The Sopranos - "Made in America" *Series Finale* *spoilers*

[terpfan1980]

The long waits between seasons are going to be done, and I still don't know what to think about it. On the one hand, the ridiculously long waits between seasons, well, again, they are gone, but there won't be more seasons.

The seasons themselves have had ups and downs, with more downs than up lately, and yet I still want to see more of the show and more of Tony Soprano's screwed up life.

No more Dr. Melfi after tonite. Yay. (Sorry, but the window slammed on Lorraine Bracco a long time ago!)
No more Big P., even in flashbacks where he's a talkin' fish.
No more Silvio.
No more Uncle June.
No more Livia.
No more wimpering AJ.
No more Carmela.
No more Meadow.
No more Tony Soprano, or at least no more Tony Soprano in new episodes. :(

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

I sort of don't want to watch it, cuz once I do it's over.

[minorthr]

Since the thread is tagged as spoilers



Was the suv over the head really necessary.

[terpfan1980]

Since the thread is tagged as spoilers

Was the suv over the head really necessary.

I dunno. I almost suspect it was there to help make up for the preceeding 40+ minutes (which dddddddddddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuggggggggggggg on forever....)

[midas]

Huh?

[minorthr]

This was probably the worst series finale I have ever seen. Thats what I had typed till I saw the end. and I'm sticking with it WTF I thought my d* signal went out.

Actually when you think about it its kind of funny they really made it seem like someone was going to get killed I guess the jokes on us

[Turtleboy]

Wow that end scene was tense.

But was there a payoff?

And silence over the credits.

The screen was black for so long that I thought the cable went out. :)

[terpfan1980]

WTF?!!? That's it!?!? That's the ending?!? With a batch of shots of various characters that look like they could be the ones that are going to carry out the hit on T, it just cuts away from the table as Meadow finally gets there?!?

David Chase is a jerk of the N-th degree. Thanks for flippin' off your fans like that. :mad:

[RegBarc]

This was probably the worst series finale I have ever seen. Thats what I had typed till I saw the end. and I'm sticking with it WTF I thought my d* signal went out.
Exactly what I was thinking.

I think the point they were trying to make was that they wanted the audience to believe that something was about to happen.

So bad.

[Legion]

Hook. Line. Sinker.

[RegBarc]

WTF?!!? That's it!?!? That's the ending?!? With a batch of shots of various characters that look like they could be the ones that are going to carry out the hit on T, it just cuts away from the table as Meadow finally gets there?!?

David Chase is a jerk of the N-th degree. Thanks for flippin' off your fans like that. :mad:
I think I missed something. T was supposed to get whacked?

[DUSlider]

Ummmm, ok.....

[Bob_Newhart]

WtF???

[Mr. Happypants]

Where's the local Comcrap number to cancel HBO now?

[packerfan]

Major Disappointment.

[Lori]

Where's the local Comcrap number to cancel HBO now?

I wonder how many people *will* cancel HBO tonight? :)

[kcarl75]

Good episode. I'm sorry the show is over though.

[Lopey]

I'm with the WTF crowd.... What kind of ending was that? We don't know what happens with the court case... there were alot of questions left, it's definitly not ended nicely

[etexlady]

That's it???

[pendragn]

It's one thing to not have a big ending. It's a completely different thing to build up to a big ending, then cut to black. That sucked. :(

tk

[Gregor]

WTF is that kind of ending? :mad:

[Lopey]

I guess it goes along with the last two season's.... it all sucked

[Chapper1]

I guess they left it open so we could draw our own conclusions as to what happened from there.

My conclusion: The one guy comes out of the bathroom firing and instead of hitting Tony, he kills Meadow, since she is in the way. When the guy went in, nobody was there. He just comes out firing, not even realizing she is there.

[gadgetgrrll]

This is *the* worst series finale I've ever seen. I can't believe I invested my time and interest in this show to get rewarded with that. So disappointed.

[Azlen]

That really did suck hard.

[Bob_Newhart]

Worst. Ending. Ever.

[sgsmith]

Tony's dead. No ifs, ands or buts.

The show was Tony and he got capped, right in front of his family.

[charlief1975]

Wow...I was pretty nervous near the end..music got louder thought something big was going to happen.

Not sure what to think right now.

[Dukeman72]

Major Disappointment.

+1

[Turtleboy]

Thinking about it, I think it was brilliant.

The whole series the point was made time and again that things don't "end" just like life. What happened to the Russian? WTF does it matter? What happened to all those other lose ends in your life.

The family is eating dinner together. Life goes on. Does Tony get wacked? Does he go on trial? Maybe. It keeps on going.

[snowjay]

I guess they left it open so we could draw our own conclusions as to what happened from there.

My conclusion: The one guy comes out of the bathroom firing and instead of hitting Tony, he kills Meadow, since she is in the way. When the guy went in, nobody was there. He just comes out firing, not even realizing she is there.

Thats what I was thinking.

Still lame...

[Rob Helmerichs]

I think the point is that when the show is over, life for the Sopranos goes on, as it always has.

I'm not sure I like how that point was made, however.

I do, on the other hand, like the image of Chase muttering to himself, "You wanna talk about dropped plot threads? Huh?!? I'LL show you dropped plot threads!!"

[edit] I see TB and I had the same thought at the same time. Creepy...

[chronatog7]

Crappy episode. When I saw Phil get whack, I knew that was it. One of the worse endings. I hated all the background music throughout the episode.

[markp99]

Burn in Hell, Chase!!! :down:

[bdlucas]

Good episode, great ending. Life goes on. Or it doesn't. :up:

[Werd2406]

Thinking about it, I think it was brilliant.

The whole series the point was made time and again that things don't "end" just like life. What happened to the Russian? WTF does it matter? What happened to all those other lose ends in your life.

The family is eating dinner together. Life goes on. Does Tony get wacked? Does he go on trial? Maybe. It keeps on going.


Tell yourself whatever you want to make you feel better ;)

[rondotcom]

I wonder how many expensive TV's were ruined by the sudden, rapid appearance of a boot.

[pdhenry]

Well, we all knew it wouldn't be an obvious "crime does not pay" ending from Chase. I liked the ending, myself.

[Paperboy2003]

I fill up at the station where Phil got killed....gotta go look for the blood stains now...

The whole thing was ruined b/c everyone around here head that Phil was killed in the scene.

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

Seriously??? That's the best David could do?

[terpfan1980]

WTF?!!? That's it!?!? That's the ending?!? With a batch of shots of various characters that look like they could be the ones that are going to carry out the hit on T, it just cuts away from the table as Meadow finally gets there?!?

David Chase is a jerk of the N-th degree. Thanks for flippin' off your fans like that.
I think I missed something. T was supposed to get whacked?

I'm not saying that T was supposed to get whacked, just that there were lots of 'tells' that would lead you to think that T and his family were in danger there.

Tense, yes.

Leaving a big 'what if?' ending, sure. Rather like, well, I won't spoil the movie, but it's a few years old and was about being Lost, having to change words from one language to another, etc.

There were at least 2 or 3 potential people that would carry out a hit on T sitting in the restaurant, or who had come into the restaurant before all of the Soprano family was there. Camera shots that focused on those individuals, even after they came into the door and were sitting somewhere. Leaving you to think that someone was going to get hurt, or one of those 'redshirts' was going to be involved in something bad that might come up.

Instead of seeing any real finality, we were left with the OMG! Something happened to my satellite/cable and I'm missing the final sequence of the show!! as the ending.

All a big rip-off, slap-in-the-face or whatever you want to call it, but most definitely not the kind of ending that fans of the early episodes of the series would have expected. Fitting for the last few years of the series as it was limping along? Maybe.

I feel a little like the cat that was starring at Chrissy's photo..... wondering what it was all about.

[knuckles]

That was terrible. We waited an extra season for this ending?

[MikeMar]

I think it was kinda the only thing they could do.

Any of the big endings that everyone talked about, they would ask why they didn't do the other ending.

I think the point the FBI/CIA/whatever guy said "I guess we won" in reference to the Sopranos.

I think it was implied that, with Phil dead, NY and NJ are back in peace (somewhat) and that Tony will get another charge/trail against him, and as his lawyer said "trials are meant to be won"

I think all the pieces were placed right there for us.

-Tony and Fam move on
-Tony and Mob move on, Paulie moving up, Patsy probably moving up, life in the Mob goes on
-NY is back to normal, either Little Carmine or another will take over
-War is over

I think it was the ending they had to do.

[Kylep]

Big letdown for me too. I've been thinking of buying the series, maybe wait for HD.

Now, bah! Screw Chase.

[bdlucas]

I feel a little like the cat that was starring at Chrissy's photo..... wondering what it was all about.
And that, my friend, is what it was all about. :)

[Clarkey]

Add me to the list of "WTF?!" but at the same time, some points should be given for going the unpredictable route...

It also leaves the door open if they decide to come back and continue the show in a year or two. :D

[Chapper1]

For the record, I liked the episode. I can understand why people are mad at the lack of resolution. But with all the things that were addressed in the last couple episodes, did anyone really think that everything would be tied up? I mean, since we just found out that he would probably be indicted, did you really expect to have the resolution of that trial before the end of the episode?

[dbyerman]

Tony's dead. No ifs, ands or buts.

The show was Tony and he got capped, right in front of his family.

Absolutely dead-on right. Remember what Bobby said to Tony way back in "Home Movies" (and what was replayed last week in a quick flashback?) You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" Tony's dead, folks.

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

I sort of don't want to watch it, cuz once I do it's over.

Quoting / Answering myself.

I sort of wish I didn't watch it

[knownzero]

What the hell was that?

Seriously. If you're going to leave open an option to bring back the show in the future, don't make it so flippin obvious next time. :mad: What's next Sopranos: Law & Order? :mad:


Did I mention :mad: ?

[Paperboy2003]

Add me to the list of "WTF?!" but at the same time, this was not predicted. It also leaves the door open if they decide to come back and continue the show in a year or two. :D

Won't happen.....it's DONE!

[kd_cooke]

Seems I'm in the minority.

I liked the ending. And I think the awkward long scene was done well. We all knew what was coming; they didn't need to show it. Right down to Meadow being late to witness the event. I think it was very well done.

I'm just sad it's over.

[Bob_Newhart]

http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/arcinfo/aiwwwtut/gifs/black.gif


Excellent!

[latenight]

Brilliant. Everyone is complaining we didnt get the payoff but we did. We are the payoff. Each and every one of us that was sure something was going to happen and then sat in silence for 3 seconds of the black screen and then started cursing (out loud in most cases) David Chase.

Thats a bigger payoff than most shows EVER get.

[flyers088]

The worst series finale since Seinfeld!

[rhuntington3]

They left it wide open for a movie later. The ending did suck. I thought I had lost my signal.

[Turtleboy]

I'm not sure he got killed. Possibly. Maybe not.

I do like the fact that so many people demand resolution. The problem with mob shows is that there are only a couple of 3 possible resolutions: 1) getting killed, 2) going to jail, 3) going into the witness protection program.

Bah. They've all been done before. This is different.

[chronatog7]

Well if we follow the line of thought that Tony is dead, I guess it would make sense. THe show is Tony; no Tony, not Show. He did not see it coming and out of the blue he gets whack.

