10 TV (And Movie) Mysteries That Desperately Need Closure

2. Does Tony Die At The End? - The Sopranos

The Sopranos James Gandolfini One of the most pressing cliffhangers in the history of either film or TV has to be the riveting finale to the superb HBO show The Sopranos, with Tony Soprano (the late James Gandolfini) sitting in a restaurant with his family, listening to Journey's classic Don't Stop Believin'. It is a film absolutely dripping in anxiety from an audience perspective, because of the countless suspicious figures who seem to inhabit the diner, and specifically the man wearing the Members Only jacket, who goes into the toilet and is never seen again. Before we can see whether the guy emerges with a gun, the show cuts to a permanent black screen just as somebody else (probably Meadow, but maybe not), enters the restaurant. Tony looks up, and...black. There are two schools of thought: a) Tony died, as hinted at by an early discussion between himself and Bobby Baccalieri, whereby they postulate whether you hear anything when assassinated by gunshot (explaining the sudden cut to black) or b) The song's lyrics cutting out on "Don't Stop..." suggests that Tony will continue living, but be forever looking over his shoulder and paranoid that someone will be out to get him. Though due to Gandolfini's devastating passing we will never get the oft-proposed Sopranos movie, it's still something we'd love David Chase to confirm or deny truly once and for all.
Contributor
Contributor

Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.