But popping Phil Leotardo in front of his grandkids, and then having his head get run over and crushed open like a melon by a run-away SUV was absurdly, awesomely over-the-top.

The ending got me – got all of us watching, actually. 60 seconds of black nothingness, with no music (and the music over the credits is such an important part of the show, I think). Trevor thinks that that final scene is sort of a wrap-up for what the entire series was about – the family trying to hook up and be together. I kind of got that, but I also think it was designed to show the world from Tony’s point of view: so many subtle camera fades over suspicious characters (is that guy gonna draw a gun?), etc.

I think, actually, that out of all the characters, Carmella is the most damned. She is fully cognizant of Tony’s evil doings and yet doesn’t deny it; she accepts it in the name of Manolo and Versace. The kids were born into it (even Tony was born into it), but she chose it, and continues to choose it.

Kind of goofy. I love the show because he (David Chase) doesn’t really try to moralize the actions of the characters; they just “are”, and what happens to anyone in the show is nearly always the natural result of their own actions.