The Sopranos series finale was one of the most shocking and controversial episodes of television — ever. In the final moments of the episode, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), Carmela (Edie Falco), and A.J. (Robert Iler) are waiting for Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to join them at Holsten’s restaurant. A mysterious man walks in the door and disappears into the bathroom. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” is playing, and as Meadow walks into the restaurant, the show cuts to black. Forever. The fate of Tony and, quite frankly, the other members of the Soprano family were left in question.
Creator David Chase may have accidentally confirmed that Tony died at the diner in an interview with Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall for their book The Sopranos Sessions — or maybe he didn’t. Alan asked David, “When you said there was an end point, you don’t mean Tony at Holsten’s, you just meant, ‘I think I have two more years’ worth of stories left in me.'”
David answered: “Yes, I think I had that death scene around two years before the end … Tony was going to get called to a meeting with Johnny Sack in Manhattan, and he was going to go back through the Lincoln Tunnel for this meeting, and it was going to go black there and you never saw him again as he was heading back, the theory being that something bad happens to him at the meeting. But we didn’t do that.” Matt followed up with, “You realize, of course, that you just referred to that as a death scene.” After a long pause, David said, “F**k you guys.”
While some fans may take this as a confirmation, David has never flat-out said the words “Tony Soprano is dead.” When asked whether or not there is a correct answer about Tony’s fate, David told The New York Times: “I don’t think so. I don’t think so.” David is going to leave this question about Tony’s fate unanswered until the end of time.