The Blue Comet

I'll post this review on this penultimate episode as I already did a review on the final episode when I watched it first time around. I had started the first part of season six with caution as I remembered it not being as good as it turned out to be. The second half of the season was set in my mind in the same way but in this case my memory was correct as the issues I could remember having with it turned out to be correct and indeed while there are brilliant bits to the second part of season 6, and it provides a classic conclusion, it is not quite as strong as the previous seasons.

I think my main problem with it is that it doesn't seem to have the flow and determination of point that it normally does. A lot happens but not all of it is as well done or as textured as I have become used to. Christopher's murder is one example because I didn't think that the reasons for Tony's decisions had been allowed to come to a head within him, while the aftermath in terms of his subconscious is dealt with too quickly. It doesn't help either that a lot of this half of the season seems to focus on AJ; I'm sure in terms of actual time it is small but he feels like he is there all the time and that his depression and constant selfish changes and turns are never off the screen for long. In some ways this should have been good because it should have allowed us to see Tony projected through another person while also seeing Tony's reactions to what he himself has created. I say it "should" have been interesting because in reality it isn't. Instead it does get quite tiresome because we "get" AJ early on in this season's narrative and the more we see of him doesn't tell us more about him – so in the end it is a bit like being told the same thing over and over but with different examples to illustrate it while you say "OK I get it" to no avail. It isn't awful by any means but this part of the season has undeserved prominence and it doesn't work for me.

Fortunately we still have plenty of great stuff in here. The central feud with New York and Phil in particular works well and engaged me while the ongoing family clashes with Tony do well to grab the attention while also informing a lot about the characters. Tony and Bobby is a new dynamic and it works well, specifically in the episode given over to Tony and Carmela visiting with Bobby and Janice up north. The thread that used to be the main one in the show (or at least in terms of tagline description) is brought to a nice close as the viewer (and Melfi) are left wondering if any of these revelations and insights have been real or not and what good if any has been done by these seven years spent talking. As before the show is best when it is revealing the characters and yet again Tony is laid bare as selfish, callous and cruel; his talk of the importance of family and his sweeping sentimental intentions pulled down in front of us where once we were very much on his side, by the time we end we see him clearer than ever and it makes his death perhaps an understandable conclusion.

The material may not be quite as strong in terms of complexity and flow but the performances still are strong. Gandolfini is strong right up to the final shot and this series will forever be the thing he is rightly remembered for, as he never is out of character or appearing to "act" so much as just "be". Falco is a great presence as well but has less to do this season. Imperioli repeats his performance from previous seasons but he is still good with it. Bracco may not have a lot of time compared to previous seasons but her sessions are still important and she brings her thread to a close well. Iler still leaves me wondering. It is not his fault so much as the material but he is annoying as a character and his performance doesn't manage to reveal anything behind the selfish petulance in the way that we had seen Gandolfini do in similar scenes. Turturro is perhaps another example to contrast with Iler, as her character is a monster but yet her performance makes it telling and interesting. Schirripa becomes more important again and his is a sweetly touching performance. Chianese is off to one side but he is still good as he loses his mind. Sigler, Sirico, Van Zandt, Vincent and others turn in the strong supporting roles that we are used to.

And so, with a jarring suddenness that we never heard coming, the show ends. This season is perhaps not the best of the seven years and it does have its problems but it is still "good" – just not as good as it should have been. Like what happened with The Wire's final season, it just feels like everything that had always seemed so effortless isn't working quite as well. So, while it is still better than most stuff on TV, this final season is not quite there and those that have watched it from the start will see this reasonably clearly.