"They wanted to know that Tony was killed": When The Sopranos creator responded to the fans' reaction to that unexpected, controversial finale

The Sopranos is regarded as one of the finest American TV shows. Headlined by James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano, the acclaimed HBO crime drama series follows a New Jersey mob boss who suffers from panic attacks. To deal with these panic attacks, Tony frequently visits Dr. Jennifer Melfi, played by actress Lorraine Bracco, who encourages Tony to share difficulties about his personal and criminal lives.

The HBO show is regarded as one of the rare occasions in which all six seasons of the series are highly regarded. However, that doesn't mean that the show does not have any divisive episodes. The final episode of the crime drama drew criticism for its open ending, but has started gaining appreciation almost eighteen years later.

The finale, titled "Made in America", despite its appreciation, is being debated to this very day. Creator and showrunner David Chase also addressed the finale in a November 2021 The Hollywood Reporter interview. When the reporter asked the showrunner if it was annoying that people regularly asked him about the closing minutes of the episode, Chase responded:

"I had no idea it would cause that much — I mean, I forget what was going on in Iraq or someplace; London had been bombed! Nobody was talking about that; they were talking about The Sopranos. It was kind of incredible to me. But I had no idea it would be that much of an uproar. And was it annoying? What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me."

Then, talking about people wanting a more definite ending, The Sopranos showrunner continued:

"They wanted to know that Tony was killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know? And I just thought, “God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know he’s a criminal. But don’t tell me you don’t love him in some way, don’t tell me you’re not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed? You want justice done? You’re a criminal after watching this shit for seven years.” That bothered me, yeah."

The Sopranos ending explained: what do David Chase's comments mean?

For the uninitiated, the concluding moments of the iconic HBO show see Tony and his family in a restaurant. It consists of his wife, Carmela, and A.J. Tony's daughter, Meadow, is not sitting at the table as she is just outside, trying to park her car. As the family waits for Meadow, Tony sees several characters walk through the door of the restaurant.

However, the scene is set up in a way that viewers question the intentions of everyone walking through the door. The scene plays up the paranoia, and then the scene cuts to black. Since then, The Sopranos creator David Chase has been questioned regarding the meaning behind the ending. The point of the series is that Tony will have to live with the fear of being attacked for the rest of his life.

Therefore, it doesn't matter if the people who walked through the door were hitmen or just random citizens. Tony's choice to be a mobster will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Trending

All six seasons of The Sopranos are streaming on HBO Max. Watch the beloved HBO series if you haven't seen it yet.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback