After 15 Years: David Chase finally reveals Tony Soprano's fate
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- Опубліковано 10 жов 2024
- Full Analysis & Improved Quality: • After 15 Years: Did Da...
One of the greatest mysteries in TV history is finally solved. In a live taping of The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Awards Chatter’ podcast, The Sopranos creator David Chase shares the original ending of The Sopranos and what really happened to Tony at the end.
(Originally aired on 11.3.2021)
Best Ending Analysis: ua-cam.com/video/gW_SQKT_OlE/v-deo.html
I came here wanting an answer but ten seconds in I paused. I really don’t want to know, and I hope he never gives in. I love the ending
ua-cam.com/video/dB9Pb8pf5RM/v-deo.html
He saw a diner IRL like the one in the series and said he thought Tony should get hit in a place like that. There ya go
@@wowitseligh Every logical person already knows what happened. No need for Chase to tell you, you already know.
@@nekotfarmer that he didn't get killed?
I like how we got to feel Tony's constant anxiety and paranoia in the final scene.
Facts
Lmao
We finally understand every day for Tony
Didnt even think about it like that but now that I am I cant unthink of it
no we don't. he's not anxious in that scene at all. what we got to feel is tony's complete denial, for which he is severely punished.
What I loved about the ending was that his waiting in the diner gave us an emotional glimpse into the constant reality of his life. That his life could end at any moment due to his many deadly enemies.
You mean the food on the plates?
That's exactly how I took it. That's just his life. Danger around every corner. His job to stay ahead until he can't no more.
@@BGatts666 No, the restaurant is a diner. Dinner is the food and the plates. I can’t know if you’re yanking my shank but my wife is German and these little subtleties in the American vernacular throw her off all the time. The way that the cast spoke often reminded me of my own journey to understanding English because my first language was German as well. When English is not your only language there are many times when you can mispronounce or misinterpret words or phrases or just insert humor into the conversation by inserting the wrong word that sounds close to one that would actually fit. That’s my take on how the Italian Americans in the series weren’t as dumb as they sometimes sounded. They were sometimes just playing with the absurdities of American English.
@@kaijessen3654 Huh sure but my joke was funny
@@BGatts666 no it was stupid..
One thing for sure, thanks to that ending, it is almost 2022 and the show is still ALIVE.
unfortunately with liberal hollywood going down the drain. movies & tv , cinema in general is too woke. the many saints was trash woke garbage. enjoy the sopranos it’s a reminder of what once was. good times
@@The4AMChannel Exactly. There will never be a work of art like the Sopranos ever again.
@@itsNRC The golden era. The mob era. Sadly it's over now.
Don't loose hope ... there could someone that thinks like us and salvages sopranos, where saints failed
@@itsNRC if you pay attention to sopranos you'd see it had very similar criticisms, just drawn out over 7 seasons.
I don't know what you mean by "being too woke", but In my opinion the movie was great for fans. It had lots of details that add to content found in the original series.
But who killed Him?
Personally I think Carmella was about to start complaining again and he blacked out willfully.
Paulie and Patsy had him wacked. Paulie after having that nightmare with Puss realized T was going to whack him because of all his backstabbing. Paulie convinces Patsy to put the hit in and that he could take over as boss with Paulie backing him.
@@maniac50ae14 Hmm. I personally think it was a relative of Eugene.
@@maniac50ae14 NY did it.
@@Potatoshaneko Relative we never heard about? Not likely
@@MrMalicious5 Why?
To this day, I can't hear Don't Stop Believing without thinking about the last scene. Haunting.
I was at the steakhouse with my dad and brother and this start playing, instrumental version. I just started to look around us time to time 😂
don't stop b
@@dr.finnegan3949 u only gotta worry if you are Finn Soprano LOL
I heard the song somewhere and for some reason I started feeling sad, and then just trying to remember… i remembered “why”, it made me sad.
I AM WITH U !
Quasimodo predicted all of this
@@schaefer76 The Humpback of Notre Dame. You gonna tell me you never pondered that?
@@schaefer76 get out
Breaking balls this guy
Oh right. Notre Damus.
Nostradamus
So in the beginning he thought about killing tony in New York and it was gonna be some violent heroic last stand, bullets flying guns blazing some real halo reach type shit, but then he realized that would be to good for tony. That would be what everybody wanted. No Tony’s death was quick and abrupt and violent. No fighting chance. Cut to black.
He has gone into detail about this before and said that tony would be shown going to NY for a meeting, but never returning, leaving it open ended.
@@maniac50ae14 HE DID leave it open ended
He wasn't dead till Jimmy really died.
Tony wasn't killed. Why do people want to believe that the cut to black means Tony died?
@@jad1079 bc you're looking through Tony's eyes as the door bell rings each time. Cut to black equates to brains blown out
Just finished the entire boxset. WOW. Maybe I would have felt differently about the ending watching it live, but man, the ending hit hard watching everything in its entirety. The whole final episode had me on the edge of my seat. Masterpiece.
just imagine seeing it on T.v without any consolation from youtube after cutting to black, people really thought their lights were cut off
@@6vitru6vian6 Yeah I can totally understand why people were mad. I guess i'm lucky in that respect to see the whole thing back to back
The ending of Tony made no sense because nothing led up to his getting whacked. Phil was dead, Tony and Paulie shook the hands of the Little Guy who was Phil's underboss making it look like there was peace again between the families. Plus Tony was going about town as if there was peace through out the families. This is why Tony getting whacked in the diner, or even on his way to NYC makes no sense, you just don't kill a family boss unless you're at war, which the final episode made it look like the war was over.
See, you appreciated it without the hype and gossip interfering with your experience. Glad you enjoyed it.
I watched all 6 seasons for the first time ever I wish there was more seasons. Slot of the people in it are dead. Now that it’s over I want to watch more but that will never happen. I’m not the person to rewatch things.
The ending scene was the most riveting television I've ever seen because you knew an epic show was about to end... I kept checking the clock because I kept thinking there was no way they could land an ending in the seconds they had left with Tony, Carmela and AJ just talking and meadow parking her car
It was brilliant
Pretty sure Tony was shot and maybe the bullet went through his head and hit Meadow too.
@@SelectiveApathy82 meadow was coming through the door in front of him which is what tony was looking up to in the final moment. he was shot from the right (3 o clock) and he was sitting alone on that side of the table. she, or anyone else wouldnt be hit by the shot unless they were also targeted.
its kind of amusing to even be discussing something to this detail but such is the nature of this scene.
@@test-tl8dt do you think they would killed his family also
@@poovanna4284 considering none of the other hits seen towards the end of the show included the families, i would guess no.
