The Sopranos occupies a special place in the heart of many New Jerseyans, so seeing AJ and Meadow again with the iconic theme (Woke Up This Morning by Alabama 3) blaring over scenes of the Turnpike… yeah, it was fun. No doubt about it.
Bitter sweet, too, given the untimely passing of James Gandolfini in 2013.
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It was bitter sweet for other reasons as well. The theme of the Super Bowl’s most talked-about ad (directed by David Chase himself) is generational change. The world is certainly different today than it was in the 1990s and early 2000s. For starters, Meadow finally learned how to park! And E-ZPass is now a thing.
Would Meadow have driven an electric car? Sure. She was a left-leaning lawyer-in-training on the show, so a grown-up yuppie version of her character could’ve been expected to own a Tesla SUV. I don’t think you would’ve caught Meadow driving a pick-up (sorry Chevy), but you might’ve seen a family dinner at Bahrs Landing in Highlands. Tony always did want to buy a shore house, so after his first aborted attempt, he might have finally stuck with a purchase, I do think Tony would’ve trade in his 1999 Chevy Suburban by now assuming, of course, that he’s still in the land of the living and not a guest of the government.
Quick aside: Bahrs Landing’s owner told The Asbury Park Press that they don’t have an EV charging station, but people have called all the same to inquire as to whether they do. There are LOTS of bored people in the world, folks!
A frequent theme on the original show itself was change; in the very first episode, Tony complains to his therapist that “[i]t’s good to be in something from the ground floor” but “I came too late for that and I know. But lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end.” In the early seasons, Tony frequently reflects upon his own past growing up in Newark as the son of a mafia leader, memories brought into sharp focus as he battles for control with his Uncle Junior. In the show’s later seasons, Tony’s struggles with Meadow growing up and AJ’s development arresting dominate the family’s non-mafia storylines.
AJ exudes a “soy boy” vibe in the ad like he also did in the latter stages of the original series. I don’t think Chase is commenting on whether the modern male is an upgrade or a problem; it’s simply what is.
Chase’s ad doesn’t answer the most important question on most fans’ minds: is the siblings’ emotional embrace a direct result of having been brought closer together by watching their father whacked in a restaurant 15 years ago?
One thing’s for certain: I don’t think you would’ve ever caught Tony Soprano dead or alive in an EV, folks. Just sayin’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZYqFsU72Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ERWWCmgs4
