The Sopranos Finally Over; Good Ending? Bad Ending?

Chase knows how to build suspense like no one else - Meadow trying to parallel park the car at the end alternating with Tony and Carmela looking at the menu was killing me.

One thing I couldn't figure out was how hard could it have been for Phil's people to find the safehouse? Even if you couldn't get Tony at Bobby's funeral, you could just follow him or his guys back to the house eventually.  

Interesting points from Enrico over at The700Level.  (He called it!)

What hit me the hardest was how bleak it all was.  Yes, there has always been the inevitable threat of things crashing down, but there used to be some good times as well.  This episode was just depressing:  Paulie in the empty Bada Bing ... welcoming Patsy and his wife into the Sopranos ... Tony's meeting with Paulie in front of Satriale's ... realizing that Uncle Junior is completely gone ... Tony being left with Paulie as his #1 guy.  All things considered, getting whacked in the restaurant might not have been such a bad thing for Tony.

- Funniest moment: Agent Harris' response to the agent who told him that Phil had been popped: "Damn--we're gonna win this thing!"

- Worst scene: The Sofia Coppola-esque Hunter cameo.

- Journey song: Great selection.  Seems a little out of character for Tony, though.

- The final scene: unbelievably intense.

Mentioned in The700Level's comments: a great recap from the Newark Star-Ledger (naturally): http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sepinwall/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1181536338249770.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

From the start, Chase has used "The Sopranos" as an indictment of modern American values and how, time after time, we all sacrifice principle in favor of self-interest. Maybe A.J. had achieved enlightenment or maybe not. But Tony and Carmela couldn't have their little boy risking his own life in the military (they wanted him to get the discipline without the risk), so they anesthetized him back into the materialistic lifestyle they understand so well. This is what America makes today, Chase seemed to be saying: permissive, selfish parents and kids who mimic them.