The Sopranos: 10 Clues In The Show That Prove Tony Died

Few series finales are as polarizing as that of the HBO crime drama, The Sopranos, where many viewers still wonder if Tony Soprano died. “Made In America” ends confusingly and ambiguously, which was divisive at the time, as it was called both “amazing” and “disappointing” by fans and critics. In The Sopranos finale, Tony sits in a restaurant with his family, and though everything seems okay and Tony is seemingly happy, the tension is building. Something significant seems like it is going to happen when a mysterious man enters and continues to stare at Tony.

However, at the very moment something could happen, the screen cuts to black, leaving Tony Soprano’s fate a total mystery. Series creator David Chase avoided discussing the scene following the finale. Various interpretations and theories have surfaced over the years, the most popular of which is that Tony was killed, but even then, it isn’t clear how he was whacked or who’s behind it. As Tony is played by the talented James Gandolfini, the actor’s final expression can be interpreted in many different ways. However, there are tons of clues in the critically-acclaimed series that point to Tony’s certain death.

10 The Man In The “Members Only” Jacket In The Sopranos Finale Is Suspect

Could He Be Associated With Eugene?

In the final minutes of The Sopranos finale, a stranger walks into the diner wearing a jacket with a “Members Only” logo on it. Viewers might remember the events in the season 6 premiere (called “Members Only”) where Vito Spatafore mocks Eugene for wearing a jacket that also had a “Members Only” logo on it. Eugene doesn’t respond and simply gives Vito a death stare. The jacket possibly signifies his affiliation with a special gang.

When Tony prevents Eugene from moving to Florida with his family, he dies by suicide. The man wearing the same jacket at the diner might be someone close to Eugene, who could be responsible for Tony’s death. The idea here is that the man in the “Members Only” jacket represents the gang that Eugene was associated with, one that held his death against Tony and his mafia family. This actor, Paolo Colandrea, was actually credited as “Man in Members Only Jacket,” showing his significance.

9 The Case Of The Oranges Hints At Tony’s Death In The Sopranos

A Homage To The Godfather

The Sopranos has multiple nods to The Godfather trilogy and in TheSopranos finale, there is another Sopranos-Godfather link that holds meaning. Tony holds an orange at Carmela’s project house earlier in the episode. During another assassination attempt earlier in the series, he had just bought orange juice. Oranges are used in The Godfather to symbolize either natural death or “getting whacked”.

When Vito Corleone gets shot in the street in The Godfather, he is buying oranges, and when he collapses and dies, he is holding an orange while making funny faces at his grandson. Oranges are also present at the meeting of the five families before the bosses get killed. The Sopranos also featuring so many oranges is a clear hint that something bad is about to happen. The fact that the main mob boss dies in The Godfather with oranges is also a clear parallel to Tony’s eventual demise.

8 Tony And Bobby’s Discussion In The Sopranos Foreshadows Tony’s Death

A Hint To The Silence At The End

In The Sopranos season 6, episode 20, “The Blue Comet,” there is a flashback to “Soprano Home Movies” where Bobby and Tony talk about what it’s like to get whacked. They both agree that it’s a mobster’s greatest fear. An important quote from their conversation is, “In our line of work, it’s always out there. You probably don’t even hear it when it happens.”

The cut to black in the final episode could mean that Tony dies in The Sopranos, but he doesn’t even hear it when he finally gets killed, and neither does the audience. This moment is a huge clue because the entire series follows Tony, the main character, from start to finish. If Tony dies at the end of the series, the story is completely over. Tony’s death means his story has concluded, so the quick change to black would be Tony dying, and the viewers’ look at his life ending.

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7 The Stranger Who Walks Into The Bathroom In The Sopranos Finale Is A Godfather Reference

Michael Corleone Also Walks To The Bathroom

Another The Godfather reference pops up at the diner. The man wearing the “Members Only” jacket walks to the bathroom, perhaps to relieve himself, but based on the show’s endless references to the classic gangster movie, that might not be the case. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone walks into the bathroom to collect a gunhidden behind a toilet just before he shoots Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo and Police Captain Mark McCluskey at a restaurant.

The strange man’s stare and walk are very similar to that of Michael Corleone. Given that The Sopranos is littered with Godfather references, it’s unlikely that the bathroom walk didn’t have meaning for Tony Soprano’s fate. As much as The Sopranos has paid homage to The Godfather and other gangster movies from cinema history, the bathroom trip was a clear hint that something bad was about to happen.

6 Tony Frequently States There Are Only Two Ways Out For A Boss In The Sopranos

Get Whacked Or Go To Jail

In several episodes of The Sopranos, Tony states that there are only two ways out for a boss: dead or in jail. He says it in season 2, episode 6, “The Happy Wanderer,” as well as the season 4 premiere and many others. History proves that this has always been the case for real-life mobsters too. Lupertazzi family boss Phil Leotardo was a great character from The Sopranos season 6 but was brutally murdered while Johnny Sack went to jail.

It’s safe to assume that since Tony never goes to prison, there is only one other way out for him. This statement by Tony wouldn’t have been touched on so many times if it wasn’t something that was going to pay off in the end. The final episodes of The Sopranos saw so many of Tony’s associates die, and when Bobby was gunned down, it was one of the last straws as everything crashed down around Tony and those he loved.

