I am surprised to see that more people didn't come to the same conclusion I came to watching the final episode of The Sopranos -- Tony is dead. That's why there was a sharp cut at the end. There wasn't a fade to black, the music stopped, the pictures stopped, there was an instant sharp exit. That's how you die when you get shot in the back of the head.
Most people are claiming that the creator and writer of the show, David Chase wanted to leave an ambiguous ending because life doesn't have clear resolutions and endings (actually, most people don't even care about Chase's intentions, they're just pissed because they wanted a resolution). While I agree that Chase has been pushing that theme throughout the eight year run of the show, I think Chase gave you a very definitive ending here, though apparently not a clear one (at least not clear to a lot of the audience).
The Sopranos has been told from the perspective of Tony Soprano throughout. So, when he dies, the show ends. And his perspective didn't fade out, it ended very abruptly with a bullet to the back of the head. That's why the show ended so abruptly with a sharp cut to black.
There is no other explanation for why there was no fade out. Every other episode of The Sopranos has ended with music and a fade out. Chase could have easily achieved the ambiguity he wanted by fading out in a similar way to end this episode. He specifically did not make that choice.
Also, there is no other reason why they would have made such a big deal out of Meadow being late and having trouble parking. The implication is she is just about to miss or witness some very large event. Writers like Chase don't add elements like that to a script for no reason. Obviously, it had a purpose.
You could say that it was just to add tension to that scene and a lot of scenes with tension don't end in dramatic action on The Sopranos. That would be a fair point if the scene had ended like all others on the show. But it didn't. It ended abruptly. Chase isn't making a mistake there, he's sending what I thought was a clear signal. Lights out on Tony Soprano.
Steve Van Zandt had also said in the past that he couldn't see how a movie could be made given how things ended on the show. I put less stock in this because it is hearsay from one of the actors on the show, not the writer. And he might have been referring to something else, like his role in the movie since his character was incapacitated at the end.
If I am right and Tony is dead, then I think it was a brilliant ending. I would say it was the second best ending of a series and the second best perspective on death I've seen on television (the Six Feet Under finale took first prize honors on both those counts).
Death often doesn't come to you in a haze as a bed of soft music plays underneath. Sometimes, it comes suddenly and without warning. You don't get a chance to respond. You don't get a shot at an epilogue or analysis. You're done. Lights out. Blank screen.
I think Chase made a unique, interesting and ultimately brilliant choice. I think Tony Soprano is dead, and I am not full of remorse. It happened in exactly the way it would in real life -- in a way you wouldn't expect and in the blink of an eye.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 2)
16. Tony is dead. I agree with #3. In the fishing episode at the camp: Tony answered Bobby's question of what he thinks it might be like when you are hit? Tony answers the lights go out and the music stops. Did this happen? YES
DPW
DPW at 12:16AM on Jun 14th 2007
17. I disagree. The show has always been told from various perspectives, not just Tony's. The show itself died (got whacked) and we as the viewers see black.
LKS at 6:10PM on Jun 15th 2007
18. Tony is dead . Was the two black guys that walked in to the diner the same two hit men that tried to kill Tony once before when Chris parked his car in there way ? May be they shot tony .
Ken at 5:59PM on Jun 16th 2007
19. There's one interpretation I haven't seen anywhere, and I don't place much stock in it myself - but it's interesting. If you look at Tony just before the cut-to-black, we're seeing him from AJ's perspective. What would AJ getting whacked mean? Who would do it, and why? Perhaps the two back guys were friends of the black bicyclist who got pummeled several episodes back. Or it's Adrianna, who could have survived, getting back at Tony in a way that would cause constant pain. Or whoever followed Meadow into Holsten's...payback for Christopher killing Cleaver's screenwriter.
The meaning? That this is Ton's legacy to his son, just like his father's was to him: A life of constant danger from those seeking retribution. That, ultimately - despite Tony's conflicts (remember the episode when the soccer teacher molested a team member who killed herself...and Tony was happy that he had backed off from having him whacked, repeating, "I didn't hurt nobody" as, drunk, he rolled off the couch) - the ultimate price that Tony pays is the loss of innocence that his family must endure, despite his attempts to protect them. (Recall the scene in the car when he and Meadow "discuss" his being in the Mafia.)
Sure, it's a stretch - but I'm just sayin'...
Stuart Dambrot at 8:24PM on Jun 16th 2007
20. So when I read Chase's quotes in #14 it's all there. He says that maybe a movie could be done if he had the right idea and if all the actors would come back. But from a financial prespective, a producer would have a risky return on there investment if a movie were shot without Tony.
Then again, one could speculate that the movie would do extremely well because fans would want to possibly see Tony whacked or see how the survivors lives proceeded after Tony's death.
So as I'm writing this I'm convincing myself that Chase is a genius because he has accomplished exactly what he wanted and that is to have all us hardcore fans speculating and no matter how many times he tells us it's all there in the ending, he can easily pick things up where ever he wants and make it gel with his ending.
Ciao (keep believin)
Sal at 8:58PM on Jun 19th 2007
21. Well I was in agreement with your conclusions as well until I just looked up the lyrics to the Journey song, "Don't Stop Believing". Can you imagine what the last two sentences of the final verse of the song is?
Oh, the movie never ends,
It just goes on and on and on...
Hmmmmm?
Robert at 11:32AM on Jun 22nd 2007
22. My bet is Tony is dead. #2 comment said the show was never in 1st person Tony...true, except for that ending scene. Every time the bell rang, Tony looked up, and we saw who he saw. When Meadow walked in, it didn't cut to the entrance, because it was lights out for Tony, killed by a guy coming out of the bathroom, mimicking Micheal Corleone, a sacred Mafia movie character (which several of the HBO mobsters and real-life mobsters have done). Chase would have faded out with the music playing as always if he wanted a life-goes-on finale.
Christopher at 10:23PM on Jun 22nd 2007