@@SelectiveApathy82 how would it hit meadow?
It was a fitting end for Tony, no heroic last stand or dramatic assassination, he didn't deserved that.
He didn’t say implicitly he got wacked, it pretty much choose your own adventure
@@blue_diamond_gem Exactly, that's the genius of it. If you want Tony to live it's there. If you want him to die, it's there too. It's "Any Way You Want It" and then "Don't Stop Believing" and it's the perfect ending
Yeah except with all of the murders happening and a hitman walking into the bathroom behind Tony before the screen cuts to a long black pause, it seems much more likely that the adventure ended with Tony's brain matter all over the diner table.
If you realize all the murders of the people of NY are done by young brown-haired men in sportswear
the camera focuses on a middle-aged man in a suit, an old school guy and two black guys, which is more in the style of Tony's boys
plus, he is no hero. there are no heroes in the mafia. you either get shot in the head or rot away in jail. this just shows the nature of the enviroment they were in
I think one of the main connections people don't seem to talk about is when Tony is talking to Bobby in the boat and they discuss what it's like to be whacked. "You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right? everything just goes black". It's the perfect seed planted for the finale IMO. We were following Tony and when he died, our portal into the world went black.
Sil also says something similar when he was eating and the dude next to him got whacked
Its actually one of the all time most discussed connections - perhaps moreso than every single connection talked about.
@@BoleDaPoleyou get all 3 perspectives of someone getting whacked in season 6. you get the pov of the murderer (eugune taking out christopher’s hit he assigned him in the diner) the pov of a witness (sil at dinner) and then finally the POV of the victim. (tony in the finale) all these take place inside a restaurant
@@Courier604 hahah. exactly what i was thinking. I literally never see it not mentioned. Its in every single comments section
@@BoleDaPole Heard a theory that Van Zandt's role in Lilyhammer, is actually Sil in a coma from when he got shot.
In retrospect I now believe The Sopranos ending is perfect. Like Tony said many times there is only one way out. I think Mr. Chase left enough ambiguity, that if Mr. Gadolfini hadn’t passed away they could’ve still done something. I cannot believe 20 years later I still enjoy watching this show like it’s brand new.
His son did a great job playing a younger him. Maybe. Little CGI and boom
MANY SAINTS was awful
He said there was two ways out actually, dead or in prison and both were in a race to catch him by the end
gandolfini died 6 years after the sopranos ending, they had enough time
@@SphericaI I thought it was great. Especially good as it furher undercuts the "cut to black" ending that never meant what folks thought it meant.
The scene is actually amazing! People were mad at it but it was a way of saying he didn't even see it coming. Everything was all good, eating dinner then bam!! Silence forever and the black screen may represent eternal darkness or Hell for all of the murders he comitted and hits he ordered. It's a way of pointing out that even with all of the luxury that comes with that life, at the end of the day you end up with a bullet in your head in front of your entire family by someone you probably loved like a brother. It wraps the entire series up in the most simple way possible while being controversia as any great ending should be.
Nah, David Chase is one of those directors/writers/visionaries that has contempt for his fan base. Just look at The Many Saints....that whole movie is a giant troll to his diehard fans. So was the Sopranos finale. The guy just hates his fans. Tarantino is kind of like that. Some directors just hate the people who love their creative endeavors and will do shit intentionally to irk them.
@@hitleractually8180 maybe so. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that most high profile mob guys end up dead or in jail and sometimes it happens right in front of they’re family while eating dinner. Like joey gallo or carmine galante
@@hitleractually8180 Such a weird take. The series heavily implied that Tony had it coming from all directions. The finale didn't irk most of the fans imo.
@@MichelangeloVA how so?
The ending of Tony made no sense because nothing led up to his getting whacked. Phil was dead, Tony and Paulie shook the hands of the Little Guy who was Phil's underboss making it look like there was peace again between the families. Plus Tony was going about town as if there was peace through out the families. This is why Tony getting whacked in the diner, or even on his way to NYC makes no sense, you just don't kill a family boss unless you're at war, which the final episode made it look like the war was over.
1:13 "Tony should get it in a place like that". Sounds pretty definitive to me.
Yea but the question is who did it and why? Most of the characters on the show was very well know, so why leave it as a mystery of the final season?
@@geraldmoton1182 Ultimately it doesn't matter. Tony more than had it coming. It doesn't change the probable fact that his life ended there in front of his family.
@@geraldmoton1182the members only jacket guy hired by patsy and paulie
@@heisenberg604 nah definitely not either of those guys, it was new york, David Chase saying the alternative ending was that he goes to a meeting in new york and dies is the ultimate confirmation.
Also Paulie/Patsie have no real way of running the Jersey family they are small timers, most likely it was Butchie who orgnized this, since it was his attention when Phil was gone that "they absorbed the entire thing"
The guy was an incompetent asshole, it could have been anyone for any reason, who cares.
David has said several times for the final scene - “it’s all there” and he’s exactly right.
From the MO guy going into the bathroom like Michael did in Godfather to the picture of the house that represents death when he was in his coma after Junior shot him to the smash cut to black (“probably never see it comin”), it’s literally all there.
Whether or not David outright says “yes, Tony Soprano is executed in the final scene of the show”, it doesn’t matter. The scene is for you to interpret - and I am in firmly in the camp that looking up to the door to see Meadow is the last thing Tony sees alive before he is shot to death by MO guy.
How did you come to that conclusion? You had it all correct up until the last paragraph! His dream is just replaying the godfather(his favorite film) in terms of getting the gun from the bathroom. I believe it was the moment tony flipped. It's almost like big pushy (youtube edited) and the fish. To each their own, sopranos will have people debating for years. Long live sopranos. Dead or alive.
There have been countless references made about the guy wearing the Members Only jacket .Interestingly throughout the series on several occasions when a crime has occurred the blame is pointed at two fictitious “black guys “ however no one has raised the fact that in that final scene two “black guys “ enter the diner ….. just to muddy the waters a little more….brilliant.
Good point
There are several things going on in that scene
@Honey D almost like eugene came back as the grim reaper
Those two guys for ‘oh shit ‘ !! 😂
What's with the " " ? . You're not quoting a reference just say black guys .
‘Tony should get it’ and that my friends is the confirmation for what we all knew. Tony got whacked.
Get hit he said
Oh damn shut up.
What do you think hit means?
They were going to make a movie and James unfortunately died too soon.
@@E.C.2 lmao what do YOU think hit means if not killed?
@@wspencerwatkins It means Tony was liquidated.
