Getting killed off on the hit mob show meant losing a well-paying job with unbeatable exposure. I think were supposed to be thinking about death, or the finiteness of life, during that last scene, but not necessarily that Tony died right then and there, and thats the end of the story. The final close-up of James Gandolfinis face contains no note of fear or apprehension. You knew virtually everything important that was going on, not only with Tony, but with all his enemies and allies. And its true that, the longer the Holstens scene and the parallel parking go on and on and on and on the harder it becomes to shake the feeling that Tony, or Meadow, or maybe everybody, is about to get whacked. Gianluigi ''Gigi'' Cestone portrayed by John Fiore is a member of the DiMeo crime family and former soldier in Junior's Crew, until his defection to the Soprano Crew in 1999. With Tony and the Feds both hindering Eugene's chance to escape the mafia life and his stress caused by his unstable home life, Eugene sees no way out and hangs himself in his basement. The head of the Barese crew helps the FBI locating the body of a murder victim who was killed by Tony over 25 years ago. Theodore Spirodakis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a family of Greek descent, and he became an untidy and obese person and a compulsive gambler. Spending long hours trying to prove Tony was shot at the diner becomes a substitute for meaningful engagement with the shows themes, which are disturbing not just because of their implications, but because Chase and the writers present them in an open-ended, mysterious, or deliberately opaque way, like a brutal reminder to us that we cant absolutely know certain things, and its delusional to insist we can. The ultimate fate of Tony Soprano, the crime boss and protagonist of the television drama the Sopranos, has perhaps finally been revealed by the show's creator. It seems so obvious now. And I would argue that, if the main takeaway from that scene is, Oh, they shot him, then either the show has failed and suddenly decided to give up and be a typical gangster story in its final four minutes, or theres something else happening here. Whenever the Sopranos ending is discussed, and somebody starts with the presumption that Tony is dead, I ask the same follow-up question: Why do you need for Tony to be dead? Because you have to need him to be dead to insist not only that he got shot right there in the diner, but that him being dead is in fact the entire point of the scene, and that no other approach is permissible. The controversial ending has led to over a decade of theories and speculation as to whether Tony was killed by a hitman - but now we finally know what happened to the mob boss. As for Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) ordering the hit, that theory does have some validity. Eugene subsequently becomes a made man in the following episode "Fortunate Son" along with Christopher Moltisanti. Alan: Yes, the Holstens scene is about death specifically, about the idea that we are all here on borrowed time, and our lives can be snatched away at any moment, without warning or explanation or the slightest hint of fairness. And in the back of my mind, I said, Well, well see what happens.'. But at the. I made arguments like the one above, about how a secret assassin repping an enemy we never heard of before would clash with every narrative rule the show ever followed. What I dont like is any kind of conversation that seems to be leading toward, Hes dead, end of discussion. Because that should not be the end of the discussion when youre talking about a show like this one, a show about psychology, development, morality, and all these other deep and tangled subjects. I know it happened. He wants to retire from the mob life after he receives a massive inheritance, but Tony isn't too keen on the idea. Or maybe nothing happened in that scene, but Tony went on being Tony and maybe died of heart disease or Alzheimers, which, given all that weve seen him go through, is a sadder outcome. And the possibility that Tony won't be around for much longer is raised multiple times by and to Eugene. The Sopranos Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. And if Tony drops dead after the bell rings, whether from a bullet or (like poor Gigi Cestone) internal distress, obviously the next few moments involve Carmela, Meadow, and AJ being horrified and grief-stricken, but what comes after? On the Talking Sopranos podcast, Funaro spoke about originally getting hired on the show to play Ralph Cifaretto. He knew someone in his family would find him, but why would he want them to. Maybe the ending is saying, This guy never got it. It's also been suggested that it was there for Eugene. Eugene Pontecorvo (1959-2006) was a DiMeo crime family soldier and FBI informant. Eugene Pontecorvo inherits $2 million and would like to retire with his family to Florida. Anthony Soprano Jr. | The Sopranos Wiki | Fandom Gene Killing himself : r/thesopranos - Reddit Like Vito Spatafore and