The Sopranos: Ending Explained 

Support ScreenPrism on Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=7792695 Subscribe to keep up with our latest videos, and let us know what you want to see next!

Tony doesn’t die, he passes out of exhaustion, because as we all know, he never had the makings for a varsity athlete.

Plot twist: Chris came back from the dead to take revenge on his boss with a CLEAVER

I really wish that in the final scene with junior, he briefly managed to recognise Tony before losing it again. And in that brief moment, he used it to remind Tony that he never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

I just finished the show and still cannot accept that Dr. Melfi didn’t tell Tony about that guy who raped her

I just finished the show. Like 10 mins ago. I *STILL* can't believe that Janice never got shot...

You guys forgot the two (now very disturbing) things Christopher says. 1.He warns him of his 3 o clock. (His right side, from where the Members Only guy is gonna come out of the bathroom and kill him) 2. Christopher once said in hell you relive your death over and over again. If you notice, as Tony enters the diner, he is looking at himself there. Suggesting he is doing precisely that: reliving his death. Fantastic show full of symbolism and foreshadowing for those who pay attention. Genius writing.

This ending always just felt so empathetic to Tony. We don't see the murder take place. We don't watch his loved ones grieve. We don't get to know what happens next. It's just over. For us, like it was for him.

I just think that it’s so crazy how no matter the decade paulie always seems to survive, ppl look down on him but they should’ve listened

Pauly sitting by himself with the cat was a great scene, noone else was left.

The real question here...What was Tony's final tab at Vesuvio????

Just finished the show not 20 minutes ago. This explanation video was amazing and all the comments here are incredible eye-opening but what hits the most is knowing that we all know the truth and became so attached to not just a character but an entire series that it is hard for us to fully admit it out loud because then its truly over

This episode gave me serious david lynch vibes. It reminded me of one of Tony's weird ass vivid dreams he had through out the series. The music in the episode is so loud like he's asleep but the song is playing and he's focused on it. The sopranos was incredible. Turning violence into art, instead of just splatter violence.

Deep inside everybody knows it was the Vipers who put Tony out of the picture, don’t mess with the Vipers!

I love how they showed the 2 black guys, since it was a running joke throughout the series when someone important died or got hurt it was always “2 black guys” that did it.

watched the last episode today...Finished Breaking bad, The Wire, Better call Saul and now also The Sopranos...What a ride it has been

Another thing I noticed was that everyone in that restaurant looked like people that were very prevalent in the series, a woman looking like Janice. A man looking like Phil, members only jacket guy, as well as another great display of imagery you see Tony pick “Don’t stop believing” right underneath it is for the viewer, “Any way you want it” the audience decided Tony’s fate. After all these years the sopranos remains unmatched.

Meadow is Tony's guardian angel. Throughout the series she often "saves" her father and she might be the only one he unconditionally loves. Showing Meadow's bad parking attempt is emphasizing the fact that Tony this time is really on his own, without his guardian angel. If Meadow had entered the dinner in time, she would be sitting on his right side, between the bathroom and thus would be in the direct line of fire, which might have hindered the hit. But so she comes in "too late" to save him.

They deliberately put in that flashback of tony and Bobby on the boat saying “you won’t even hear it, probably just go black”. They literally SAID IT. ***TWICE***

it's a poetic ending for him given how many people he caused to have unknown endings as well

Love how in The Sopranos most of the death is caused by ambushes and never a head on fight. It's ironic how the Mafia who base themselves on their bravado would catch their victims off guard and unarmed and never without warning, Tony is also guilty of this, which all his kills is catching someone unarmed and killling them, ironically his death is literally how he does it.

It means that Sal Vitro doesn't have to cut Ginny's lawn anymore.

"Just when I thought I was out...they pulled me back in..."

Just finished the show today, didn't realize the last episode had this much going. Imagine what else we missed on other episodes, truly a testament.

