UPDATE: David Chase has clarified his recent remarks regarding the fate of Tony Soprano. He says his comments were taken out of context and he would never change the ambiguity of the final scene. Here is his statement via his publicist:
A journalist for Vox misconstrued what David Chase said in their interview. To simply quote David as saying,“ Tony Soprano is not dead,” is inaccurate. There is a much larger context for that statement and as such, it is not true.
As David Chase has said numerous times on the record, “Whether Tony Soprano is alive or dead is not the point.” To continue to search for this answer is fruitless. The final scene of THE SOPRANOS raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer.
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It has been 7 years since the controversial series finale of THE SOPRANOS and folks still manage to talk about that ambiguous ending. For those of you who don't remember, the final episode ended with a tense scene involving the Soprano clan in a restaurant as all sorts of nefarious characters milled about. At the moment you would have expected a gunshot or a wrap up scene, THE SOPRANOS went to black with no explanation or resolution.
Many fans were left angry at the loose ends left by the ending, but many have praised it as bold filmmaking. In the years since, we have lost lead actor James Gandolfini, but THE SOPRANOS is still consistently ranked as one of the best television series of all time. So, is it better to leave that ending ambiguous or do we deserve a concrete answer?
Series creator David Chase was recently asked by Vox whether Tony Soprano is dead following the final scene of the final episode.
"No he isn't."
Not exactly the revelation that many were hoping for, but it does seem to put to rest whether that fade to black moment represented Tony being shot and killed. At the very least, we know he survived that dinner with his family and may have died another day.
This does also raise the question as to endings for television series. Whether they be ambiguous like DEXTER, BREAKING BAD, or THE SOPRANOS or clear and finite like LOST, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, and TRUE BLOOD, fans will always find something to complain about when their favorite series comes to an end. At least we have six classic seasons to reflect and appreciate.
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