David Chase Breaks Silence On Sopranos Finale
Posted October 23, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
That may have been the famous line Michael Corleone uttered to express his frustration with being inextricably linked to organized crime in the Godfather III, but it could very well apply to the relationship fans have had with another epic mob drama, The Sopranos.
Most fans had gained some measure of closure by assuming Tony Soprano was ‘whacked’ when the lights suddenly went out during the controversial finale.
But now the creator of the series, David Chase, has re-ignited the debate about what really happened. Chase broke his silence for the first time recently, and didn’t hesitate to suggest that Tony was alive and well, and didn’t meet his fate with a bullet in the head while munching on onion rings.
He also wonders why the last episode caused such a stir.
“There WAS a war going on that week, and attempted terror attacks in London,” says Chase. “But these people were talking about onion rings.”
Chase opens up in “`The Sopranos’: The Complete Book,” published this week, saying Tony “had been people’s alter ego. They had gleefully watched him rob, kill, pillage, lie and cheat. They had cheered him on. And then, all of a sudden, they wanted to see him punished for all that. They wanted ‘justice’…
“The pathetic thing — to me — was how much they wanted HIS blood, after cheering him on for eight years.”
And he insists that the final scene, during which the lights suddenly go out, wasn’t meant to be a prank.
“Why would we want to do that?” he asks. “Why would we entertain people for eight years only to give them the finger?”