The shooter is Eugene's older brother most likely. He has eugene's jacket, also we can recall Eugene's wife actually plotting to kill Tony for not letting Eugene out of the family. Also, on the first episode of the season, while they are labeling several characters and their symbolic representation (ex. Meadow the guardian angel), Eugene is labelled as energy, or that force that makes thing happen (along with bobby, who ironically tells tony about how death feels like, how it is always out there hunting them, and when it happens you dont even hear it), meaning that Tony's death was given as a result of life's energetic response to his actions. It wasnt a theatrical death, nor he was killed by someone important. Because thats what death is. Unknown, pure nothingness. Comes to you like an unrecognizable whisper that you can barely hear

I thought the russian guy from the forest is going for an epic comeback 😂

I don’t really care if tony died , I’m so sad James gandolphini died 😔😔😔

His eye contact with meadow as his life leaves his body in an instant is so chilling when left up to the imagination

I've never commented on a series but wow, this was absolutely brilliant. There is so much to analyze after watching the final episode. I was so upset when it ended and went straight to RU-vid to find some discussion. I have chills after reading some of the comments. Very well done

the cat was Adriana reincarnate.. she was always wearing cat (leopard, tiger) stripes and it was staring at Christopher's pic.. just my theory

Correct interpretation of the ending: Your cable actually did go out. Tony got tired of you watching him and ordered Paulie out to your neighborhood to cut the cords.

When I watched the ending, I had a strong feeling that it was Tony's demise portrayed in a brilliantly cinematic manner. The the sudden black screen, and the ensuing silence left us with nothing, much like when someone gets shot in the head. There are several subtle hints that point towards this being the true ending: the shot of Paulie alone with the cat, almost as a premonition; the way they shared the onion ring, akin to a symbolic last supper; the mysterious man entering the restaurant, clearly meant to signify something important, as evidenced by his constant glances at Tony; and Anthony's poignant words about cherishing the good moments, almost as a farewell. As a screenwriter myself with years of study, I understand that scenes like this aren't crafted without a purpose. 'The Sopranos' has always been known for its raw and unapologetic realism. If the creators are dropping all these subtle clues, it's because they want us to grasp the true meaning. If it were meant to be a happy ending, we'd see the family happily dining together. But the fact that it ends this way, with Tony's death portrayed in a brilliant, unique, way makes it clear that we are witnessing his demise, just as he does, without the warning of a gunshot, as Silvio once advised.

Something that people leave out when talking about Eugene, is that it wasn’t just Tony who wasn’t letting him retire. The feds also had control of him and had just informed him that they were going to make him a star witness.

The beautiful thing that the ending proves that he's mother is wrong. She said at the end you die alone, but he dies surrounded by family

I love how they bleeped a few F bombs in the clips but left all the suicide, gunshots to the head, murders with blood splattered walls

For me it was a very sad ending. The show had its finale over 15 years ago (I was 27 then), and now it's only been 3 days since I finished watching it. So for me the show (especially the ending) was like an eternal farewell to James Gandolfini, Tony Sirico and Frank Vincent. I realized that they're all dead now when the screen went black

I just did my first full rewatch since the show originally aired. What an incredible experience the second time around. The ending was perfection. No TV series will ever match this one.

I find it weird how Paulie was always superstitious, and he knew something about that cat represented some bad omen, and he was actually right. 💀

What really made me sad is realizing that Junior outlived so many people and probably doesn’t even remember them….being all alone and probably doesn’t realize it.

If one looks carefully, one notices that it takes Meadow three times to finally park the car right. If one looks carefully, one also notices that Tony escaped death twice in the series (the attempt in season one and the time he was shot by Junior) but not the third.

In an interview with Steve Perry he said originally the whole family was going to be wiped out. But Steve refused to let David Chase use the song Don't Stop Believin' if that was the ending.

>censors F word >Shows hanging scene

When watching this ep, i knew in my guts Tony was gonna die because of his last convo with Paulie. Paulie venting the fact that all of the crew is gone, and exactly when Tony walks away, it’s only Paulie left outside the meat shop, all alone. Damn!

What Tony is feeling throughout the episode is thus ever growing feeling that it's over. That somethings's coming. He's not anxious anymore. He's just waiting.

I'm gonna be honest, I really didn't expect this video to be absolutely well made and thought out. The amount of care and passion that went into this is very evident. Well done, definitely one of my favorite explanation videos I've watched.

When Christopher warns Tony of three o’clock, he doesn’t mean the time he means the position. His killer will come from his direct right side.

*You know, Quasimodo predicted all of this*

For Tony, it's darkness and silence. The viewer (well, me anyway) is left to imagine the sound of the shot, the blood spattering all over AJ, Carmela screaming, Meadow running in (or out)...no one will imagine that scene identically, but the same idea will play out. Sheer genius.