Even Chase didn't seem to notice his own clues that when hits are done in public places (within the Sopranos universe) they are done quickly and usually by foreigners. A middle-aged Italian-American with a members-only jacket that stares at the people he is going to kill, uses the bathroom and generally increases the risk of being seen is not that. Chase is tired of the questions about the ambiguous ending, and the actor is dead so why not give the fans a "win" by admitting to something that is insignificant and indeterminable. To the educated viewer, everything about the first 85 episodes indicates that mob bosses don't die in diners at the hands of friendly, middle-aged hitmen, and they especially don't die after said hitmen visit the bathroom in homage to "The Godfather", lol. Now, it is entirely possible that someone else walked in and killed him, in typical Sopranos fashion. But the members-only guy? Sorry. 0% chance.
Christopher predicted it when he came back from the dead in the hospital…”3 o’ clock.”
Michael Imperiole said Three OClock never really meant anything. ( I think he wrote the episode,or at least came up with the line in the first place). I fell for it too,believe me.
@@furbabydaddy5604 3 o'clock is the Biblical time of the death of Christ. It was also significant in other ways (3 being important). I like to think that Chase was telling us that if we view life as a function of the brain's awareness, death should be like shutting down your computer-no perception-no nothing. Like ma Olivia reminiscing on her life ("all a great big nothing")-or Junior in the rest home-realizing the same reality.
I didn't know this was still a talking point ... there is a scene at the end of the second to last episode that gives a very clear clue that Tony never saw his own death coming. And since the entire series is about Tony ... if he doesn't see it coming, neither does the TV audience since we've lived vicariously through him.
Which scene?
That’s the thing, the entire series isn’t just about tony 😊
stupid point lwk no one sees their death coming
@@joshytorres6881 in "Made in America", Tony thinks about the time where he discussed how it probably feels to get whacked with Bobby. One of them says smth like "when its over and over. Void. Complete darkness" not this, but smth with the same meaning. To me there are various indications that he got whacked at the diner, while i havent found many suggesting he is alive. Most people who believe he is still alive is just because they cant let go, while there is a lot of points suggesting he got his brains blown out.
@@betobolt9212I get what you are saying. Unfortunately, an ambiguous ending leaves too much speculation. Someone else might think of something totally different. No one is right or wrong.
Chase: at first I was gonna have him get killed in New York
Interviewer: How'd you come up with the alternative?
Chase: I saw a shack-like diner once and thought "Tony should get it in a place like that."
Fans: He still didn't say whether Tony is dead or not!
My God. Yes he did. He may backpedal, but he just did.
Chase finally realizes that this story (unfortunately) is dead. The original plan was to leave the door open for a sequel(s). But Gandolfini died. Then the idea of a prequel took flight. Well, "The Many Saints of Newark," was a flop. So there's no further reason to be vague.
ehm he didnt say tony should die in a place like that. Agree that there is many points pointing to tonys death, but its never been fully confirmed
@@ulkigmeme2703 bro, for real?
@@DrSeuss-nv9hw the many saints ofnewark is an amazing movie id compare it to the likes of godfather 1 and 2 or goodfellas in that scale it was real good i dont see what people dont like about it id go as far to say it is better than scarface.
@@LARA-sg4bt you can lead some people to water, and they still won’t drink 😂
My theory is they left it open in case they ever wanted to do more sopranos in the future. Unfortunately with James untimely death that made it impossible
He died 6 years after the show finished. Unless it was saints of Newark I would be able to see how they would have him around for anything.
@@Shaythe they could of did something with the original cast, a sequel. Ifjim didn't die, instead of a prequel.
I remember talk of a possible movie... and that was just after the series ended. I thought that was why they ended it like they did.
But of course, it came to nothing. As long as JG was still alive it was always possible that they might do something else, but once he died it put a new perspective on the series ending.
Am I the only one who wants to see a sequel that involves Anthony and Meadow?
@@Slimehardtshawty yes lol
I love that. Yes. I’ve been telling everyone I know that it’s pretty clear that Tony trusted Butchy and shouldn’t have. After getting to Phil, especially. It’s clear that his consciousness ceased to exist at that moment, just like he and Bobby were talking about. You don’t hear it when it happens, right? It’s unfortunate his whole family had to see it, but “members only” got him coming out of the bathroom, as meadow walked through the door. They murdered other people in front of their families, so it’s not unprecedented and obvious to me.
I've been teling everyone that the ending was pruporsely ambiguous so they could do MOvie Sequels like HBO did with Sex and the City. Unofortunatly, Gandofini died and they couldn''t do a sequel without Tony Soprano. Instead they ended up doing a Prequel instead.
@@HoldenNY22 ...Exactly.
There so many hints and clues in that final season. I can't believe people went for the "he's still alive" cheese. This is a mafia story. There is no retirement. You only leave through either prison or death.
@@DrSeuss-nv9hw our names are awfully similar
if Meadow wouldn't have had that much trouble with parking her car, she would have blocked the shot that came from Tony's 3. Remebering the scene, where Chris got shot and told Paulie and Tony to watch their 3. Very subtle foreshadowing like everything is connected with each other
I couldn't sleep for a week after the first time seeing the ending. It haunted me for days. I just didn't want to admit he died. When you get that kind of a reaction out of an audience cheering on a sociopathic killer, you know it's a masterpiece. Sopranos are a masterpiece.
well it is in fact a masterpiece but a week without sleeping because of tony soprano says a lot about you as well
@rickjoystick2936 is it really an option?
Sopranos was a masterpiece forsure. I used to feel bad for Tony but after binging recently and seeing everything with in 2 weeks. He was a POS, I kinda didn’t like him by the end lol. Absolute masterpiece of a series and tremendous acting though.
Bro lost sleep over a dead tv show character
@@NoseyBonk5599 bro has a phd i see
Tony and Bobby had a conversation on a boat about what it would feel like to get shot earlier in the final season. I believe it was Bobby that said you probably wouldn't even hear it. When the screen went black in the finale episode, that conversation was the first thing that came to mind. To me, there was never any doubt in my mind that Tony was shot in the head and killed at that dinner. Who did and/or ordered the hit, is the real question I like to contemplate today...
Paulie. Look it up. All the evidence is there
@@oilbaron3126 There is no evidence. I watched and read all of this so called eViDeNcE about it being Paulie but it's all just ridiculous and makes zero sense. New York killed Tony, period. It was nobody in his "family".
