For me, there are few TV shows better than The Sopranos. The writing, direction, casting, and acting couldn't be better. However, this being said, the ending is something that divides fans, with some loving it, and others hating it. Even James Gandolfini had something to say about the way The Sopranos finished.
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Over 86 episodes, the drama unfolds in New Jersey, with the family managing their lives around aging, and fading mafioso gangster life. Every season is better than the last, with the depth and complexity of the narrative creating something truly unique that has rarely been seen since.
So, when the finale rolls around, with the Sopranos sitting in a diner, and the screen cutting to black with no explanation, fans of the series were rather confused. This was not a conclusive end. There was no big finishing fight, no big revelation, and no cataclysmic death. It was just a cliff hanger. The doorbell of the diner rings, they glance around, and that's it.
Star of the show, James Gandolfini (R.I.P), was also shocked by the ending of The Sopranos. According to Lorraine Bracco, who played the therapist on the show, Gandolfini only had two words to express how he felt.
"I'll tell you the truth, I was sitting next to Jimmy Gandolfini," she told Jimi Fallon while promoting her new Netflix show. "And he just went like this," as she stands up to mimic the actor, quoting him stating, "That's it? That's it?"
Gandolfini Wasn't Alone In His Confusion
It's not easy ending a show like The Sopranos. There are too many examples of shows that don't know how to call it a day. They end up dragging their shows on until they are terrible, boring, vague shadows of their former selves. I'm looking at you, The Walking Dead, Lost, and Game of Thrones.
Like it or not, the ending of The Sopranos still has people talking today. It ended the show on a high and left enough unanswered that fan theories still circulate. Rather than drag the show on until it died, David Chase made a decision.
The ending, for me, was perfect.