Meadow took three attempts to park her car finally parking on the third attempt which mirrors the attempts on Tony’s life, the third being successful which is what we see in the finale from Tony’s perspective

I think Meadow's parking is a symbol on the fact that Tony would be shot. She made the parking on her 3rd attempt, and Tony had 2 murder attempts on him.

"Tell Tony and Paulie... Three o'clock." The shooter comes out of the restroom to Tony's right. Three o'clock.

I believe that interaction with Corrado Jr. actually played more of a part. Rather than the scene just showing us aging is inevitable, I believe the scene showed Tony none of it matters. If we remember back to season one, think of the episode with the soccer coach that was seeing one of the girl players. Tony's therapist asks Tony, whey he believes he is the one that has to do something about it. All throughout the series we see all these characters get so bent out of shape over respect. In Corrado's case he forgot he was ever in a position of power, and when told he was, he barely cared. Yes his mind was deteriorating, but I believe his response showed Tony.... Who cares. It's the answer to his panic attacks and all the years of therapy he could never fully justify. There's even a therapy scene where we actually see Tony start to cry because he can't cope there will never be a definitive point in time where he graduates therapy. He asks something like this - "after all this (referring to the years in therapy) what's left?" The short answer is It's all just a journey (hence the song). I do believe he died in the end, but I do believe he was truly happy for once in the series.

Great analysis Susannah. I liked the series and it was a satisfying, twisted, and scary ending. And I felt like after Tony’s death, he gotten a lesson out of it. His actions had a way of coming back to him

I have another theory. What if everyone is looking at this the wrong way. What if Tony was never the target but instead it was AJ and it was his blockbuster manager who wanted payback for stealing the promotional items.

Tony died 100%. David Chase won’t confirm because he wants us to figure it out on our own. I personally think the ending is brilliant

Tony Soprano IS dead already in this scene. When Tony walks in he is looking at the exact spot he will be sitting at when he is eventually killed. You can see the sadness and disappointment on his face that gives you the clue. Its the same disaapointment face he made throughout the series. A split second later It jumps to him sitting in the same spot without his leather jacket. At first he is in his own paradise happy with his family at a dinner table waiting to see his daughter but instead of seeing Meadow walk through the door he gets a bullet in his head and so his hell will continue. Tony's hell is a moment of a happiness that goes unfulfilled. Knowing he let his family down and that his family witnessed his murder without being able to see Meadow is his hell. As someone else mentioned the last words of the song " dont stop" is Meadow's screaming last words as the gunman is about to kill her father

One clue I never see mentioned is in the very final shot just before the diner scene as Tony rises from his chair to leave Junior for the final time. Junior's dead in all but body, wasting away in an old folks' home, and there's an announcement board on th wall in the corner framed between them. As Tony walks toward the slowly panning-out camera the information revealed upon the board is TODAY IS MONDAY WEATHER COLD SUNNY NEXT MEAL and Tony's head obscures the answer, SUPPER, until just a few frames before the cut. The Last Supper. And then just a few short disorienting edits later we see Tony enter the diner, seemingly seeing himself framed in a shot reminiscent of The Last Supper. In an episode where every frame, almost every pixel has been considered, I don't think that was an accident.

Think about it... If Chase ended the show with Tony being shot by members only or if they just pulled out with the family eating dinner..or even if the FBI came in to arrest him... would anyone still be talking about it all these years later? Best TV show ending ever.

When Tony first walks into the diner and it jumps to show him sitting in the booth, it also hints at Meadow's direct line of sight as she walks in that door to witness Tony's murder.

Wow... I was pretty surprised the ending wasn't more dramatic, but this analysis really shows the incredibleness of David Chase, the subtle tensions and sudden cut to black with that final haunting face. Honestly amazing

It’s crazy how similar the sopranos is to breaking bad. The similarities to Tony and Walt are obvious. Then you have Walt and Jesse just like Tony and Chrissy. But what I just realized is that Junior ended up like hector salamanca. In a wheel chair, not being able to function properly. And outliving all of the people in his gang in a nursing home.

i can't believe no one's mentioned when Patsy said "it won't be cinematic", and the deaths of Sil and Bobby are extremely cinematic.. yet Tony's wasn't. given the POV shots in the diner i think it's fair to assume we saw the end of Tony's life through his own perspective

This video is really good and all but it's missing the whole point of the entire show... …Tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete

I think the song «dont stop beliving» relates to the fact that Tony thinks about the afterlife. He had a conversation about with Paulie earlier in the finale, and proclaims that he «gets it» after taking Peyote in Las Vegas. So the song and chorus kind of hammers in the point that Tony should not «stop beliving» in that concept. Fits with the episode to if you assume that orange cat is a reincarnation or Christopher.

