The Sopranos ending explained: The infamous final scene and ambiguous fate of Tony Soprano

HBO's crime drama The Sopranos, which concluded with an epic finale in 2007, ran for six seasons and became one of the most popular shows in the crime and gangster genre.

The Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series' finale is still one of the best finales to air on television, and people still discuss it to this day.

The ambiguous fate of Tony Soprano in the final scene remains a topic of discussion. While Tony ended the ongoing mafia war with other crime families, he could not escape death, as implied by the show's open-ended ending.

More on The Sopranos ending in our story.

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The Sopranos ending explained: What happened in Tony's war against Phil Leotardo?

While watching The Sopranos finale, many fans speculated that Tony might meet his end in the war against Phil Leotardo. However, the show aimed to highlight that there was not one thing that led to Tony's downfall; instead, it was the cumulative effect of all the decisions he had made since the beginning, culminating in the finale.

In the finale, Phil Leotardo's crew betrayed him, and instead, they made a deal with Tony. It was agreed that the mafia would leave them in peace, and they would let him take a hit on Phil, thereby ending this bloody war. While this betrayal was surprising, it only underscores how the men were exhausted and wanted to bring the war to an end. Tony takes a hit on Phil, and his war with the Leotardo crime family is finally over.

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Tony won the war in The Sopranos, but at what cost?

While Tony won the war and killed Phil Leotardo in The Sopranos finale, things had gone too far for him, and there was no way of making amends. Among his crew, only Paulie remained, and Tony made him in charge of the Aprile crew.

But Tony understood that his end was near when Carlo, one of his underlings, went missing. Since Carlo's son was busted in a drug deal, it was only a matter of time before he would testify against Tony to the police, and he would be indicted.

In an effort to make things right, Tony planned a last dinner with his family. In the diner, Carmela and AJ arrive first, and he warns his family about their new reality and how things would be once he is gone.

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The Sopranos ending explained: Tony's ambiguous fate

The infamous diner scene in The Sopranos finale goes on to build the environment around Tony, which is filled with customers having dinner. Over the years, fans have focused on one individual: a man wearing a member's only jacket, who observes Tony throughout. He abruptly stands up to go to the bathroom, and suddenly a bell rings. As Tony stands up, thinking it must be Meadow, the screen cuts to black.

The show does not offer any explanation about Tony's fate or what happened to him. While he was doomed and preparing to go to prison in the final moments, the final scene suggests that Tony Soprano was shot.

It all links to one conversation between Bacala and Tony in Season 6, where they are discussing death in the mafia, where Bacala asks:

“You probably don’t even hear it when it happens, right?”

This quote not only highlights the suddenness of death in the mafia but also neatly ties to Tony's fate in the show, as many suspect that Tony was shot in the head by the individual with the jacket.

Since Tony made many enemies on the way, it was hard to determine who shot him in the finale, and creator David Chase had also been tight-lipped about this ever since. But keeping this mystery aside, the show ended with a bleak reminder: a powerful man like Tony is also not invincible, and a violent path ultimately leads to death.

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