If in 1998 the Big Putsy Bompensiero had decided to don't become a rat:
he would have done twenty years for trafficking heroin
or would have make arrest Jackie Aprile, Sr. and maybe Tony and Junior.

Richie Aprile would have rebelled and created his own faction, maybe with Gismonte,Bevilacqua,Patsy Parisi as enforcers because Tony order to whack his twin.

Because Ralh Cifaretto was a good earner,Johnny Sack would allow him to change family.

Furio Giunta would have pushed Tony against the helix of the helicopter and would have run away with Carmela.

Christopher would flip and betray Tony and his family to save Adriana and sell his autobiography as Leonetti did.

The Lupertazzis wouldn't deal with such respect with the Sopranos, saw how the Gambinos treated the DeCavalcantes.

Tony Soprano even if it's a boss, wouldn't have beaten Phil Leotardo, tought soldier released after 20 years in prison, Johnny Sack that was trigger happy, couldn't have asked for permission but he is immediately killed Tony Blundetto and will start a a war if Tony does not had handed it to him, because a boss of the powerful 5 families can't do disrespect by a boss of Jersey.

If for idea in 2006 was another mob war breaks out, the Lupertazzi have ordered, to their Jersey faction, to whack Tony Soprano and all his loyalists, provided that Tony had not already been killed by one of his men to take his place of boss.

even if Leotardo was a bloodthirsty madman, and had 200 soldiers (perhaps less) against 60 soldiers (maybe) of The Sopranos, he wouldn't go running around so quiet, for the New Jersey.

The FBI in the reality as soon as the war started he was put under surveillance and arrested anyone that had pulled the trigger, resulting in a big arrest against Lupertazzi and Soprano, and their near-extinction of the seconds.

if I have done something wrong, free to answer back.

LOL this is freaking brilliant. What about the kids?

Meadow becomes an accomplished criminal defense lawyer, and later writes her memoirs "Growing Up Soprano."

After struggling as a promoter, A.J. gets caught in an internet fraud scam, and is followed by the FBI for the rest of his life.

Alex you been on here a couple days peddling your book and you insult a guy who contributes a lot of great stuff to the boards. I'm wondering what your so insecure about you have to try and embarrass a guy, who by the way doesn't claim to be a writer and is trying to have some fun. Your the board book critic now? What I'm trying to say respectfully is Fuck Off... literally speaking of course! Have a great day pal!

Huh, what are you talking about? I loved his post--I said it was brilliant! I thought he nailed what would've happened in a fun way.

You're way too sensitive (do you even know if he felt "insult"?) Lighten up.

Oh hell, this is too fun to worry about offending NNY78.

Furio's completely right about the last season of the Soprano's. There's no way Tony's men would've gone to war against a New York Family. Ever heard of a small non-NY Family going to war with New York? Someone in Tony's circle would've offed him before it went that far.

Don't see a Zip running off with a dead bosses' wife (he'd look guilty of killing a boss), but I take it this one's just in fun. But the rest Furio nails.

I'd add these:

Dickie Moltisanti's killing, if really done by a corrupt cop, would've been avenged somehow sooner than by the son 20 years later. Made me think Tony was lying.

The "Class of 2004" would've been hounded a lot more by the FBI. Within a few months after getting out of prison, Feech La Mana and Tony Blundetto were with the Family, and the FBI's nowhere (it was Tony who tipped off the probation officer).

Why did Johnny Sack allocute in court to being with the Mafia, and still agree to 15-years in federal prison? If he did all that, he'd make a deal to testify against some of his old enemies, so that he could see Ginny and his daughters again.

NNY78 thanks for the defense man, but I don't feel insulted.

For answer to your question AlexHortis5 , Meadow is too smart and isn't Victoria Gotti, I honestly think that if Tony was killed, as many people think after watching the last episode of the series.

He will definitely cut all ties with her old life and the NJ, maybe changing name and will try to make another lives elsewhere.

