# The Sopranos Finale - What Happened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088 "2010-03-28T05:54:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alindallas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@alindallas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alindallas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/21 "2010-03-29T05:22:14Z")
I think it is supposed to IMPLY that Tony would be whacked, but did not actually show it in case they decided to somehow revive the series. Having to dismiss several seasons activities as someone’s dream ( TV show Dallas) tends to be somewhat awkward. ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/22 "2010-03-29T05:25:10Z")
If you watch the final scene, you’ll see that every time the bell on the door rings when someone opens the door, Tony looks up, and we see the person entering the door from Tony’s point of view. After the “Members Only” guy comes out of the bathroom, we see that Carmella and Anthony are looking at their menus. The bell on the door rings, we see Tony look up, and then for his POV shot, we see nothing. (I could be slightly off on the details–it’s been a while since I’ve seen the last episode.) My vote is for one in the back of the head. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/23 "2010-03-29T05:31:06Z")
Wasn’t Meadow coming in through the door? So isn’t that why they looked up? And I always understood the ending to mean that Tony would never know when or if someone might attempt to kill him. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/24 "2010-03-29T05:31:55Z")
I saw it in a different way, the camera changed to a point of view (IMO that was implied with all that talk of what one experiences when dying) and then darkness. What we saw was the POW of one of the two sitting at the table with Tony (A missed shot that was originally aimed at Tony or in a twist, the target was not him?) and we experienced his/her lights go out. This of course does not deny the possibility that Tony was next getting shot, but I don’t think it was Tony experiencing that darkness as it was not his point of view. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/25 "2010-03-29T10:29:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t see a reasonable interpretation other than ‘Tony Was Killed’. You have a guy sitting at the bar, clearly watching Tony very carefully. Then he gets up, and walks off to the bathroom. A period of time passes, and the lights go out - instantly. The clear message is that the guy approached him from behind and shot him in the head. I imagine being shot that way would be just like that - one minute you’re living a life, watching your daughter come towards you, thinking happy thoughts, then \ and you’re gone. And you never get to find out anything ever again. Chase made the audience actually feel that. > > I thought it was a brilliant ending. One of the best ever on television. Maybe THE best. I can see both of the two popular interpretations (Tony lives but always has to watch over his shoulder as well Tony gets shot), but I do think the thought of Tony getting shot makes a lot of sense. The only thing that doesn’t quite match is that the final shot is a third person perspective, but the show never really used first person, I suppose. Nevertheless, it is a brilliant series ending, maybe the best I can think of on top of my head. I heard that Journey sang in a different context and I was like “what the hell? why am I getting goosebumps from this? oh yes, the Sopranos ending”. The build up is there for a worthy “exit” for Tony. He’s with his family and he’s actually pretty happy. He’s looking up at the door whenever it chimes, but I think it’s more because he’s excited to see his daughter rather than he’s worried. At the same time, there’s a \*strangeness \*in the mood that only the viewer gets: how the Journey song dominates the soundtrack, how Tony, Carmela and AJ talk and behave and especially how uneasy we as viewers get from watching Meadow fail at parking correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/26 "2010-03-29T11:51:50Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > If he has disgust and disdain for the audience as a whole, specifically when it comes to Tony’s fate, why wouldn’t he decide to fuck with them/us? [Read the whole interview and you’ll get a better idea of what he’s talking about.](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20152845,00.html) There have been times when successful artists gave their audience the finger, but it’s not common. > [@EW](#): > > Chase: I saw some items in the press that said, ‘‘This was a huge ‘f— you’ to the audience.’’ That we were s—ting in the audience’s face. Why would we want to do that? Why would we entertain people for eight years only to give them the finger? We don’t have contempt for the audience. In fact, I think The Sopranos is the only show that actually gave the audience credit for having some intelligence and attention span. We always operated as though people don’t need to be spoon-fed every single thing — that their instincts and feelings and humanity will tell them what’s going on. [This is another good read, by the way.](http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/david_chase_speaks.html#more) > [@alindallas](#): > > I think it is supposed to IMPLY that Tony would be whacked, but did not actually show it in case they decided to somehow revive the series. Chase also shot that possibility down. And considering almost all the major characters were dead by the end of the series, it would have been weird. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/27 "2010-03-29T12:06:21Z")