They also did an AMAZING job at picking out each song for each episode's situations.

This scene and the one one the boat where Paulie thinks he's about to be whacked are such intense scenes

I don't know if Tony lives or dies in the end. All I know is that he never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

Tony was a liability and too powerful in the eyes of everyone in the families. On another note, the contrast degradation of the seasons is such a brilliant and subtle representation of depression. Life becomes bleak and less colorful. Its so sad for those afflicted but even when its at its worst, its not so bad. Im typing this from behind a gym I sleep at. I havent stopped believing.

Regarding the part about not hearing death coming, when Junior attempted to get Tony killed by street thugs, the surrounding noises get deafened as he's being shot at and narrowly escapes death.

It was a happy ending for Tony. The happier that It could be for someone like him. Happier than he deserved even, surrounded by his family, not knowing It ever happened. It didn't even hurt, It went straight to the dome with no pre-death anxiety at all. It takes me back to when he was dinning with his family at Artie's restaurant after a heavy rain a few seasons before. Very alegorical.

It's brilliant. He was shot in the head from the angle of 3 oclock just like chrissy warned him in season 2. He didn't even hear it when it happened just like bobby said

David Chase always gave us the answers without making it obvious. Thats why the show was phenomenal, made you think. Example, does anyone remember Tony telling AJ his favorite part of Godfather was when Michael walked out of the bathroom and killed 2 of his enemies! David Chase's genius at work there.

Just finished the show and immediately did a YT search for this. What a brilliant show, and a really good analysis video of this finale. I didn't expect the finale ending.

Tony wore the same shirt when Uncle Junior shot him.

I think the last scene with Junior mirrors what Aj told him. Tony reminds Junior that "they ran New Jersey" which made Junior smile even though he didn't really remember. Aj does the same thing when he says " remember the good times" which Tony doesn't remember but get some happiness from it.

If you’ve never seen the movie True Romance, you need to see it. It was written by Quentin Tarantino, but directed by Tony Scott. James Gandolfini played Virgil, an Italian gangster/hit man. It was the role I first saw him in and I thought his was the best character in the whole movie. And to this day, it’s still my favorite movie ever. Oh, it’s definitely not a romance film or romantic comedy. It’s amazing

I've just finished the show today... and I'm still shocked by the ending. Perfect!

He absolutely died. My favourite piece of imagery is earlier in the finale he's out in the backyard and it shows from his point of view looking into the winter trees. It's the exact thing Adrianna was looking out the window at when she realised she was going to die. Think it happened more than once too

People who claim the ending is “open to interpretation” simply lack the courage to embrace the implications of the scene. He dies, and his world dies. He is gone, and that window onto his existence is closed. Forever. The whole point of doing it that way is that it denies the viewer the very thing that the viewer expects, which is catharsis drawn from a violent and morally poetic death. You participated in his life for all those years. You are culpable just like him, and just like him, you don’t get to see what happens next.

I just finished the show and I felt a void then, now im crying and idk really why, I think I had the hope for a happy ending, I knew it couldnt happen but just imagine Carm, Aj and Med watching Tony get shot is to much for me, this show made such an amazing job building the scenes that you know when someone is going to die. RIP Tony Soprano, this was the best show 😢😪 im sad

Its the 4th time I watch the whole series in my life and each time I love it more. To still be discussing the ending is a testament to the directing and acting

The underlying message of this whole show is that tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete

The fact that we're still talking about this ending ten years later is proof that it IS an amazing finale

David Chase lets us know exactly what happens to Tony when Tony enters the diner. When he's walking in from outside two red lights briefly appear on Tony (one at his temple, one on his chest). There's no source for these red lights and they don't appear again when everyone else walks into the diner. I believe Chase is letting the audience know that not only does Tony die in this diner but he will get one bullet in the temple (with his guardian angel Meadow not there sitting on his right to protect him - that's why her inability to parallel park the car gets so much attention) and one in the chest. As Chase has said, what happens to Tony is all there in the scene.