AJ which is rather too stupid, even to make alone a internet fraud scam , will become a junki and without the help, especially economic, of his father, will certainly dead, killed by overdose or murdered by another junkie.

It's my opinion.

About Carmela, during the series you could see she was in love with Furio, and he loves her too, and I doubt if Tony was whacked, someone would have thought of what his wife would do.
The character of Johnny Sack IMO is inspired by John Gotti, both because he wanted to kill his boss, either because it's being criticized for be trigger happy,because it has been a stand up guy to the end, and because he died of cancer in prison.

For the murder of the cop that allegedly killed Dickie Moltisanti, you could say that since the rules of the Mafia, forbid to kill cops, Tony waited until the cop retired, but I think it's an excuse to tie more Christopher to him.

Tony during the series, always complained that the captains didn't earn enough money, now agree that Tony is against drugs, as he told to Pussy in 1995, but since he had relations with the Camorra, because he hasn't try to create a zip crew, only for the drug trafficking, Tony has never seriously attempted to expand the family business.
In the 2004 about Tony Blundetto and Fech LaManna, rather than rewarding the cousin for the 20 years in prison without flip.
He didn't made him,maybe under Fech as captain.

In this way would have more two capos, and would have earned more money, but it's just my opinion.

I think Tony Soprano got killed by that italian looking guy in the restaurant, possibly by some of his guys that were fed up with the war with NY and Ton's bad choices as a boss (trusting blood, guys like Chris and Tony B, instead of more capable soldiers led to a lot of resentment towards him, plus him seeing a shrink).

Carlo's flipping results in the indictments of Paulie and most of the old Vito crew. Patsy Parisi is not indicted and becomes the acting boss of the Family, while Paulie gives some orders from the can.

The Family is in bad shape, as it remains only the young, less experienced guys like Little Paulie, Benny Fazio. Maybe Furio tries to come back and take over the Family with a few zips, who knows...

AJ tries to revenge his father but he doesn't have the balls. He gets drunk, depressed, and decide one night to go to Satriale's and insults the guys. He get roughed up, and is more and more depressed after that...

Meadow becomes a successful lawyer.

My guess Tony and some of his family got killed in that diner. For a guy that likes good food. What's he doing in a diner?

Tony killed Leotardo in front of his wife with his grand children in the car.

Phil's under boss had no respect for Tony. He used Tony to get rid of Phil. Then he got rid of Tony when he became a boss. Plus he did not like tony putting a gun to his face. After all to NY all Tony was the head of a glorified crew not a boss of a family.

we forgot Eugene Pontecorvo, that instead of committing suicide,in the real life will flip and making a deal with FBI to keep the two million inherited, disappear into Witsec, for he could go away from the road and from the crime, as wanted his wife and Eugene himself, and be able to cure his son's drug addiction.

And what about the gay Vito ? In the real life,Vito Spatafore,when knows that his ''friend'' would kill him or the brother of his wife,Phil Leotardo too,would go immediately to the FBI, to disappear into the Witness Protection Program, and do in peace the fag in another state.

That was a cool interpretation of how things could have gone the other way.

Tony would have definitely been whacked out had he got rid of Ralph all over the horse if it was real life.

That's another very good point too about Eugene, ill never understand why he killed himself especially with the million he got in inheritance money, he was already cooperating with the FBI anyway so its not like he was so mafioso that he didn't want to flip against Tony.

IMO the huge success of the series, led the authors to take some licenses, at the end the Sopranos has been successful because it really shows how is the life of a mobster in the 2000s, beyond the movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc..
Tony is a bourgeois, who became boss of a family of New Jersey, only to the merits of the blood, and basically isn't a sociopath (otherwise he would have left that Artie was crushed by debts), a bully (he began to respect Bobby Baccalieri only after Bobby beat him, and in revenge ordered him to kill a man), it's not a genius (favoring his junkie nephew,kill his best earner, etc.)
But it's this humanity that has made, in my opinion, famous the series, and as a touch of class on the last episode where you don't know if Tony dies or not, for mehe was whacked but it's just my opinion.