Also, we’re leaving out the fact that Chase has gone on record as saying that there’s pretty much a snowball’s chance of there ever being a _Sopranos_ movie, but he has also said in the same breath that, were an idea irresistibly good enough to pop into his head, he wouldn’t turn his nose up at the prospect of getting it made (no cite, unfortunately; just going on memory here). Now, one can extrapolate from that statement what one will, but I personally am of the opinion that Chase views _The Sopranos_, as an entertainment, much in the same way Coppola view(s/ed) _The Godfather_ story, e.g., stories inexorably about Tony Soprano/Michael Corleone. So, were he to actually make a _Sopranos_ movie (quite unlikely, IMO), I don’t think it’d be about A.J. or Meadow or even Carmella. It would be about Tony, because the series was always about Tony (and, no, I don’t think he’d cop out and and make a _Sopranos_ prequel; Chase may be accused of being many things, but George Lucas isn’t one of 'em). ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/28 "2010-03-29T12:10:38Z")
I think, after time has gone by, that it was a brilliant ending. We’re all still talking about it, right? My question is, if Tony was whacked, what about the rest of the family? I think Carmela would turn bad-ass and organize some kind of war of retribution if they left her alive. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/29 "2010-03-29T12:32:52Z")
I think if they wacked Tony then the gunman would also take out the whole family. No sense in leaving a boss’s family alive as they would be a prime target for the Feds. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/30 "2010-03-29T12:55:29Z")
> [@Anonymous\_Coward](#): > > I think if they wacked Tony then the gunman would also take out the whole family. No sense in leaving a boss’s family alive as they would be a prime target for the Feds. But do we see that “theme” in the series? Seems to me they pretty much left the families of the mobsters alone. They being the other mobsters, to clarify my meaning. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/31 "2010-03-29T14:04:11Z")
I read an interview w/ Chase somewhere once where he said that the ending wasn’t that ambiguous and if you were paying attention to the clues that it was clear what happened in the end. Why would you have to look for clues to know someone lived? I’d say the Bobby/Tony conversation and the Gerry hit were the two biggest clues, as others have mentioned, that Tony did get whacked in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/32 "2010-03-29T14:30:47Z")
Why would a prequel be a copout? **HelloNinja** –Hm. I am leaning towards that it was a death because of those conversations. But were there any other clues? Those are the only two I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/33 "2010-03-29T14:39:49Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > **HelloNinja** –Hm. I am leaning towards that it was a death because of those conversations. But were there any other clues? Those are the only two I can think of. Well… A lot of people got really deep into the meaning of certain things, especially in that final montage - but Chase has said that there wasn’t a lot of symbolism. I don’t remember much of it but it was mostly funeral symbology that people were pointing out. The one I remember hearing people talk about was the way they ate their onion rings, taking them in their mouths like sacrament wafers. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/34 "2010-03-29T14:56:39Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > But do we see that “theme” in the series? Seems to me they pretty much left the families of the mobsters alone. > > They being the other mobsters, to clarify my meaning. Yeah, but then again those mobsters’ families weren’t standing watching as their loved ones got whacked either. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/35 "2010-03-29T14:57:41Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > Well… A lot of people got really deep into the meaning of certain things, especially in that final montage - but Chase has said that there wasn’t a lot of symbolism. > > I don’t remember much of it but it was mostly funeral symbology that people were pointing out. The one I remember hearing people talk about was the way they ate their onion rings, taking them in their mouths like sacrament wafers. Oh yeah. I remember people talking about that. I don’t see how them eating the onion rings like wafers means anything in terms of the whacking, though. You could argue that either way, couldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/36 "2010-03-29T17:36:11Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > And this particular work of art cuts off before Tony either is shot or not shot. So there’s no objective way to answer the question, absent Chase telling us. Personally, I think Tony was mauled and partially eaten by a tiger. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/37 "2010-03-29T17:39:05Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Personally, I think Tony was mauled and partially eaten by a tiger. He was GGGGRRRREEEEAAAAATTTTT!!! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/38 "2010-03-29T18:36:07Z")
The really important question: did Tony die from overconsumption of “goobagloob”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/39 "2010-03-29T18:51:27Z")
I’ve never seen an episode of the Sopranos in my life (_not_ meant dismissively or to say I won’t get around to it someday) and even _I_ know what that famous final scene was all about: lights out for Tony. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088/40 "2010-03-30T01:08:24Z")
Wasn’t AJ working at a movie-making operation owned by Little Carmine? I thought AJ probably let slip where his family was to have supper to Little Carmine or one of his boys, and that’s how the hit team knew where to go. I think Meadow got into the restaurant just in time to see the rest of her family’s final seconds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sopranos-finale-what-happened/534088.md?page=3)