Also, the scene in the restaurant with Silvio when he heard nothing until he saw blood all over the other people's faces. (Sorry, forget who was there at that dinner)
@@broughtbackin Then you very VERY obviously haven't looked at any evidence whatsoever. It was New York and they got Paulie to flip especially after Tony took him out on the boat and thought about whacking him. Paulie was always the go to between families I mean are you a complete moron? Him telling Patsy ITS ALL YOURS having a box full of barbers scissors. I mean you can't be this much of a moron... You clearly did NO research and are just an idiot with a biased OPINION.
@@oilbaron3126 You read my mind. All throughout the series, Paulie's growing resentment of Tony made him a liability.
If Tony died, it's pure art. One of the greatest and most imaginative concepts for killing a character on screen.
If Tony was still alive, then it's just a mediocre scene.
But I'll never be convinced that the sudden silent and black screen didn't represent Tony's death.
For me, the ending is awful. You can only guess what happens next. How can you end such an amazing tv show with that bullshit…
@@klecuni its perfect argue with a wall it wipes breaking bad
@@sauzxy4k765 Nah bb ending is way better and you can’t tell me otherwise. That’s just facts.
For me it's the opposite, that nothing, nothing (not even the "fear of looking over the shoulders whatever") happened, is just great.
@@klecuni Don't blame Chase for it, it is not his fault that you've got a pea sized brain.
The actual final scene is classic and now irreplaceable. But this scene would’ve been badass. Tony gets walked into a room and doesn’t come out. That’s the life he chose, he would’ve taken it like a man.
What an ending. I was confused as to why the screen just went black, but i thank god we didn't see his brains get blown out. Brilliant ending in my opinion. I can't lie that whole scene at the ending had me at the edge of my seat because i knew that guy that walked in before AJ was the one who would kill Tony ...Almost felt like that scene from the Godfather when they have to retrieve a gun from the bathroom and then come back out and execute him...They left us with the imagination of what might have happened, but we all know how that ended...I felt something funny that whole entire time. The man sitting at the bar and then him going to the bathroom. Funny thing is, Tony knew something wasn't right. You can see it all in his face and the way he was looking at that man as he went to the bathroom...Sheesh. R.I.P to a legend. Really wish he was still here. Such a phenomenal actor seriously. One of the greatest to ever touch the screen.
And to think he did't want the role in the first place...he never thought he was right for it. Can't imagine anyone else playing Tony.
ambiguous ending are THE WORST.
Think his Son knew it was gonna happen. Never liked the show, to violent. Especially the son’s attitude.
Watching the finale, at a friend's house, I said the producers wanted to save Tony for a potential feature film. For years, I did not hear anyone in authority contradict that. Since James Gandolfini's death it gradually seemed to come out that Tony died in the restaurant. I don't know?
Makes the most sense
@redx Or maybe by the 3rd sequel?
your right....if gandolfini didn't die they would've went back to it eventually......i like the idea of him dying at the end but money talks and it does wreak a little of undecidedness on chase's part...glad they didn't tho......a movie probably would've sucked because of how different it would be in terms of story...remember when the guy who owned the strip joint said they told him they were gonna start filming again after the show ended? i wonder what that was all about
1000% agree
100% agree Kevin I believe there would have been a movie that's why it ended as it did and I get shot down by all the ur wrong know it alls, I think all the things around him were all the dangers he faced going forward in life and he was going to jail and movie would have been him getting out and back into being boss
Bobby said a few episodes back in the last season that "when it all ends, everything (supposedly) goes to black." Kind of foreshadowed the last episode.
Yeah we know
@@CD-gh1uf Thanks for the insightful commentary. Moron.
Such a great show. I have watched the boxset three or four times all the way through and continually dip in to random episodes. The amazing thing is that you find something new every single time. Cultural references you hadn't noticed before, nuances in the performances, you understand relationships between the characters in different way. So much depth there. Just an incredible piece of art.
Amen my brother
Easy, we're not making a western here
To me this was never really in doubt. I don’t see how else you can realistically interpret immediate blackness. Especially with that suspenseful buildup and all the clues
This much we do know.
Unless Tony was stressed with all the activity around him and blacked out, but that doesn't explain why they showed him seeing himself already seated when he enters the place.
That part to me says it all...
They ended it that way in case they ever wanted to bring it back. Plain and simple.
I’ve re-watched the whole series at least five times and just recently last month (June 2022). IMO no other movie or tv series will ever surpass the quality of acting as was in The Sopranos. RIP James Gandolfini…you are terribly missed but will NEVER be forgotten. ~Jim~
The Wire.
Breaking Bad.
Deadwood
True detective season 1.
Mr. Robot season 4.
@@RonsaRRR hahaha lol. BB loses to a show based on the same universe that is BCS. Better call saul is the only show that made me rethink if Sopranos was still the best show or nah. But better call saul has way more technology and learned with the mistakes from BB and Sopranos. Anyway these 3 are top 3 shows, and nothing comes close to them.
When christopher was in the coma he was told by a dead guy "tell Tony and Paulie 3 o'clock" right before the black screen pops up in the end you can see a guy on Tony's right, Three O'clock.
Tree O'clock in Jersey Mobster speak lol..
Remember Pearl Harbor!
Oh shit so that's what he meant. Not the time of three o clock but the position someone is in to you. Fuck bro.
I think Paulie got popped too. The last scene that he was in when he’s tanning himself outside of the deli, there’s a guy walking towards him with his hand in his coat pocket, and the cat that was staring at Chris Moltisanti’s picture comes near him and lays down staring at him. I think that’s hinting that Paulie died there. Also the guy was three o’clock to Paulie.
@@girlkisser69420 Yes. Very good point. I think it was a situation of, out with the old so the new mob crew can move in.
Hands down the best show ever. The writing.. the characters… and the actors themselves looking like they were all born to play those characters. There will never be anything as good as the Sopranos ever again
Second best show after gammorah
Id agree if not for breaking bad
Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men...all up there. There have been some remarkably good shows.
Breaking Bad and Sopranos TOP TIER
The Wire is a better work, The Sopranos is more entertaining
I watched the series for the first time this year and finished it yesterday.
Masterpiece.
Not seeing Tony's end and only kind of feeling what is going to come, definitely added more tension on the viewer side.
I just finished in and it's January 2023. I feel the same as you.
you are a bit late
"Members Only? Since how long you've been wearing that?!" - Vito asking Eugene about his jacket he wore all the time.
Eugene hanged himself because Tony didn't let him quit and retire to FL with 2 million inheritage. He hanged himself so his drug addicted son and his widow would have a better chance for the future without him in FL. It is pretty clear that Eugene's son had been in recovery. He revenged his father's death. Eugene's son killed Tony. The murderer who went to the washroom wore the same exact Members Only jacket.
