Is he Dead? CONTAINS SPOILER MATERIALS

**** SPOILER MATERIAL *******

DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE ENDING!!

Is he dead?

Tell these writers to stop it. Please.

Tony Soprano woke up the next morning, strolled downstairs and Carm handed him a cup of coffee, and then his driver came and picked him up and drove him to the Bing to find Paulie and Patsy sitting in their usual positions.

Life went on.

The reason Chase said he ended it this way was to give everyone a chance to think in his own mind what the ending was. I don't think telling people to get a life just because that's not the way you think it happened defeats the whole point. If life went on as usual then Chase should have showed that. I for one think all the clues fit. We don't know for sure what happens, so Tony living is not a forgone conclusion.

OR he had his brains blown out in front of his greedy wife and useless children.

Don't kill the fucking messenger. I only posted it because I found it interesting.

I thought we pretty much agreed Chase wanted us to draw our own conclusions.

I just did.

I just cannot take all these writers and talk show hosts, who've probably never even watched an episode of Sopranos before this finale, jumping on the bandwagon and giving these half ass unsubstantiated opinions and conclusions.

Shit, on the night of the finale we had a member, who hasn't been posted here for quite some time, return to voice their opinion about what happened. And then only a few posts later admit that they've never even watched an episode!

It's nothing personal against your post my friend, it's against the bullshit artists out there.

You have a problem with women?

Touche consigliere.

Or kids?

Keep my tushy out of this!!

And Carms t**t too!

I think A.J. choked to death on an onion ring.

I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT when I re-watched that scene! Did you notice how he stuffed that Onion Ring into his mouth?

What makes you think that??

Come here, lay down on my couch and tell the doctor why you said that.

Hmmmm..... come to think of it, just lay down.

SC's playing doctor.

I'll lay down on your couch only if you show leg like Dr. Melfi.

You wanna be scared away????

You saying I'll be shaking in my boots?

I'll settle for you shaking your booty.

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(in his best Paulie Walnuts impersonation)

THIS IS A PUBLIC PLACE HERE!

Then stop unbuttoning your pants at the table!

I'll stop unbuttoning my pants at the table when you put those rolls back!

Dose are ma's rolls!

(again, in my best Paulie Walnut's voice)

GET DAT FUCKIN THING OUTTA HERE!


(is that the dancing baby from Alley McBeal?)

Your ma ain't your ma!!

Oooooh baby!!!

Oh, what do you know about what belongs to who? You been in prison for twenty years.

In my best Paulie.

"My mother's a whor-ah".

And to think you're afraid to get me on your couch.

Booty shaking, the forbidden T word, SC pulling out his legs AND his couch!! What the heck is going on here?!!

Dunno, but the scene suddenly went to black.

Did you pass out?

Thats for you to figure out....

Fine. I'll just have to use my imagination.

Congratulations!! You just passed the David Chase course on Series Endings!!

Do I get a booby prize?

You get TWO!!

Edit: Top of the page.... I'm on top!!

That's not so scary, is it?

I can't believe it - a whole topic of one line posts. That's never happened before.

You ever read any of the Games threads??

^^ Thats a BOBBY prize.

Ahhh.. so that's what the meaning is of that picture. I was scratching my head on that one.

Ok, I'm slow when I'm sober. But I've got a few drinks in me now, so lay 'em on me.

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

There was said to be 3 endings? maybe on the season 6 part 2 set of the dvds there will be an alternate ending section!

Did you get this from a reliable source?

You know, I've heard of several alternate endings being filmed as well. However, I haven't heard it from Chase and also, in an interview with Jamie Lynn Sigler after the finale, she said she only knows of the one ending.

I'll say this much, good, bad or indifferent, this ending sure has people talking. When left to the viewer, all kinds of endings are out there.

TIS

At first, you know, I thought, "What a fucking lousy way to finish things off", thinking Chase was setting up some sort of final whacking.

But what a final scene. Brilliant stuff all round.

I don't know if this has been posted elsewhere, but here's one point of view:

www.tonyisdead.com

Signor V.

That so called "evidence" thats provided there is awfully weak.

I don't for one second buy into the notion he's dead.

But I could never refute anybody who thinks he is.

That, to me, is the entire fucking point of that final scene. And, to me, for a character or TV show which has run for so long, and been followed so devoutly, it's the only ending that makes sense.

That's been my point all along, Capo.

I can't refute anyone either way. I truly believe that Chase's entire point was to let the viewer draw his own conclusion.

If the viewer wants to believe Tony is alive, he can, and vice-versa.

I saw on the news today that Journey has climbed into the top 10 or 20 on itunes after the finale

I heard the song on the radio at least 3 times yesterday while celebrating father's day at a BBQ.