I guess.

[ThreeSoFar'sBro]

I'm disappointed....

I don't want to have to imagine what happened, I want to see it.

Also...I'd love to see the other endings that were filmed, like in a DVD.

I lowered the volume telling the family that I didn't want to hear loud gun shots.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[jschuur]

Shroedinger's mobster?

[kd_cooke]

Shroedinger's mobster?

Ahh. I get it now. We have to wait for the cat to open the box! :p

[Gregor]

I have no problem with the 'life goes on' ending, however the abruptness of Tony looking up, and a solid black screen led me to think first "oh **** what at time for the cable to go".

And wasn't the guy at the counter from the NY crew?

One question, after all these years, who's the guy who whacked Phil?

[knownzero]

Shroedinger's mobster?

Brilliant! :)

[Turtleboy]

You think you're mad? The TWOP people are furious. http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3154768

I can't wait to see all the commentary in the papers tomorrow at all the people bitching. I love it! :D

There was NO WAY that he could have ended it to everyone's satisfaction, so Chase ended it to his.

[danielhart]

I think it was kinda the only thing they could do.

Any of the big endings that everyone talked about, they would ask why they didn't do the other ending.

I think the point the FBI/CIA/whatever guy said "I guess we won" in reference to the Sopranos.

I think it was implied that, with Phil dead, NY and NJ are back in peace (somewhat) and that Tony will get another charge/trail against him, and as his lawyer said "trials are meant to be won"

I think all the pieces were placed right there for us.

-Tony and Fam move on
-Tony and Mob move on, Paulie moving up, Patsy probably moving up, life in the Mob goes on
-NY is back to normal, either Little Carmine or another will take over
-War is over

I think it was the ending they had to do.

I took it that the FBI guy was getting some vicarious pleasure from the war between the families (and a distraction from his hated terrorism focus) and he let it slip out when he said "I think were gonna win this thing" because he was excited to actually have an effect on something.

That was my favorite part of the whole episode.....I laughed my ass off at that.

[Knives of Ice]

i'm sure HBO had alot to do with that ending. i mean its so open ended anything could happen. a movie will definitely happen and now they can go anywhere with it. or they could even be roped into making another season in a few years if enough money is thrown at everyone. no way in hell this is the last we'll see from the sopranos especially since it is HBO's cash cow and i'm sure they will have thousands of cancelled subs tomorrow.

[cwoody222]

Horrible, horrible ending. Total cop out on Chase's part. Have the balls to tell the story you want to tell, don't let the viewers decide for themselves.

Horrible.

[unixadm]

I have to weigh in and agree with the others.....with a big WTF???

WORST Series finale EVER!

The only thing that this does is set us up for the big "Sopranos" movie.....to see what happens to Tony. This, when they promised that tonight's show would be the definitive end of the characters. This is no definitive ending.....just leaves it open.

Nice hit on Phil, I definitely cringed as they showed his head as the tire was rolling.....but the ending of this show was just pitiful. Ok...if you want to fade down to black...that is one thing....but I (and apparently lots of others) thought the DirectTV signal went out or I had a drop out on my TiVo. I even switched to my backup TiVo thinking my TiVo had a problem (especially since my TiVo had rebooted right before Christopher's car crash and came back up with Tony on the phone telling Carm that Chrisopher was dead!!!)

[chronatog7]

Maybe the FBI crew had an office pool? FBI guy bet on Sopranos

[danielhart]

One question, after all these years, who's the guy who whacked Phil?

SSgt. William 'Wild Bill' Guarnere..........

oh wait, wrong HBO series....lol

he was just a low level crew member who showed up recently i think

[midas]

no way in hell this is the last we'll see from the sopranos

Maybe it's not the last you'll see of it. But after that ending, it's the last I'll see of it. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

[Clarkey]

You think you're mad? The TWOP people are furious. http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3154768
I wonder if something similar is happening over at HBO -- the site is down for me! :eek:

[michad]

I want the last 40 hours of my life watching this pile of crap back please.....no soul whatsoever.

[Turtleboy]

Oh, and my new subwoofer went BOOOM when the car blew up.

The music in digital sounded great, and the picture looked great in HD.

I really enjoyed it.

I also suspect that Chase knew that he would get the reaction that he is getting from most people, and I think he enjoys that too.

[calitivo]

That sucked. I sort of expect this from Lost, but not Sopranos.

[ClutchBrake]

They should have taken series finale lessons from the good folks at Six Feet Under.

[CharlieW]

It was anti-climactic to say the least -- but it's what I expected as this Final Season went along. Chase didn't want to kill off Tony, I think he felt that the fans would not want to see that.

My interpretation of the ending is that life goes on for Tony as it always had. He'll always be looking over his shoulder, he'll always beat the rap.

That's an interesting theory about Meadow though. They do make a point of delaying her entering the restaurant by having the parallel parking difficulties long enough so that the mysterious guy at the counter goes to the bathroom before she is seated. Otherwise what's the point of showing us Meadow in the car. If the guy does in fact come out firing, then Meadow surely gets it.

But I don't think that's what Chase was getting at.

[TonyD79]

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Even if it was meant that Tony died then why go to black? When he was in a coma, we still saw life outside his brain.

If you want to leave it in doubt, why the sudden cut like someone ran out of film?

F* you to the whole thing.

[barrettd]

They should have taken series finale lessons from the good folks at Six Feet Under.
Now THAT was a series finale!

I'm in the "worst ever series finale" camp, I'm afraid.

[TiVo'Brien]

Absolutely dead-on right. Remember what Bobby said to Tony way back in "Home Movies" (and what was replayed last week in a quick flashback?) You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" Tony's dead, folks.
I gotta agree with this ending. That was why Chase cut to black silence. And Meadow saw the whole thing.

[danielhart]

The question of Mr. Chase's decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - Meadow, or the hitman?

[jschuur]

They should have taken series finale lessons from the good folks at Six Feet Under.
There's a fan video just like that:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=y9xoM7KZU3g

[scheckeNYK]

piss poor.

i don't think he got whacked. the ep title is pretty telling, "Made in America." at the end of the day the Sopranos are just like a regular old American family that sits down and eats together at a diner where average joe's like to visit. all the mob stuff aside, they are still your average human beings and as much as we want to read into the characters and love or hate them, they're still just regular people. chase is an artsy film school ******.

[Martha]

I wonder how many people *will* cancel HBO tonight? :)

At least one - I just did. I'm so sorry that I subscribed for this last season - what a waste.

[claire_d]

hi - i'm not the expert it seems like some of you are. i watched the first two seasons on dvd and then caught up... but i thought this ending was kind of cool, and really fitting.

wasn't this a show about his family? and there were like tons of family dinners in the show...and it ends with one. and yeah, they made it like crazy tense at the end... but that was great.

they made it seem like maybe paulie was the one who turned? but no... he's just crazy paulie, seeing the virgin mary and being spooked about cats.

and uncle junior IS gone. he's not faking, he's gone.

maybe i'm way off, but i think however it ended, people would be here complaining. instead of making some absolute ending, its more like we were looking in on this world for a while, and now we're gone. but they go on.

so sorry if it got people mad, but i like it. i even like sitting there for like five seconds of all black and freaking out.

[bdlucas]

Absolutely dead-on right. Remember what Bobby said to Tony way back in "Home Movies" (and what was replayed last week in a quick flashback?) You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" Tony's dead, folks.
I like this interpretation. We've seen all kinds of murder throughout the whole series. Tony's murder deserves a unique treatment, and what better way to do that than to show us his death from his perspective. :up:

[Gregor]

You think you're mad? The TWOP people are furious. http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3154768

I can't wait to see all the commentary in the papers tomorrow at all the people bitching. I love it! :D

There was NO WAY that he could have ended it to everyone's satisfaction, so Chase ended it to his.

Funniest comment from over there: "Our Lady of the Bada Bing" :up:

[bcrider]

Will the guy at the bar kill Tony?

Will Meadow die outside while trying to parallel park?

Will the dudes that walked into the restaurant try to kill Tony?

What's the guy at the bar going to get from the bathroom to kill Tony?

The suspense at the end quieted my entire home and I gotta tell ya... maybe that's what the ending is about? This is Tony's life... anxious, paranoid and second guessing decisions forever and ever...

or The Sopranos: The Movie in 2009... ;)

[Rob Helmerichs]

Absolutely dead-on right. Remember what Bobby said to Tony way back in "Home Movies" (and what was replayed last week in a quick flashback?) You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" Tony's dead, folks.
With all due respect, no way.

If Chase meant for Tony to be dead, Tony would be dead. Instead, he's eating dinner, and somebody who may or may not be a hit man is in the men's room.

I bet we'll be seeing interviews with Chase soon in which he says words to the effect that he doesn't know whether or not Tony is still alive, and that it doesn't matter. THAT is the moment at which he chose to end it, because for him, that is the moment when he's done what he wants to do with the show. If he wanted to do Tony's death, there would have been a few seconds more.

[Idearat]

Major suckage.


We were told they filmed multiple endings to keep it a secret. What we now know is that they decided not to use any of them.

The FBI guy's "We Won!" was the only good point of the episode.

[CharlieW]

I like this interpretation. We've seen all kinds of murder throughout the whole series. Tony's murder deserves a unique treatment, and what better way to do that than to show us his death from his perspective. :up:


That's the best argument that Tony is dead. Virtually the whole series has been from Tony's perspective. He's in 90% of the scenes throughout the run of the show. The cut to black for 8-10 seconds before the credits role let's us know that we are no longer seeing anything through Tony's eyes --- we can't, because he's dead.

I'm starting to be sold on the "Tony's dead" thing.

[Grumpy Pants]

meh. I don't like to be left speculating. Maybe he gets in a plane crash and eds up on an island with 41 other survivors and...

Oh, wait a minute...

[BlackBetty]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the song that was on the table radio that Tony picked. The lyrics were "Anyway you want it...."

The ending was just that. It is up for us to decide how we want the show to end in our minds eye.

[Win Joy Jr]

I feel that Chase just gave us the finger tonight. I will not invest any time in any tv or movie production that he is involved with again...

[Grumpy Pants]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the song that was on the table radio that Tony picked. The lyrics were "Anyway you want it...."

The ending was just that. It is up for us to decide how we want the show to end in our minds eye.


I don't watch television to make decisions.

[CharlieW]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the song that was on the table radio that Tony picked. The lyrics were "Anyway you want it...."

The ending was just that. It is up for us to decide how we want the show to end in our minds eye.


He picked the other song -- "Don't Stop Believing".

[Idearat]

With all due respect, no way.

If Chase meant for Tony to be dead, Tony would be dead. Instead, he's eating dinner, and somebody who may or may not be a hit man is in the men's room.

I bet we'll be seeing interviews with Chase soon in which he says words to the effect that he doesn't know whether or not Tony is still alive, and that it doesn't matter. THAT is the moment at which he chose to end it, because for him, that is the moment when he's done what he wants to do with the show. If he wanted to do Tony's death, there would have been a few seconds more.

Regardless of what Chase says, what he'll mean is: "If you really want to know what happened it will cost you. A lot." I expected an open ending to allow for movies or something, no way they'll kill a franchise worth millions. I just didn't expect to see a big middle finger given to those same people they'd want to watch any future event.

