Sopranos Finale - This is spoiler territory

I heard he died at the end (fade to black and no music). Supposedly, in another episode, Tono and another mobster discuss what it must be like...

and it was similar to this.

And your opinion isn’t the end all be all of everyone else’s, regardless of what you’re saying. Are you here to let people draw their own conclusions or to shove your own down their throats?

It can’t? You have absolutely no idea what happened the moment the screen went black for ten seconds before the credits rolled. If you’re relying on technicalities to make your point then you must accept that the extended black screen time prior to the credits rolling was part of the episode. Therefore you have no idea how the episode ended. You, like anyone else, can only speculate what happened once everything went silent and dark.

I decided to believe that Tony Soprano wasn’t killed in those final moments because of how I’m choosing to interpret the ending but I can still present a compelling argument to the contrary. Neither of us has any real proof and the events are purposely laid out to be open to interpretation. Reporting the facts otherwise is irresponsible regardless of how badly you want your best guess to be the correct one.

1. You’re assuming Butchie didn’t have his own agenda, or that another member of Phil’s crew didn’t have orders or a reason to kill Tony. We have no idea what happened to the very mobile Ford with Phil’s grandchildren trapped inside once it rolled over his head. Where did it end up? Was control over the vehicle regained in the chaos of Phil’s head being crushed? Or was the golden rule of “families don’t get touched” broken?

2. Where to eat was finalized earlier in the day and was hardly a “spur of the moment” decision. It obviously was also a frequent eating establishment of the Soprano family. Everyone from the FBI to AJ’s girlfriend knew Tony would be dining there that evening.

Phil stopped off at a gas station during a seemingly random point in the afternoon and was successfully murdered by one man with a handgun. It would appear that not much time or coordination is required to pull off a hit on a boss, just the element of surprise.

3. If Tony had been killed directly after the final moment we see him then the last camera shot would be of us looking at his face, exactly as it happened. Nearly every time the door chimed and someone entered the diner the audience was shown a shot of Tony’s face looking towards the door, followed by a camera shot of who was entering the establishment from what was more or less Tony’s point of view. The only time Tony didn’t react to someone’s entry was when a group of young men entered directly prior to Meadow’s arrival. With the distractions of his family at the table it would appear Tony’s guard was down at this point.

From here we’re shown a scene of Meadow heading for the diner, the chime of the door, and Tony looking up at it. The next scene, as in all the others, would be from his point of view showing who entered the diner. If he were killed at that moment then his point of view would be a black image devoid of sound or picture. As Bobby suggested, “You probably don’t even hear it when it happens, right?”.

As I said above, I choose to believe that Tony wasn’t killed in those final moments. I see life continuing on for the Soprano family, filled the same problems and dangers he's faced since the beginning of the series. As Tony pointed out, most of the time his type ends up “in the can” or “on the embalmment table”.

My guess, as is yours, is purely speculation. The ending was purposely laid out to be open to viewer interpretation. If you watch the ending with the mindset that life goes on for the Soprano family (or watch it again with the knowledge of how it “ends”) then the diner scene can appear rather serene and unthreatening. However, for the first time viewer who is waiting tensely for a dramatic conclusion, the scenes are shot to make one believe disaster is right around every corner. This is done purposely. What really happened to Tony Soprano in those final moments is only known to the writer. Unless you’ve received word directly from Chase, feel free to suggest how the episode ended but refrain from telling others that their opinion is incorrect when it differs from your own.