Here's my theory on the Soprano finally...

[conan69]

Hitmen walk in and out, with a spotter outside waiting for a fast getaway.

They dont walk in,get coffee, sit there(possibly tipping off their target),leave fingerprints everywhere and give everyone in the place a good chance or seeing his face.

You were suspicious of him - thats what Chase wanted you to think!!

 

[Dark Donnie]

Exactly...Chase himself says its all right there in the scene...he also says he wasn't trying to fool anyone.

 

[conan69]

Do people really think Chase is going to end The Sopranos with a scene taken from the Godfather?? Come on.

That bathroom reference is as plain as the sky. We all thought about it, which is the obvious reason it wont happen.

"But I don't get why he would go into the bathroom then come out and shoot him."

Right. It was used in godfather because Michael expected to be frisked.Michael had to go into the bathroom for the gun. The guy in the diner had no reason to go in there. He should have walked in, fired and got the hell out of there.

BTW - theres 2 other Godfather references in that epsiode:

Tony peeling and eating a orange and the next Im really proud of because I havent seen anyone else mention it anywhere when discussing this episode:

The train noise during the sitdown with the NY crew. Tony is at a meeting to discuss making a peace in a place where hes garuanteed his safety. We hear a train getting louder and louder and louder (like the scene where Michael shoots the Turk and police capt) and suddenly it stops.

I took this as Tonys fear of being killed at the meeting.

But Tony didnt die at the end. The Sopranos has a history of using music to convey messages.Listen to the lyrics of the song playing....

Some will win
Some will loose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on...

Tonys life will go on and on as it has while weve been in his company.

Another thing to remember is when we met Tony. He was going to therapy. Remember the symbolism of the ducks.Its been brought up again and again throughout the shows running.

In the finale hes sweeping up the backyard when he hears ducks. But theyre in the distance.

His therapy is over, he wont be redeemed and he will never find the happiness and contentment he seeks.

He will always be worried about being killed, betrayed, be depressed,have someone he knows in the hospital,living a normal family life at night while hes a murdering thug during the day,etc

Its just another day in Tony Sopranos life.

 

[Dark Donnie]

http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Sopranos-Clan-Hails/800017014

and

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/entertai...=entertainment

Sopranos' star: `No idea' about ending
6/15/2007, 8:12 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Viewers weren't the only ones who didn't know what to make of the boldly ambiguous ending of "The Sopranos" — some of the stars didn't, either.

James Gandolfini told the Daily News in Friday's edition that he had "no idea" what to think was to happen to his character, the emotionally tortured mob boss and suburban dad Tony Soprano, after the hit series' final episode closed Sunday with an abrupt cut to a blank screen.

"You have to ask ("The Sopranos" creator) David Chase that. Smarter minds than mine know the answer to that," Gandolfini said. "I thought it was a great ending. You decide."

The screen went black and silent as Gandolfini's character and his family sat down to dinner, leaving fans guessing — and some complaining — about the ending's meaning or lack thereof.

Some have suggested that the movements of a man in the background portended a "Godfather"-style shooting. Others surmised that the show, which delved deeply into the domestic life of its mobster protagonist, was simply ending on an everyday note. Chase has declined to explain.

Several of Gandolfini's cast mates echoed his praise for the show's open-ended conclusion.

"A conventional ending would have been a fraud," Steven Van Zandt, who played Silvio, told the Daily News.

"Life doesn't have tidy little endings," said Van Zandt, a member of rocker Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. "Even some great songs just fade out like the last episode of 'The Sopranos.'"

 

[Dark Donnie]

One more

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/15/television.sopranos.reut/index.html

 

[terry78]

When you become paranoid, you think everyone is looking at you or trying to get you. That's the point. You walk down the street feeling guilty about something, you get the feeling that everyone that glances at you knows your ass did it.

 

[AllThingsComic]

The best ending i've read or heard was that it was we the audience that got whacked and Tony's life just went on as usual. Bobby even said it, you have no idea it's coming and then just black and silent.

 

[Dark Donnie]

The best ending i've read or heard was that it was we the audience that got whacked and Tony's life just went on as usual. Bobby even said it, you have no idea it's coming and then just black and silent.

Some people actually went back and watched the episode and said he doesn't say "black"...he says "you probably don't even hear it coming.

 

[Matt]

The ending is actually simple. Tony didn't die. The audience didn't die. Who came through the door? 99 % chance Meadow, but the fact that we don't see and Tony has to look up is the point. There is always that 1 % chance it won't be Meadow. Tony never knows when it will come, where it will come from, etc. That is the uncertainty he lives with. Sure, he survived...but for what kind of life? One of paranoia and fear. Even something as simple and nice as a dinner with his family has him in suspect of everyone.

 

[Dark Donnie]

The ending is actually simple. Tony didn't die. The audience didn't die. Who came through the door? 99 % chance Meadow, but the fact that we don't see and Tony has to look up is the point. There is always that 1 % chance it won't be Meadow. Tony never knows when it will come, where it will come from, etc. That is the uncertainty he lives with. Sure, he survived...but for what kind of life? One of paranoia and fear. Even something as simple and nice as a dinner with his family has him in suspect of everyone.

I like that ending

 

[CrAzYMoFo]

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

Best explanation I've read so far.

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

Nice ideas, but....nah.

The guy who went into the bathroom was....just a guy. Tony wasn't killed. No, David Chase did something much cleverer than that with this finale.

The key to the entire scene is that it IS completely harmless, and that Tony is in no danger. But despite that, we're all on the edge of our seat, filled with dread right until the final moment. You're partly right when you talk about this scene being from Tony's perspective, as it gives us an insight into his perspective. The dread we feel in this scene? That's the dread Tony feels in every situation he walks into, no matter how benign. It's the dread he's going to feel for the rest of his life, long after the TV show has stopped telling his story.

There's your "happy ending."

Sheer genius. Bravo, Mr. Chase.

How can you speak so definitively?? By doing so, you're defeating the entire purpose of the ending IMO. You CAN'T know Tony was or wasn't killed. It wasn't shown, we didn't see it, and we can't know.

Tony WAS in danger. He was vulnerable. He had no guys, only his family. You contradict what you say. Tony is in no danger, yet feels dread everywhere?

Both arguments are good and make perfect sense. Only Chase can say for sure what happened, not you or anyone else. All we can do is speculate and say "I think this or that", not "I know this or that".