How Did David Chase Become a Cowardly Writer?

The last two episodes of THE SOPRANOS were an absolute disgrace.

Artie Bucco can't believe he was invited to the shoot.

"Don't Stop Believing" America! The "Journey" is over! Get it? Tony was supposed to look like he was in a coffin at the beginning! Get it? That burning yellow SUV is all of us! We're all gonna die! The whole bleepin' show was about mortality for chrissakes! Get it!?!

HBO: If it's about mortality, it's important.

Get it?

Or maybe it was all about family, i dunno. What I do know is that more and more marquee talents like Chase have turned away from writing for their audience and instead are writing for themselves or, even worse... history. When you no longer have the audience's needs and wants in mind, you're apparently freed up to wallow in your own narcissism and use your show to make hollow political points, utilizing critic-friendly/meta/pre-existing material(Twilight Zone dialogue about... TV writers, a clip from execrable "we're dysfunctional and loving it!" family dramedy LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, the weighty weighty warbling of Bob Dylan, etc) to hammer them home.

Blecchh.