The Sopranos 6x21

"It's all a big nothing" - "You probably don't even hear it when it happens" - Tony woke up to some funeral type music and he was eating an orange in the safe house (a bad omen like in the godfather) AND in season 1 Tony got shot at as he was picking up orange juice. Tony took the big sleep, and it mirrors Tony's favorite scene from the godfather. Y'all got it right though, it really is just another day for these dudes

Albert Cardenas

Ah man, I was really hoping ya’ll would like the ending. But I do know it’s usually 50/50. In my opinion, Tony got shot in the dome by the Members Only jacket dude when he came out of the bathroom. If you pay extra attention, the camera switches to Tony’s POV each time the door chimes, so right when meadow walks in, Tony looks up, and we switch to his POV, but it’s blackness. Because he was killed. Like the other comments mention, “you probably don’t even hear it when it happens.”

Owen Young

y’all gunna react to the many saints of newark?

z dubbs

That’s the reason I wanna see them watch it

You don’t hear it when it happens

Eli

“If they shoot, they missing”😂😂 the ending had me scared too lowkey and then….

JT Dehaney

I think they should have made it a little more obvious what happened. David Chase has made it pretty clear that Tony got killed and we see his viewpoint cut to black. It could easily be the gunman we saw get up, go to the bathroom, and would then exit bathroom right to the back side of Tony, with a clear shot. It leaves the viewer to imagine the scene of Tony getting his brains blown out at the table, splattering all over carmela and AJ, with meadow walking in right then to see it happen. But instead of showing you that, it lets you imagine it. The problem is they didn't make it obvious enough. I think one shot of the gunmen coming out of the washroom and then tony looks up, cut to black, would have worked better. Instead people were confused. It was a little too ambiguous.

ArtVandalHey!

I think it’s also important to contextualize the show in the time when it was created, since it is one of the first TV shows of this style that helped to pioneer the format for television to come (it is always hard to go back and watch the original work of an art form after you are already familiar with the tropes it helped inspire, etc.). In that same vein, I always felt like The Sopranos was experimental and took chances throughout the series, so it is strange for us as audience members to suddenly expect them to end the show in a conventional, cliched way. But I think it also points to the impossibility of closure with long-form media now (at least without pulling from source material), since what we desire will always exceed what can be realized on screen, and I don’t think there is any ending that would have felt like “enough.” Obviously, when we all first watch this ending it is jarring and angers us, so much so that I had to go back and rewind the last 2 minutes the first time to make sure I didn’t miss something lol. However, the thing that has always stuck with me from the ending is the feeling of inevitability and dread. Regardless of what happens, Tony will never be able to feel safe again, and he will always have to look over his shoulder. Originally, I wondered if he was being served papers vs. being murdered, but after rewatching it, I really do think that he gets killed, in part because of the homage to The Godfather with the man walking into the bathroom moments before, AJ and Christopher always talking about that film, and with their emphasis the episode before about “not hearing it when it happens.” So in that way, I do think this ending is more affective than if we watch him get shot and see his family screaming, because at the end of the day, even though this show is called The Sopranos, I do think that it is fundamentally Tony’s show, so when his lights go out so do ours. This show is still easily one of my favorite shows of all time, because there is so much "there." Also, my abstract analysis is that it is a commentary on a decaying American empire lmao.

Peter

Well I did say it's a cheap move but I 100% believe it nonetheless 😁

Αντρέας Λίτσας

" I think Made in America is 100 times better than both Breaking bad's and The Wire's finales" hard cope lol

KillstormSH

I've been waiting for this reaction the whole series, lol! You did not disappoint. Until your reactions, I have not watched this show in its entirety since I watched it air live on HBO. And when we saw the finale live that night, everybody thought their cable went out in the middle of the show until we saw the credits roll and then we were pissed!

