The Creator Of 'The Sopranos' Finally Explains The Last Scene To Us

"The Sopranos" is arguably the greatest television show of all time, and its ending is one of TV's greatest mysteries.

Did Tony die in the end? Did he live? Why would you choose a Journey song to go out on?

All legitimate questions. Now, the show's creator, David Chase, spoke in great detail about the final scene of the series.

Chase spoke to DGA Quarterly and gave a shot-by-shot breakdown of the infamous scene.

He also spoke about the significance of those puzzling final moments.

He said,

I said to Gandolfini, the bell rings and you look up. That last shot of Tony ends on 'don't stop,' it's mid-song. I'm not going to go into [if that's Tony's POV]. I thought the possibility would go through a lot of people's minds or maybe everybody's mind that he was killed. He might have gotten shot three years ago in that situation. But he didn't. Whether this is the end here, or not, it's going to come at some point for the rest of us. Hopefully we're not going to get shot by some rival gang mob or anything like that. I'm not saying that [happened]. But obviously he stood more of a chance of getting shot by a rival gang mob than you or I do because he put himself in that situation. All I know is the end is coming for all of us. I thought the ending would be somewhat jarring, sure. But not to the extent it was, and not a subject of such discussion. I really had no idea about that. I never considered the black a shot. I just thought what we see is black. The ceiling I was going for at that point, the biggest feeling I was going for, honestly, was don't stop believing. It was very simple and much more on the nose than people think. That's what I wanted people to believe. That life ends and death comes, but don't stop believing. There are attachments we make in life, even though it's all going to come to an end, that are worth so much, and we're so lucky to have been able to experience them. Life is short. Either it ends here for Tony or some other time. But in spite of that, it's really worth it. So don't stop believing.

While that may not be an entirely satisfying answer, it's probably the best we're ever going to get.

If you're a fan of the show, make sure to check out the whole article. It's a great read.

Citations: This Magic Moment (DGA Quarterly)