[unixadm]

And what was up with the whole cat storyline?

Are we to think that Adrianna came back reincarnated as a cat and sits there and stares at Christophers picture all day? It was just a bunch of wasted time in a series finale that should have had more real stories wrapped up. Pretty stupid storyline to begin with, but they could have done it as a filler or lead in on a regular episode...not on the series finale....I could see Paulie killing the cat, then Tony whacking Paulie because of it....ala Ralphie.

[bcrider]

Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit
He took the midnight train goin anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

(chorus)

Dont stop believin
Hold on to the feelin
Streetlight people

[Shaunnick]

Touche', Chase. Touche'.

[Turtleboy]

And what was up with the whole cat storyline?

Are we to think that Adrianna came back reincarnated as a cat and sits there and stares at Christophers picture all day? It was just a bunch of wasted time in a series finale that should have had more real stories wrapped up. Pretty stupid storyline to begin with, but they could have done it as a filler on a regular episode...not on the series finale.

But why does everything have to be "wrapped up?" Not everything has to be an explanation of how everyone died, or the imagination of an autistic kid.

[Ekims]

I think a lot of people are pissed because of the lack of resolution, but what would have been a great ending for you? If Tony died, I think the same people would be here griping that Chase took the easy way out. This really had to come down to leaving it open ended for us as the audience to fill in our blanks. Only way he could do it. I say bravo David Chase!

[danielhart]

I like this interpretation. We've seen all kinds of murder throughout the whole series. Tony's murder deserves a unique treatment, and what better way to do that than to show us his death from his perspective. :up:

Other than for the logistical problem of setting up a hit that makes no practical sense from a mob perspective in a restaurant that they had only decided on going to like an hour before and that only Tony and his family knew about - I'd agree with that theory.........

[dslunceford]

Big letdown. My wife and I plowed through the entire season this weekend as we hadn't watched any as yet, just to catch up for tonight's finale. So not worth it. Nothing but a set up for a potential film...

Someone earlier said it, great build of tension in the scene, but to what end? Hell, even a soft fade out as Meadow got there would have been better. Cr@p...

[Kharizzmatik]

I'm with the minority that thought it was brilliant.... at first I said "that cant be it, show me!" when the screen went black, but it just truly was a fitting ending. IMO he was wacked, theres no need for us to see Tony get wacked, when its the end, its just the end, ya know? The previous poster had it right from the conversation in Home Movies...

[Weezoh]

With all due respect, no way.

If Chase meant for Tony to be dead, Tony would be dead. Instead, he's eating dinner, and somebody who may or may not be a hit man is in the men's room.

I bet we'll be seeing interviews with Chase soon in which he says words to the effect that he doesn't know whether or not Tony is still alive, and that it doesn't matter. THAT is the moment at which he chose to end it, because for him, that is the moment when he's done what he wants to do with the show. If he wanted to do Tony's death, there would have been a few seconds more.

I agree - the focus of the series has always been family - not "Family" IMO it could end only by being focused on family.

[jtlytle]

This was probably the worst series finale I have ever seen. Thats what I had typed till I saw the end. and I'm sticking with it WTF I thought my d* signal went out.

Actually when you think about it its kind of funny they really made it seem like someone was going to get killed I guess the jokes on us


When I saw the ending with black screen then credit.. :confused: It makes me wondering....... "Sopranos the movie" is coming. :eek:

[marksman]

I haven't read any comments yet but just finished watching. Will share a few of my comments.

Noticed David Chase directed and wrote the episode. He has not directed many epiodes to my recollection. Anyone know how many he has directed before?

I thought the entire scene in Holsten's was amazingly tense.

At the end this was my reaction:

You Mother #*(#*#*#s
Mother #*$*$*33
Mother #*&#*#
Mother #*#*#*
Mother ###$$#
Mother @#$*#*
Mother @(*#*#
Mother @!@#$

Then I paused my DVR to see if it was broken, then the credits started. Then I got up, took out the trash, got a beer, cursed some more and then sat down to see if there was anything else.

By the way I normally never swear. Anyways, I thought the ending was pretty good. Was the FBI there? Was someone to whack Tony and/or his family there? Was it nothing but a harmless dinner with our over-active imaginations there?

I am sure some people will be upset and claim it is a cop out, but I don't see it that way.

[marksman]

WTF?!!? That's it!?!? That's the ending?!? With a batch of shots of various characters that look like they could be the ones that are going to carry out the hit on T, it just cuts away from the table as Meadow finally gets there?!?

David Chase is a jerk of the N-th degree. Thanks for flippin' off your fans like that. :mad:

See I disagree with you 100%. it would have been easy to pick any number of endings. Some rumors are they had 4 endings shot there regardless.

As it is, things go on, and who knows. The ending was what was ever important in the show. Predictability, closure, those things. never a part of this show. Why did you need some finality to it. They were there before we got there, and potentially there after us.

In the end does it really matter what happened to them after we stopped watching. This way everyone can believe what they want to believe happened to them.

[FlugPoP]

Movie!

[deaklet]

...Woke up this morning
got myself a...


(A gun right? I'm sure it's a gun. No need to tell me it's a gun. Quite satisfied really; no need to spell it out.... Fade to black, I suppose.)

(Didn't Monty Python do this?) :)

[jschuur]

I didn't mind the final scene that much, but I do have 2 questions:

1) Who killed Phil? Was it one of Tony's guys?
2) The guy at the counter that came in with AJ and went to the bathroom, were we supposed to recognize him? If it's the same as the guy who killed Phil, that would mean someone wants both Phill & Tony dead.

What's the mob protocol for orders to whack someone if your boss that gave them just got whacked? If there's new leadership in town, why risk carrying out the old orders?

[marksman]

Seriously??? That's the best David could do?

I suspect that was the ending in his head from the moment he conceived the show.

I think it was a good ending. Just having Tony die or go to jail would have been a cop out relative to the entire history of the show.

This show has always been different, yet somehow people wanted a derivative ending, and I don't get that.

Also I suspect David Chase doesn't give two flips if some people didn't like the ending.

[TiVo'Brien]

AJ is soooooo pathetic. "It gets 23 mpg."

What a hypocrite and a loser. :rolleyes:

I'll take the M3, though. :p

[Ekims]

I like to think of T having to keep looking at the door and everyone around him was a sign that he was going to become paranoid like Uncle Jr.

I wouldn't doubt it if HBO decided to do a special later on showing alternate endings and cast interviews.

[bdlucas]

With all due respect, no way.

If Chase meant for Tony to be dead, Tony would be dead. Instead, he's eating dinner, and somebody who may or may not be a hit man is in the men's room.

I bet we'll be seeing interviews with Chase soon in which he says words to the effect that he doesn't know whether or not Tony is still alive, and that it doesn't matter. THAT is the moment at which he chose to end it, because for him, that is the moment when he's done what he wants to do with the show. If he wanted to do Tony's death, there would have been a few seconds more.
But that doesn't explain the completely unconventional way it ended - a cut to black and an abrupt termination of the audio in the middle of the song. The ending could have been made ambiguous without going outside the normal cinematic vocabulary, e.g. a fade to black with the music still playing. The ending was so unconventional that we all assumed at first that there was a technical problem, and I think that had to have been done for a reason. Showing Tony's murder from his perspective fits perfectly.

[astrohip]

How many seasons have ended with the Sopranos around a dinner table? Food, family, life goes one . . .

I liked it. In retrospect, how else could the story end? 'Cause the story doesn't end. Any other ending has problems. Lots of 'em. Would I have ended it exactly as Chase filmed it, with the blackout? No. But he's always played around us. :cool:

BTW, there will never be any more Sopranos. Gandolfino has made it very clear over the last year or so that this is it for him. And it ain't a negotiating tactic. He's ready to move on. All of them are.

[Idearat]

"Focus on the things that were good" ... as in the earlier seasons of Sopranos that didn't suck.

As for people in the restaurant, I looked up the last 2 pages of names in the credits for people in the diner. No clues there, almost all of them had zero listings in IMDB.

[marksman]

Horrible, horrible ending. Total cop out on Chase's part. Have the balls to tell the story you want to tell, don't let the viewers decide for themselves.

Horrible.

Like I mentioned above, I suspect that has ALWAYS been the way he wanted to end the show. Probably before he even decided how he would start the show.

[Hoffer]

I don't know that it is the worst series finale ever. It was kinda disappointing in that it never felt like a finale. Those last 5 minutes were very intense. I just sat there thinking, oh here it comes, then it's just AJ. When the screen went black for a couple seconds, I definitely yelled WTF!!

I sat thinking the whole episode that I didn't want Tony to die. I know he's a mob guy, but I just didn't want to see him get shot. If he just went to prison, that would be pretty cliche. They definitely ended it in a way that will get people talking.

[unixadm]

If this show was completely through the eyes of Tony (ala Goodfellas and Ray Liotta's character), then this ending would make sense.....a quick cut to black, then Tony's voice echoing in the background "You never see it coming".

But...this show was not from his point of view....the quick end cut implies that his life ended without him expecting it, but it doesn't fit the rest of the series.

A more appropriate ending would have been to show him being hit, then show the FBI rounding up the rest of the both Tony and Phil's crews and saying that the heads of both the NJ and NY families were dead and that the mob as the tri-state area had known it was completely dismantled.

That would be an ending.

How many seasons have ended with the Sopranos around a dinner table? Food, family, life goes one . . .



If they wanted to leave it open, then show Tony and his family having dinner, laughing and having fun, and just fade to black.....nothing abrubt....just a nice fade with him and his family.

It's pretty bad for a series finale when a large majority of people think that their cable/DirecTV went out......pretty much tells me that they did a lousy job of trying to convey their ending.

[TeighVaux]

So when the final season DVD comes out, it will have the special features of all the alternative endings that they shot?:) And commentary by Chase on what the final episode meant?

I don't think there were any killings. The mobsters don't do hits when the women and children are around. Or kill the women and children.

Interesting scene with T and Uncle June, since one really can't tell if June is still faking it or if it really is a touching moment when T realizes he is gone.

[sneagle]

Stephen King said at the end of The Dark Tower series--and I summarize because it is not family friendly--it's not about the ending but rather it's about the journey. If you just wanted to know the end, then turn to the last page. So,

thanks for all those Sunday nights HBO, Mr. Chase, Tony. et al...

[dslunceford]

Noticed David Chase directed and wrote the episode. He has not directed many epiodes to my recollection. Anyone know how many he has directed before?
.

He only directed the very first episode and this episode...

and bdlucas has it right....he could have accomplished the same effect with a more conventional fade to black...folks would still have felt gypped, but they would have at least understood it was the intended ending and not wondering if their cable cut out....

[rlc1]

David Chase to viewers: F__K YOU!

[BlackBetty]

Stephen King said at the end of The Dark Tower series--and I summarize because it is not family friendly--it's not about the ending but rather it's about the journey. If you just wanted to know the end, then turn to the last page. So,

thanks for all those Sunday nights HBO, Mr. Chase, Tony. et al...

+1 :up: Well said.

[bqmeister]

Boo.

[JLWINE]

Seems I'm in the minority.

