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Premeditating on The SopranosTimothy Noah talks with readers about the coming climax of HBO's mob drama.


Updated Thursday, June 7, 2007, at 5:45 PM ET

Timothy Noah was online at Washingtonpost.com on Thursday, June 7, to look ahead to Sunday's final episode of The Sopranos and take a look back at the past season of HBO's beloved mob-themed hit. An unedited transcript of the chat follows.

(Continued from page 1)

Timothy Noah: That's the genius of the show, that you can see humanity in the most immoral people. It's something we reporters have a chance to witness on a regular basis. Jeff Goldberg, my TV Club interlocutor, has drawn on his extensive experience covering the Mob and has some remarkable stories to tell.

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Bethesda, M.D.: I always find it funny how quickly the family gets over deaths. A.J. was surprised by Bobby's death but Christopher was only killed two weeks before and it's pretty much forgotten.

Timothy Noah: One legitimate criticism of the show is that it wildly overstates the frequency with which mobsters "whack" each other and outsiders. The truth is they probably spend more time talking to their lawyers. I'd have liked to see Tony's lawyer become a bigger character in the series.

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Arlington, Va.: I watched an interview with Peter Bogdanovich questioning David Chase on the Season 1 DVD extras, and I've heard that the ending is similar to the beginning. I can see that—Tony was in serious denial and very depressed. Now it's A.J.'s turn, but I don't think A.J. will stay depressed much longer—just as the hit on Tony forced a wake up, I think the same will happen to A.J. I just can't wait to see what finally jolts A.J. "back to life." Will it be another near-miss on his life? Or someone else? Or will the threat be enough? And will A.J. finally reconcile his feelings for his dad's business, or will he remain a tortured soul like his dad?

Timothy Noah: I think A.J. is beyond redemption. It's funny—even though he isn't a criminal, I think he's probably the character most people would like to see iced. Such a whiner!

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Hackensack, N.J.: Hi, Timothy. Any thoughts on why Melfi rejected Tony? It seems wildly out of character. She seemed more like a pissed-off goomar than a concerned therapist.

Timothy Noah: I think Jeff Goldberg had it right: It wasn't that she changed her mind about whether Tony could benefit in any legitimate way from psychotherapy, it was merely that her prurient interest in Mob life was exposed at a dinner party, and she felt humiliated.

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Columbus, Ohio: What is the significance of Tony alone in Junior's bedroom with the automatic rifle given to him by Bobby? Will Tony kill himself, or is he too narcissistic?

Timothy Noah: Too narcissistic, for sure.

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Re: Meadow: You'd think Meadow's hotness would at least score her better men. But I think it speaks largely to her inner self, as she probably is dating men she thinks she can control after growing up in a house watching her boomingly dominant father figure do whatever he wanted in controlling her mom.

Timothy Noah: That's plausible.

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Henrico, Va.: A lot of friends and family are taking Silvio's death (he might as well be dead) very hard. They think he's the coolest person on the show. What is up with that cardboard cut-out of Silvio in the safe house Tony and crew are in?

Timothy Noah: Good question. And why haven't they recruited Nils Lofgren to replace him?

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Falls Church, Va.: Have you watched the syndication on A&E yet? Is it as good, or really watered-down? Are body parts blurred out or edited out? Are curses beeped or dubbed over?

Timothy Noah: I don't know. But I once watched a cleaned-up version of "Glengarry Glen Ross" on TV and it was utterly preposterous. I suspect the same thing would be true here.

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St. Louis: Tim, one of my favorite aspects of The Sopranos has been David Chase's liberal use of misdirection and "red herrings," particularly in the final season. The FBI/terrorism, Paulie's flirtation with New York, Phil's temporary temptation to leave the game etc. Thus there are a number of mutually exclusive turns that could appear overdetermined in retrospect. I think that if there is any meta-message to The Sopranos, it is this: Predicting the future is pointless—there is no way to know—but we construct narratives that "explain" each turn as if it made sense. Any thoughts?

Timothy Noah: I think you're right. Life is unpredictable, so why not art?

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New York: Do you think another show of The Sopranos caliber ever will come along and challenge us and make us think like this again? I mean, a weak Sopranos episode is better than 99 percent of the stuff that's on TV today.

Timothy Noah: Yes, I do think TV will continue to deliver better and better programs—and also dumber and dumber ones. There's more of it now than ever before, hence the proliferation of both the good stuff and the garbage.

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Bowie, Md.: Three! More! Days! Most of the cast are strong actors. Do you think they will have trouble transitioning to other forms of entertainment (TV, movies, stage) or will they be typecast? (I'm sorry, I can only see Tony Sirico as Paulie—but at least Steve Van Zandt has a something to fall back on.)

Timothy Noah: James Gandolfini and Edie Falco already have enjoyed much success playing a number of roles that are very different from the roles they play on The Sopranos. But I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at the actors who play Paulie or Adriana and think of anything but The Sopranos.

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Laurel, Md.: It's too bad that Tony never found out about Carmela's hookup with A.J.'s principal while she and Tony were separated.

Timothy Noah: Aw, let Carmela have her fun. Given Tony's philandering, she has it coming to her.

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Richmond, Va.: Even if Tony survives and gets rid of Phil, what is left of the Soprano family? Seems at this point, given the demise of Christopher, Bobby, Vito, Sil and others, they really would be just a "glorified crew."

Timothy Noah: Maybe they'll open a restaurant.

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Timothy Noah writes Slate's "Chatterbox" column. Previously he was an assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report, a reporter in the Washington bureau of the Wall Street Journal, and an editor of Washington Monthly.
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