I’m Afraid To Watch The Final Episode..

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I’m feeling high anxiety about watching the last episode of the Sopranos. I fear it coming and I’m not sure I’m ready to watch HBO’s solution for me and other soon-to-be depressed viewers, the visual sedative, the tranquilizer, if you will—and that’s the first showing of “John From Cincinnati,â€? or whatever it’s called– scheduled to air right after the possibly bloody resolution of the Soprano epic.

“John from Cincinnati,â€? the new surfer dude series that the folks at HBO hope will take my mind off the fact, the reality, that there will be no more Sopranos for me to look forward to on Sunday evenings. [To be fair, the intriguing promo features “Johnâ€? in full surfer costume—black wetsuit, minus his surfboard, standing on dry land–but as if he were riding a wave, that is, his feet are a couple of feet of the ground.]

It’s been years and years and I’m attached to Tony and his family.

And how I looked forward to seeing my “littleâ€? friends in hi def on our 40-plus inches flat screen.

I have a confession, though: last week’s thrilling episode moved too fast and didn’t work for me. Tony Soprano’s fall through space, with bullets flying all around him, felt too hurried and that’s why I fear the final episode. I just never imagined Tony, the family man, huddled alone in a room with a loaded rifle.

Somebody’s in a rush to get this all over with and I’m not sure I can face it. Maybe I’ll watch the rerun.