of a DiMeo hit on Phil Leotardo, there was no legitimate basis to expect a hit on Tony Soprano.[14] It is also interpreted that as Meadow walked through the door, Chase cut away at the precise moment of Tony's unknowing apprehension, a feeling that would consume the rest of his life.[15]

Another interpretation is that the final scene allows the viewer to create one's own ending to the series, or no ending at all, allowing the plot to continue in one's mind.[16]

Chase, in his first interview after the airing of the episode, said the scene speaks for itself:[4]

I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there. No one was trying to be audacious, honest to God. We did what we thought we had to do. No one was trying to blow people's minds, or thinking, 'Wow, this'll (tick) them off.' People get the impression that you're trying to (mess) with them and it's not true. You're trying to entertain them.

Chase also stated that the series ending was planned during the 21-month hiatus between seasons five and six, a "long break" Chase asked for when approached about another season.[4] Reports also indicate that Chase had a definite ending in mind[10] and that he initially intended the cut to black to last thirty seconds.[17] He also denied that the ending was a setup for a future film.[18]

Guest starring

Production

The final scene of the episode was filmed in Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery, an Ice Cream and Candy shop located in Bloomfield, New Jersey.[19]

Journey's Steve Perry reports that he refused to let David Chase use their song "Don't Stop Believin'" in the final scene until he knew the fate of the leading characters, and did not give approval until three days before the episode aired. He feared that the song would be remembered as the soundtrack to Tony's demise, until Chase assured that it would not be the case.[20]

According to actor Matt Servitto (Agent Harris), the original scripted ending concluded with the mysterious Man in Members Only jacket walking towards the table.[21]

References

  1. ^ 'Sopranos' Body Count: 11.9 Million, a June 2007 article from Tribune Media Services
  2. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/07/13/2007-07-13_1011_reasons_to_rejoice-1.html
  3. ^ This is a reference to real-life former FBI supervisor, R. Lindley DeVecchio, who famously uttered the line when he was told Lorenzo "Larry" Lampasi, had been shot to death in front of his Brooklyn home. DeVecchio was later charged for informing the mob on various accounts, including giving the locations of other mob enemies to Gregory Scarpa, another parallel to Agent Harris and Tony. Moushey, Bill (December 1, 1998). "Switching Sides". {{cite news}}: Text "June 13, 2007" ignored (help); Text "accessdate" ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b c David Chase speaks!, a June 11, 2007 blog entry by Alan Sepinwall, TV critic for The Star-Ledger
  5. ^ Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires, Page 341.
  6. ^ "An American Family". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  7. ^ Moore, Frazier (2007-06-11). "No Easy Ending for 'The Sopranos'". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  8. ^ a b Korin Miller (2007-06-11). "Fans still fuming over 'Sopranos' finale". amNewYork. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  9. ^ Mark Farinella (2007-06-12). "A perfect ending to a perfect TV series". thesunchronicle.com. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  10. ^ a b "Sopranos rub-out theory gains credence". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  11. ^ "Sopranos Creator: Movie No Sure Thing". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  12. ^ "Think Tony Soprano's dead? You may be right". CNN. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  13. ^ Jim Emerson (2007-06-10). "'The Sopranos': Eighty-Sixed". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ ""Sopranos" finale: What Really Happened". sfgate.com. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
  15. ^ "Chat with Page 2's Bill Simmons". espn.go.com. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  16. ^ "Write your own ending to the 'Sopranos'". Pressconnects. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  17. ^ Carter, Bill Fans Online Sift for Clues in the ‘Sopranos’ Finale The New York Times. June 17, 2007.
  18. ^ Sopranos creator Chase says final episode isn’t a setup for a movie, but ’never say never’, The Boston Herald, accessed June 17, 2007.
  19. ^ Moss, Linda (June 10, 2007). "The Sopranos Ends in an Ice Cream Parlor". Multichannel News. {{cite news}}: Text "June 11, 2007" ignored (help); Text "accessdate" ignored (help)
  20. ^ Journey Rocker Kept Sopranos Boss Waiting pr-inside.com. Retrieved on June 12, 2007.
  21. ^ Sopranos Finale Cast Reaction accesshollywood.com. Retrieved on July 12 2007.
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