'The Sopranos' ending explained: What happened to David Chase in the finale episode?

The Sopranos is one of the most popular crime drama TV shows in the world. The show ran for a total of six seasons till 2007 and is still regarded as one of the best in the genre. The show created by David Chase is still remembered by fans for the ambiguous ending the show had. The Sopranos final scene is still fresh in the memory of all the fans. Even though the final episode of the last season aired years ago, fans are still not able to arrive at a concrete conclusion about the final scene. For all the people who are wondering about The Sopranos final scene, here is The Sopranos ending explained.

The Sopranos final scene

In The Sopranos final scene, Tony goes to diner for a family get together. As he is waiting for his family to arrive, he puts on Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing track. As he is waiting for his family members to arrive, he is also observing the people coming into the diner. Given his track record, he always has to look over his shoulder and that is what he seems to be doing in The Sopranos final scene at the restaurant. His wife Carmela comes through the front door followed by a somewhat shady looking guy, then his son, AJ comes to the diner who wants onion rings.

The shady guy is observing from the counter. Tony’s daughter Meadow is having a tough time parking her car outside the diner. Amidst all this, the shady guy just walks past Tony to use the washroom. A few more people enter through the front door and Meadow is still trying to park her car. In the dying moments of The Sopranos final scene, we see the onion rings delivered to the table, Meadow getting out of the car. As she comes over to the door, the doorbell rings, Tony looks up and the screen is abruptly cut to black. The screen stays black for around 10 seconds before the credits come up.

Also Read | 'Batman: The Killing Joke' Ending Explained: How Did An Engineer Transform Into Joker?

Also Read | 'Rascal Does Not Dream Of A Dreaming Girl' Ending Explained: Does Sakuta Remember Shoko?

The Sopranos ending properly explained

Given the character of Tony, a lot of viewers thought that the black screen meant Tony is dead. Several other viewers also referenced the ending of The Sopranos to The Godfather thinking that the shady guy shot Tony while coming out of the washroom. Several other viewers also thought that Tony is still alive as the song  Don’t Stop Believing was played at the ending. However, The Sopranos ending is left ambiguous on purpose by the makers. It is left for the viewers to decide the fate of the character.

While talking to Deadline in an interview, David Chase had said that it is for the people to decide for themselves.The Sopranos writer Terence Winter while talking about the ending in the same interview said, “As we know famously from gangsters, they always say there’s only two ways to get out of this: one’s jail, the other’s dead. So maybe it happened that night, and maybe it didn’t. It really didn’t matter. At some point, something bad’s going to happen to this guy and maybe it was that night. And maybe not.”

Also Read | 'Normal People' Ending Explained: What Happened To Connell And Marianne?

Also Read | Who Does Frankie End Up With On 'Rizzoli And Isles'? American Show's Ending Explained

While the season finale was aired back in 2007, a lot of people thought that their TV set or connection was broken when the screen went blank for 10 odd seconds. While watching a tense scene and that too a season finale, 10 seconds window surely seems longer than it actually is.

Image Credits: the.sopranos.fan Instagram