CB

"you probably don't hear it when it happens"

espo13

The reaction to the end LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wavon Barksdale

And yes the finale does get better when you accept he was wacked by the guy in the member's only jacket. Remember, the first episode of season 6 was titled "Member's Only." This whole series, they are members of the mafia, this episode is "Made In America" The cut to black is good because Tony is dead and we the audience are no longer seeing through his lens.

Elledance

Formal's right, as a fan I accepted my fate. After sitting with that ending a few years, I realized: 1) No, I did not want to see him shot dead in front of his family and have to think about their grief for eternity and 2) No, I did not want to see him cook Italian food in prison, after murdering so many people, like Christopher, and all the dirt he did to Carmela. And remember what Bobby said: maybe at the end you don't feel anything. And remember what Tony's mother said: It's all a big nothing.

James Cagney

I highly recommend a rewatch on your guys own time in the future. Makes the show much more enjoyable and you'll appreciate it more. With that said; Think back to the beginning of 6B when Bobby says "you probably don't even hear it when it happens right?" The following episode, Sil is in the restaurant and he feels the blood splat across his face before he hears the shot or even realizes what is going on. Tony was wacked, and he didn't hear it when it happened. We've seen it from his perspective this whole time and finally the lights are out, he's gone. Every character has their karma come back to them (Even Paulie and Junior who will die alone, without memories.) Tony's karma is being murdered in front of his family, just like Phil, pretty horrific.

Elledance

I bet that in the 2023 Sopranos universe, the Danny Baldwin/ Little Carmine combination are thought of as a modern day De Niro/ Scorsese.

Eric Posin

I disliked it too when I saw it when it premiered years ago. But, like you said, after many many watches, I almost love the ending.

PIG

Considering that the trajectory of the final 4-5 episodes disappointed you as a whole, I don't think there's any point of me trying to "explain" to you all the little details and hints that have been analysed to death, this is not a deal of "catching the little details and you are gonna appreciate it" but I'm gonna try to explain to you why I think you are focusing on the wrong stuff and ignoring the important. For example, the reason they brought Hunter (Meadow's friend) back was not to give closure to her, but to highlight Carmela's character by showing she is still a jealous, prideful empty shell who basically gets pissed at a young woman for following the career she would want her daughter to follow. Also I get why anyone would say "who gives a fuck about Artie's closure" at first, but after thinking of the general philosophy of the show, it's super important, and much more complex than "oh he's back with Charmaine everything is happy I guess". Artie is a hard working man who has always been jealous of the lifestyle of his mobster friends, and since the beginning, he's been trying to adapt it in small ways at first, and as the show went on, in much bigger ones. In the final Artie-focused episode, Luxury Lounge, he makes a final effort to be the big man, shit hits the fan for him, and he finally realises what he should focus on: his wife and his passion for cooking. He finally focusses on what's important, which is something Tony never did. I truly believe if you rewatch some episodes with this way of thinking, not hyper-analysing little hints you may have missed, but instead trying to find a deeper meaning behind certain characters (AJ cough cough) and even storylines, you're gonna appreciate them more. And lastly, I'm gonna make a major cheap move, since the argument was made by you, I think Made in America is 100 times better than both Breaking bad's and The Wire's finales, and I recommend the excellent video of Macabre Storytelling https://youtu.be/DRRU4pPTD7g?feature=shared this is not to make you dislike Breaking bad's finale by any means, but rather to help you understand The Soprano's philosophy. 😋✌️♥️

Αντρέας Λίτσας

one of my top 5 shows, but i agree with yall the ending was not great 💯

Also, when Tony first enters the diner at the end, there's a big orange cat poster on the left...

