Place Your Bets: Which New Fantasy TV Series will be the Next Game of Thrones

Spoiler: H

Sometimes subverting expectations works, and when it does it can be mindblowing ( e.g. the big reveal at the end of the 6th Sense). However, when it doesn't work it just pisses the audience off ( e.g. the big reveal at the end of the Happening). Sure Chase subverts audience expectations with the abrupt fade but is it satisfying ? IMO it's not, it's a clever idea and in some shows it might work, but in this case I don't think it did - particularly given all the ups and downs Tony goes through during the series, we want to know what happens to him ( and Paulie and Silvio and Carmella..... I really lost interest in AJ and Meadow ).

 

Spoiler

it's not really subverting expectations. just leaving it ambiguous.
For me the clues are there leading up to the final. They talk about that you probably never hear the shot that kills you a couple of times. Think that someone mentioned that he didn't realise what happened until after shots were fired (having dinner with someone that got shot). The fade to black is tony just dying. But as i said it's ambiguous.
The ending was never going to satisfy everyone. Some wanted him to live. Some thought he should die. Well it's up to you. Even if you didn't like it you can't say it wasn't brilliantly done and didn't generate conversation. For me it was perfect. How would you show tony having a happy ending? Show him as an old man living on a farm? Or would you show his brains splattered all over the table? Nah, you never hear it coming. So we will never know for sure.

I love the concept of death of the author. So even if the writers and directors all come out and say this is what happened. It still might not be. It is down to each person who watched it to decide for themselves how it ended.

As i said the perfect ending

 

Spoiler: H

I take your point but it didn't work for me.
And this isn't like the spinning top at the end of Inception - where we have to decide if he's still dreaming or not. That's an ambiguous ending that works IMO because there's a lot more context provided.

At the end of the Sopranos we have really no idea what's happened, it's unsatisfying. Sure we can make up our own minds but honestly I would have liked to say goodbye to Tony Soprano properly - something that sons of anarchy's finale totally delivered.

Anyway, I'm not going to change your mind and I remain unconvinced that it was a good ending - to each their own I guess, agree to disagree.

 

Fair enough everyone has different tastes. I know many people agree with you.