This is what the end looks like.
I know it just looks like a black empty screen and it is. That's how it ends. The screen just goes black in the middle of a scene where Tony, Carmela, and Anthony Jr. are eating onion rings at a restaurant. The last scene is the topic of much debate as I found once I was finally free to venture out on the Internet without fear of reading or seeing something I didn't want to know prior to seeing it myself.
I'd have to say at first I was bit disappointed but after some thought and after watching it again a few times I've decided I'm fine with it. It's ambiguous what happens to Tony in the end. I went back and forth in my mind for days after I saw it and I read all sorts of things on the web. I think I've decided that Tony is definitely dead. That was my first reaction and I think it's correct. Here's a brief recap of the final scene as I see it.
Tony picks out "Don't Stop Believing" from the Jukebox on the table. This plays quite loudly throughout the entire final scene. I'll never be able to hear this song again without thinking of this scene. The song itself I think means nothing.
Suspicious looking guy in members only jacket walks into the restaurant ahead of Anthony Jr. and sits down at the counter. There are many cut shots over to other people in the restaurant as Tony converses with Carmela and then later Anthony when he arrives. Meadow is outside struggling to parallel park.
Shots of other people in the restaurant continue but the most suspicious looking guy other than the trucker is this guy in the jacket at the counter who looks over at Tony's table a couple of times. I think this is the guy. The only reason I could think of that he wouldn't be the guy is that when he arrives at the restaurant he walks in before Anthony Jr. and not behind him. Maybe that's nothing but it seems unnatural to me if he's there to do what I think he did.
Members only jacket guy walks to the restroom just off to Tony's right.
Meadow finally gets parked and the shot below is the 2nd to last thing we see before the screen goes blank and everything goes silent. This I think is key. This shot is looking at Tony's table from the short hall to the restroom where members only jacket guy would be coming from.
After this shot you see Tony glance up to see (presumably) Meadow coming in the restaurant door, then suddenly NOTHING! Completely black screen and total silence.
I think what we witnessed was Tony's death. What we did was experience it as the final scene. The members only jacket guy shot him in the head. I don't suspect if you were shot in the head you'd hear it. You'd be dead instantly and it would be sudden.