John Wlaysewski

The guy that probably killed him was wearing a Members Only Jacket, similar to one also worn by Eugene in 'Members Only' (the first ep of Season 6). His family may have held a grudge against Tony for not letting him retire to Florida. Also, I believe that Paulie, Patsy and Butchie conspired against Tony behind his back. Remember, we see the episode from Tony's POV mostly, and it's probable that they agreed to take both Phil AND Tony out to end the beef once and for all. Paulie looks uneasy in their final scene together tbh and Patsy always disliked Tony for killing his brother. The scene between the families with Patsy is awkward too. Remember Chris' hospital dream in which he told Tony and Paulie "3 o clock". Paulie heeds his warning and survives. Meanwhile, Tony mocks his superstitions and is ultimately killed from his 3 o clock. The guy comes from a diner bathroom, which is a reference to Tony's favourite scene of all time, from The Godfather. There's also a whole theory about Rhiannon being a plant, because she overhears the call about them going to the diner. I'll let you look that one up haha. Honestly, this is my favourite episode because I love this kind of shit. One of the reasons I love Kubrick movies so much as well. And this episode is so beautifully shot and precise like a Kubrick film. I'd absolutely love for you guys to react to 'Eyes Wide Shut' one day lol. Noticed you've done 'The Shining' (also by Kubrick), which I'll have to check out. A film that's also laced with detail and has people theorising to this day.

Ryan O'Neill

The war between New York and New Jersey? Yeah I would think so

Damn I wrote a long comment and it immediately disappeared lol. I'll try remember some of it. Episode begins with Tony looking like he's lying in a coffin, combined with the opening of "You Keep Me Hanging On", which sounds like a funeral organ playing. The song plays again when Phil is killed. Tony is already dead, maybe not literally, but maybe. In S2, when Chris was in the hospital, he says that he visited Hell and was told that the gangsters are made to watch how they were whacked in life, over and over. In 'Chasing It', Carlo references a Twilight Zone episode in which a character's gambling luck takes a turn and he starts winning, surrounded by any woman he wants. He thinks he's in Heaven, but he's really in Hell. This sounds eerily similar to the Vegas portion of 'Kennedy and Heidi', after Chris' death. Tony has effectively condemned himself to Hell. "I get it, I get it!" - Tony perhaps accepting that he is a shitty person and that spiritual damnation is inevitable. The shot set-up in the final episode, that's used a few times (Tony's POV - reaction shot - POV - reaction etc.), is taken from '2001: A Space Odyssey', when one of the characters enters a new dimension and sees himself age and die. We see the episode from his POV ultimately and when he's killed it fades to black, because we've experienced his life end. Maybe he is also experiencing it again from beyond.

Ryan O'Neill

I know you’re upset about the finale, but I have to say… 20 years later people still talk about the finale. Also, it’s funny what you said about season 6b being a coma dream. I have a friend who swears everything from his shooting to the end was in his head, and he points out clues…. But yeah Sorry you didn’t like the end

John Wlaysewski

I agree 100% especially with that last part. Bell rings, Tony looks up, we see his POV. I heard a theory about the the whole story line with the cat. They mention that story about the cat that sits on the table looking out or in the corner looking in. This is a reference to Schrödingers cat. It doesn’t matter whether he lived or died, it’s up to the viewers perception.

Mike C

You don’t need to go to YouTube to figure out what happened; it’s all in the show already. Chris wakes up from his coma/going to hell and says that Mikey told him to tell Tony and Paulie “3 o’clock.” The bathroom that the guy goes into at the diner is situated at…Tony’s 3 o’clock. Bobby says “you probably don’t even hear it when it happens, right?” and Tony agrees he’s probably right. Doesn’t hear it, cuts right to black. The last scene is set up: door rings, we see Tony’s face, we see what he sees. At the end we’re seeing what he sees; nothin’.

