NFT: Sopranos ending theory

I've always said that.

It sucked.

that Tony did NOT get killed in the finale?

Like you said, this has been gone over and over again. Any particular reason why you wanted to bring it up again? Did you finally get around to watching it or something?

I think I read a few weeks ago that Terence Winter is toying with the idea of reviving the series, with the idea of going back one generation to the late-'60s/early-'70s, when Junior & Tony's dad were in charge.

In comment 12032002 Jay on the Island said:

Quote:

that Tony did NOT get killed in the finale?

He did, however is was shortly after actor James Gandolfini died and I couldn't help but wonder if Chase only said that out of some type of respect for Gandolfini and his passing. It just struck me as odd that after all these years of refusing to divulge if in fact the charactor died or not he only came out with this so quickly after the actors death.

Just a thought.

.

Tony is sitting in a diner, you see from his eyes and then everything goes dark. Absence of life, nothing. Clearly he died, was hit by an assassin, or just died randomly from an unusual health issue (really poor lifestyle). Guess you can cater to many audiences, somebody got him, or his time was up health wise. Sometimes simple explanations are best.

In comment 12032081 mdc1 said:

Quote:

Tony is sitting in a diner, you see from his eyes and then everything goes dark. Absence of life, nothing. Clearly he died, was hit by an assassin, or just died randomly from an unusual health issue (really poor lifestyle). Guess you can cater to many audiences, somebody got him, or his time was up health wise. Sometimes simple explanations are best.

Seems to me you're the one guilty of overanalyzing it. Nothing simple about your explanation at all, since it requires all sorts of assumptions.

The simple explanation is that Chase chose to end the show at a point where the season's main conflict had been resolved (after a bloody war with Phil Leotardo, Tony emerged the "winner"). Of course, it's only a matter of time before he either ends up dead or in prison. That's the life he lives and that's the reality he must endure. Now isn't that much simpler than your explanation?

Been a long time since I watched it but I thought we were looking at him at the time and not from his perspective.

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you see from his eyes and then everything goes dark

because I thought my cable went out.

it was the viewer who go whacked, but someone did an in depth analysis with the last few minutes of the sow detailing how every time the diner door bell rang, the camera angle would be Tony point of view and on the final ring, the screen went black.

At this point, it doesn't really matter. it can be anything you want.

In comment 12032081 mdc1 said:

Quote:

Tony is sitting in a diner, you see from his eyes and then everything goes dark. Absence of life, nothing. Clearly he died, was hit by an assassin, or just died randomly from an unusual health issue (really poor lifestyle). Guess you can cater to many audiences, somebody got him, or his time was up health wise. Sometimes simple explanations are best.

No. The camera shot keeps going from Tony's view to our view of Tony. Everything goes black during our view.

Check it out

everything I've read from Chase since has seemed to back that up.

In comment 12032165 fkap said:

Quote:

it was the viewer who go whacked, but someone did an in depth analysis with the last few minutes of the sow detailing how every time the diner door bell rang, the camera angle would be Tony point of view and on the final ring, the screen went black. At this point, it doesn't really matter. it can be anything you want.

That's correct. But it went black while the viewer heard the bell ring. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls."

By members only jacket guy. Homage to godfather scene where the guy goes to the bathroom to get the gun.

Saying the audience got whacked is over thinking it.

the producers fucked up the last two seasons AND the ending. Now, he is REALLY dead so I guess the ending means he is dead.

joey gallo.

I think the producers didn't make the ending obvious so that we would still be talking about it years later.

Personally I do not think Tony got whacked.

Perhaps the most genius part of the show was that even though Tony got just about everything he wanted and he was extraordinary lucky, he was still more miserable than happy.

Chase had clearly run out of good ideas and enthusiasm for the show after season 3, but HBO kept throwing money at him so he kept on doing it. So the ending was basically an FU to everyone who he felt kept him chained to the show long past the time he'd wanted to end it.

And what's worse is that there are so many people out there that think that they "really know" what happened and will tell you how great/brilliant it was. Nobody knows what happened because nothing happened.

I mean, what did you think when the screen went black? Most people at first thought their cable went out. And considering the ending that Chase really wanted, several minutes of black with no credits or anything, you have to assume that that was the reaction he wanted.

But Meadow survived since she can park for shit. She is the mafia queen now running the jersey crew. Now that's a good ending.

In comment 12032002 Jay on the Island said:

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that Tony did NOT get killed in the finale?

Actually he didn't. That was a misquote by a writer who had that opinion herself. His publicist issued a retraction the next day. Of course, the original article got all the publicity not the retraction.

This guy does a great job of putting all the pieces together with analysis of various quotes from Chase and debunks most other theories of the event.

Opponents of this theory get very emotional about this, not wanting to believe their hero is dead, especially when they don't see it with their own eyes. They call those who believe he's dead "over analyzing morons". See IMDB board for Sopranos. They believe that Chase, who admitted he thought for years about the ending, just ended his life's masterpiece with some vague "life goes on" scenario. OK.

I think Chase had contempt for a lot of the Sopranos audience. I remember him on Nightline early in the series saying he was shocked at how people rooted for such a sociopath. He created a complex show with the dream sequences, psychoanalysis and family interactions but viewers complained about such parts, wanting more whacking, wisecracks and T&A at the Bing. I believe his silence about the ending is an eff you to those folks, knowing that it pisses them off.
Sopranos ending analyzed ad nauseum - ( New Window )

In comment 12032377 Scotty9678 said:

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By members only jacket guy. Homage to godfather scene where the guy goes to the bathroom to get the gun. Saying the audience got whacked is over thinking it.

Agree. Members Only Guy didn't come out of the bathroom with just his dick in his hand.

Recall what went on in the diner scene. It wasn't just the Members Only guy who looked suspicious. It was also the two black guys who came in earlier. And it wasn't just one bell that tolled, it was one after another as people went in and out. And what was the conversation like at the table? Besides the usual family small talk, it was talk of Tony going to trial and perhaps to prison. And for the audience, the tension keeps mounting and mounting? Is this the guy who's gonna kill Tony, are those the guys who are going to kill Tony?

So what does it all add up to? It's a statement on what it's like to be Tony Soprano. Knowing that at any given moment, any given person could be his executioner. If this isn't the bell that tolls for thee, maybe it will be the next one. Or the one after that.

Did the Members Only guy come out of the men's room with more than his dick in his hand? Maybe. But it doesn't really matter, because if it's not him who kills Tony today, it will be someone else who kills Tony tomorrow. Or maybe he'll merely wind up serving a life sentence in prison. Either way, his won't be a happy ending and deep down, he knows it.