this is how I took it as well. They did foreshadow ominously with dude in members only jacket but I always thought the ending was meant to be unknown. A sign of the constant stress and anxiety of life as Tony. Always having to be aware and thinking a step ahead, never knowing which moment will be your last and knowing it could happen at any time.
I just meant during the episode, the plot seemed to tie up so cleanly with the war with NY that an execution at the end would have been an odd reversal. The only loose end for Tony seemed to be the Rico case that was about to be brought down on him.
I think David chase’s official stance has always been it doesn’t matter if he got clipped at the end or not, the point was he had to live the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for a hit or an arrest. That being said he definitely gets wacked at the restaurant
Chase is just a dick and was annoyed with people not getting the point, which is why he said he died. The point is he can’t enjoy even a simple meal out with his family because he’s always worried the other shoe will drop.
They pretty much beat you over the head with that theme and people still herp derped and complained about not knowing what happened to Tony instead of accepting and understanding what is maybe the best ending to any TV series ever.
His mistake was not leaving the HBO logo on the bottom so people didn't think their cable went out. I don't think the push back would've been nearly as bad if people weren't ripped from the story and felt cheated.
it’s easy to say that looking back but at the time this show was so far ahead of anything that had ever come before that people didn’t know what to expect or how to process it. In hindsight it’s easy to appreciate what an amazing ending it was but it wasn’t just stupid people who were initially confused about what happened
I think we just have a very different level of what we consider stupid. People who can’t infer that from what was on the screen are stupid imo.
I don’t think stupid is the right word there. I think people were originally confused when it first aired because they weren’t expecting it to end so abruptly. And people love theories surrounding TV shows; look at the GoT, Westworld, Breaking Bad, True Detective, and Lost threads. People like closure; doesn’t make them stupid.
It took me a few weeks after first watching it to appreciate that ending, at first it’s kind of a kick in the nuts after watching so many hours of the show.
Sometimes ambiguity at the end makes a story better. Like whether or not Dekkard is a replicant in Blade Runner. Then decades later Ridley Scott was like jk he was human
Complete breakdown of the final scene with screen shots https://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanation-of-the-end/
NY Post - He inadvertently spilled the beans on the iconic scene. “The Sopranos” creator David Chase accidentally spoiled the infamously cryptic series finale during a leaked interview for “The Sopranos Sessions,” his upcoming book celebrating he Emmy-winning HBO mob drama, reports the Independent. Spoiler alert: In the roundtable discussion, co-author Alan Sepinwall asked Chase, “When you said there was an end point, you don’t mean Tony at Holsten’s [the diner], you just meant, ‘I think I have two more years’ worth of stories left in me.’ ” Then, Chase, 74, dropped the bombshell: “Yes, I think I had that death scene around two years before the end … But we didn’t do that.” Noticing his epic leak, co-author Matt Zoller Seitz chimed in: “You realize, of course, that you just referred to that as a death scene.” “Fuck you guys,” replied Chase upon realizing his blunder
Outside of the “his apartment looked like shit” dialogue from Pine Barrens, my favorite line of the Sopranos is when Tony tells Chris “when you’re married you’ll understand the importance of fresh produce”
Or this: Tony: This says pulp. Carm: You like pulp. Tony: I like the one that says some pulp. [Carm throws telephone at Tony]
the sopranos is a genius show, it captures everything. From one episode to the other you can go from comedy to crime drama.
Jimmy: do you think I wear enough cologne? Christopher: you smell like Paola Picasso crawled up your ass and died
They consistently nail these characters subtlety being dumb as shit. Little Carmine was goldmine. This is another great bit from Christopher:
Worst two characters are clearly AJ and Janice. Couldn’t stop laughing at AJs chin strap beard in the last season
You’re right. Forgot about Lydia since she dies so early. She’s a terrible person, I just hated AJs character a lot
That whole 3-4 episode stretch where he gets depressed has some hilarious lines ripping around crying in his yellow Xterra
Paulie listening to The Art of War and his subsequent "he jumped out the tree and come at me with a chainshaw" always crack me up
Janice by far the worst followed by beta AJ Livia is easy to hate but so very on point with typical older Italian women
Janice’s character is great by like watch #5. Just because someone is a shitty person doesn’t mean they’re a shitty character.
Exactly, Janice and Livia are both great characters and well acted. Aj is poorly acted, and a weak character, he has his place though
Not sure if anyone else is listening to Talking Sopranos with Imperioli and Schirripa, but on the 10th ep they interview the casting directors who told a story how Jerry Stiller was offered the role for Hesh but backed out to do a commercial at the last minute Whole interview is great, first 45 min of the ep roughly ...
In my lifetime I think I’ve done 6 separate rewatches of the entire series. Just did another recently during covid.