When most people think about The Sopranos,
they think about that ambiguous ending. People are still discussing that final shot
to this day. But over a decade later, we think finally
understand the ending of The Sopranos. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe? Well, let's break it all down. One of the most important relationships in
The Sopranos if not the most important relationship is between mob boss Tony Soprano and his therapist,
Dr. Jennifer Melfi. For years, the two danced around each other
in Melfi's office, as the therapist was often entranced and sometimes repulsed by Tony and
his gangster ways. Making things even more complicated, Tony
was sometimes in love and sometimes sick of his therapist. Through it all, the personal and professional
connection very nearly ended on more than one occasion, but the two always seemed to
find their way back to each other. Then, in the penultimate episode of the series,
Melfi comes to a realization after a colleague encourages her to read up on how Tony, as
a sociopath, might simply be taking advantage of her. Convinced that he's been using her, Melfi
cuts Tony off during a tense final session. After that, Tony doesn't attempt to call or
contact her, and as far as we know, he considers their relationship over, just as she does. Remember this it'll be important later. Loose ends and uncertain fates are a hallmark
of The Sopranos' final season, and nowhere is that more devastatingly evident than in
the case of Silvio Dante, the consigliere of the DiMeo crime family and one of Tony's
most trusted friends and advisers. In the penultimate episode of the series,
"The Blue Comet," Lupertazzi boss Phil Leotardo is on a quest for revenge and orders a series
of coordinated hits against the DiMeo crime family for killing his brother. And sadly, that's when Silvio is introduced
to a couple of bullets. Silvio and Patsy Parisi are driving away from
the Bada Bing when two men open fire. Patsy starts shooting back and manages to
escape, but Silvio is hit several times, and his wounds land him in an intensive care unit. In the series finale, "Made In America," it's
revealed that Silvio is comatose as a result of his wounds, and the doctors don't expect
him to wake up. He spends the final episode of the series
on life support. Remember this it'll also be important later. One of the most debated and controversial
scenes in Sopranos history or maybe even,TV history starts when Tony and his family meet
up for dinner. Tony plays Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"
on the restaurant jukebox, and as the four members of the Soprano family show up for
a meal, the tension becomes more and more unbearable. We move from shady-looking guys in the restaurant
to Meadow struggling to park her car outside. Then, just as his daughter seems to be walking
in the restaurant, Tony looks up, and the screen cuts to black. So … what happened? Well, there are two basic interpretations,
so let's start with the most optimistic. Let's believe the cut to black is simply our
last moment with Tony Soprano, and we can see that his future will be full of tension
and uncertainty. Yeah, the gang war was won, his kids seem
happy, and he's settling in for a quiet meal. But that guy at the counter is shady, anything
could've happened to Meadow out on the street, and Tony has to look up every time the bell
over the restaurant's door rings because he has to be sure he's not being ambushed. Tony's alive, but he's never safe. If he survives the series, he's going to spend
the rest of his days fearing for his life, and that final scene was simply our connection
to him being closed off forever. Sure, maybe Tony Soprano made it out of the
show alive … but it's possible that Tony had his brains blown out in that diner. It's entirely valid to believe that the screen
cuts to black because that's the moment where Tony dies. The sudden cut is his point of view as a character,
with the sudden darkness showing that his life has come to an end. There's actually some evidence backing up
this interpretation, as Tony's possible death was foreshadowed earlier in the show. In the season six episode "Soprano Home Movies,"
Bobby Baccalieri and Tony are chatting about the nature of death, when Bobby theorizes
that death is simple and quick. "Yeah, our line of work, it's always out there. You probably don't even hear it when it happens,
right?" This little line strongly suggests that in
Tony's last moments, he didn't hear the bullet that laid him low or even realize he was about
to die. Maybe the shady guy in the jacket went to
the bathroom to pick up a gun a la The Godfather, came back out, and shot Tony in the head. We didn't see it because neither did Tony,
and it's possible that one of the greatest characters in TV history was left for dead
in that New Jersey diner. So, which is it? Is Tony Soprano alive or dead after that final
shot? Series creator David Chase has always remained
famously cagey about explaining the scene, and shortly after the last episode aired,
he insisted that "no one was trying to be audacious" with the final moment. Chase has been asked several more times to
reflect on the ending in the years since the series finale, and each time, he's remained
relatively ambiguous in his explanation. He's admitted that his original intention
was to kill Tony off at the end, but he changed his mind and went with the sudden cut to black
instead. He explained, simply, "I thought it was more interesting." Maybe the best explanation for the scene from
the writers has come from Sopranos writer Terence Winter: "My interpretation was that, when you're Tony
Soprano, even going out for ice cream with your family is fraught with paranoia. He's sown a life of murder, mayhem and treachery. And everybody who walks in, a guy in a Member's
Only jacket … this could be the guy, or that could be the guy. You're always looking over your shoulder and
at some point, whether it happened that night or not, when you live that life, one day,
somebody's going to walk out of a men's room, and that's it for you." When it comes to a story's ending, there are
two ways to take things: literally, and symbolically. So literally, whether you believe Bobby Baccalieri's
line about never hearing death coming or not, we have a definitive answer for Tony Soprano:
he does not die. We know this, because he's still alive when
the screen cuts to black. Ending explained: Tony's alive. You're welcome. "Thank you. Thank you." Symbolically, however, things are obviously
a lot more complicated. "How's it going?" "You didn't get sick?" "Nah." But you don't need a talking fish to find
a potent symbol in The Sopranos. The events of the last two episodes actually
hint at a definitive explanation. We see in that episode that Dr. Melfi ends
her relationship with Tony, while Silvio is shot and lingers in a coma neither alive nor
dead. The first episode of the series begins with
Tony meeting Dr. Melfi, while the second-to-last episode shows that working relationship coming
to an end. So if the show is the story of Tony and Melfi's
sessions, the story concludes once those sessions conclude too. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that the
same episode features Silvio being shot, which leads to him being rendered comatose, a state
in which he's technically alive...but for all intents and purposes, he's not. Silvio's coma mirrors Tony's end in the final
episode. He may be breathing, but he's seemingly in
a space between life and death already. So whether the final episode's cut to black
is a bullet in Tony's skull or a symbol that his life's actual journey has come to an end
is pretty much irrelevant. As long as he pursues his worst impulses and
stays in his life of crime, he's as good as dead every minute of the day. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite
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