I liked the ending. And I think the awkward long scene was done well. We all knew what was coming; they didn't need to show it. Right down to Meadow being late to witness the event. I think it was very well done.

I'm just sad it's over.

+1

[Todd]

Maybe Jersey got nuked....

[unixadm]

Stephen King said at the end of The Dark Tower series--and I summarize because it is not family friendly--it's not about the ending but rather it's about the journey. If you just wanted to know the end, then turn to the last page. So,

thanks for all those Sunday nights HBO, Mr. Chase, Tony. et al...


That's great......if you get your family in the car for a vacation and they think they are driving down to Disney World and in the end you take them to a trash dump in Florida, you think they will accept the excuse of "Hey it was all about the journey here.....you had fun driving down, that is the important part." ????

Chase took us on a nice journey....there were a few bumps in the road along the way.....a few crappy episodes....but for the most part, a fun journey...but it ended at a trash dump....so of course we are going to say "WTF????".

[Turtleboy]

It's pretty bad for a series finale when a large majority of people think that their cable/DirecTV went out......pretty much tells me that they did a lousy job of trying to convey their ending.

Actually, it's the exact opposite. The fact that everyone is angry and thinks theyir cable went out tells me that they did a great job of trying to convey their ending

[ironchef]

Paulie not wanting to take a position because everybody else who took it died - so Paulie.

The FBI Guy - "We're gonna win this!"

Phil gets a closed casket funeral.

"One good thing, I haven't had a green vegetable in a week."

Sil's still there.

AJ in the army? Ah - give him a job working for Inga(!), a new beemer, and a 16 yo hottie and he's hapy again.

I liked the ending, I stopped mid-bite of dinner, but I liked it. This is Tony's life, watching everyone who comes into restos you're eating at and wondering if they're there to cap you in front of your family. What happened to him? I like Schroedinger's Mobster, we don't know, and for my part I don't fault that.

[Figaro]

WTF??? The ending was like having a bucket of ice water thrown on a great boner. What a waste!

[Odds Bodkins]

Boooooo!

[bdlucas]

and bdlucas has it right....he could have accomplished the same effect with a more conventional fade to black
On the contrary, a fade to black would not have accomplished the same effect! He knows perfectly well what a fade to black means, and it was not an accident that he did not do that.

[grecorj]

1 thing's for sure...people will be talking about this ending for a *long* time.

[Sopranoman]

Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!!!

[unixadm]

Actually, it's the exact opposite. The fact that everyone is angry and thinks theyir cable went out tells me that they did a great job of trying to convey their ending

So what is the ending they were trying to convey? Was he killed and that is why it went blank? Or, is it that he is alive and well and that the people in the diner had nothing to do with trying to kill him? Does the cut to black signify that the show's plug is pulled, but life goes on? If he lives on, then does he get arrested?

If we can't answer the questions, then it is open ended and not a definitive ending to the show as they had promised....and their ending didn't convey the finality of the show.

Like I said before, this would be a brilliant ending if the entire show was through Tony's eyes as a first person point of view...(as Goodfellas was).....then it would definitely signify that he was killed....and would be a perfect ending. This show wasn't told from the first person point of view, and therefore this ending doesn't fit the rest of the series.

I would even accept this ending (assuming the meaning is that Tony was whacked) if right after the cut to black, you hear Tony's voice echo "You never see it coming". Still a bit of a cop out, but it would be a definitive ending.

[terpfan1980]

1 thing's for sure...people will be talking about this ending for a *long* time.

I don't think it'll be that long. A few days perhaps, maybe a week, but not much more really. Other than a lot of grumbling about feeling ripped off by the ending perhaps. :(

[crazywater]

He picked the other song -- "Don't Stop Believing".
And the picture went to black at "Don't stop...."

Major suckness....

At least Chase could have had the balls to give us an ending of some kind, not this BS viewer-interpretation crapola! Instead of making a writing decision and living with it and taking the criticism or praise heaped upon him by the viewers and the media, we are left with the "sh*t my cable just went out" moment!

The Worst Season Finale EVER!

Just Horrible!

[bcrider]

I don't think there were any killings. The mobsters don't do hits when the women and children are around. Or kill the women and children.



Phil got killed right in front of his family, babies, etc.

[osterber]

1 thing's for sure...people will be talking about this ending for a *long* time.

I disagree. I think there will be lots of water cooler talk tomorrow about how much this finale sucked, and then by Tuesday, it will just be a memory of a pretty good TV series that had the world's biggest let-down of a finale. It certainly won't make any "top 10 series finale" lists ever.

-Rick

[Langree]

Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!!!

Mr. Chase, is that you?


:p

[Langree]

I disagree. I think there will be lots of water cooler talk tomorrow about how much this finale sucked, and then by Tuesday, it will just be a memory of a pretty good TV series that had the world's biggest let-down of a finale. It certainly won't make any "top 10 series finale" lists ever.

-Rick

it'll be listed in the same breath as Seinfield. finales that sucked.

[markymark_ctown]

I don't think there were any killings. The mobsters don't do hits when the women and children are around. Or kill the women and children.


really? someone forgot to tell that to the guy who shot phil in front of his wife and grandchildren earlier in the episode. all is fair...

[osterber]

And the whole final episode just dragged on and on and on. I kept looking at the time thinking that time was running for them to actually _do_ anything. OK, they killed Phil. But nothing else really happened. Do I go to the Army or not. I almost started a forest fire. There's a creepy cat that nobody knows what to do with. All just very very sllllooooowwwww that lead up to the most anti-climactic ending the world has seen.

-Rick

[crazywater]

I think a lot of people are pissed because of the lack of resolution, but what would have been a great ending for you? If Tony died, I think the same people would be here griping that Chase took the easy way out. This really had to come down to leaving it open ended for us as the audience to fill in our blanks. Only way he could do it. I say bravo David Chase!
Anything else but 8-10 seconds of black screen...thats Chase saying I can't decide so I'll let you! Huge cop out.

[marksman]

Anyone else notice the irony of people complaining that an abrupt cut to black was not acceptable but an abrupt death to Tony would have been okay?

I am just not getting how if they went for 20 more seconds and Tony died that would have somehow made it alright for those of you who claim this is the worst series finale ever.

Tony dying at the end would have changed anything? Got to be honest that does not make a lot of sense.

[sgsmith]

I don't think there were any killings. The mobsters don't do hits when the women and children are around. Or kill the women and children.Really? Better tell that to Bobby, who was gunned down in front of a man and two children in the toy store.

[pendragn]

So what is the ending they were trying to convey? Was he killed and that is why it went blank? Or, is it that he is alive and well and that the people in the diner had nothing to do with trying to kill him? Does the cut to black signify that the show's plug is pulled, but life goes on? If he lives on, then does he get arrested?

If we can't answer the questions, then it is open ended and not a definitive ending to the show as they had promised....and their ending didn't convey the finality of the show.

I agree. If I don't know the message they were trying to convey, that tells me they did a poor job of conveying it.

tk

[pendragn]

Anyone else notice the irony of people complaining that an abrupt cut to black was not acceptable but an abrupt death to Tony would have been okay?

I am just not getting how if they went for 20 more seconds and Tony died that would have somehow made it alright for those of you who claim this is the worst series finale ever.

Tony dying at the end would have changed anything? Got to be honest that does not make a lot of sense.
I can't speak for everyone, but for me the unknown is what's bugging me. If we know Tony lives, that's fine. If we know Tony dies, that's fine too. But being lead down a path, but not ever finding out exactly what happen is what's frustrating me.

tk

[crazywater]

Maybe Jersey got nuked....
That would have been a better ending then this...

[CharlieW]

A fade out would have symbolized life going on and on.

The quick cut to black is much more final -- I'm convinced, he got whacked.

Taking into account the discussion between Bobby and Tony in 'Home Movies', adding in the way the series has always been shot from Tony's perspective. Tony looks up at the door to see Meadow enter and doesn't see the attack come from his side. As Tony is whacked, so is our view into the world of the Soprano family. Also, take into consideration his conversation earlier in the episode with Meadow about not having the opportunity to sit down and eat together -- a bit of foreshadowing?

[SnakeEyes]

I think it was a great ending. I think we saw things from Tony's perspective. He had his family, feeling good, but also paying attention to things around him, an inner nervousness and then it all ends suddenly.

I think we saw the final whack from a perspective we hadn't seen before.

[marksman]

And the picture went to black at "Don't stop...."

Major suckness....

At least Chase could have had the balls to give us an ending of some kind, not this BS viewer-interpretation crapola!

It is funny you think it would have taken more balls to "give us some kind of an ending".

For one he did give us an ending. For two, this ending certainly took more balls then doing something predictable, which the show has never done.

Lets be realistic. We have seen Tony shot multiple times on the show. We have seen him in wrecks, we have seen him arrested and on and on.

What ending would not have been crap for you, and why. People act like if Tony would have been shot and killed that would have some how been awesome for them. Why is that?

[Mr. Soze]

He's dead. He's not dead. I don't give a ***** any more.
This series is in my rear view mirror, where I should have put it
a few years ago. My mistake.

[marksman]

I can't speak for everyone, but for me the unknown is what's bugging me. If we know Tony lives, that's fine. If we know Tony dies, that's fine too. But being lead down a path, but not ever finding out exactly what happen is what's frustrating me.

tk

But that has been the show. The show has ALWAYS been that way. It has not been one for wrapping things up. The entire uniqueness of the show when it first started hinged on that as a major factor.

It is the thing that has bothered me for the last few years about some of the complaints about the show. A lot of them seem based on complaining about some of the things that have made the show so good for so long. This show encapsulated what has ALWAYS been good about the Sopranos. As mentioned earlier Chase wrote and directed it. In a nutshell this is the epitome of what the Sopranos has always been. Focused on Tony and his family first and foremost. Throw in a mix of psychology and psychiatry, and then as a secondary act the mafia lifestyle. We have always been glimpsing into the world of the Sopranos, it was never tied to a beginning a middle or an end. No conclusion, no finality.

This episode, actually could be a perfect encapsulation of what the show always ways. As someone else mentioned too, many Seasons have ended with the Soprano family around a table eating. I would be curious to know how many times out of the 6 years it has happened. I can think of maybe 3 off the top of my head.

I just don't get how not knowing what happens ruins the show or makes it any less compelling. I thought the final scene in Holsten's was amazingly tense. Nothing about the ending changed my experience watching the scene.

[JLWINE]

I'm surprized people think Tony got whacked. With Phil gone, and the rest NY and NJ families all seeming to really want a truce who would whack him. And if they did want to whack him it would have been much easier and cleaner outside the meat market when Tony sat with Paulie for some time.

Good ending to a GREAT series.

[CharlieW]

He's dead. He's not dead. I don't give a ***** any more.
This series is in my rear view mirror, where I should have put it
a few years ago. My mistake.


I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire run of this series, barring a couple of episodes here or there. I will miss this series -- thanks for the fine work, Mr. Chase, Mr. Gandolfini et al.

[zuko3984]

Anyone else notice the irony of people complaining that an abrupt cut to black was not acceptable but an abrupt death to Tony would have been okay?

I am just not getting how if they went for 20 more seconds and Tony died that would have somehow made it alright for those of you who claim this is the worst series finale ever.