Regarding Eugene, I think that it's not his choice in the matter(testifying). The FBI agent told him they want him to keep snitching on Tony, God knows for how long that would have gone on, had Eugene not killed himself. It could have taken years before he'd be put on the stand. I think that's why he killed himself and his family got the millions he inherited.

Yes sad to say but committing suicide Eugene freed his family.

Since the ending was left rather open ended, anything is really possible. Tony could have died in that restaurant. Going on the theory that he's dead, and it was Butchie who hit him, I'm thinking the Sopranos are dissolved as a family and turned into the Lupertazzi's Jersey crew. Paulie is kept alive and made captain of the "Jersey crew", due to his lifelong connections to the region. He would pick up all of Tony's old contacts just by name and reputation alone, and make the Luper's Jersey crew a cash cow with them having to do little work, and not having to kill more people. Paulie would be allowed to run Jersey, bring in his own guys, recommend his own guys to be made, basically be just like a boss, except that he would be a Luper captain by title, answering and kicking up directly to their administration.

Meadow walks into a restaurant and watches her dad get his brains blown out. She's done. She moves to the west coast, starts a new life, and never even thinks of New Jersey again outside of staying in contact with Carm and AJ. AJ goes back into a mental hospital. Carmela opens a real estate agency in upstate NY, using her maiden name, DeAngelis.

@oaks

The fade to black leaves it open to interpretation. Something to think about when entertaining your theory.

If Carlo rolls (which he does confimed by Tony's lawyer "Neil Mink"?) to protect his son from the drug bust, he seemingly gives up everything (he was point on construction at the time and a Capo) and although "stand up" in the eyes of New York Paulie would be one of the first to be indicted/arrested that hadn't been killed. Throughout the show the main theme with Pauly was that he was so old school he didn't even have a front. He lived solely off of the vig from the sports book and small side scores. FBI+IRS=Pauly being better off whacked by New York with the rest.

With a small street presence left who really knows? Patsy one would assume goes down just as bad as Pauly legally, unless you subscribe to the theory that Patsy killed or had Tony killed/set him up to be killed by New York, however I feel Patsy was still deeply involved enough (in NJ business) to be seriously indicted/arrested by Carlo's cooperation regardless of if he turned on Tony or not out of spite.

One can conclude regardless that whatever indictments were on the way from Carlo's testimony realistically would have crippled the remaining Soprano crew considering those murdered and Tony's "unsure fate", anyone still alive who have just stepped up into a worse legal situation by being the highest ranking Soprano Family members still on the street/alive.

Also in a hypothetical assumption, the rolling continues from NJ to NY in the Lupertazzi Family and even Butch, Albie, and the rest of those who stood to inherit the family get touched too. Undoubtedly, another NJ crew from one of the other four families in the show never mentioned absorbs the territory and begins to operate and North Jersey shifts from the Lupertazzi Family to another New York Family.

Allday in the Show the lupertazzi are the Gambino, so is possible that if Carlo flips,Paulie and the other capos go to jail what remains of the family go with the Teresa (Genovese).

For me Carmela,now a rich widow will do a romantic run away with Furio Giunta, Meadow will marry Parisi ' son and become a lawyer and AJ that was a idiot without father money and protection will be a street thugs maybe a junkie.

In real life Paulie should asked Johnny Sack to switch to the Lupertazzi because a made man can't change family.

Hey Furio did they show the Sopranos on Italian cable TV ?
How was the show recieved the Italians and Siclians?

I honestly believe that Vic Musto would have reached out to Carmela after finding out what happened to Tony. I could easily see her having a fairy tale ending with him coming to her rescue and supporting her through the death of her husband. They both move off together living a simple quiet life in peace while he continues his business and she works real estate.

In the early 2000s not many in Italy had the cable tv,I watched the whole series when came out on DVD on newsstands.
However, the series was well received but naturally there were complaints about the stereotypes about Italian Americans.