5 Silvio Is Also Shot By A Man Wearing A “Members Only” Jacket In The Sopranos

Could Tony’s Death Connect To Silvio’s?

One of the men who shot Silvio Dante multiple times also happens to be wearing a “Members Only” jacket. After the shooting incident, Silvio is left in a coma, and it’s never known whether he survives or not, though doctors mention that he is unlikely to recover. A man wearing the same kind of jacket showing up at the diner where Tony is meeting his family is hardly a coincidence.

Earlier, the Lupertazi family had set up assassination plots against Silvio, Bobby, and Tony to destabilize the DiMeo family, and Tony was the only one remaining. Just as Silvio’s fate is never revealed, Tony’s fate isn’t revealed either. Bobby died, which was a tragedy, but the fact that “Members Only” became such a running theme that the show never actually explained makes it seem like it was more than just a passing moment.

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4 Tony’s Death In The Sopranos Could Be Retaliation For Phil Leortardo’s Murder

Revenge For A Previous Hit By Walden

Phil Leorardo’s murder is carried out messily by Walden Belfiore, a Gervasi crew soldier who is also part of the DiMeo crime family. Walden shoots Phil twice in front of his family. His grandchildren were in the SUV when he was killed, and his wife rushed to his side. However, she failed to put the SUV in the park, and it rolled over his skull, crushing it. The mysterious man at the diner might have been sent to exact vengeance. He waits for the right moment when the entire Soprano family is at the table.

Killing Tony in front of his family could be a way to send a message that if somebody has their enemy murdered as disrespectfully as Belfiore does, then there will be similar consequences. The fact that Phil’s murder was the last one in the entire series could clue in viewers that Tony was the last person left to die, and this could have been what finally tipped the scales and put the target on Soprano’s head.

3 Uncle Junior Has Men Killed Where They’re Most Comfortable In The Sopranos

The Diner Could Be Key To Tony Soprano’s Death

Earlier in the series, Uncle Junior clashes with Tony because he intends to kill Malanga at the Vesuvio restaurant. Tony is against the idea because the restaurant belongs to his childhood friend Artie. A murder at Vesuvio would be in the news, and this would scare potential customers. Junior insists that the murder has to happen there because that’s the only place where Malanga lets his guard down, and Tony does the same thing.

Tony visits multiple diners and restaurants, as it’s one of his go-to ways to unwind. Anyone planning to whack Tony knows that this is the only place they’ll catch him off-guard. This is not to say that Uncle Junior has anything to do with it, as he was living in a nursing home with late-stage dementia in the finale. But just considering Junior’s words and motives, it seems that this could be something others have learned over the years — find Tony at his most relaxed and he won’t ever see it coming, once again explaining the sudden black screen.

2 Patsy Has Motive To Kill Tony In The Sopranos

Could Patsy Be Seeking Revenge?

Despite being one of the best supporting characters in The Sopranos, Patsy’s loyalty has always been questionable. Patsy has always had problems with Tony, ever since he promoted Christopher instead of him. While drunk, Patsy points a gun at Tony through a window and considers whacking him as revenge after Tony sanctioned the murder of Patsy’s twin brother. Patsy chooses not to do it and urinates in Tony’s pool instead.

It has also been implied that he was working with the crew that shot Silvio. It’s possible that Patsy hired a hitman to kill Tony in The Sopranos to stage a coup d’état and take over as the boss. However, there is also a counterpoint that Patsy could have received a promotion in Tony’s family after Bobby’s death and Silvio’s coma. While Patsy’s final scene with Tony is clearly awkward, he might just feel anger and shame. He has to know he had a chance to do more, but only if Tony lived.

1 The Sopranos Finale Is The Only Episode That Ends Differently

Sopranos Creator David Chase Confirmed Tony’s Death After The Finale

Instead of fading to black and then transitioning to the credits like other episodes, The Sopranos finale simply cuts to black and stays that way for about three seconds before the credits start rolling. This means that something significant just happened, and there aren’t many options about what that is other than Tony’s death at the end of The Sopranos. David Chase admitted that Tony died and he didn’t want to show it (via THR):

“What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me. They wanted to
know
that Tony was killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know? And I just thought, “God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know he’s a criminal. But don’t tell me you don’t love him in some way, don’t tell me you’re not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed?

There’s no other reason why The Sopranos series finale would end so differently from the way the 85 other episodes ended, and there’s nothing significant or eventful that could have happened at that moment other than Tony’s murder. With Tony Soprano dead, his story was over, and since fans had watched it from his point of view for all those seasons, there was nothing left to see when his life ended.

The Sopranos

Considered to be a quintessential drama series to watch, The Sopranos is a crime-drama series that follows Tony Soprano, who tries to manage the expectations of an Italian-American patriarch while acting as the head of a prolific New Jersey crime family. Burdened by the stress of the expectations thrust upon him, Tony regularly visits a therapist throughout the series run. This helps give context to Tony’s actions as a ruthless boss with violent tendencies.

Cast

James Gandolfini , Lorraine Bracco , Edie Falco , Michael Imperioli , Dominic Chianese , Steven Van Zandt , Tony Sirico , Robert Iler , Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Release Date

January 10, 1999

Seasons

6

Showrunner

David Chase