Benny Fazio, he is initially introduced as a small character, whose role slowly increases throughout the series. His jobs include running a low stakes poker game, a sports betting agency and a 'No Work' job at the Esplanade construction site. The way Sopranos creator David Chase saw it, that wasnt the big question. Man in Members Only jacket | The Sopranos Wiki | Fandom With that out of the way, we can focus on a more interesting question: Who ordered the hit on Tony Soprano when his time finally came? This is a show thats very interested in dream language, psychoanalysis, and the contradictory, mysterious forces that make us who we are, and its inevitable that this series, perhaps more than other works of art, would have become a Rorschach test. I hate that when you ask, What happened at the end of The Sopranos? and people just shrug and say, Well, he died! A better question is, What did that ending mean?. The cat turns up at the safe house and gets brought back to Satriales, much to Paulies horror You cant even put them near a baby; they suck the breath right out! particularly once it starts fixating on a photo of Christopher from the set of Cleaver. So when he walks into the restaurant, judgment has already been passed, or maybe suspended. He whacked the viewer. Later, Eugene gives him a cut of the inheritance. Pussy Malanga, the man Uncle Junior was convinced is after him and whom he eventually mistakes Tony for is the same mobster Uncle Junior wanted to kill in Artie Bucco's first restaurant in, Dr. Melfi recalls that Tony grabbed a pillow in order to smother, Dr. Melfi calls the home that Tony put his mother in a "retirement community" and Tony corrects her and calls it a, Tony refers to his forgetful Uncle Junior as ", Vito asks Agent Harris if he had lost weight due to the, When Eugene proposes retiring, he cites the precedent set by ", When Eugene's conversation with his wife is interrupted by a call on his cellphone, she says he is responding to ", When Junior says Pussy Malanga is prank calling his house Tony says they will get FBI director, The song featured in the opening scene and closing credits is "Seven Souls" by, The song featured in the scene where Tony and Carmela are dining at the, The song playing when Junior shoots Tony is "Comes Love" by, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 02:43. Tony says he'll consider it, but he states Eugene took an oath indicating it's highly unlikely he'll approve. I think you and I are in agreement on the larger point of the scene, right, Matt? Off the Back of a Truck includes: -New looks at everyone's favorite episodes, scenes, and characters. More recently, I found myself swaying over to Team Tony Dies, not only because of the death imagery throughout the season including the way so many episodes open, as this one does, with Tony waking up from a deep slumber but because some of my initial, long-hardened impressions of the scene didnt hold up under further scrutiny. Most people think the crow was there for Christopher. The bulk of the episode is devoted to Eugene Pontecorvo, previously a very minor character who appears infrequently and barely ever has any lines. Of course, these questions occurred to Tony after Junior shot him, and thathis response was to absorb rather shallow lessons like, make better choices in the moment, and try being a better listener while ignoring bigger ones like, Maybe youre depressed all the time because youre a gangster. Melfi steers him toward this realization throughout the series, even in the pilot. The investigation of identity becomes more overt this season, as both Tony and Carmela ask "Who am I? David Chase had this all planned out since at least the beginning of Season 3, when Eugene first appeared. Why the ambiguity at all? Despite the episode's focus on his character. Travis Dye signs UDFA deal with New York Jets - Yahoo News Eugene Pontecorvo The Sopranos really is about mental illness and the inherent hardships of the human condition, and Eugene Pontecorvo ( Robert Funaro) embodied the intersection between duty. This ending puts us in their shoes. And the last we see them together, Tony was still acting like a jerk toward Patsy. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. Patsy himself almost took out Tony in the season 3 premiere, so you know his resentment ran deep. He would never kill her, or even beat her up. Tony is haunted by dreams of Sal . Eugene Pontecorvo | The Sopranos Wiki | Fandom The most popular theory is that Butchie had Tony killed. Matt: Yeah, hes checking out the scene in there for self-protection, but he does that everywhere he goes. Because nothing in that scene says, Somebody just killed him and thats what the cut to black is about. The only objectively true statement that can be made about that ending is that its ambiguous. Dont stop believin you know exactly what happened at the end of, This password will be used to sign into all, when Chase wrote that article about the scene, a journalist reported that Chase told her Tony lived, Roy Wood Jr.s Best