I finally got around to catching up with you lot and watched the last episode last night.

I have to say, this season has been spectacular, cerebral and ultimately heartwrenching, in the typical vein of way the show's been since its conception.

It's absolutely fuckin' brilliant.

First of all, after much contemplation and replaying the final 5 minutes of the finale over and over again, I've come to conclusion that Tony is, in fact, whacked.

Here're some of the reasons:

1) The guy at the bar is Nikke Leotardo, Phil's cousin (or nephew), and has appeared earlier in the season when they all had a 'sit-down' regarding Vito.

2) The black guys coming in are the same ones that tried to whack Tony in season 2 or 3.

3) The hark back to the clip of Bobby and Tone on the boat, "you don't even hear it coming."

In typical Chase fashion, surrealism is applied in the final 15 minutes as we follow Tony into the restaurant and he sees himself sitting there in a similar shirt he was wearing when Uncle June shot him.

We *cut* to a medium shot of the Tony sitting down in the shirt, and we watch as his family slowly starts filing into the restaurant. There are only about three perspectives: One of Tony's as he overlooks everyone who enters the restaurant (accompanied by a chime of the door opening), a third-person POV (possibly the shooter's?) which is watching Tony as he reads the menu and such, and the third one which follows Meadow parking the car outside.

Once these POVs are taken into account, it's clear that the parting shot is one from Tony's perspective, and then bang, there's a hard cut to black, with absolutely nothing happening, and only after a few seconds do the credits begin to roll.

It's that simple. If he were still living, we'd have seen the credits roll immediately, with the screen fading to black, leaving the ending ambiguous. But we don't because the ending's a definite one.

Of course, with all this talk of a movie and a return to the series is making me think I might be wrong and, as Happy Face said, would show Chase to have pulled a f****** gimmick to trick us with that finale.

I don't believe that's the case, as the show has always treated and credited its audience with intelligence. Noting the backlash the ending has received, however, I don't think that might've been such a good idea from the beginning!

Now, ending aside, it's definite that I'm going to f****** miss this show to death. It was one of the few smart shows, where theme, theory and abstract ideas about characters and  plotlines were explored and rewarded, with crisp dialogue which held the power of leaving you in stitches in the worst possible scenario that characters found themselves in, and acting and direction that surely will not be surpassed in television.

Quite frankly, this show had it. Whatever that is, it had it. Whatever plateau there was to reach and sustain, they reached it and never fell.

Favourite characters, of course, were Chris and Paulie. 'Gutted' wouldn't describe how I felt when Chrissy died, and in such fashion. The image of the fading dim light on Tony's face as he held Chris's nose will stay with all viewer's forever, I'm sure.

Of course, it could be argued that due to the contractual disputes HBO had with the actors it felt as if they rushed the ending, and far too much time was spent on nominal characters instead of story. However, taking that into account, I think they ended the show as well as they could have. Some of my friends have complained there was no all-out war except for the penultimate episode, and I agree, maybe an extra episode could've been dedicated to that instead of AJ's neverending histrionics, but was the show ever really about that? It never was a Goodfellas, instead it was a slow-burning Godfather set in modern-day jersey about the wilting powers of an age-old culture and the effects that leading such a lifestyle has on the psyche of our protagonist.

And in the end, he gets what was always coming to him. Either time behind bars or a bullet to the head. I prefer the latter.

Cheers . I felt I had to let it all out, and since I haven't cried since I was a wee lad, this post was gonna have to suffice.

Here it is...

https://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/11/222698.aspx

Don't now if it has been mentioned, but this absolutely excellent explanation of the last episode is required reading:

https://www.bobharris.com/content/view/1406/1/

David Chase == god.

I forgot to thank you. Read it all. Excellent linkie.

Yeah man, after figuring everything out, it finally settles on you. Tony is dead (sob).

I only just saaw it last night.... I cant believe there will be no more new episodes... I'm so sad

I dont want to believe it either but your right though, you just have to admire the absolute genius of the writing