Tony dying at the end would have changed anything? Got to be honest that does not make a lot of sense.

I don't know about anyone else but i watch tv to have a story told to me. I want an definite ending not an ending where i have to make up what happens. If tony died that would have been an ending. It would have put closure into the series. By them leaving it the way it was ended there is no closure and for me that's not what i want in a series finale. I want the story told to me otherwise why am i watching if i have to make the story up myself.

[unixadm]

What ending would not have been crap for you, and why. People act like if Tony would have been shot and killed that would have some how been awesome for them. Why is that?

Live by the sword, die by the sword....or in this case, live by the gun, die by the gun.

I wouldn't even care if they showed it or not.....as I posted earlier, a cut to black (maybe at the same time as a gun shot is heard), and Tony's words of "You never see it coming". That would have been a great ending.

There is no finality here.....we are left open to think that maybe he was whacked, maybe not. This is not an interpretive show......it is a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end....we took a journey as someone else had put it....and there was never a final end of the journey.....just an interpretation by everyone of how it ended.

[knownzero]

So, after about two hours post ending and reading the television without pity discussion forum for a while I have one final thought that someone else echoed over there. I roomed with a film major in college and hung out with a lot of film people over the years and I've seen a *lot* of pretentious arthouse bullshiat films in my day. This one ranks right up there with the worst of them. This is first year film school, over the top pretentious crap. This reeks of 'Oh, I'm so going to go straight over their heads with this one because I'm a genius and misunderstood and only the cognoscenti will be able to understand the deep meaning of this and that will separate us film people from the unwashed masses' that I've seen countless times from the hacks that call themselves film makers. It's the lowest form of self indulgence and denotes a complete lack of understanding of the most basic tenents of storytelling and scriptwriting. It's a cop out from a show that ran out of gas years ago.

Yeah, I'm still ticked. :mad:

[Agent86]

My brother and I have been talking about it. He loved the ending, I thought it was ok but ultimately the easy way out.

David Chase has been saying for a long time that he's been having trouble reconciling Tony's fate - the notion that "Crime doesn't pay" and how that applies to Tony. By choosing this ending, he basically avoided having the answer the question. Everyone and their grandmother is going to ask him what happens after the cut and he's just going to say "That's up to your interpretation and beliefs" and walk away. To not have to make a decision and justify it is the easy way out.

At the same time, I see where he's going and what he's trying to do. In the least it is somewhat clever. Its going to generate a lot of discussion, and people are going to interpret it nine ways to Sunday. I must admit that it is very interesting to see the different things people key in on and their "endgame" for the Sopranos world.

However, for a series that's entire existence was built on principle of throwing haymakers, it feels like Chase pulled the last punch.

[marksman]

.it is a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end....we took a journey as someone else had put it....and there was never a final end of the journey.....just an interpretation by everyone of how it ended.

Actually no its not. There was no real beginning. The show started squarely in the middle and ended squarely in the middle.

The show has never been like that.

You don't have to interpret what happened. You can assume the show ended the very second that it went to black.

The show is praised for years for being different and doing things its own way, yet again, at the end gets blasted for not doing things like everyone else.

I don't personally care if people like it or not. I can envision a lot of different endings, I don't particular see how any of them would have made the series or this episode better.

[marksman]

I don't know about anyone else but i watch tv to have a story told to me. I want an definite ending not an ending where i have to make up what happens. If tony died that would have been an ending. It would have put closure into the series. By them leaving it the way it was ended there is no closure and for me that's not what i want in a series finale. I want the story told to me otherwise why am i watching if i have to make the story up myself.

Why do you want closure? Because all other shows try to do that? Because that is what a tv show is supposed to do? Again, I will say this, but this show has never been about doing things the way other shows did them. Why would you have expected some kind of closure with a nice little bow. Personally I would have felt cheated with such a pedestrian ending.

[Sopranoman]

Mr. Chase, is that you?


:p

:eek:

[Adam1115]

The fact that I'm even ON this forum to try and figure out WTF happened leads me to the conclusion that this show SUCKS, and wasted YEARS of my time.

[unixadm]

Why do you want closure? Because all other shows try to do that? Because that is what a tv show is supposed to do? Again, I will say this, but this show has never been about doing things the way other shows did them. Why would you have expected some kind of closure with a nice little bow. Personally I would have felt cheated with such a pedestrian ending.

Uhhhh, maybe because they told us that this would be the definitive ending of the show.....the finale ?

Ending:
1. a bringing or coming to an end; termination; close
2. the final or concluding part; conclusion
3. To bring to a conclusion.

Finale:

1. the concluding part of any performance, course of proceedings, etc.; end.

There was no final conclusion....there was not definitive ending. It was a cop out.....Chase couldn't decide if he wanted to end it with Tony getting whacked, which would have pissed off some people, with him turning states evidence and going into WPP, which would have pissed off others, or with a happy, June Cleaverish family dinner fading to black, which would have pissed off others.....so he chickens out of all the endings and gives us a non ending.

There were PLENTY of endings that he could have done that wouldn't have been "pedestrian". Look at my previous posts about suggestions.....even keeping this exact show....he could have made it brilliant with a gunshot sound and Tony's voice over after the cut to black. It would have been definitive and a well done ending.

[zuko3984]

Why do you want closure? Because all other shows try to do that? Because that is what a tv show is supposed to do? Again, I will say this, but this show has never been about doing things the way other shows did them. Why would you have expected some kind of closure with a nice little bow. Personally I would have felt cheated with such a pedestrian ending.

like i said i watch tv to have a story told to me and that includes an ending. I don't need every little thing wrapped up but i would have liked an ending to the episode. It felt to me like i was reading a book and when i got to the end the last couple of paged had been ripped out and now i don't know how it ends and the book is out of print so i never will know. All the things that had no closure on the show were things that the main characters didn't know the answers to (like the russian in the woods, tony never found out what happened so we never did) that i can live with but to just do a cut to black in mid scene and that's it i just felt cheated. If you liked it more power to you but from most of the reaction i am seeing here and on other sites on the tv stations giving reviews i would say most people were disappointed in the ending.

[purple6816]

At least they can do a follow up mini series or movie.

[Dnamertz]

I wonder how many people *will* cancel HBO tonight? :)

Why? Entourage is better than the Sopranos was the last couple seasons.

[LouCipher]

I think that this episode is David Chase's version of the classic one-line joke:

How do you keep a moron in suspense?

;)

[Sopranoman]

Uhhhh, maybe because they told us that this would be the definitive ending of the show.....the finale ?

Ending:
1. a bringing or coming to an end; termination; close
2. the final or concluding part; conclusion
3. To bring to a conclusion.

Finale:

1. the concluding part of any performance, course of proceedings, etc.; end.



Your kidding, right? How was there no conclusion? How was there no termination?

Its like designing your own church, no ONE will ever be happy.

[Dnamertz]

What the hell was that?

Seriously. If you're going to leave open an option to bring back the show in the future, don't make it so flippin obvious next time. :mad: What's next Sopranos: Law & Order? :mad:



Sopranos The Movie!!!

[Sparty99]

The one question I have is, how was killing Tony the easy way out as so many people seem to believe? Can someone tell me another show in the history of television that ended with the main character being killed? That would've been unprecedented. Howdoes that make it the easy way out?

My problem with this ending is that I feel like we'll be reading an interview with David Chase in a week or a day and he'll say something like, "Yeah, I know how it ended." He did the same thing with the Russian storyline. If you're going to give me this "life goes on" ending, fine, but do it right like Cheers did. Just give me a freaking ending.

This episode will be talked about for years - I'm not overstimating. This was legitimately one of the least satisfying series finales in history, and it will be remembered as such for a long, long time.

[Sparty99]

At least they can do a follow up mini series or movie.
People need to stop thinking this is going to happen. As someone already mentioned, Gandolfini has already put the character behind him. There will be no revisitation to these characters. Move on.

[bcrider]

Simply put, Tony's luck (if you can call it that) ran out. Had Meadow learned how to properly parallel park a car, she would have been seated next to Tony and blocked him from a clear shot to the head.

;)

[zuko3984]

Your kidding, right? How was there no conclusion? How was there no termination?

Its like designing your own church, no ONE will ever be happy.

So what was the ending? What was the conclusion. Did Tony live or die at the end. Is he going to jail or maybe he just goes on living his life like it has been since the start of the show. Lots of people seem to think tony gets shot but show me were that is definitely shown in that last scene. If he gets shot that would have been a conclusion. What we got was a choose your own ending conclusion which to me is no conclusion.

[marksman]

People need to stop thinking this is going to happen. As someone already mentioned, Gandolfini has already put the character behind him. There will be no revisitation to these characters. Move on.

Yeah I would be surprised if we ever heard from the Sopranos again.

I think that was the end of it. That moment in time and it is over.

[jschuur]

The one question I have is, how was killing Tony the easy way out as so many people seem to believe? Can someone tell me another show in the history of television that ended with the main character being killed? That would've been unprecedented.
Blake's Seven (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake's_7)

[marksman]

like i said i watch tv to have a story told to me and that includes an ending. I don't need every little thing wrapped up but i would have liked an ending to the episode. It felt to me like i was reading a book and when i got to the end the last couple of paged had been ripped out and now i don't know how it ends and the book is out of print so i never will know. All the things that had no closure on the show were things that the main characters didn't know the answers to (like the russian in the woods, tony never found out what happened so we never did) that i can live with but to just do a cut to black in mid scene and that's it i just felt cheated. If you liked it more power to you but from most of the reaction i am seeing here and on other sites on the tv stations giving reviews i would say most people were disappointed in the ending.

I am pretty sure the episode ended up with AJ, Carmela and Tony sitting at a table in Halston's with Don't Stop Believing on the jukebox, and Meadow was making her way in from outside.

Oh when you say you wanted an ending, you meant a different one. So when you say you don't want one to tie it up with a bow, you still mean one different then the one they gave you.

The episode did end. The series did end. Abruptly yes, but it did end and it is over.

Fair enough if it didn't fit into your dream of how it should be end, but I will emphasize this again, the show has never been about doing what is expected. So to expect them to do that now would be coping out.

What exactly do you feel cheated from? What if they just kept eating their dinner and then went home and went to bed. Would going to sleep have been a good enough ending for you? Where did you want it to go. Clearly some of you have other images in your head as to how it should have ended. Just saying it should have ended, doesn't really do much, as that is a cop out complaint.

I don't think it is anything like the last page of a book being torn out.

If you read a book and Tony was sitting there with his family and it said Meadow approached the door from the parking lot, the bell on the door jingle and Tony looked up.

The end.

That is the end. You didn't want any ending, you wanted a traditional storybook ending.

[unixadm]

Yeah I would be surprised if we ever heard from the Sopranos again.

I think that was the end of it. That moment in time and it is over.

If that is truely the case, then we should have seen a definitive end to the show. If this was a season finale, with another season coming, or a movie coming, then I could see it....but if it is the end, then close the book on the character for good.

I am pretty sure the episode ended up with AJ, Carmela and Tony sitting at a table in Halston's with Don't Stop Believing on the jukebox, and Meadow was making her way in from outside.

Oh when you say you wanted an ending, you meant a different one. So when you say you don't want one to tie it up with a bow, you still mean one different then the one they gave you.