Jokes at the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, Julia Fox Is the Only Celeb Taking White House Correspondents Fashion Seriously, The 11 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend, The Rivalry Between the Knicks and the Heat From the Guys Who Were There, The Knicks Vs. Heat Rivalry From the Guys Who Were There, Long Live the White House Correspondents Dinner. The Sopranos: The Al Green Song David Chase Considered Instead of Dont Stop Believin in the Finale. Alan: The distance he walks is shorter each time, and when he gets to Holstens, we just cut from him looking at the restaurant to him in the booth, in a way that suggests hes seeing himself really, that hes seeing the whole scene play out, like hes already left his body and is just envisioning what might come next back on this mortal plane. Maybe the ending is moralistic, but not in the way that some of the people who need Tony to be dead might frame it. But what he said, specifically and he was directing it toward everybody was, Whether Tony Soprano is alive or dead is not the point. The way the ending teases audiences by seeming very definite while denying us answers and closure makes it the ultimate Sopranos moment. To paraphrase one of the Four Questions from the Passover seder, on all other nights we dont watch Meadow attempt to parallel park even once; why on this night do we watch her attempt to parallel park over and over again? Did he really leave enough money in overseas accounts to take care of Carmela after his passing, or will she soon be taking Angie Bonpensieros old job passing out supermarket samples? Eugene responds by smashing a glass Snapple bottle over Little Paulie's head, causing a severe gash over his eye, and kicks him repeatedly in the head. Actors with recurring roles on The Sopranos lived in fear of their characters dying. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. So absolutely, the show is putting us in a frame of mind to anticipate a death. It's Pontecorvo, "crow bridge." Basically, those fans wanted to definitively know if Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) died right there in Holstens. He is either an enormous success or a pitiful failure. Terms of Service apply. No. At Hesh's request, Tony tries to reach out directly to Johnny through his optometrist brother-in-law, Anthony Infante, but Johnny is only paying attention to his immediate family's financial troubles. A man in Tonys business will always have enemies Eric Scatino probably still nurses a massive grudge so its not outside the realm of plot logic that some rando or long-forgotten character could have hired Members Only Guy to do the deed. One by one, the other members of his immediate family arrive - except for Meadow - and they start to eat onion rings and indulge in small talk. Sam and Joel reach a new level of intimacy. The general director was Frank Darabont, but after dropping out due to a disagreement with the production company, Glenn Mazara [7],Scott.M.Gimple was in charge, and from season 9, Angela Kang is in charge. Fury of the Gods is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Shazam.Produced by New Line Cinema, DC Studios, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Shazam! In short, the New York families would have been fed up with Tonys behavior to that point. Alan: I dont know the answer to that hypothetical, because either one seems like the kind of thing The Sopranos might do. Tony's decision is relayed through Silvio: "Your Florida thing. I think its also interesting if he dies, though thats a less disturbing ending to me, because its the standard gangster-story ending, and no matter how you read it, for reasons of genre history it always comes back to Dont do crime, kids.. Its gonna show what you can do. Funaro saw what an opportunity it was going to be for him. 15 35 Related Topics Death is the only absolute truth for everyone, and if you read that ending simply as he died, you can wash your hands and walk away from it and not have to think about anything else that might be raised in that scene. It wasnt like these staccato scenes. When Tony prevents Eugene from moving to Florida with his family, he commits suicide. List of The Sopranos characters - Wikipedia To quote Tony, the floor is yours, senator. And the Russian. Maybe he left a note warning the wife about what he did, I hope so. Bearing gifts, he goes to Tony to ask permission. All rights reserved. In the original broadcast of this episode (March 12, 2006), no previews for the next episode were shown in order to keep the aftermath of Tony's shooting a mystery. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. From there, his character continued growing in prominence. Now, Im Schrdingers critic: equally intrigued by the idea of Tony living and Tony dying. Let's just remind ourselves how - to use street parlance - the final scene of The Sopranos 'went down': Tony arrives at the diner, and selects Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" from the juke-box console at his table.