Sopranos -- 'Ciao, Tony'? Readers weigh in

June 10, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN | TELEVISION CRITIC

A few months ago, I started asking readers how you'd like the long-running mob series "The Sopranos" to end forever, when it takes its final bow at 8 tonight on HBO.

That was, of course, after I'd suggested my own ending:

With the feds hounding him and his New Jersey families threatened by New York mobsters -- and with the constant fear that someone close to Tony will turn against him -- in the last 30 minutes, I would have Tony prevail over all hazards. But in the last 10 minutes, I'd send Tony to the strip club, where his crew continues to grouse and cause him low-level misery. Then, he'd go home and have to listen to the same old complaints from his family. A final song would take over the soundtrack. I'd use Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" or hire someone like Leonard Cohen or David Bowie to sing a slow and depressing version of "My Way."
I was inundated with responses. Here are some of the best.

Tony's wife pushes him down the stairs during a violent fight over his cheating on her. Tony breaks his neck and ends up a quadriplegic paralyzed from the eyes down, also known as locked-in syndrome. He spends the rest of his life in a fancy nursing home. The guy is scum! If I could think of a worst fate for him I would!

Michael


Tony cooperates with the Feds with their ongoing terrorist investigation, thus putting him in the witness protection program. He is then spared from the ongoing mob wars with Phil Leotardo and his crew of thugs, who have been busy killing off all of the other series regulars. Tony is then relocated to the suburbs of San Diego, where he lives under the name Todd Wilkinson. This ultimately whacks two birds with one stone: a "My Blue Heaven" sequel, and the continued saga of Tony Soprano.

Jon


Old gangsters don't fade away or go into witness protection. They get killed. If they really want to end the show -- and the death of Christopher tells me we won't ever see another new show -- then Tony needs to die.

Steven


I'm so sick of hearing about the end of "The Sopranos!" I hope everybody -- and I mean everybody -- dies in the final episode. Hopefully this will prevent HBO from ever resurrecting its most profitable and least imaginative show.

Steve


I feel the ideal ending would be that a hit would be [attempted] on Tony, but they would miss and kill Carm and the kids by accident. Tony would see that, and the last scene would be the camera slowly focusing on Tony in a straitjacket in a mental ward staring into space with his doctor staring at him, wondering if there is anything that she could do. Killing his kids would push him further than he would be able to handle.

Harvey


The show has always shown main characters being murdered on screen, with the exception of Adriana. That is because in the last episode, they will show a flashback to her death scene, but instead of Silvio shooting her as she crawls away as we were led to believe, he shoots at the ground next to her, then explains to her there is no going back, as he has been the main government mole in the organization all along.

John


Tony Soprano is a rat. Yes, a rat. ... This ending would provide an unexpected twist to satisfy longtime fans, stay true to the core of Tony's character -- ultimately looking out for himself -- and leave the story open for a possible movie version. With Tony in the witness protection program, he would ultimately become the boring, nondescript person he imagined while in his recent coma. Also, Carmela would refuse to go with him into this life, leading to their divorce. His children would also desert him to lead their own lives. Therefore, Tony would find himself alone, without his family, knowing he betrayed his friends, and forced to live his life without the excitement, excess and power that once defined him. A sad, lonely ending for a sad, lonely man. The final shot should be Tony, alone, sleeping and snoring on a recliner in a suburban home, with a bowl of half-eaten ice cream sitting on his chest.

Jim


Tony lies in a hospital bed in a state of semi-consciousness, surrounded by his family. ... Tony looks around his bed for a few moments and begins to rant his story of their life as a mob family: rackets, hits, collections, etc. The family looks around at each other, smiling weakly and raising their eyebrows knowingly, sympathetically. As Tony continues his tales of power and wealth, Carmela cautiously interrupts him, and tells him he's been in a coma for several weeks as the result of a blow to the head from a fall from the back of a garbage truck. "What would I be doing on the BACK OF A GARBAGE TRUCK?" he asks. "That's where YOU WORK, Tony." ... Fast forward a few months. Tony's back at work, on the back of a waste management truck."

Al


What if there were to be a terrorist attack on the last episode? After all, the FBI has been warning Tony about it for a while, and it keeps being mentioned in subtle ways in each episode. A very different, and very real, direction [series creator David] Chase might take, no?

Margaret


I am one disgruntled viewer with a serious ax to grind with David Chase over such a crappy story line after seven years. So far, the last episodes fail to impress. ... After seven years, David Chase gives us a steady pumping of deus ex machina to bolster lame scripts. He's selling out to those of his viewers who want bad deeds to be punished. It's like the Legion of Decency dictated the story line. ... For seven years, bad has been good, and now bad will once again be bad. I won't buy it.

Jim


That whole show went down the tubes. ... All through the seasons, I could never accept that this so-called powerful man sees a psychiatrist. Ridiculous! Last season was so bad, when you got half through the episode and found out Tony was dreaming -- oh my God, people hated it! You know what? They're getting out just in time. How do I think it should end? Quick!

Joyce