That's what I think happened, except that wasn't Eugene's son, was probably his brother or a friend who the wife hired
That guy looked to old to be Eugene’s son but I do agree with your theory. Instead of his son it could have been his cousin or brother.
I believe that as well. The memebers only jacket was the clue in on the whole Eugene thing and who would have dine it. They didnt and wouldnt show Tony's death since we live the show thru Tony, so thats why it just fades to black. He always knew it would come down to that, but just never knew when or who.
The guy was too poised to not be a pro. Butchie killed him and Paulie was in on it as during the series he was always afraid to die and Tony always thought Paulie would betray him.
Damn great catch!! That has to be it because Eugene hung himself in the episode and it was the same jacket. It would have to be someone the wife though as the son didn't know Tony didn't improve Eugene request.
Tony was also wearing the same shirt he had kn when Junior shot him.... great catch!!
For me the ending that "Yes, Tony was killed" outweighed "No he didn't - and he survived"
It's beyond obvious that Tony gets killed. David Chase has all but said, "Yes, he gers his head brown off in front of his family." But most audiences are so delusional, even if he flat out said that Tony got killed, there would be people who disagree.
I always thought HBO told Chase they did not want a definitive ending because it would hurt syndication sales to A&E for a reported 200 million dollars. A&E possibly feared that a definitive ending would wreck rerun ratings and therefore advertising revenue -- especially if the main character is killed. With no definitive ending, the show remains current with Tony still alive, Silvio still alive (he did not die) and Paulie Walnuts still alive (he did not die). I believe that because the A&E deal was made before the last season and I think for 200 million dollars A&E wanted a guarantee that the main characters along with Tony's family would live on. I think that is the real reason Chase changed the ending - The A&E syndication deal - and he can't or will not admit it.
I didn’t watch the show until 2017 or so, but I remember hearing all about the controversy of the ending. In fact, I almost didn’t watch because I knew how it ended. I’m glad I did because even though I knew it was gonna cut to black during Journey, I was still mesmerized. It really was a perfect ending to the show, even a lot of people didn’t feel that way at the time.
I recently got to watch the entire series from beginning to end. Looking back on it from this perspective I really notice the influence this show had on virtually every show we watch today. It was groundbreaking in its time and it’s influence can still be seen two decades later. The ending was perfect. I can understand the controversy it created in its time but seeing it as part of a whole I find it to be brilliant and fitting. I like the fact that it was left as an ambiguous conclusion. It left me with the feeling that the sopranos lives would go on after that moment. And what their fates would ultimately be is left up to your imagination. Overall it was a brilliant show with only a few weak points in it. It’s also a show that I’m sure will be discussed and analyzed for years to come. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
So now we know Tony was indeed killed in that diner. And the blackout was to fit the storyline of how he said death was and to spare the viewers who fell in love with Carmella and meadow and the family the anguish of seeing them suffer watching Tony get hit. Plus it kept the show alive all this time
Who loves Meadow? She was an over-socialized, under-informed spoiled brat who constantly talked up her independence while simultaneously and ironically being 100% reliant on mommy and daddy for every.single.need and desire. She was a spoiled twat that nobody liked.
@@hitleractually8180 that’s that Finn left her
@@hitleractually8180 That's just a description of a teenager. Meadow had some good points-she was v. attractive, intelligent, could be occasionally funny, and had loyalty. But yeah, not overly loveable.
Even Chase didn't seem to notice his own clues that when hits are done in public places (within the Sopranos universe) they are done quickly and usually by foreigners. A middle-aged Italian-American with a members-only jacket that stares at the people he is going to kill, uses the bathroom and generally increases the risk of being seen is not that. Chase is tired of the questions about the ambiguous ending, and the actor is dead so why not give the fans a "win" by admitting to something that is insignificant and indeterminable. To the educated viewer, everything about the first 85 episodes indicates that mob bosses don't die in diners at the hands of friendly, middle-aged hitmen, and they especially don't die after said hitmen visit the bathroom in homage to "The Godfather", lol. Now, it is entirely possible that someone else walked in and killed him, in typical Sopranos fashion. But the members-only guy? Sorry. 0% chance.
@@rincolncontinental Cope
The best part is that the ending is steeped in people wondering who killed Tony Soprano. Who stood to gain? Why then after Tony had cleaned up? Was it related to the testimony Carlo was giving? To his marriage and possible divorce? The war with Phil? Patsy's brother's murder? Paulie's self interest? Someone we'd never heard of? The easy answer is that we don't know and we'll never know. But the beautiful part about the snap-to-black ending is that the show has the best, most poignant, season-ending answer.
"It doesn't matter."
Could be Angie. If she had reason to suspect he killed her husband, perhaps Ade's mother met her and said something, then she could have paid the members only guy considering she owns the body shop.
There's very good evidence throughout the show that it was indeed Paulie and Patsy who pulled it off, and their motivations are very clear too. Thing is that Tony cleaning up just wasn't enough, he was not a good leader for the Jersey organisation and he had to put away altogether. He'd go down with the legacy of a bad leader, with a bad temper, and most of all a mama's boy.
@@juanjoyaborja.3054what evidence
It was the vipers 🤣😂
Cut to black was Tony passing out from a panic attack.
As if the fact that he has to look over his shoulder the rest of his life might be the cause
That makes no sense he’s had multiple panic attacks throughout the show and it was never cut to black. Seriously why do people keep saying this stupid theory ?
Tony obviously got shot. I don't know why this is even a "mystery."
Facts lol people are so stupid
Always wondered how people ignored all the signs that he was killed, I mean look at Breaking Bad the ending was incredible precisely because Walt dies at the end and that's a far more likeable main character than Tony Soprano, never understood why people wanted him to live, him dying was the perfect ending.
@@gherbihicham8506 and the cut to black really put a final end to the idea that these guys were in any way romantic or noble. Nope. Just dead.
Pay attention to the ending , everytime the bell rings we see the door in Tony's perspective , when meadow walks in we don't see it as Tony's perspective we just look at his face and then it goes to black, that means that it's over for us , not Tony . If Tony died in that scene we should have watched Meadow walk in for a single a second as Tony's perspective.
@@haraldisdead Nope, last cut to black is Tony's POV which means he never got to see Medow walk in, he was shot and killed at the spot.
The show was preparing us for his death for the entirety of season 6, remember "you probably don't even hear it when it happens".
Tony's fate was made very clear when at the end of the final credits, it read "The Sopranos RIP". It was no mystery to me, but it was a fantastic finale to a fantastic show.
