I'll go for some symbolism here rather than subtletly. Agree that YTF's most recent ones are anything but subtle.
In the episode where Tony kills Ralphie ("Whoever Did This", S4E9) and they are getting the body ready for disposal, Tony is walking up the stairs carrying rolled-up carpets and chains and weights, looking just like Jacob Marley (definitely intentional).
More debatably symbolic would be the bowling ball. Tony and Chris take a bowling ball out of its bag and replace it with Ralphie's bald head. A little later, a loud noise startles them until they realize it's just the bowling ball dropping down the stairs. Ralphie's bald-headed soul descending into Hell? Maybe.
Also in that episode, Tony operates a tractor/bulldozer (which Chris could not operate). There is a close-up on his fingers manipulating the levers like a puppeteer. Then on his face, he is smoking his cigar and laughing in an evil way. I don't know if he is supposed to be representing somebody there, but a possibility is W.C. Fields (whom Tony mentions at least once in the series), just acting like a kid in a toy store playing with his bulldozer while burying a body. Another is Black Pete (Mickey Mouse's arch-nemesis), who definitely emits a similar laugh while chomping cigars:
http://www.cbarks.dk/Billede/fil1942drafted.jpg
That episode is so brilliant. Fully half of it is made up of the mundane task of disposing of a body (no time pressure or any other "exciting" elements) and it's incredibly compelling. It doesn't need music or cheap camera angles to carry it.
Quick note about the finale here, violating OP's rules. One of the Lost creators recently stated in an interview that Lost would have a conclusive finale that wraps everything up tidily. He contrasted this to the "black-out" ending of The Sopranos, saying that the Lost finale would not be like that. He did add, "I thought it was brilliant, by the way".
The hilarious thing is that he clearly does not have a clue what the ending means or how brilliant it really is (if he did, he would be praying that his ending could come close), is saying that he thinks it was brilliant because he thinks he's supposed to, and in the process is admitting that Lost's ending will have NO subtlety and that everything will be VERY plainly spelled out for everybody. Sounds about right.