If the show ended with "Hello mutha, hello fatha" I wonder if it would be getting the same airtime today.

Can you say, "Royalty check".

Nah, Ole Hesh would've stolen it.

Not while you were eating onion rings I hope.

I miss the ducks.

No onion rings. I was eating the fucking Ziti!

I swear, I first read that as, No onion rings. I was fucking the ziti!

One or two more drinks, and I just might have.

What might the ziti's real name be?

One Amaretto too many, and your family would have had a Father's Day memory to last for years to come!

The fantasy name or the real name?

Ziti titty is probably the fantaty name. Go for real.

Pop taught us to never let anyone outside the family know what we are thinking.

I guess you won't adopt me then either.

Don't put words in my mouth.

Those are YOUR words. Not mine.

I must need glasses cuz I read it the same way.



I bet you pee'd in the street to

Nah, that's a redneck thing, not a Brooklyn thing.

Have you been on Eastern Parkway lately?

Touche. Ok, I'll rephrase my response:

It's not an Italian thing.

I thought you'd get a kick out of that. I had alot of family on Pacific Street in East New York when I was a kid. We'd go out there at least once a month, on a sunday, then go for a walk on Eastern Parkway. Today, you'd need a SWAT team. But don't feel bad, my old Bronx neighborhood ain't what it used to be, either.

Why? Did you see me?

Eastern Pkwy went down hill about 25 years ago and has progressively gotten worse, if that's possible, over the years.


Mig, you wouldn't get a half a block walking around Eastern pkwy. You can't imagine how bad the area really is.

Is that the Crown Heights section? It sounds ghetto chic.

Oh it's beyond ghetto chic. You'll definitely get adopted if you go there.

And if you go there, you'd better walk through the streets looking like this :

"Ghetto chic"? Boy, that's an oxymoron if ever I've heard one!

Now, as far as peeing in the street, DC is correct: it's not an Italian thing. At least, not that I know of.

In Brooklyn, it is, however, a Russian thing.

As one of the last English-speaking people living in my neighborhood, I am amazed at the carefree attitudes Russians here have toward that. I've even seen mothers with very young children encouraging those kids to do it in broad daylight against the nearest brick wall. (And, BTW, there were plenty of restrooms available in nearby stores and restaurants). There is one man (who looks just like Clemenza with hair) who works handling food at a local deli/produce store who regularly relieves himself between parked cars or into the front garden of the apartment building next door. Then he strolls back to work through the rear entrance and goes back to handling food. (Not my food - I do not patronize that store.)

And then there's blowing your nose without a handkerchief...

But, I digress.

Redneck? Naw...Red Square? Da.

How'd we ever get so far OT?

Anybody remember what we were originally discussing?

Edit: Oh yeah..."Is he dead?" Yeah - if my father ever caught him peeing in the street, he woulda killed him.

Signor V.

Is he an interior decorator?

His house looks like shit.

He peed all over 15 Chechozlovakians...ah, never mind.

Hey DC,

Have you ever seen the Caribbean Day Parade along Eastern Parkway on Labor Day Weekend?

No I haven't.

But my Godson is a New York City Policeman and he's told me some really wild stories about that Parade. Gun toting Rastas marching in it along with an unbelievable amount of violence that takes place over there during that parade.

Yeah, it's crazy.

"Those Rastas knew what went on at that cabstand."

Theres no way to tell but since the music went out im gunna hope hes dead.

I did some more research that is a bit more convincing. Personally I am a bit ambiguous on the point, but there is a great amount of evidence that can be drawn.

First off the episode where Junior shoots him is called "Members Only", innocuous enough by itself, in the penultimate episode there is Bobby talking about what it must be like to get killed "you don't even know it's coming", "everything turns black" is a big clue that many people use. The actions of the "Guy in Members Only Jacket" are very suspicious. In fact it's a rather arcane fact, but Tony's favorite GF scene is Solozzo shooting. At the beginning of the episode's image of what could be viewed, by itself, as a dead tony in a coffin is followed by funeral organ music that morphs into classic rock (Chase trying to set the mood?)

The final scene's interpretations both garners a fair bit of clues in terms of set, image and imagery that people have used to pick apart that scene. First off many of the colours are washed out subtly, there is a stronger orange tone that many have used to point towards a more darker feel, trying to make a diner that is rich in fun and Americana into a more dank scene. A controversial interpretation is that the whole scene is staged as if it's a mass, there is a even a short sequence that many have made an analogy to the last supper (occurs before AJ walks in behind the man in the Members Only Jacket). Much is made of some of the dialogue in the scene, where Tony refers to himself in past tense and the fact that they are the only people that are wearing black as well. Also it should be noted that the series is told from Tony's persepctive, making a sudden black out, signifying death reasonably compelling.