Greatest drama series ever. Personally I've watched the whole thing 6 times. Never gets old
The finale did a fantastic job of foreshadowing Tony's sudden and abrupt fate. Bobby remarking how they likely never see it coming or know it happens, Leotardo's death in particular gives a massive clue as to how Tony would probably go out. Assailant was a couple booths behind him and right as Tony was eating a ring-
In that same episode, when Tony was sitting by the lakeside, he heard that strange bell ringing sound.
I love the ending. It's disturbing to think what kind of trauma the family have after that, but I guess we'll never know because at that moment David Chase also killed us, the viewer, along with Tony.
The series starts with Tony as the narrator. We see things through his eyes most of the time. We as viewers didn't die, we just lost our way of communicating with the Sopranos world.
YOU DO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS NOT REAL...RIGHT??..IT IS A SHOW...NOT REAL!!...LMAO!!!..🤣👍
That’s what makes the show so good, we got to live as Tony while watching.
A lot of fans wanted their favourite antihero to have a glorious ending. But the whole point of The Sopranos is that it does the opposite of glorifying. It portrays the characters in very fundamentally flawed ways. The tough guy façade is there to protect their frail characters, or lack thereof. The show was a really great character study of that whole world of people who think money equals class and success from a psychological perspective and the fact that much of the show pivots on Tony's sessions evidences the house of cards of all their relationships. They're all sociopaths and psychopaths: no one really adheres to the ethos of omerta, they are bumbling racist, homophobic, misogynistic; they gossip, rat out each other, and pick fights and usually fight dirty, when their egos are bruised, endangering civilians casually and callously. By the way, before I get called a PC SOB, I loved this show because I saw it as really dark tragic comedy. Super dark with Vito towards the end, even with how Vito's kid goes goth and shits to freak out his schoolmates like GG Allin. 😆 So when Chase explains how anticlimacticly he pictures Tony getting whacked, it makes perfect sense to me, just like when Game of Thrones ended. Everyone thought their main guy gets the glory, but everything turns on its head.
Like in Matthew 23:12. "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
Homophobic? Hardly.
A lot of people seem to call mobsters sociopaths or psychopaths, as if killing someone for money was the requirement for a psychological disorder. But the show isnt meant to demonise the mafia, it's meant to mock humanity as a whole according to david chase in an interview.
Anticlimacticly is just another writing tool harder to execute in most cases, sopranos did it well but GOT did it horribly.
That was good but not all of them are sociopaths and I’m pretty sure no one in the show is a psychopath. Are most of them narcissists? Absolutely.
His entire family and mob family was the most dysfunctional toxic group throughout the show, except for maybe Silvio and Junior.
Everyone else got more toxic and more annoying each season.
If you're a fan of the show and still debate whether he's dead or not then you clearly weren't paying attention to S6 at all. Can't believe this is still a debate.
The ambiguity was top level. The idea that the audiences entrance into Tony's world coincided with his nervous breakdown, brought on by his rumination on life and mortality, to our view into his life ceasing at the xact possible moment those ruminations went away- the moment he realized everything for better or worse, was okay. He had his family and it was all he needed. Of course, the opposite could be true, and he may have taken a bullet in from of his whole family. But that it wasnt openly answered, and left to discuss... legendary.
In my opinion, Tony lives.
In my mind Tony Soprano/James Gandalfini will never die..The best show ever..no other show will reach the benchmark the Soprano set..After all this time I just keep coming back...btw fck netflix
Yes! And agree about Netflix!
The original ending sounds worse. What a let down, truly a real let down that would have been.
The ending we got is way better. Tony panicky as he observes and analyzes everyone in the diner while Don't Stop Believing plays. At this point he's so paranoid, he's afraid of even his own daughter coming in, which is the last bell we hear when his eyes turn to the door. Tony's never being able to relax is his real fate.
The scene is shot beautifully too. They make it seem like something big's gonna happen. Like meadow is going to get wacked. like tony is going to get shot. This is what it feels like to be tony, paranoia 24/7 and now we get to see it.
Again, the original ending sounds way worse
I wasn’t as big into t.v and cinema when I was in hs, 2002-2006, especially t.v. So I heard all about the sopranos but never watched it until 2013. I wish I watched it while it was out but man it was amazing binge watching that show. There is no show I’ve watched more now than Sopranos. The clips on UA-cam is probably the best content the site has to offer. Timeless show that may never be topped in regards to originality, influence, and the acting. The first true anti hero of any series. Tony Soprano is the reason we got Walter White, Dexter, Nicky Thompson, Marty and Wendy Byrde, Omar from the Wire was around the same time as Sopranos but he wasn’t a main character like Tony because The Wire didn’t truly have a main character. Sopranos…the GOAT!
I remember reading an interview of his that he did years ago where he said that he put so many hints in the episodes leading up to the finale that if you pay attention you'll know his fate. Watching the series again with a watchful eye and there are many hints throughout the series. Brilliant writing/script by David Chase & co.
Which is ?
@@jarrellfernandez9341 which is, what?
What was Tony’s fate.
@@jarrellfernandez9341 He died. Cut to black.
@@pwnograffik figured. Thanks for clearing it up broski.
Explain it any way you want, I fucking hated the ending and so did a lot of other fans.
The more you think about how the show could have ended the more you realize how perfect the ending was
shit was trash lol
One of my many favorite things is the music that was used throughout the series. The Rolling Stones Thru and Thru, Moonlight Mile? The Captain by Kasey Chambers to explain Gloria and how she felt about Tony? I love the way Chase used his love of rock and roll to tell the story especially the ending of an episode that leaves you in thought about wtf just happened.
I think what happened is that Chase probably had it in mind to kill him off in the diner…..
but in the end just did not have the heart to show it.
And he also thought that despite everything he’s done, the fans probably loved Tony and wouldn’t want to see him blown away in front of his family like that either.
So he thought it would be much more interesting to put some strong hints in there, but to leave it wide open.
And he was RIGHT!
Not only do I think that would have been a very nasty ending to see
- we definitely would not still all be talking about it and debating it all these years later!
I think it is one of the best endings in the history of television.
If by "the end" you mean the last two seasons.
He later clarified that what he said in this video does not mean that the fade to black was a sign of Tony getting killed.
I love the ending. People needing their narratives spoon fed to them is boring. People still talking about this
Even back then I thought Tony got whacked, and that it was someone in his own crew that had him killed. If you ask me Patsy had more of a motive to kill Tony.
ua-cam.com/video/4HN96pzo2X4/v-deo.html
patsy's son was engaged to Meadow
@@aprilm1866 : And he knew where Tony’s location was, because Meadow probably told him she’s on her way to meet her dad.
