Yeah, They Did Whack Tony At The End

Master of Sopranos offers what may be the best explanation for what happened in the final episode of The Sopranos.

A brief excerpt courtesy of Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture:

(1.) Bell rings, We cut to a shot of Tony’s face looking up to see who is coming through the door (this shot is about 1-2 seconds). We then see who is coming through the door from Tony’s POV. It is a tall woman with dark hair who enters Holsten’s. We then cut back to Tony’s face to see his reaction.

(2.) Bell rings, We cut to a shot of Tony’s face looking up to see who is coming through the door (this shot is about 2-3 seconds). We then see who is coming through the door from Tony’s POV (same shot as 1.) It is an older man wearing a “USA” cap who enters Holsten’s. We then cut back to Tony’s face to see his reaction.

(3.) Bell rings, We cut to a shot of Tony’s face looking up to see who is coming through the door (this shot is about 1-2 seconds). We then see who is coming through the door from Tony’s POV (same shot as 1. and 2.) It is Carmela who enters Holsten’s. We then cut back to Tony’s face to see his reaction.

(4.) Bell rings, We cut to a shot of Tony’s face looking up to see who is coming through the door (this shot is about 1-2 seconds). We then see who is coming through the door from Tony’s POV (same shot as 1., 2., and 3.) It is “Man in Member’s Only Jacket” followed by AJ who enters Holsten’s. We then cut back to Tony’s face to see his reaction.

(5.) Bell rings, We cut to a shot of Tony’s face looking up to see who is coming through the door (this shot is about 2 seconds). According to the pattern, we should then see who is coming into the diner from Tony’s POV (this should be Meadow as we see her about to enter the diner a few seconds before the bell rings). Instead, the screen cuts abruptly to black mid-scene (at the exact spot where we should see Meadow from Tony’s POV) and the audio cuts off.

All the viewer sees is “blackness” where Tony’s POV should be. This is Tony’s POV because he is dead. We no longer hear Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” because Tony no longer hears it. If this was a normal ending we would see a fade to black followed immediately by the credits and we would probably still hear the music. Instead, the blackness and silence lingers for 10 seconds before we see the credits. This emphasizes the blackness, nothingness and eternal nature of death.

Works for me.