I am wired.

Tonight is the final episode of The Sopranos. Speculation about how it will all end is rampant in the national media. You can safely multiply the hysteria times one hundred when it comes to local media.

The Sopranos series is very special to those of us who live in the Garden State. As I have mentioned before, many of the location shots in the show were filmed in the town where I grew up (Kearny). For example, when Tony and the guys sit outside “Satriale’s,” (formerly, the West Hudson Auto Parts Store) they are sitting at the intersection of Kearny Avenue and Afton Street. When the camera angle moves to show the street north of Satriale’s, you can see St. Cecilia’s church and the State Farm Insurance Agency office.

The town itself has made a bunch of money (permits, etc.) from the show, as have the local businesses. I understand that the actors and crew are particularly fond of the Kearny’s fish and chips restaurants (The town has deep Scottish roots).

Even though this final season has effectively reminded those might have thought otherwise that Tony Soprano is a really, really bad guy, I will still miss him and the crew.

So, Jimbo, how do you think it will all end?

O.K. For what it’s worth (which is absolutely nothing), my guess is that Paulie Walnuts will try to go over to the NY Mob to save his ass (He made such an overture in the past) and will get whacked, quite possibly by the NY guys. Phil (the Head of the NY Mob) will die, along with his captains, probably in a large, messy gunfight. I think there will be a montage showing Tony being convicted of major crimes and sentenced to a term of … forever. This may well be followed by an epilog showing what becomes of his real family (I can imagine a scene that shows Carmela waiting tables in a diner on Route 3).

There you have it, in all its worthlessness. Now, we’ll wait to see what happens.