The episode did end. The series did end. Abruptly yes, but it did end and it is over.

Fair enough if it didn't fit into your dream of how it should be end, but I will emphasize this again, the show has never been about doing what is expected. So to expect them to do that now would be coping out.

What exactly do you feel cheated from? What if they just kept eating their dinner and then went home and went to bed. Would going to sleep have been a good enough ending for you? Where did you want it to go. Clearly some of you have other images in your head as to how it should have ended. Just saying it should have ended, doesn't really do much, as that is a cop out complaint.

I don't think it is anything like the last page of a book being torn out.

If you read a book and Tony was sitting there with his family and it said Meadow approached the door from the parking lot, the bell on the door jingle and Tony looked up.

The end.

That is the end. You didn't want any ending, you wanted a traditional storybook ending.

The tension in the diner was palpable.....it was a great lead up to something.....and even if that lead up was that nothing happened, and they all eat dinner and go home, it would have been better....it would give us an ending that Tony's life goes on and he continues as he always had with one eye always looking over his shoulder.

If it ended with him getting killed, then it finalizes the series....live by the gun, die by the gun. The NY family is history, and now the NJ family is history....finished, ended, final.

There is no final payoff with this.....we don't know if he lives or dies, it isn't a finale....just an open ended series.

[Dnamertz]

I am pretty sure the episode ended up with AJ, Carmela and Tony sitting at a table in Halston's with Don't Stop Believing on the jukebox, and Meadow was making her way in from outside.

Oh when you say you wanted an ending, you meant a different one. So when you say you don't want one to tie it up with a bow, you still mean one different then the one they gave you.

The episode did end. The series did end. Abruptly yes, but it did end and it is over.

Fair enough if it didn't fit into your dream of how it should be end, but I will emphasize this again, the show has never been about doing what is expected. So to expect them to do that now would be coping out.

What exactly do you feel cheated from? What if they just kept eating their dinner and then went home and went to bed. Would going to sleep have been a good enough ending for you? Where did you want it to go. Clearly some of you have other images in your head as to how it should have ended. Just saying it should have ended, doesn't really do much, as that is a cop out complaint.

I don't think it is anything like the last page of a book being torn out.

If you read a book and Tony was sitting there with his family and it said Meadow approached the door from the parking lot, the bell on the door jingle and Tony looked up.

The end.

That is the end. You didn't want any ending, you wanted a traditional storybook ending.

You're missing the point. We're not saying the show didn't have an ending...we're saying THE ENDING SUCKED!!!

Sure, them eating dinner is "an ending". But I didn't watch an entire series because it was about people doing daily routine stuff. I watched it because interesting and dramatic stuff happened. And an ending that builds dramatically as if something interesting is going to happen, and then the screen goes blank, is a poor ending.

You know the ending sucked when most people watching it thought their cable went out. That's not the result you want when creating a show or a movie.

[Fahtrim]

Thinking about it, I think it was brilliant.

The whole series the point was made time and again that things don't "end" just like life. What happened to the Russian? WTF does it matter? What happened to all those other lose ends in your life.

The family is eating dinner together. Life goes on. Does Tony get wacked? Does he go on trial? Maybe. It keeps on going.

That's the point. I agree.

[bcrider]

West Coast broadcast just ended, let's see what the other half of the US thinks.

[unixadm]

Thinking about it, I think it was brilliant.

The whole series the point was made time and again that things don't "end" just like life. What happened to the Russian? WTF does it matter? What happened to all those other lose ends in your life.

The family is eating dinner together. Life goes on. Does Tony get wacked? Does he go on trial? Maybe. It keeps on going.

Yeah, but is isn't going to keep on going.......this was a show about the life of Tony Soprano.....and they promised an ending...this was to be the final show ever....it ISN'T going to keep going....so why should the character (possibly)? If they wanted to makes us think that life goes on as normal for the Sopranos, then do that....give us Tony, Carm, AJ and Meadow all eating dinner and fade to black with a "life goes on" kind of feel.

If they want to unequivocly end it, then have Tony get whacked.

It seems like to some people (me included), interpret that the quick jump to black ending signified Tony's life ending....he got whacked and never saw it coming (as we never saw it coming when the screen went blank). Others think that it signified that "life goes on" and it is just the end of our glimpse into Tony's life.

Not everything needs to be "wrapped up" in a nice package....but I think we all deserve a finale for this show that at least wraps up the fate of the main character that we have tuned in for 7 years to watch.

Leaving it the way he did, just seems like an open end for a movie, renewal of the series, or just a cop out because he didn't want to have an ending.

[pjenkins]

i just finished it, and i loved it, a great ending, IMO. appears from reading this thread I'm in a very small minority, what else is new :)

[RayChuang88]

I believe everyone in the diner--including Tony Soprano--is dead.

If you have recorded the show on your VCR or DVR, watch for the nervous-looking man that looks Middle Eastern at the bar in the diner, who later went into the restroom. If we remember from the series, Tony went after Middle Eastern terrorists, and it's possible that the sudden end indicates a powerful bomb went off at the diner, killing everyone in it. It's certainly a pretty plausible ending.

[unixadm]

The more I think about it, the more I think I understand Chase's ending.....

This last few episodes, and final scene in particular is all about the tension that has been building....and Tony is always looking over his shoulder. Tony has said "You never see it coming".

I think Chase's meaning for the ending is that we as the audience have been drawn in for the past 7 years, and in the end, never see it coming.....He wanted people to think their cable went out.....it was supposed to be an epiphany for us.....sitting there on the edge of our seats thinking Tony's going to get whacked....when BLAM......we get hit.....almost like we are put in Tony's shoes and everyrthing went black when we got whacked.

He tried to be "artsy" about the ending, and I think it totally flopped.

[busyba]

Can someone tell me another show in the history of television that ended with the main character being killed?
Action (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206467/combined). "Time of death: Tuesday at 9:30" :D
Forever Knight (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103417/).

In fact, there was a thread a while ago (http://archive2.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=276914&highlight=knight) about shows that did exactly that.

[spikedavis]

I really loved the finale. I'm glad he didn't go a guns blazing finale like so many simple minded people would have loved. This isn't Scarface. The entire episode was hysterical and I found a lot of the moments surprisingly poignant. The entire last scene was ratcheting up the suspense to make people think something epic was going to happen.

By the way-I loved Phil's death. I had the same reaction as those guys watching.

[jtlytle]

Who says they have to be killed??

[mostman]

I liked it as well.

Dead for sure. There is no other point to showing Meadow taking so long to park.

Go back and watch all the shots where the door bell rings. Camera on Tony. Door rings. Camera from Tony's POV. This happened four times. The final time it was Meadow. Camera on Meadow. Camera on Tony. Bell. Black. There is no more Tony POV - because he is dead.

-Mike

[mostman]

Or. Another idea. We got whacked.

Someone sort of mentioned this above. Maybe the idea was that we were really an observer - and in the end - we were shot - ending our ability to watch.

If that was the purpose - thumbs down for trying to be WAY too artsy.

[fliptheflop]

^ Yeah I think David Chase just kicked us out of Tony Sopranos life. We don't get to peek inside the window anymore.

[DCIFRTHS]

I'm not sure he got killed. Possibly. Maybe not.

I do like the fact that so many people demand resolution. The problem with mob shows is that there are only a couple of 3 possible resolutions: 1) getting killed, 2) going to jail, 3) going into the witness protection program.

Bah. They've all been done before. This is different.

Different and bad.

[DCIFRTHS]

Horrible, horrible ending. Total cop out on Chase's part. Have the balls to tell the story you want to tell, don't let the viewers decide for themselves.

Horrible.

Best post so far.

[fliptheflop]

I doubt he's dead. I don't think they would have said anything about the upcoming indictments against Tony. I think his life goes on but were just no longer along for the ride. If he was going to kill him he would have killed him. This show has never been about easy anything. Its different then most shows and thats why everyone loved it. So it sticks to what it is and everyone flips. Everything ends but that doesn't mean it ended for Tony when it ended for us.

[Dan203]

I'm in the WTF crowd! If this had been a season finale then that'd be one thing. But a series finale needs at least some sort of conclusion. Even the sound of a gunshot, with no real explanation of who actually got shot would have been better then this. This is like one of those shows that ends a season with a big cliff hanger then get canceled over the summer and never comes back. However unlike those shows these people have known the end was coming for 2+ years. If this guy Chase wanted to be some cheesy arthouse director then he should have gone out and made some sh*tty arthouse movie that nobody would have seen. They shouldn't have let him ruin the final episode of very popular and mainstream series with his pretentious crap. I'm sure him and all his buddies in the "in crowd" are all having a big laugh over this ending, but that laugh is coming at our expense. This is no different then pulling a practical joke. It's funny to the person who pulls the joke, but no so much to the victim. In this case millions of people were victims of a stupid practical joke, and I expect the vast majority of them are going to be pretty pissed off about it.

Dan

[Bananfish]

So if you're David Chase and you want to have an ending that is simply "Tony Soprano goes on living his life, with all that goes along with that -- worrying about going to jail, having to watch his back to make sure he doesn't get whacked, an up and down relationship with the New York mob, dealing with a talented but wishy-washy daughter, dealing with a selfish, shallow son, dealing with a bunch of underlings who are not too smart and difficult to herd, dealing with other family problems (Janice trying to get her hands on Junior's money, for example), keeping Carmela happy while living the mob life," what do you do?

Well you do exactly what this episode did ... you show normal everyday life events happening to Tony and family, and then at some point, you just "pull the plug." That's literally what happened here - the sudden black screen was not an abrupt end to Tony's life, but instead it was an abrupt end to we, the audience, being allowed to eavesdrop on the Sopranos any more. "You never even see it coming" is more a mantra for our being dropped right in the middle of the Sopranos lives.

I don't really have a problem with that ending per se. Instead I have a problem with the philosophy that the show should have merely ended with life going on. I think that, indeed, was a copout on Chase's part. And more so, I have a problem with Chase leading us up to this final episode with Tony holed up like a rat with New York about to whack him at any instant, and then turning around and having a "life just going on as usual" ending. If that's the philosophy Chase wanted to employ, then he should have had the guts *not* to lead everyone to believe a true "finale" was coming by having the second to last episode be so eventful.

[fliptheflop]

We were at the edge of our seats over a girl parking and a family eating because we know anything can happen to Tony Soprano. But this time it didn't it happened to us. Chase was telling us it was over when we thought it couldn't be. Thats what most people are having a problem with. But thats how things are they end without notice but they only ended for us. Tony lives on and now we're under black out restrictions.

[DCIFRTHS]

... I thought the final scene in Holsten's was amazingly tense. Nothing about the ending changed my experience watching the scene.

Not even when the power went out right before the climax?

[rgr]

I especially liked where, after the black screen near the end, Bob Newhart woke up and realized the whole series had been a dream.

[mikeinla]

The more I think about it, the more I think I understand Chase's ending.....

This last few episodes, and final scene in particular is all about the tension that has been building....and Tony is always looking over his shoulder. Tony has said "You never see it coming".

