Why did people hate The Sopranos ending?
Has there ever been a finale so wholly divisive as that of The Sopranos? David Chase’s medium-changing mob drama was, at times, so funny and compelling that it was easy to overlook how experimental it could be (Kevin Finnerty, anyone?). The finale, with its now-infamous “cut to black” ending, was The Sopranos at its risk-taking best, though many fans were dismayed at the ambiguity of Tony’s fate. Some of the cast members even complained that they thought their TV had suffered a glitch while watching the episode’s closing moments.
Many Sopranos fans were disappointed because they felt the ending didn’t give the character closure. They didn’t want an ambiguous ending in which Tony is neither alive nor dead – they wanted either blood or a happy ending.
Many took the scene at face value and became frustrated that Tony’s ultimate fate wasn’t revealed. But that wasn’t really the point of the scene. Series creator David Chase elaborated on what he was going for in an interview .
Much like the rest of the show, it wasn’t predictable and it wasn’t what viewers necessarily expected. For those who wanted the show to culminate wrapped with a tidy bow on top of it, they were out of luck.
Chase’s ending instead showed that even if Tony lived, he could never truly be happy in life, as he would always be looking over his shoulder. This vague, less than concrete conclusion disappointed fans who didn’t want to think about it. They just wanted to see – and be told – what happened to the protagonist.
While many people consider The Sopranos as the greatest TV drama of all time, it’s not the only acclaimed show with a finale some fans didn’t like.
Take Seinfeld, for instance. Widely regarded as the greatest sitcom ever, its finale went against type. Whereas most episodes of Seinfeld put the characters in mundane situations, mining them for hilarity, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David took a different approach for the finale.
They put the gang on trial for violating a Good Samaritan Law. It enabled the show’s creators to place the characters under a microscope, showing just how detestable they really were. It was a far cry from the rest of the series, and it sent viewers for a loop.
The Seinfeld finale was like The Sopranos ending in that respect. It took a beloved show and turned it on its head, challenging viewers to think. Not everyone wanted that, and that’s why many Sopranos fans were disappointed.