John Collins

I apologise for this being long, but here we go. When the episode begins, Tony is already dead. Maybe not literally (although he could be), but the first shot of the episode is Tony waking up and, for a brief second, it looks as though his head is resting in a coffin, combined with the opening to "You Keep Me Hanging On" which features what sounds like a funeral organ playing. The song plays again when Phil gets whacked. The close-up of the tyres squashing Phil's head connects us to the final scene with Meadow trying to park (more tyre close-ups). In 'Members Only' (the first episode of S6), Eugene wears a Members Only jacket. The guy that probably killed Tony also wears a Members Only jacket. His family may have held a grudge against Tony for not allowing him to retire to Florida. In 'Soprano Home Movies', Bobby says "you probably don't hear it when it happens". There's also the Silvio scene in "Stage 5" at the restaurant that shows this. In 'Chasing It', Carlo references a Twilight Zone episode in which a guy's gambling luck takes a turn and he starts winning, surrounded by any woman he wants. Originally, he believes he's in Heaven, but he's really in Hell. This is eerily similar to the Vegas portion of 'Kennedy and Heidi' after Chris' death. In S2, when Chris is in the hospital, he says that in Hell they make the gangsters watch how they were whacked in life, over and over. He's also told to tell Tony and Paulie, "3 o clock". Tony is killed from his 3 o clock, from a diner bathroom, which is a reference to Tony's favourite scene in The Godfather. Paulie heeds the warnings and survives, but Tony mocks his superstitions. The shot set-up in the final episode, with the POV shots cutting to reaction shots of Tony, happens multiple times throughout the episode, but most famously when he enters the diner, in which he clearly sees himself seated at the table. This is taken from '2001: A Space Odyssey' when one of the characters enters a new dimension and watches himself age and die. Therefore, Tony is effectively watching himself get whacked. He's already in Hell, whether that is to be taken literally or not. He's damned to Hell after killing Christopher I guess, which is why the episode ends that way. "I get it, I get it!" He's resigned himself to the fact that he's a shitty person and spiritual damnation is inevitable. As for who did it, I think that Paulie, Patsy and Butchie conspired to have him killed behind his back. A deal was probably made between both families to take Phil AND Tony out. But, because we're seeing the episode from Tony's POV, we don't know that. So when it cuts to black, his life and our relationship to this world ends. Paulie looks uneasy throughout the episode tbh and Patsy always disliked Tony for killing his brother. "If you're lucky you'll remember the good times." Funnily enough, Junior is the only one that does. There's far more shit to bring up, but that's as far as I'll go lol

Ryan O'Neill

Also, there was a case in real life of an FBI agent that was kind of rooting for the mob during their investigations….

John Wlaysewski

I almost teared up 😥

Daniel & Mattieu FRR

Also that last scene with Paulie all alone in front of the pork store always gets to me. My favorite scenes were the guys hanging out, shooting the shit with each other and the crew is gone. And that scene between Junior and Tony is a gut punch. I love June.

Corina Perez

That one FBI agent is on anti-terror now… he isn’t tracking Tony, and seems to have secret admiration / friendship with Tony…

John Wlaysewski

We thankyou for being understanding and accept us for who we are. We also have something special for yall patreon coming soon 🤐

Daniel & Mattieu FRR

The one thing that I agreed with on these other reactors to this episode is that the ending was pure Sopranos. How many times did this show throw plot twists at us out of left field. As bizarre a choice as this was, it's unexpectedly expected.

Corina Perez

I wasn't a fan either

ABarrett1123

He didn't hear it coming. It kills me to think of Tony being blown away in front of his family. I watched the original airing of the series and I was cussing out the screen, the creators, HBO , everybody, I was so pissed with the ending. Way too much AJ on this last episode. Don't care. I have so enjoyed your reactions. Even when I didn't agree with some things, I always enjoyed you guys. Smart with great personalities and sense of humor. I'm sad we have come to the end. I look forward every week to watching the next episode with you two. I hope the channel keeps growing. You deserve it.

Corina Perez

Many Saints was ass

harrydapro

The reaction to the ending was legendary 😂😂

harrydapro

When the finale first aired I was wtf’d by the screen going black like everybody else, but wasn’t angry at it all or that it should've ended somehow conclusively. I was good with it then and think it's perfect now. Formal you said, a show should just hit the first time around, and for me it did just that. Too bad it hit you the other way 😄

pmnm

door bell rings, shot of tonys face, then POV shot of tony ... the scene does this pattern like 3-4 times ... then finally door bell, zoom on tonys face ... then *black*.... indicating that that's what's tonys POV is, which many see as his death

Mitchell

Tony def got clipped

LtotheoG

that's the main conflict of the series?