I think Chase's meaning for the ending is that we as the audience have been drawn in for the past 7 years, and in the end, never see it coming.....He wanted people to think their cable went out.....it was supposed to be an epiphany for us.....sitting there on the edge of our seats thinking Tony's going to get whacked....when BLAM......we get hit.....almost like we are put in Tony's shoes and everyrthing went black when we got whacked.

He tried to be "artsy" about the ending, and I think it totally flopped.


You've almost got it right. I watched the whole show on the east coast feed and then just the ending on the west coast feed.

Tony didn't die; there was no one in the restaurant that was going to whack him.

It was an ordinary restaurant with ordinary people doing ordinary things, including his daughter having trouble parking the car.


Yet here's this crime boss constantly looking over his shoulder at everyone and every little thing. He's also got a potential RICO indictment hanging over his head.


The scene was edited to show Tony's paranoia which is his albatross.

That's David Chase's was of saying that crime doesn't pay. That constant paranoia is his sword of Damocles. If you look at this past season, he's made Tony a far less sympathetic figure, with the killing of Christopher being at the top of the list.

Would you want to live like that,constantly looking at everyone with the fear that this is your killer?

The only thing he should have done differently is fade to black instead of just stop. It made a lot of people think the dish had gone out instead of thinking bout the ending.

The episode itself wasn't very good; it didn't flow very well. It seems like the decision to kill Phil and end the war happened rather suddenly. I think that's what makes the ending seem worse.

If you watch the ending just by itself (as I did on the west coast feed), it's actually pretty good.

[DCIFRTHS]

You've almost got it right. I watched the whole show on the east coast feed and then just the ending on the west coast feed.

Tony didn't die; there was no one in the restaurant that was going to whack him.

It was an ordinary restaurant with ordinary people doing ordinary things, including his daughter having trouble parking the car.


Yet here's this crime boss constantly looking over his shoulder at everyone and every little thing. He's also got a potential RICO indictment hanging over his head.


The scene was edited to show Tony's paranoia which is his albatross.

That's David Chase's was of saying that crime doesn't pay. That constant paranoia is his sword of Damocles. If you look at this past season, he's made Tony a far less sympathetic figure, with the killing of Christopher being at the top of the list.

Would you want to live like that,constantly looking at everyone with the fear that this is your killer?

The episode itself wasn't very good; it didn't flow very well. It seems like the decision to kill Phil and end the war happened rather suddenly. I think that's what makes the ending seem worse.

If you watch the ending just by itself (as I did on the west coast feed), it's actually pretty good.

Very simply: My problem is that it could be interpreted either way. Personally I like the "paranoia" theory best. That's worse than being dead - in my book anyway...

Regarding Christopher: In the context of the show, I don't feel that killing Christopher was that horrible. Tony has done much worse, and in a sick kind of way, he may have actually been "doing good" by protecting Christopher's little girl.

[Clarkey]

Here's an AP story on what happened (or didn't) last night:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2007/06/10/sopranos-finale.html

[anom]

Anyone who thought in that final scene that Chase would go all Scorsese with dramatic tension building to a cathartic orgy of violence over a pop music soundtrack just hasn't been paying attention to the show for the past nine years.

Nothing gets wrapped up in tidy little packages on The Sopranos (well, except for Joey Pantoliano's head). Some people love that, some are driven crazy by it, but there it is. I don't know why anyone expected this to change last night.

[Mr. Soze]

Having slept on it, I am even more irritated at myself for sticking with the show for so long. I should never have paid any attention to all the apologists for this nonsense ("Chase is a genius", "Just wait, something great is just about to happen" etc.) and cut bait.

All the BS about the show having this "long arc" is just that. The show was never intended to go this long, and real real life, especially Nancy Marchand's death changed the course of the show, and for the worse, IMO.

There, I got it out. Cut to blank screen. :D

[Rob Helmerichs]

I think Chase's biggest problem is he over-estimated his audience...

[fmowry]

For those as bad with names as I am, here's Carlo, who flipped and would testify against Tony:

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/HH/0621597/th-ArthurHeadshotTwo.jpg

Frank

[SullyND]

I wonder how many people *will* cancel HBO tonight? :)

Not last night, but I will cancel today.

[snowjay]

For the Tony got whacked conspirators...

What hit man sits in the diner and watches them, then goes to the bathroom?

Too many witnesses, too many people to recognize a face. They usually just walk in, rip off a few rounds and walk out.

[Anubys]

wow...over 200 posts already...

count me in the minority who loved it...just the perfect Soprano ep with boring family gatherings and family drama, sprinkled with a little mob action...only problem is: no Melphi! :p

LOVED, loved, loved the FBI guy screaming "we're gonna win!"...

Don't believe Tony is dead...

[Chapper1]

For everyone wondering who it was that killed Phil, he was Benny from the NJ mob. He has been on the show for a few seasons now. Actor's name is Max Casella (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0143295/)

I loved how Phil died, BTW...

[crazywater]

It is funny you think it would have taken more balls to "give us some kind of an ending".

For one he did give us an ending. For two, this ending certainly took more balls then doing something predictable, which the show has never done.

Lets be realistic. We have seen Tony shot multiple times on the show. We have seen him in wrecks, we have seen him arrested and on and on.

What ending would not have been crap for you, and why. People act like if Tony would have been shot and killed that would have some how been awesome for them. Why is that?
Yes I am sure Chase's intention was to make everyone thing their cable/satellite signal went out...just brilliant!

What ending would have been ok for me? An ending. I would have been happier if NJ got nuked, or if there was a slow fade showing them eating onion rings, or how about all of the possible "bad guys" in the diner slowly start to make their way towards Tony for an undetermined reason and then a slow fade...

Anything but the "my cable went out" moment...

[angbear1985]

I've not had a chance to read all these posts... Sorry, going to read them in a moment. But ....
What sort of an ending? "Don't STOP"... screen goes blank. My Dad called me, thought that his cable went out, too! Just, a weird ending.

And - what was with the cat ?????

[SoupMan]

For everyone wondering who it was that killed Phil, he was Benny from the NJ mob. He has been on the show for a few seasons now. Actor's name is Max Casella (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0143295/)

I loved how Phil died, BTW...

I don't think it was Benny. It was the guy whose name Paulie was making fun of in the back of the Bing. I can't remember the name, but Paulie cracked "What kind of Itailan name is that?" or something.

[crazywater]

People need to stop thinking this is going to happen. As someone already mentioned, Gandolfini has already put the character behind him. There will be no revisitation to these characters. Move on.
Oh really...just like Season 4 was going to be it....How'd that work out?

[Orthogon]

Thinking about it, I think it was brilliant.

The whole series the point was made time and again that things don't "end" just like life. What happened to the Russian? WTF does it matter? What happened to all those other lose ends in your life.

The family is eating dinner together. Life goes on. Does Tony get wacked? Does he go on trial? Maybe. It keeps on going.


Probable a smeek, but this was the first comment in the thread that felt the same way about the ending that I did.

[minorthr]

After having some time to sleep on it this episode just left more questions. What was with the freaking cat? Who was the woman the FBI guy was banging and why was she giving him the evil eyes? Why did the FBI guy say looks like we are going to win this one? Wasn't Meadow driving that Lexus that parallel parks itself ? Did junior really lose it, I thought he was always faking?

[Chapper1]

I don't think it was Benny. It was the guy whose name Paulie were making fun of in the back of the Bing. I can't remember the name, but Paulie cracked "What kind of Itailan name is that?" or something.

His name was Walden or something like that. After Paulie gave him a hard time, he mentioned he was named for Bobby Darin. Darin's real name was Walden Robert Cassotto.

I could swear it was Benny though..

[cheesesteak]

Here's a resounding "Boooooo!" from Philadelphia. The ending sucked but, even worse, why spend so much time on meaningless AJ? I shouldn't be FFwding through a series finale.

There was no reason for Tony to be whacked. The war (what little bit there was) with Phil's crew was over.

[snowjay]

After having some time to sleep on it this episode just left more questions. What was with the freaking cat? Who was the woman the FBI guy was banging and why was she giving him the evil eyes? Why did the FBI guy say looks like we are going to win this one? Wasn't Meadow driving that Lexus that parallel parks itself ? Did junior really lose it, I thought he was always faking?


That FBI woman would be his friend from the Brooklyn office that was giving him all the tips about Tony.

[GDG76]

I loved the ending. I hate movies/shows where everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow. The ending can be whatever you want it to be- Tony can go on living the way he always does or he got whacked. Does it really matter? The way you end the show in you head shows what you really thought about Tony....

[cheesesteak]

I loved the ending. I hate movies/shows where everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow. The ending can be whatever you want it to be- Tony can go on living the way he always does or he got whacked. Does it really matter? The way you end the show in you head shows what you really thought about Tony....
I just don't understand this reasoning. If you have a story to tell, tell the whole story, including the ending. It's like listening to a song that fades out at the end because the artists were too lazy or disinterested to write an ending. If I'm supposed to end the Sopranos in my head, I would have ended it after season seven.

[Tandem]

I thought the ending was obvious. Meadow comes in late and she bumps into the gunman just as he is about to wack Tony. The gun goes off and we catch the bullet instead of Tony. We never even hear it coming. Brilliant!

[Rob Helmerichs]

I just don't understand this reasoning. If you have a story to tell, tell the whole story, including the ending. It's like listening to a song that fades out at the end because the artists were too lazy or disinterested to write an ending. If I'm supposed to end the Sopranos in my head, I would have ended it after season seven.
But that WAS the ending. You're asking Chase to tell the whole story AND THEN SOME because you want to know what happens AFTER the ending!

I don't think you're supposed to end the story in your head. I think you're supposed to leave it where it is. And if you don't get why that is an ending, then as has been said before, I really don't think you get what this show has been all along.

[GDG76]

I just don't understand this reasoning. If you have a story to tell, tell the whole story, including the ending. It's like listening to a song that fades out at the end because the artists were too lazy or disinterested to write an ending. If I'm supposed to end the Sopranos in my head, I would have ended it after season seven.

What if there is no definite ending? Unless Tony gets whacked, everything goes on like it always has... Life doesn't have many abrupt endings. If you want that, just accept that fact that Tony got whacked and he's dead.

There was an ending. Whether or not you liked it is up to you... I thought it was really good.

[GDG76]

I don't think you're supposed to end the story in your head. I think you're supposed to leave it where it is.

Well, it's kind of crazy to do all that build up for a scene like that and not expect people to speculate as to what really happened..

Even if not, it just helps to hammer the fact that in his life, Tony (like us now) never knows whats going to happen to him or those around him...

[Marco]

I'm more okay with the ending the morning after.

Tony (& family) don't get whacked, confounding our expectations of violence. We see assassins everywere (in the restaurant) but they're not assassins. Or, conversely, this is Tony Soprano's world: he can go to dinner with his family, but he has to wonder if every guy he sees walking into the restaurant is the one who's going to end him.

And now, to quote another television icon of our times:
Homer: Marge, I'm confused. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending?
Marge: It's an ending, that's enough.

[Odds Bodkins]

His name was Walden or something like that. After Paulie gave him a hard time, he mentioned he was named for Bobby Darin. Darin's real name was Walden Robert Cassotto.

I could swear it was Benny though..

Benny is the guy from Doogie who is about 3 feet tall. I just went back to look and it was Waldon. Another stupid twist in a show that had no more time for them.