Tony loved that Diner they could have easily searched for him there even without Patsy . I think it was Paulie+Patsy+New York that killed him. Especially after the boat incident, Paulie must have completely lost his faith on Tony.
Patsy was a rat. I don’t think the FBI would allow him to move to boss. Also I think meadow was pregnant
I remembered when people thought it was one of the worst endings of any show in history, then as years went by, it ended up being the one that people still talk about.
Everyone always wants that clear cut decisive ending. I like that it was left open to interpretation. It took me a few years after the ending to feel that way. LOL
my takeaway from the ending, where Tony is watching everyone who enters, a few of which were people who had conflict with him in the past; was that regardless of whether he was killed when it cuts to black, it was only a matter of time with his lifestyle before it did eventually happen. Obviously the ambiguity of it keeps people talking about it to this day, so a brilliant decision all around.
The Many Saints of Newark basically confirms his death.
I love that when great writers and directors get asked how they came up with something it’s usually just I don’t know it just came to me 😂
I’m still confused he didn’t say that was the ending to the show, he was saying he had an idea he would be killed in a diner but he’s still not said Tony died in the end of the series or not
Come on, connect the dots...
Did anyone else notice in the final scene, as tony enters the diner, he's wearing a different shirt. He's already died.
Word. Like he’s in purgatory or hell and he’s forced to rewatch his last moments on earth. Over and over.
@@TheGr8-1 creepy fr
It's not a different shirt. Although the editing of those shots does point at something being off.
@@TheGr8-1 just as Chrissy said hell was watching you’re death over and over again in season 2
It's not about him dying or getting arrested. In the Many Saints Of Newark, the last scene shows Tony in the same restaurant as in the ending of the series, but with a few differences. In Many Saints, we hace a bright morning (the beginning of his adulthood) and the place is mostly empty. In the Sopranos, the place is packed with lots of people, innocent people, people he doesn't trust, people that if they wanted to kill him, he'd never see it coming and also his family. It's a place where he is methaporically sorrounded by civilians, possible mobs, even cops who could be undercover and of course again, his family. All of this happens during nighttime, what could be the possible end of his life. With all of those people now in his life, it doesn't matter if he gets shot, arrested or if he manages to dodge any both prison and a bullet. It doesn't matter because he'll never feel safe ever again. He doesn't get to have a quick, painless death or a trial with a possible unjust sentence. He gets to be in hell for all of what he has left to live, always being afraid that his family might get in the middle of the fire between him and the mob/authorities.
That’s interesting. If this is true, his life in the mob started at Holsten’s and ended at Holsten’s. Full cycle, which we know the show likes to do
Even though I know what happens, this scene is still sad after watching the entire series again. Every time I get to this point I wish it doesn’t happen. I believe deep down Tony was a good person with a good heart.
You should check out Vile Eye's Analyzing Evil episode on Tony Soprano. Fascinating stuff.
David Chase was just on Talking Sopranos this past week and said this quote is totally taken out of context. He said that this was in a lecture setting with a bunch of students and he was describing the two discarded endings that they didn't use and how they arrived at the one they ended up using in the show. This is a one minute clip from an interview/lecture that was obviously longer that that. On the podcast he said he would never reveal Tony's fate one way or the other. It's awesome how after 20 years we're all still talking about it, shows how great it was.
It’s pretty obvious he was killed. People don’t pay attention to all the clues David put in the last season especially in the last episode.
No it shows how divisive it was.
@@Thomzz95 exactly. If you paid attention, it was obvious.
@@Thomzz95 it’s really not that obvious, if it was the director would just come out and agree or there would be no argument. Tony lives through being shot, attempted hit, and multiple car wrecks. He is literally the luckiest man in the series, even his gambling luck turns around. All the while” Don’t stop believin’” is playing in the background. It’s really not as simple as you think.
He was actually just mad he had spilled the beans. Everything in that scene shows you Tony was killed, it's all right there for you if you are willing to look
The ending is good because it makes you really think about who killed tony and then you realize who DIDNT want to kill Tony?
The thing I took from the ending which genuinely chilled me the first time, was that little edit which makes it look like Tony sees himself in the diner. To me that said that he's already dead, and being forced to watch his last moments over and over, in hell, like Christopher said would happen.
Where'd you see this? 🤔
@@NATEFLIX3000 The last episode
It’s weird to think that’s how he went out, right in front of his family from gunshots, blood everywhere, screaming. They’d be traumatized for life. More horrific by far than anything else in the series
I thought the same thing at first, and then I realized that's exactly what happened to Phil earlier in that episode! Gunshot out of nowhere, brutally killed right in front of his family. Feels like foreshadowing.
I just finished watching the series again and I just watched the final scene a while ago. It was a brilliant ending. I got goosebumps.
When it originally ended, people hated the ending. Now 16 years on, it’s still talked about. It’s brilliant because there’s no answer what happened. You make your own mind up.
No - Tony met his demise.
The choose your own ending understanding is for those who arent keen on picking up details.
Storm drain. Costa Mesa.
It’s pretty obvious what happens. Every time someone walks through the door in the diner it cuts to Tony’s POV. When it cuts to his POV the last time it went black signaling he’s dead.
The ending was truly genius
Oh yeah. Lol. He gets whacked didn't see that coming. Hahahaha. It was a good show but kinda corny. Godfather , Goodfellas or Casino much better.
The series Everybody Hates Chris is very famous in Brazil and the ending pays homage to the end of The Sopranos, so I discovered the series because of that!
lol I think chase himself would be getting annoyed at the fans who can't see it yet. Tony got whacked and didn't see it when it happened. Just like the conversation him and Bobby had.
yeah that felt like set up to it ngl, also was just foreshadowing bobby’s death which was also sad because bobby didn’t go down after the first shot, he definitely saw it
Matt Zoller Seitz
@mattzollerseitz
Spoke to David Chase about
@THR
claiming that in a recent interview, he “settled” the end of the Sopranos. He did not. He asked me to release this quote: “Everybody who believes I said Tony is dead in a Hollywood Reporter article: works for me. Now you”ll stop fucking asking me.”
I loved watching The Sopranos during the beginning of Corona Pandemic and lockdowns. I was so happy i discovered watching the Sopranos 🙂. The ending was mindblowing .
i see what you did there 🤯💀
It was a great ending, I finally came around to finishing it after all this time, I still can’t but help wanting more, as I should, they didn’t get to the point where I just wanted it to be over, ending is open to interpretation, although heavily implying Tony got whacked, great ending
Always want to end a show with people wanting more rather than wanting it to end, just look at the walking dead lol
He didn’t want to kill tony on screen because he thought he could get a movie out of it, but then James died so now he claims tony died
I think it's safe to say that we all knew Tony died at the end.