I started watching The Sopranos late 2022 and just finished it as posting this. I love it, my favorite show of all time for the storytelling and how engaged I was with it's characters. The ending at first left me confused but a minute after the curtains were pulled back for me and made me realized "you probably don't even hear it when it happens." then from there I've come to the realization there couldn't ever be a better ending for a show like The Sopranos, in the darkness that is death.

Tony once said... "I think it just cuts to black" and "maybe it's just like the music stops"

I'm EXTREMELY surprised you mentioned meadow's parking as merely a suspense builder, and totally missed the major hint hidden within. Meadows fails twice at her attempts at parking. Her third attempt succeeds. This was not just to build tension, this was a hint towards the fact that the previous 2 attempts at Tonys life had failed and the third would succeed. And i know it was touched upon, but it should be highlighted that a major hint was the fact that the most recent attempt on his life, when junior shot him, was in the episode titled "members only." Hence the members only jacket on the man in the diner.

Finished the series today. I found your video very insightful and I have a better understanding now.

My theory about the ending is that David Chase simply wanted the viewer to make up their own ending for them personally - he left the creativity and narrative down to us the viewer. There are a number of possibilities about what could of played put next. Ranging from the mundane with life just continuing as normal for Tony and his family with them enjoying a meal - to the dramatic with Tony dying in some way - or anything in-between. That’s the beauty and genius of this ending the viewer ultimately decides.

it was more intense knowing the ending and watching it. I knew it was gonna happen but not when during that whole scene. I just felt so bad for his family. Broke my heart cus it seemed like they were getting along for once

Most people believe that Meadow's inability to parallel park was simply a distraction when, in fact, it saves her life. If she would have been successful parking on the first try she would have been sitting between her dad and the shooter exiting the restroom. That is my interpretation. And you say....?

I remember watching that final scene in season1 in the restaurant and taking mental inventory of it and how important it was not because I thought ti would come all the way back to that but because that lesson hits so hard in real life. But now looking back its crazy because what he said matters so much more when you realize that was the last time they had just the 4 of them, the Sopranos, eating together at a restaurant and seconds before it was to happen again, Tony lost his life. So that was his last "good moment" in that regard even if it was years before his death, it was the beginning of the end.

I felt exactly as if I (the viewer) got whacked. I got taken out of the show. My time with The Sopranos was done. This is exactly how the ending made me feel. A WTF? Moment for myself.

I can’t get over how brilliant this show is. I only starting watching the series this year.

Tony didnt ruin Eugene's life, though. He was an FBI informant and they told him he couldn't move to Florida as well.

No he clearly got hit... All he did was for nothing, silent darkness.... The dude that went to the toilet was clearly his killer. He looks up to the door as his daughter comes in. Then it's lights out, poetic.

I wish I can go back in time and rewatch this show again from the beginning not knowing what’s going to happen next…

The cat/tiger symbolizes Adriana. She was constantly wearing tiger print. In her last episode she was wearing a full body orange cat suit, and on the final drive with Sylvio she was wearing yet another tiger print outfit in. So yeah, feline symbolism everywhere with Ade. Even when they’re listening that “Meow” song by The Defilers, Ade is acting like a cat and singing along with the “meow” parts.

The cat is also a reference to Schrödinger’s cat. Even if there are a lot of clues, Chase decided to leave Tony’s fate ambiguous. Just like Schrödinger’s cat, Tony is simultaneously dead and alive. Also, remember Tony spoke to a physicist while he was in hospital and that guy mentioned several concepts of quantum physics.

People hated it night it aired. And for several weeks, and months after. The fact is, for most it wasn't the sort of ending you could watch once and fully comprehend. Chase put so much work, put so much care into the writing of the final two seasons (6a and 6b) that it took rewatching the final two seasons, and rewatching the final scene, many times before we could fully grasp what David Chase wanted to say. Seeing Tony's face in a plate full of onion rings and blood may have been satisfying IN THAT MOMENT in 2007, but it would have deprived us of all the enlightening analysis, aided by the rise of RU-vid and terrific videos like this one. The final Sopranos scene is a masterpiece. There's been nothing like it on television before or since. The artistic gift that keeps on giving.