[jeff125va]

I also had a big WTF moment when the screen went black, but after some time to think about it I think I understand it a little better. The tension building up to that point was amazing, and simply from the most mundane things. The idea that one of those guys was a hit man defied most of what we've come to know about that sort of thing throughout the entire series. Tony was the first one there, so what would he have been waiting for? They never go after the family (as Tony mentioned last week) so what would the point have been of waiting until they were all there? Those guys don't wait for the right moment, they go in, do the job, and get out. They certainly don't sit around giving witnesses a better chance of identifying them later. Why would we think that Meadow having trouble parking her car meant that someone was going to get killed? I don't know, but I damn sure did.

So what was the alternative to a bloodbath, fading to black while the four of them sat there eating? I guess he chose the abrupt ending rather than the obvious (well, one of the obvious possibilities). I'm not saying that was the best way to go, but at least it explains it, in my mind.

I thought it was interesting that they focused so much on the careers of A.J. and Meadow. Not that I'm surprised that it all came down to the four of them (including at the very end) but it was interesting nonetheless. After so much attention last week on how they'd coddled A.J. so much, he finally gets some vision and direction in his life, and they find him the cushy job working on some crap mafia-funded movie. Plus Meadow's comment about how she would have been a doctor if Tony hadn't been arrested so many times, and Carmela going from disappointed to enthusiastic about Meadow's switch from medicine to law.

I thought we'd get more of an idea about what would happen with the NY mob. I had a feeling before this episode that there would be an outcome similar to what happened, but with the plan that Little Carmine would step in and take over as boss because he'd be seen as a peacekeeper. And who was the guy who Tony was talking to when they arranged that, George I think his name was?

I wonder what was with the scene with the FBI guy and the other cop or whatever she was. Not that it didn't make sense, just not sure what prompted him to give us a glimpse into his personal life all of a sudden.

[Jon J]

I've got to disagree with the majority. Everything has come full circle. The war is over and it is back to business a usual.

I actually expected a flight of ducks to land at the pool. ;)

[markymark_ctown]

LOVED, loved, loved the FBI guy screaming "we're gonna win!"...


i thought that was the line of the night. the fbi agent has been vicariously living in tony's world for the past few years, giving him tips, and wishing he was one of them.

[cwoody222]

If they wanted to leave it open, then show Tony and his family having dinner, laughing and having fun, and just fade to black.....nothing abrubt....just a nice fade with him and his family.



I completely agree with this.

Having the possible hit man sitting at the counter and the artificial drama created by Meadow's lack of parking skills does nothing but add ambiguity.

If he wanted us to think that Tony was shot but didn't want to show it there are MANY better ways to do it rather than a way-too-abrupt "fade" to black.

It was lazy.

[Ekims]

Everyone that wanted an ending like Tony lived or died for sure, let me ask you this. What if we found out he died? This wasn't the Tony Soprano Show. It was a show about his family. Would you be pissed if we found out that only Tony died? We wouldn't know how that affected Carm, A.J. or Meadow. So we would be here bitchin that it wasn't closed out to our liking.

The ending was perfect from me perspective! Everyone got what they wanted. Some see it that Tony got capped and some see it that it closed out just like it opened, with the family together and life going on. That was the beauty of the ending, we each got our own.

[Anubys]

But that WAS the ending. You're asking Chase to tell the whole story AND THEN SOME because you want to know what happens AFTER the ending!

I don't think you're supposed to end the story in your head. I think you're supposed to leave it where it is. And if you don't get why that is an ending, then as has been said before, I really don't think you get what this show has been all along.

absolutely...I'll put a little different spin on the same point:

the TELLING of the story had ended, but the story continues...

[terpfan1980]

My brother and I have been talking about it. He loved the ending, I thought it was ok but ultimately the easy way out.

David Chase has been saying for a long time that he's been having trouble reconciling Tony's fate - the notion that "Crime doesn't pay" and how that applies to Tony. By choosing this ending, he basically avoided having the answer the question. Everyone and their grandmother is going to ask him what happens after the cut and he's just going to say "That's up to your interpretation and beliefs" and walk away. To not have to make a decision and justify it is the easy way out.

At the same time, I see where he's going and what he's trying to do. In the least it is somewhat clever. Its going to generate a lot of discussion, and people are going to interpret it nine ways to Sunday. I must admit that it is very interesting to see the different things people key in on and their "endgame" for the Sopranos world.

However, for a series that's entire existence was built on principle of throwing haymakers, it feels like Chase pulled the last punch.

Yes, this was Chase's Kobayashi Maru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru) where instead of picking an ending he opted to cheat and change the rules to those of his choosing, where he no longer had to make the choice at all.

[Rob Helmerichs]

It was lazy.
Well, no, Chase worked really hard to put us into Tony's mindset. The fact that you don't appreciate all that work doesn't mean Chase is lazy, it just means you don't appreciate all that work.
Yes, this was Chase's Kobayashi Maru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru) where instead of picking an ending he opted to cheat and change the rules to those of his choosing, where he no longer had to make the choice at all.
You don't think Tony is paying? Look at how he has to live--seeing hitmen in every diner!

[beanpoppa]

But there never is an ending... if they end with Tony getting killed, then you would have to wonder about what happened to his family? Would AJ end up taking revenge? Would there be any retaliation? If he got convicted, would he go to jail? How long? etc...

Although it's VERY unsatisfying to no see closure to Tony's life, I thought it was a good ending. We saw his fate- every moment is filled with Tension. Simple acts of sitting in a restaurant, parking a car, picking out music on a jukebox, could be your last. It's a fate worse then death.

I just don't understand this reasoning. If you have a story to tell, tell the whole story, including the ending. It's like listening to a song that fades out at the end because the artists were too lazy or disinterested to write an ending. If I'm supposed to end the Sopranos in my head, I would have ended it after season seven.

[unixadm]

absolutely...I'll put a little different spin on the same point:

the TELLING of the story had ended, but the story continues...

But the story DOESN'T continue.....at least we have no idea if it does.

If Tony dies, then the story is over....the story has been about Tony and his two families.

If Tony lives, then the story continues.....life goes on.

What Chase did was cut the story short..and shortchange the viewers.

Let's take another story.....

The Little Engine that could......at the end, the engine is saying "I think can, I think I can, I think I can".

If Chase wrote the ending, the engine would get close to the top of the mountain, you turn the page and find a blank page.

You need to see the engine rounding the top of the hill....and saying "I thought I could, I thought I could". If you don't, then it is not an ending....just open ended and poor story writing.

[GDG76]

Let's take another story.....

The Little Engine that could......at the end, the engine is saying "I think can, I think I can, I think I can".

If Chase wrote the ending, the engine would get close to the top of the mountain, you turn the page and find a blank page.

You need to see the engine rounding the top of the hill....and saying "I thought I could, I thought I could". If you don't, then it is not an ending....just open ended and poor story writing.

I think the level of someone expected to understand "The Little Engine That Could" vs a show like the Sopranos kinda invalidates the whole analogy. Even if the Engine story ended like that, you could surmise that the important part was that he "thinks he can"...

If you want endings like kids shows, watch kids shows...

[MikeMar]

Major suckage.


We were told they filmed multiple endings to keep it a secret. What we now know is that they decided not to use any of them.

The FBI guy's "We Won!" was the only good point of the episode.

I'm still sticking with what I said last night. THAT line right there was a clue that the war was over, and it's back to the same old mob routine, with Tony NOT DEAD.

Paulie and Patsy move up
AJ is back to "normal"
Meadow is going to get married to a guy in the "family"
NY and NJ differences are settled, both sides knew Phil was out there.

[Idearat]

The whole problem wasn't in the ending, but in these last bunch of episodes. I was already ambivalent about the whole show with the huge gaps, 1/2 seasons and such. The show lost it's edge long ago, and the gaps reduced any momentum it had.

I could have lived with the ending if the shows leading to the finale hadn't sucked. Why did we expect a satisfying ending? Because there was no satisfying middle. The only thing that kept me watching these last episodes was thinking that something was coming.

For the "It's not the destination, it's the journey" people. A great destination makes up for a harsh journey ( Think escaping a POW camp or crossing the desert in a covered wagon to get to California ) But if the destination sucks, it better have been a great trip.

The Sopranos hasn't been a great trip in a long while. It was the destination that kept many of hanging on. And when we got there, well, "There is no there there."

[TiVo'Brien]

I can hear Chase singing the closing song from the Muppet Movie:

Life's like a movie
Write your own ending
Keep believing, keep pretending
We did just what we set out to do
Thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you......

[RangersRBack]

I felt a little cheated by the ending, but I didn't hate it. I do, however, think it's pointless to discuss what we think happened in the next few seconds/minutes/hours/years after the screen went black, because I don't think even Chase knows for sure.

So let's discuss the rest of the episode.

Loved how the cat was freaking Paulie out, and then the cat came outside to sit with Paulie outside Satriale's.

When Tony came to visit Sil in the hospital, with the way his hair was sitting it looked like Sil turned back into Miami Steve.

No resolution about the ending, but we did get resolution about where Agent Harris was getting his intel about Phil and his gang...in bed!

Anybody know anything about Emily Wickersham, who played AJ's friend/girlfriend? I know she played a high school junior but the actress may certainly be older than 18, maybe even a lot older. Just trying to figure out if I'm a perv for lusting after a young girl, or a healthy American male. She did a good job running down the mountain, that's for sure.

Great scene when Tony and Carmella were yelling at AJ about the car. Meadow chimes in, and Tony says 'You want some of this too?' Perfect dynamic of parents yelling at kids, although Meadow and AJ seemed a little old for it.

Did Phil not know about the meeting in that factory between Tony, his men, and Phil's men? Seemed weird that Tony was there and Phil wasn't, and also seemed weird that Phil's men basically said it was OK for Tony to whack Phil.

The look on Tony's face when AJ tells him he wants to go to Afghanistan to be a helicopter pilot, so he can come back and be Donald Trump's personal pilot, was priceless. Funny stuff.

Who flipped? Carlo? Was he Patsy's son or something? I lost track.

I thought you don't whack someone in front of their family? Do the rules change when the whackee spends his entire time with his family?

Another great scene was when Carmela met Meadow's friend who had flunked out of college, and now she's in her second year of med school. The very pained look on Carm's face was so real.

[Chapper1]

could have been him, but since they never showed the killer, there is now way to definitely know.

I could swear they had shown the killer.

Maybe I am just hallucinating...

[jeff125va]

I could swear they had shown the killer.

Maybe I am just hallucinating...
They did. Of course, you could just be hallucinating my post. :)

[Chapper1]

They did. Of course, you could just be hallucinating my post. :)

Was referencing markymarks post where he stated we never saw the killer...

[GDG76]

Did Phil not know about the meeting in that factory between Tony, his men, and Phil's men? Seemed weird that Tony was there and Phil wasn't, and also seemed weird that Phil's men basically said it was OK for Tony to whack Phil.


There was a setup earlier about how Phils guy thought he was moving too fast and with all the heat that they should slow down and maybe work it out. Since Phil didn't want to do that, the NY guy went behind his back and worked it out with Tony, presumably for a larger role once Phil was out of the way...