I don't own West Side Story but I recently saw Spielbergs version and it was my first real introduction to the story. Kinda short but it was just an idea that came to mind.
If someone had told the jets in the beginning where they'd end up now they'd have laughed it off. They were a free spirited bunch. First it was Tony who had led and guided them through their shitty lives. When Tony was sent to prison, Riff stepped up.
Riff was well liked as a leader by those in the Jets. He was charismatic. He was a strong leader. Not in any of their wildest dreams did they think that he'd be the one to go first.
"Its okay. Its okay, Tony. Take it out." Those had been Riffs last words before he collapsed from the stab wound he'd gotten at the hands of Bernardo. Before Tony then went and stabbed the leader of the Sharks.
Then Chino went and killed Tony. Shot him dead before his lover Maria; Bernardos younger sister. Jets and Sharks alike had picked up the one time leader of the Jets and carried him off having been moved by Marias heartbreak and love for Tony.
And Chino? Chino had been arrested that night by Officer Krupke and his partner. He was sent off to prison for a few years for the murder of Tony.
Now the Jets stood on the pier, gazes out on the horizon. Tony and Riff were both gone and it was painful. They were family that they'd never talk to or laugh with again. Never again would they run the streets together but the Jets would stay together for as long as possible. It was what Riff especially would have wanted.
