I have edited this first page to include my WHOLE arguement so you dont have to go searching each page for more of what I have to say on the subject, lol.
Enjoy.
The show ended with the lyrics " Dont stop -- ".
And the irony is, it all stoped.
NOTHING in this show is presented in a nice little package.
Im gonna supply all my opinions and theories on why I think Tony died.
I think ppl are pissed about the ending because they dont understand what happened.
I think im starting to ...
I dont think its an open ending.
Im starting to believe Tony did infact get whacked.
And the way it was done was different from any other killing in the history of tv.
It was all in the editing to trick the viewer, because we esentially got whacked with him.
Chase wanted to film the death of Tony Soprano in a way that has never been done before.
And he did.
The problem is its so unique no one is understanding what happened, or they are lead to believe its an open ending.
This wasnt an open ending. David Chase says in his interview "if you look its there". We the viewers got killed WITH Tony Soprano.
About getting shot, Bobby said in the 1st episode "at the end you probably dont hear anything, everything just goes black ". That was revisited in the 2nd last ep when Tony flashes back to him & Bobby on the boat. We are seeing the ppl who enter that ice cream parlor through Tony's point of view, through his perspective :
Tony's perspective 1# Lady walks in:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/Steech/door1.jpg
Tony's perspective 2# Man walks in:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d92/Steech/door2.jpg
Tony's perspective 3# Carmela walks in:
http://i33.photobucket.com/alb...2/Steech/door3carm.jpg
Tony's perspective 4# Killer & AJ walk in:
http://i33.photobucket.com/alb...2/Steech/doordoor4.jpg
Tony's perspective 5#
http://i33.photobucket.com/alb...Steech/door5-blank.jpg
The last shot is of Tony looking up at the door.
What do you think was supposed to come after that ?
Meadow walking in.
INSTEAD we cut to black.
That WAS his point of view shot.
WE never got to see meadow walk in because that was the precise time Tony bit it.
Nor do we need to actually see the gun pressed behind Tony's head for a bullet to hit him, many deaths in the Sopranos have ended with no physical contact ( except for the bullet, lol ).
Thats the whole point of the theory " you dont even hear it when it happens ".
Bobby was right, we heard NOTHING.
No music, no sound, nothing.
Everything stoped. The lights went out, the music stoped playing, the scenery disappeared.
Lights Out = Dead.
This isnt anything new, its just HOW it was done.
Think of all the ppl who have been killed on the Sopranos who didnt expect it or see it coming from the side or back of their head :
Jackie April Jr shot by Vito
Gerry the Hairdo who was whacked at the table with Sylvio.
The Phil look-alike.
Phil Leotardo.
Even in the very first episode when the guy is snorting coke, Chris opens fire in the back of his head, blood sprays everywhere.
And theres a lot more ...
Do you think any of them heard or saw anything before they died?
Nope.
The blackout seals the deal.
http://nymag.com/daily/enterta..._watches_the.html#more
last paragraph reads :
.... There was another ending, Matt "We're going to win this thing" Servitto told reporters. The last he knew, the scene in Holsten's diner ? which was shot in the real life Holsten's out in Bloomfield, New Jersey ? went on a little longer and featured one of the menacing figures in the diner dominating the camera. "The scene cut as the guy was advancing towards him, as if he was about to shoot Tony. It was, I think, less ambiguous that Tony was going to get shot."
This proves my theory correct because in both endings, Tony is KILLED.
They didnt shot multiple endings, they filmed the same ending DIFFERENT WAYS.
Should we actually show the guy take out his gun ? Should we actually show Tony get shot ?
It was always gonna end with Tony dead, it was just a question of HOW.
Our Journey began with Tony Soprano.
We followed him for 8 years and 6 1/2 seasons.
We felt his pain, anger, betrayl, happiness, joy, humour ( although it was apparent most of his jokes no one in the show got, lol ) etc ...
We saw his marriage at its best, and at its worst.
His business boom and drop.
We were the flies on the wall during the most intimate of times in this man's life.
When Tony died, WE died.
Because whn Tony's journey ended, so did ours.
The bell chimes ( also the ones we heard on the boat when Tony was staring out at the water in Soprano Home Movies ) were the last thing we heard before lights out.
Our Journey as viewers wasnt gonna continue with this man dead.
So it ended right then and there.
It was also the last song we will ever hear from that moment on.
That flashback to Bobby making those statements were done on purpose.
Made In America's final scene WAS that purpose.
I didnt see any flashbacks of Christopher after he died.
The whole idea that the ending was left up to us to decide for ourselves doesnt have any physical evidence supporting it.
The only thing that suggests that is the Cut To Black.
The point of view perspective IS physical, both to Tony and us the viewers. However, like I said, that Cut To Black is being confused for something other than what it really means ... In my opinion it means Tony's death.
Agent Harris had about 3-4 scenes in the last episode. Which means he was there for the read-through the actors have with David Chase, reading and going through the script for the final episode. As someone who was on the show ( unlike any of us ) I would very much take what he said as support towards my opinion and theory.
The man who killed Tony was listed in the credits as the " Man In Members Only Jacket ".
There is no need to label that guy with a Members Only unless it was significant. And Im telling you it was.
Of course, any hitman wouldnt stick around long enough to be recognized, lol. But who said he was a hitman ? Who said he was payed and hired help ?
That we dont know, and that is the ambiguous part.
But because he is officially listed as the " Man In Memebers Only Jacket " I am lead to believe the only hint we have of who he really is is in the first episode of season 6A -- Members Only. He could have been a family member of that guy who had hung himself. He could have been hired by the guy's wife to kill Tony ( they did just inherit 2 million dollars ).
Again, we dont know.
But we are fed clues and by piece the clues togethr I am coming up with this clearer picture, reagardless of how right or wrong you may think I am.
An answer is better than no answer and like David Chase says " Its all there ".
Theres also the question of why did he go to the washroom ?
Again that is the ambigious part. He could have made sure the window in the washroom ( if there was one ) was opened and ready for his quick getaway so he can just jump out ( I dont think he could have shot Tony then run all the way to the front of the shop to get out, lol ).
Someone else pointed out that the whole theory doesnt hold true about what Bobby said ... " You probably dont even hear it when it happens ".
Of course it does. It was placed in the second to last episode so that it wouldnt be crystal clear for us to conclude the ending of the last episode.
If David Chase wanted it to be that simple and obvious he would have had that flashback placed IN the last episode.
And Bobby didnt hear or see it coming.
He was caught off guard and was given no time to react when he looked up and saw his killers.
Tony is a human being, not a freak with 14 different eye balls and a hightened sense of smell. He is suspicious of everyone in the ice cream parlor, yes.
But that is what distracts him.
What can one man do in a state of paranoia when your looking over your shoulder and theres 30 ppl standing there and yet only ONE of them is a killer ?
Tony doesnt know which one it is, much less that there is a killer in the first place.
The whole "paranoid of everyone around him" idea works against him because out of all the innocent ppl there, only one of them killed Tony.
Yes, Tony heard the bell chimes as Meadow walked in ...
Again, because of his paranoia, he was forced to pay attention to the door when the real threat came from behind.
Like I said, it actually worked against him and like us, he never saw it coming.