OldBoy

you must hate or not understand a lot a lot of movies.

RUSF18

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...ehind_the.html

Navinabob

Yeah, but the full quote (not just the one from the article) offers a different slant... "There are no esoteric clues in there. No Da Vinci Code. Everything that pertains to that episode was in that episode. And it was in the episode before that and the one before that and seasons before this one and so on. There had been indications of what the end is like. Remember when Gerry Torciano was killed? Silvio was not aware that the gun had been fired until after Jerry was on his way down to the floor. That's the way things happen: It's already going on by the time you even notice it."

Couple that with an interview between Richard Belzer and Chase and the dead-Tony-view starts to get clearer...

Belzer: I was working with Steve Schirripa recently, we were judging Last Coming Standing for NBC and we were talking about a lot of things and he was saying he heard all of these theories for the show that had nothing to do with your intention and wasn't anything the actors thought, like little hints along the way, like a word, like when Tony and Steve are on the boat at the lake and they say "you never know it's gonna happen" or "you never know it's gonna hit you."

Chase: That was part of the ending.

Belzer: Oh, it was? See, what do I know? Were there other things in previous episodes that were hints towards it?

Chase: There was that and there was a shooting which Silvio was a witness, well he wasn't a witness, he was eating dinner with a couple of hookers and with some other guy and there was some visual stuff that went on there which sort of amplified Tony's remarks to Bacala about you know "you don't know it's happened" or "you won't know it happened when it hits you". That's about it.

chrisih8u

Believe me, everyone has heard of the theory. (and that's what it is) It still sucked ass. It's not like "Oh, Tony died at the end? Then the episode was fantastic!" It sucked. There's nothing I'm not getting. It was crap.

Shannon Nutt

I've come to the conclusion that if there's one thing (particularly American) audiences can't stand, it's ambiguity.

DVD Josh

And it's hard to blame them. You invest several seasons in a show, the characters, and want some kind of closure. It's human nature.

The ending to the Sopranos seemed incredibly contrived to me. It was very much out of character for the show and seemed forced. Truthfully, I have no idea if Tony died or lived with any degree of certainty. But despite Chase's efforts, I don't care anymore either.

OldBoy

i really liked the ending. i was emotional, still remember it and left to my own devices for the finality. would i have also loved something more definitive, of course. did we get it, not really.

but i honestly wasn't disappointed in the least and didn't think it was out of character for such an epic show that was hard to decipher along the way.

how many times have shows ended in the wrong way?? many, right? would you have wanted "The Sopranos" to go out like "Seinfeld" did?

DVD Josh

I'm not sure you understand the ending of Seinfeld. It was very good...they paid the price for their years of ambivalence. It was apropos. But at least you knew their fates.

OldBoy

huh? the entire premise of the show was truly remarkable...it was a show about nothing. the ending was the anti-thesis of the existence of the show and i don't think it was apropos (for this show) in the least. the only times where "Seinfeld" faltered was when they had shows about something that continued...the whole "The Pilot" storyline was against what the show was about and i think the weakest of the episodes. yes, i understood what the last show was about and yes it was justified for their characters and made sense if it were real life, but not justified for what this whole series was created around. i think fading to black would have been more apropos for "Seinfeld" then for "The Sopranos". very bad!

DVD Josh

Well Scott, reasonable minds will differ, greatly, in this example

Travis McClain

I still recall watching the episode air with my wife. It cut to black, and for a moment we were afraid our reception had gone out on us. When the credits came up, my wife got even angrier. I laughed, which only made her madder still. I thought it was the perfect ending. It never really even occurred to me that perhaps the screen going black was Tony dying.

A pet peeve of mine has always been a TV series that ends by dispatching all the characters. It worked for M*A*S*H because they only came together because of the war. Otherwise, characters shouldn't all die or move away or get married or experience any other major, life-altering events simply because the series is coming to an end. Life goes on for your friends and family when you're not there with them; the same ought to be true of fictitious characters.

Having said all that, I still want someone to address the issue of Paulie turning witness, which came up in one solitary scene and was never referenced again the remainder of the series.

OldBoy

k.

Decker

Just because it got buried a few pages back, I thought I might resurrect my previous link to
The Definitive Explanation of "The End"
I think it's the best, most comprehensive and well-explained essay on this episode (or perhaps of any TV episode). I think you might have a greater appreciation for "Made In America" once you read this piece (but be warned : it's insanely long).

Baron Of Hell

Very good write up even after reading the directors comments.

al_bundy

funny that people still care

Charlie Goose

I don't recall that scene. Which episode?

macnorton

I have just read page 1 and that is a fantastic (and incredibly plausible) explanation to the end of the show. I always bought into the "life goes on" theory, but man this is changing my mind.

Also, I have been meaning to watch all 86 episodes again, and now this gives me a perfect reason to do so. Thanks for re-posting that.

Baron Of Hell

The FBI had some old guy helping them. The old guy dies so they go looking for a new guy. After the initial meet up nothing else is said about it.

Travis McClain

Exactly. (I see Baron of Hell has already answered the question.)

critterdvd

I just watched the entire series throughout the last several months. Before I had just seen bits and pieces throughout the years as I watched on with others.

I remember hearing about the controversy surrounding the last episode. And I have to agree that on some surface it feels like a cop out. But on the other hand I think I like the ambiguity. Not knowing exactly. You can think about it all blowing over and everything actually working out well for Tony Soprano. Or maybe not... but I'm glad I don't know one way or another. Because when I watch the series I'll still be curious.

DeputyDave

Thanks for reposting that. I just read most of part one and two and I have to completely agree with the writer. There is nothing else it could have been. I am now going to rewatch the entire last season.

spainlinx0

Reading it now, very long. Very well put together though. One thing I will say is I take a little offense to Chase chastising the audience for "cheering" Tony on. Personally, I watched because the show was fascinating, but I can't remember ever liking Tony. I never once thought he was a nice guy, or someone I wanted to "win." He wasn't even really a lesser of evils most of the time. He was just fascinating to watch. I did want him to get punished, but I wasn't dying to see him get punished. Reading the article does give me more appreciation for the ending though.

Nefarious

Agree.

Bill Needle

I don't think people watched "gleefully" to see Tony "rob, kill, pillage, lie, and cheat." (quoting Chase). If all Tony did was eat corn flakes every episode there wouldn't have been much of a point to the series. If you make a show about mob guys, shouldn't they at least occasionally do what mob guys do? If I watch a well done series on the Third Reich am I doing it to gleefully cheer for my alter ego Adolph Hitler? Just more contempt shown by Chase towards the people who made him fabulously wealthy.

Deadman31

I believe it was Raymond Curto that was helping the FBI. And yes they never really did delve into it much.