David Chase yet again explains the series finale of ‘The Sopranos'
Ever since the notorious series finale of "The Sopranos" aired on HBO in June 2007, showrunner David Chase has spent a majority of his time in the media vaguely discussing the episode’s conclusion — a trend that continues this week.
Ever since the notorious series finale of The Sopranos aired on HBO in June 2007, showrunner David Chase has spent a majority of his time in the media vaguely discussing the episode's conclusion — a trend that continues this week.
But, to his credit, this time around that discussion is a little more detailed.
"I thought the ending would be somewhat jarring, sure," Chase recently wrote in the Directors Guild of America's DGA Quarterly. "But not to the extent it was, and not a subject of such discussion. I really had no idea about that."
Whether Chase really had no idea about the episode's controversial potential or not, it still remains one of the most discussed series finales in television history. So, with Chase's near-shot-for-shot breakdown of the final scene, hopefully fans can get some closure.
First and foremost, the musical choice of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'":
No matter what song we picked, I wanted it to be a song that would have been from Tony's high school years, or his youth ... When I wrote it, there were three songs in contention for this last song, and 'Don't Stop Believin'' was the one that seemed to work the best. I think it's a really good rock 'n' roll song. The music is very important to me in terms of the timing of the scene, the rhythm of the scene. The song dictates part of the pace. And having certain lyrics of the song, and certain instrumental flourishes happen in certain places, dictates what the cuts will be. I directed the scene to fit the song ... I felt that [Tony and Carmela] had taken the midnight train a long time ago. That is their life.
Plus a little insight on those lingering shots of daughter Meadow Soprano:
Meadow is filled with nothing but very, very deep emotions about parking her car. But possibly a minute later, her head will be filled with emotions she could never even imagine. We all take this stuff so seriously — losing our keys, parking our car, a winter cold, a summer cold, an allergy — whatever it is. And this stuff fills our mind from second to second, moment to moment. And the big moment is always out there waiting ...
The final moment itself, in which Tony Soprano looks up as a bell rings:
I said to Gandolfini, the bell rings and you look up. That last shot of Tony ends on 'don't stop,' it's mid-song. I'm not going to go into [if that's Tony's POV]. I thought the possibility would go through a lot of people's minds or maybe everybody's mind that he was killed. He might have gotten shot three years ago in that situation. But he didn't. Whether this is the end here, or not, it's going to come at some point for the rest of us. Hopefully we're not going to get shot by some rival gang mob or anything like that. I'm not saying that [happened]. But obviously he stood more of a chance of getting shot by a rival gang mob than you or I do because he put himself in that situation.
And that jarring, scandalous cut to black:
I never considered the black a shot. I just thought what we see is black. The ceiling I was going for at that point, the biggest feeling I was going for, honestly, was don't stop believing. It was very simple and much more on the nose than people think. That's what I wanted people to believe. That life ends and death comes, but don't stop believing. There are attachments we make in life, even though it's all going to come to an end, that are worth so much, and we're so lucky to have been able to experience them. Life is short. Either it ends here for Tony or some other time. But in spite of that, it's really worth it. So don't stop believing.
So, no — no concrete answers here, but at least there's more insight this time. The last time Chase discussed The Sopranos in August 2014, his publicist issued a statement telling fans that "the final scene of The Sopranos raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer."
And in that sense, it is not David Chase who we should look to to explain the Sopranos finale, even despite his further explanation here. The true answer, of course, will come from within.
Now please stop asking.