@Aijx the absolute cope
@Aijx that’s not true actually and this is how I know you didn’t pay attention to the show or don’t want to accept the truth. There are too many clues that point to tony getting killed and when you put them together it makes sense.
@Aijx So he had another coma.
This is how mob life ends, Tone said it himself”,
‘There’s only two ways it can end for a guy like me: dead or in the can”
Yes and that means he could also loose the case and end in jail. Because we didn’t see his dead in that last scene…
I personally liked the ending. It left you to decide what happpened, so you can go on thinking they all went home, got blown up...whatever. You could interpret it however you wanted. That's alot better than some of the awful show endings Ive seen, but I guess some people dont like the open-endedness / uncertainty, so there's that.
Yep, Chase showed us his intention (close-up camera shot) in the jukebox for the Journey songs: it's "Anyway You Want it" and then "Don't Stop Believing". That's why Chase always said people wanting to know whether or not Tony died were missing the point, and that all the clues were in the final episode.
i really enjoyed the ending personally. I know some people had issue with it, I was satisfied.
Just rewatched the entire show and it is still by far my favorite show
Still not revealed. But I like that the scene was at an all-American diner, not an Italian restaurant - assimilation
It took me over 10 years but this is the explanation for the ending
1. Carmella books the restaurant for 7pm, Tony says he has something to do "on his way"
He called to Junior "on his way" it was clearly after 5pm as the board said next meal is supper!!!
Tony wears beige trousers and a collar that is bright!!!
When he walks into the Restaurant at 7pm or earlier (as he is first) as he pauses we see that has a dark collar shirt and Dark trousers. (Did he change clothes?)
Then it cuts to him already sitting there !! Why did he walk in and pause ?? Why did he have different clothes ?
Lastly a few episodes earlier he clearly says I can't eat onions after being shot.
Yet he orders onion rings for the table and eats one !!!
The other things like 3 times parking (2 times assassination attempts, 3rd success)
Kids from Bobby's killing
Guys who tried to shoot Tony ordered by junior
All meant to set the scene for his death BUT ....
The final scene is Tony pausing and thinking of what could happen, not what actually happened !!
Tony did die sometime, but it wasn't in the restaurant that night
Thanks for reading, happy for pushback
Everytime I think about the ending of sopranos I think of the conversation that Tony and Bobby baklava had at the upstate house when they got into a fight on Tony's birthday, they have a conversation about how when it (death)happens do you even feel it ?or know it happens,? or does it just fade to Black?, in my opinion that was definitely foreshadowing on David chases part, it makes you really question the ending,,did Tony even feel it?....I'm assuming not considering the 10 seconds of darkness and silence before the credits roll
Makes perfect sense. If you get shot, the bullet will be traveling at a speed exceeding sound. If shot in the head, at point blank range, you won't hear anything. Depending on the weapon/round used, Tony's head might have exploded or been badly split/fractured.
Bobby Baklava lmao
@@DrSeuss-nv9hw exactly
It’s baccala (salted cod) not the Greek desert, that’s just a nickname anyways his real name is baccalieri
It was never a mystery to me. Only a stubborn fool hoping the Sopranos would be renewed someday could fail to see the Sopranos series finale cut to black signified that Tony got killed. When Gandolfini died they just dug in either out if stubbornness or from the hope somebody else someday might be able to replace Gandolfini, which would be impossible afaic.
Exactly. Anyone who doubts Tony was killed has incredible powers of denial. There are clues ALL OVER the last season!!!
@@freddybeer Then you have people like Steven and Maureen Van Zant saying shit because they want the Sopranos renewed so they can get their old jobs back.
@@freddybeer Pwople like Steven and Maureen Van Zant, for example.
@@secondcomingofbast9908 - You posted this 4 times, you realise???
@@freddybeer Everytime I posted the message I kept getting this message that it couldn't post because an argument was wrong or invalid or something like that but I guess it was posting all along. When I changed the wording slightly, I stopped getting the message..
The black screen always hits me in the feels
Some people could even have watched tony get shot multiple times and still say he didn't die the delusion is weird
Still don't understand why people can't put it together. They even talk about it at the lake in the previous episodes
My take on the ending is that Tony wasn’t killed but Chase wanted to put the paranoia that Tony is cursed to endure the rest of his life into the audience. We all thought that the guy in the diner was a soldier out to hit Tony but I think they just made him look suspicious so that we spent the whole time looking over Tony’s shoulder waiting for it the way Tony does. Based on the way Phil was given up by his own family it doesn’t make sense to me that Tony was hit.
Of course he got whacked
@@karlaj.4056 I dont see it that way.
@chambo9212 I agree with u. N that guy in the Members jacket was wearing a knock off jacket. I feel like that guy was just a McGuffin, like a trick to the audience. There's also theories that Tony was dreaming the whole episode and he died in his sleep or maybe he passed out looking at Meadow and went into a coma. We don't even know if that's Meadow.
Yes, there is a clear implication. Firstly from the song, as the hitman enters (having tailed AJ, but just ahead of him) the lyrics are the ominous "strangers, waiting" and as Tony dies it pauses on "Dont stop".
Next, there are the Godfather references. The hitman going to bathroom first is one nod (the scene where Michael assassinates the Police Captain) and stating the onion rings are the best in the state is reference nod to the same scene, where the veal is given the same praise.
Finally, the cut to black is both foreshadowed by Tony's anxious PoV shots of the door and his conversation with Bobby earlier in the season about how death will be instant and painless.
All of this, and the general direction of the scene and narrative prior to it, suggest one thing: that hitman comes out of the bathroom and blows Tony's head off. Not only would David Chase not want to end on such brutality, but explicitly showing it would be an artless finale. He also has form for not providing closure with the fate of the Russian soldier earlier in the series.
Wonder how different the world would be if they showed a long ending of tony getting shot and his families reaction
Chase didn't reveal anything definitive as to Tony's fate, only early ideas he was considering. The real intention of the ending was on the table jukebox Tony was scrolling through in the final scene: It's "Any Way You Want It" and then "Don't Stop Believing". This is the reason Chase always said people 'miss the point' if they ask whether Tony lived or died. He left it up to the viewer to choose Tony's fate.
I was a kid and we were poor but I’ll never forget we were able to watch this when it first aired and man everyone in the room hit the fan, changing the channel back and forth, smacking the tv, calling the cable company. Revisiting this show as an adult I can understand why.