Other facts include HBO reps stating that "some people have come closer than others", in regard to guessing the outcome and even the man who played "The Man in the Members Only Jacket" stated in an interview with Inside Edition that something else, big, as is implied was scripted to happen:

http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/inside_stories/story.aspx?storyid=826

Regardless there are still real life holes that make this evidence less than convincing, including the fact that the cut did seem just too sudden to be a gun shot and that the underlying nature of the series is more of a focus on the individuals and their interpersonal relationships and less on the violence of dramatic cinematic Mob rub out scenes. I like the fact that it's still up in the air, kinda.

It's not a puzzle.

It can't be solved.

You either reject death or accept it, or you go along with the ambiguity of it all by appreciating the artificiality of television as a medium.

It ended as it ended. Nothing happened.

We all know what oranges represented in GF.

Underboss, if you rewatch that scene, Bobby never mentions "everything just turns to black." That was a rumor. He did say "you probably dont even hear it when it happens."

Great post, Capo.

Tony got whacked in the dark just like Ade.

We never saw either of them get whacked.

Watch the ending of "United 93."

IMHO, I don't think you can compare the two. We all KNOW what happens in United 93, we lived those moments. Plus, Im sure it would be very hard for some families to watch a recreation. The Sopranos is fiction. United 93 is based on real life events. But, I respect your opinion. Hey, with David Chase, any trail of clues seems plausible.

Tony Soprano got 86'ed

I'm rewatching the season at the moment. Most of the faults I had with the show annoy me less this time round. It's a fucking great, great, great season.

My views on some things.

People are angry that a lot of loose ends weren't tied up, but there's only so much one can do. Artie Bucco making his one and only appearance in the finale, sure I wish we saw him a little more this season, but I think it was a nice send off to have him and Charmine together for that scene. I think people misinterpret the whole Tony/Chris dynamic as well.

Sure, his death was a big anti-climax but did we really need a death by gunshot/stabbing/strangling from Tony? As far as the whole "Tony loved him and showed no remorse" goes, think back to earlier episodes with Tony crying in complete sadness over Christopher's lack of love for Tony. He acknowledges that Chris thinks of him as a bully and it hurts him even more that Chris can't remember old memories together.

Christopher was Tony's protege, the future of the family, the man Tony wished was his own son, and he had to watch him become the victim of drug abuse and violence. Tony gave Christopher more chances then anyone else would've given him, including Junior, who wanted Tony to put him out of his misery. Tony put Chris on the fast lane of going up the ranks, going as far as passing over Patsy to promote Chris. He even went out of his way to help Chris beat drugs but circumstance such as the Tony/Adriana rumor fueled Chris anger he tried killing Tony, and even then, Tony gave Chris another chance. So after the revenge fantasy film and all the violence and drug abuse through the seasons, is it a surprise that Tony decided after falling into an expedient situation, to kill Christopher? Like Pie-O-My set off Tony on Ralphie, the baby seat set off Tony on Chris, and he realized that in fact, Christopher was the biggest mistake of his career, his failed protege.

Not to say Chris is an evil character himself, but a flawed one. One of my favorite parts of seasosn five was watching Chris' jealousy for Tony Blundetto, even though Tony gave him the same favoratism to his other men. Chris grew without a father, and only had his cousins to look up to. When Chris and Tony B went to dispose of the bodies on the farm, they bonded in a situation many of us feel. How many of us have bonded with someone one on one only to become disillusioned by their treatment of you around others? I know I have. Chris liked Tony B, but when Tony S was added into the equation, Chris felt neglected, like the little kid with the older kids.

And if it wasn't enough humanity to convey the destruction of their relationship, just remember the very first episode of season 6B, when Tony tells Bobby that he wants him to be his new future, rather then Chris.

The final episode made a good use of sendoff's, like Hunter, the profound scene with Uncle Junior, and the infamous final scene. But everyone was angry with Dr. Melfi, stating a real psychiatrist wouldn't do that, but we have to realize that Melfi has her own flaws being a rape victim, sometimes a drinker if I recall, and having to see her own shrink, does this really paint the portrait of a professional? She may appear so in her meetings with Tony but in reality she has her own problems and insecurities, and oddly enough suffers the same emotional conflict as Chris did with the two Tonys, she felt mocked by her colleagues in thinking she could help Tony, who is viewed as a mere sociopath, and if you watch their final meeting, you can tell she is conflicted as to whether she wants to go further, but inpulsively decides she must eliminate the relationship.

I think he means that now she's emotionally different.