Mitchell

As much as I love this show the main conflict of the series got resolved with the good guys asking the bad guys to please stop killing them and let them kill their boss.

Make sure you react to “The Many Saints of Newark” it’s a Sopranos prequel movie that I think would be very interesting to say the least to see you react to. It’s also starting James Gandolfini’s Son as young Tony

“Tbh we really don’t know how to feel after this” Storytelling and how things wrapped up aside I do think David Chase 100% wanted people to have a shocking, visceral and unnerving reaction to the ending that wasn’t caused by a mafia bloodbath. I always saw it as a way for him to kill tony personally. Abruptly and straight to black like real life while not giving the audience, who at times he resented, any satisfaction. It’s art. And however someone feels in that moment is the right reaction. Whether you buy into all that is up to you. It’s not for everyone but there’s no correct way to feel about it. It was a bold choice for an insanely popular show that still gets argued about today. And anyone in here who’s older knows your guys reaction was how 95% of people who watched felt at the time. Everyone who understands it better now has had years of debates, interviews, podcasts, books etc to examine and absorb. Also, Hunter is David Chase’s daughter This was a blast. FRR goated reactors. Don’t worry in a year you two will be crying in the desert watching the sunrise screaming I GET IT!!! 🤣

cheech

I think most people felt the way you guys felt. Imagine being in 2008 with no 1 million sopranos ending theories videos on YouTube lol. Whether he’s wacked at the diner or not we were already told the options. Getting wacked, dying in jail, and dying of old age like carmine sr

Joel bravo

Nah, I appreciate y'all giving your 100% real reactions, lol. There's been revisionist history about the ending of this show. You understand it more on subsequent watches and many people grew to like it over the years, but 99% of people HATED it, when it first happened. I was 17, watched it with my parents, and my mother was outraged. She was yelling about calling Comcast before the credits came up. That black screen was up so damn long, lol. Imagine watching this week to week for 8 years, planning your Sunday night around the finale and that being the ending! With retrospect, I still am not a fan, but I don't necessarily hate it. It's pretty clear that he got popped, if you take into account the convo with Bobby about how you probably don't hear the shot and Silvio not hearing it when he's at the table and saw someone get shot. Even if he didn't, there's a point about how he'll always live in fear. Pacing has always been the weakest part of the Sopranos, even though it's a top 3 show for me and the AJ shit was all over the place in this episode and 6B in general. Still, amazing show and a crazy ride. Truly one of the GOATS. Thanks for all the work putting the reactions together!

mbds

Greatest show of all time hands down, this was a wild ride and I loved being able to rewatch with y’all! It’s been real

Lucas

the most popular theory is that hes wacked at the diner, first it goes to the door bell, then zoom on his face and then tonys pov of whos entering the diner. the last one is the same but this time is pov is black (death)

Joel bravo

tony got clipped guys, right in front of his daughter. couldn’t wait to see y’all react this way 🤣🤣

Had me dying with the reaction at the end lmfao. That was basically my take -- like, why were the last couple of episodes so messed up? And Christopher dying, idk. That was just too messed up. But with how bad the ending is, you do really forget about a lot.

Potato Jones

“you probably don’t even hear it when it happens” 😆😆😆😆

what is this chicanery

chobani .

Nah we made a mistake uploading now

Daniel & Mattieu FRR

is this removal a joke about how it ends....?

John Wlaysewski

They said they are uploading the finale again, should hopefully be up soonish.

UNC

damnnnnn its like that??? 😭

Joel bravo

We got got 🤦‍♂️

cheech

I take back every nice thing I said. You mudda fucka's

UNC

Thank you so much for doing this series, was unexpected to get this tonight! Cant wait to see the reaction! Im sure ill come hate on y'all a bit when im done haha.

UNC

Shit is on

cheech

LFG

Lucas