Worst ending of any TV show. I too thought the TV cut out.
Again and again, the show zigged when we expected a zag. Every cooperating witness would die before they could provide anything of value to the FBI. Seasons would frequently build to what seemed like a huge crescendo, only to offer resolution out of left field. Before Richie Aprile can go to war with Tony, Janice murders him over a punch in the face. Melfi never tells Tony about her rapist. Furio runs back to Italy. And still people expected a familiar narrative.
I finally finished the sopranos. What the hell was going on with that ending? I thought my piece of shit HDMI cable had cut out at first.
The great thing is your need for closure doesn't take away from how fantastic the ending was.
They had no clue what they were doing or what they wanted to do so just shit something vague out. It's nothing that hasn't happened in story telling a hundred times before.
Nah, it's a great ending.. because it ends however you want it too.
Either Tony lives and we watched a mundane moment in his life that's becoming a lot easier.
..or he died.
The looking for clues is pointless, was it Tony's POV on the last shot? Or did she finally walk in after having trouble parking.
If you want him dead, that's how it ended. If you don't.. that's how it ending.
One of the best endings to one of the greatest shows of all time.
Some day you will experience that in real life. Welcome to what it feels like to die. That's the ending.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjohsyoJjao
"You probably don't even hear it when it happens"
It's the coldest shit I have ever seen put on TV or film, and I love it from the bottom of my heart.
Very much so.I was a bit too young to really catch on to this show as it was happening. Now that much time has passed can someone tell me if the show is worth watching in its entirety?
I was a bit too young to really catch on to this show as it was happening. Now that much time has passed can someone tell me if the show is worth watching in its entirety?
His story is over.
I was a bit too young to really catch on to this show as it was happening. Now that much time has passed can someone tell me if the show is worth watching in its entirety?
I was a bit too young to really catch on to this show as it was happening. Now that much time has passed can someone tell me if the show is worth watching in its entirety?
I don't know whether he lived or died, but I do know that tony didn't have the makings of a varsity athelete.
Eventually yes. I always read it as our window into his life ended. Whether he died or not isn't important.
Technically yeah and the creator did confirm at some point that besides all that tension that occurred in the diner, he still lives.
I don't think they meant for it to be vague at all. I think they thought it was clear he had died. It's hard to judge that type of thing as an insider. Like, you are too close to it to realize you might not be nailing it. Of course it's clear and makes sense to you. You're in the know.
I just watched the show for the first time a couple of years back and I completely loved the ending. It was fucking chilling to me. I completely get people being annoyed by it, and not understanding. But, I also don't know how they could have done it differently to make it clearer, without it also losing it's effectiveness.
I definitely think anything that isn't explicit in a movie/tv show is open to interpretation. But, I've never really understood how people can think he didn't die. If it had just faded to black and you still heard the music, I could absolutely see it. But, the jump to black and silence means something. And I just don't know how to interpret that other than he was dead. I realize I'm prejudice to lean that way, but that's how I felt the first time watching it.
Flashing back to this conversation at the end of the second to last episode definitely has a huge part in my believing he died at the end. Again, it has to have meaning. And I don't know how else to view it other than a setup.
This is how I always read it, especially with the foreshadowing thrown in by Bobby earlier in the year.
We got to see Tony's paranoia would never leave him and then our view into his life got 'whacked'
That was a good read. Thats how it happens to you. In a way the screen going black was symbiotic with Tony going black.David Chase on the ending:
He's dead, guys.
I was a bit too young to really catch on to this show as it was happening. Now that much time has passed can someone tell me if the show is worth watching in its entirety?
All I know is that I'm still heartbroken that we no longer have James Gandolfini.
Nobody has come close to matching his presence on the small screen.
A closer look at the scene reveals exactly how Tony is able to get hit and dispels the other most popular theory about the ending: that the scene represents Tonys paranoia and how he will have to live the rest of his life. The scene actually suggests the exact opposite, that Tony is too relaxed and too comfortable.
It is not supposed to be ambiguous. He dies. The closer the interview with Chase you can find to the original airing, the more he suggests, just short of saying that outright. Over time he seems to have conceded that it can be read as two different ways but...
There is a direct quote from an interview where he says if the scene comes off as ambiguous then he failed in constructing that scene, and that everything you need to know to determine whether he lives or dies is in that scene.
Dunno if that's been dug up and quoted in here yet.
Because of that final few seconds, it doesn't really matter; even if Chase came out and directly said it one way or the other. I, the viewer, got to decide.
I had no idea folks were so adamantly certain about him dying until this thread
I mean, do you really not hear the gunshot that shoots you in the head?
I've never been shot in the head so maybe someone who has can fill me in.
Glad everyone is saying it holds up! Not only have I not seen this, but I also haven't watched Game of Thrones at all(waiting to watch the entire show at my own pace). After those two I'll finally watch The Wire.
I've never seen Sopranos but I've seen this ending. I love Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Seeing this ending explained makes me want to go watch Sopranos.