It took the standard mob boss and gave him normal family and interpersonal issues and faults that the character recognized and tried to overcome. The series had a devoted following of fans. And it came to a controversial-crashing halt.
There were some cross-over themes between the series.
One was Faith and Reason. The mob boss had religious teachings, but did not believe in his faith. He rather lived by his own code of conduct. He knew that it was not reasonable or rational to front the piety of faith to family and friends but at the same time do terrible things in the name of honor.
Another was that guilt is a true motivator of actions. Tony Soprano did feel guilt. He did have personal issues that he wanted to resolve. Those conflicts led him to bare his soul to his therapist. In the LOST world, regret probably bound the main characters together more than simple guilt. The same internal depression of knowing that you are doing something wrong but have no will power to change it has to wear down one's soul over time.
If you combine the internal conflict between one's raised beliefs to one's actual criminal behavior which brings about repressed guilt, you have a simmering "war" within one's self. Which could be the symbolic mystery of the LOST grave warning that "a war is coming" to the island. It was not really a massive conflict between Ben and Widmore over the control of the island, but as some fans accept, the vague notions of Jack accepting his role as a leader to resolve issues he had with his father.
In the Americanization of the mob life, it is the background of the ethnic neighborhoods, the culture, the economic factors and the lure of the lifestyle of being a gangster. the question was always present whether did Tony choose his own path or was his fate to lead a crime family. In the backgrounds of the LOST main characters, there was little connection in ethic, culture, education or economic factors that would have bound them together by fate to come to the island, battle smoke monsters, or allegedly save the world. TPTB may believe that everything and everyone is connected spiritually but in the mob world it was respect and honor among thieves was an overriding connection between gangs.
For the LOST main characters, they appeared to get some form of blissful relief or salvation in the church when the doors opened and they were engulfed in white light. Some have speculated that they were being transported to the next level of the after life or heaven. Tony Soprano's era on TV ended with a black screen. Viewers don't know whether he was seconds away from being riddled with bullets, or served a federal grand jury subpoena, or given a briefcase full of cash. But in both situations, the series did not wrap up with any clear, redemptive moment of truth. For cutting edge shows that wanted to push the characters and story lines to new places, the vague endings still cause pause.
I still believe cutting edge shows need to make a final statement to wrap up the tangled story lines from previous seasons. A great drama has an action packed climax (resolution) and not an inconsequential tangent that leaves the audience wondering . . . .
