Death-Sniffing Cat Shows Up in the News, Anchoring My ‘Sopranos’ Theory

My argument that the ‘Sopranos’ ended with a bloodbath (which David Chase didn’t show out of sensitivity to our love for the Soprano family and because it was obvious to the discerning) was based in part on the figure of a cat that bedevilled Paulie Walnuts. You’ll recall that Paulie finds the cat in the clubhouse, staring at the portrait of murdered Chris, and tries to broom it out, saying,  "That cat is an omen of death!" or words to that effect. Then Tony Soprano forces Paulie to take a job he doesn’t want to do–because all the other capos who did it died–and sure enough, in a late scene in the last show, the cat starts following Paulie. Whose death, though prefigured, is never shown.

This was evidence of Chase’s great theme in the final show: Tony bullies everyone into his circle of death, overcoming their better judgment. (The other giveaway was his forcing his son Anthony into his SUV when the kid is jogging, trying to improve his health…)

Well, life imitates art. Here’s that cat again.

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