I believe he was sincere. One of the reasons I love their relationship is Johnny is the closest thing Tony has to an equal. Definitely on the business side, and even in the sense that John is emotional too — about his wife, his daughters. They just get each other.

He wasn't really "in the mob," so my guess is after he reflected a bit on the beating he decided this wasn't for him.

That reaction cracks me up every damn time.

I don't think we're sympathizing because he's gay, we're sympathizing because he knows what it is that would make him happy but because of the life he chose can't do it. (And I don't mean, "Aw, we feel so bad!" But being gay wasn't what Vito's story was *really* about).

Yeah, that's all done in post. Reminds me of the Grizzly Bear video for "Two Weeks."

The more I hear about or from Kevin Smith the less I like him. Aside from "Dogma," I never thought his movies were all that great, either.

Thanks. It's a testament to how great the show is that we still see up to 200 comments on each of these posts, nearly five years after going off the air. There's still so much to talk about.

Remembering that just made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

It is about philosophy, but it's from an interview talking specifically about the finale. He's talking about why people feel the need for closure, and how he never understood that because he didn't see life that way. Soon after, the interviewer asks the question about life having an arc.

Yeah, good points. He chose that specific song for very specific reasons. I could almost understand thinking "song cutting off" = "Tony definitely dead" if it were just any random song. Say, some song plucked from that day's Top 40 just for the sake of having music there. Then it would just be, "Yeah, the song has no…

That sequence is forever burned into my memory.

Well, two things:

Yeah, and it's also that change is really hard. It's hard to look back and admit you messed up, or missed chances, that it all came down to you. It's easy to fantasize about it. How many times have we heard Tony say, "If only I married this girl, or that girl, my life could have been different?" Ultimately you ignore…

I know. It's sad, really. I'll meet up with old friends who I haven't seen in years, the conversation will quickly go there, and I'll realize, "Oh, right. We have nothing in common anymore. When did that happen?"

I love that moment. I also love the entirety of "Remember When," especially the scene when Tony and Paulie try to go to the old strip club and it's been replaced by a hotel or something. Their miscommunication with the Hispanic guy who has no recollection of their old hangout is hilarious.

In all seriousness, you bring up some good points. I especially like the idea of escapism. The more I watch the final scene, the more I see that playing into it. We live life, knowing we're going to die, that maybe today something horrible will happen, And yet we find ways to escape that, because what else can we do?

Yup. Like everyone else, Paulie can't leave his comfort zones. She passes in "Kennedy and Heidi," on a bus back from a night out in the city seeing "Jersey Boys."

Well that didn't take long! This is going to be an interesting season in the comments section.

@Todd VanDerWerff

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