Who killed Tony Soprano.

**Halie Satanus** · August 24, 2020, 02:12 PM

I don't recall there ever being a thread for the Sopranos while it aired. I watched the series through recently and read a few theories on who killed Tony. All presuming Tony actually died. I remember being shocked at the end. Like everyone I tried to remember what had happened in the last few minutes, who could have done it. Below are the popular theories and my thoughts on why some of them don't fit.

Theory 1: Little Carmine (Lupertazzi) had Butch Deconcini kill Phil (Leotardo) and Tony (Soprano). Little Carmine was the rightful boss of the Lupertazzi family but was outstead by Johnny Sacromoni and then Phil Leotardo. Problem here is Little Carmine had always got on well with Tony and had no reason to kill him, in fact Tony was one of the few mobsters who would have been happy to see Little Carmine as boss as Little Carmine was easily manipulated.

Theory 2: Butch Deconcini had Tony killed to see through Phil's (Leotardo) plan of killing off the leadership of Jersey so the Lupertazzi family (under Butchie) could take over what was left of the Jersey crew once the Soprano's were gone. The problem with this theory is that it doesn't end the war. Butch already gave Tony the go ahead to kill off Phil and he was keen to make peace, he already had a lot on his plate not being killed himself for betraying Phil without having to worry about reprisals for killing Tony too.

Theory 3: Patsy Parisi: Tony had Patsy's twin brother killed early in the show and Patsy had tried to kill Tony at his house, but bottled out. Patsy was definitely a killer and was scared his son (Jason) was following him into the Soprano crew and mob life. Jason Parisi was good friends with Jason Gervasi who was in turn the son of Soprano crew member Carlo Gervasi, who had flipped to the FBI. The problem with this theory is Patsy would have been painting a target on his own back and put his family in danger. To wait this long to take another shot at Tony doesn't make much sense.

Theory 4: Eugene Pontecorvo's Brother: In the first episode of the last season 'Members Only' Eugene inherits $2m. He and his wife plan to move to Florida and he seeks permission from Tony to leave the Mob. After some pondering Tony refuses, which is told to Eugene through Sil. Eugene is distraught and takes his own life, presumably wanting a better life for his family but thinking his wife and kids will never be able to leave while he is connected to the Jersey crew. 3 o'clock: When Christopher is shot and coming out of his coma he tells Paulie and Tony of his near death experience and gives them a warning from dead associate 'Mikey Palmice.' The warning is 3 o'clock. In the final scene we see a man sitting at the counter wearing, the same members only jacket Eugene Pontecorvo was wearing in the first episode of the season. Later in the scene the man goes into the men's room, which is situated at Tony's right hand side, at 3 o'clock.

Spoiler for Last scene:

**Akar** · August 25, 2020, 05:01 AM

Well, now I have to rewatch the Sopranos again. Thanks Halie

.

On my first watch through I always thought it was either Patsy or Little Carmine, leaning more towards Patsy.

**Nebaki** · August 25, 2020, 05:40 AM

What about Slavas Brother Valery? They had never found him. Maybe it was one of our favourite Characters:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Cookiegod** · August 25, 2020, 08:04 AM

Iirc then the answer is simply whatever you want it to be. Tony's arc was that in the end he was more or less incorrigible, and bound to continue his mafia life, even as a huge element of the show had been him struggling with the negative aspects of it. As him sticking to this life is integral to his personality, the only way this series could have ended for him if it had ended on a definite ending, would have been death (also since him rotting in jail would have been less interesting).

But let's for one second reverse the premise of the OP and say he's NOT killed that day. Well, he might be killed the day after, or the day after. Or the day after that. Or, even more fatalistic, he'd continue to have many more of those family dinners where he as a made man would have to continuously watch over his shoulders, never feeling safe, always suspecting an entering customer to potentially be a hitman.

And that to me the absolute beauty of the ending. I love it so much, it's the only specific thing I still remember of the show. It's so deep and meaningful, while any definite ending would have been trivial.

**Nebaki** · August 25, 2020, 10:43 AM

Tony predicts Christopher's death, Christopher predicts Gandolfini's death.

**Halie Satanus** · August 25, 2020, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by Akar

Well, now I have to rewatch the Sopranos again. Thanks Halie

.

On my first watch through I always thought it was either Patsy or Little Carmine, leaning more towards Patsy.

Patsy wouldn't have lasted a week if he'd had a hand in killing Tony and that would be impossible to keep quiet. I immediately thought New York, but that was Carmine and Butch and neither had the stones.

Originally Posted by Nebaki

What about Slavas Brother Valery? They had never found him.

Missing for 3 seasons and only mentioned in passing, Valery would be a long shot. Apparently when Bobbie enters the room dressed in his hunting outfit and we see Tony cracking up, it was because off camera Bobbie was wearing a giant sex toy.

Furio was class. His view of Golf very much the same as my own.. 'Stoopid a-facking game...'

Originally Posted by Cookiegod

Iirc then the answer is simply whatever you want it to be.

Whether or not he died, yeh. My brothers, both huge fans, won't accept Tony died at all. I prefer to think he did. It felt like Chase was peeling back the likeable anti-hero in the last season and showing him more and more for what he was. Tony was a monster who didn't deserve to walk away.

I remember watching the ending with one eye on the clock, that gradual realisation there was no time left for any kind of ending, and then, black screen/silence. Brilliant.

**Sir Adrian** · August 25, 2020, 01:13 PM

I think the ending is intentionally ambiguous so that you can choose whichever version you want.

**Akar** · August 25, 2020, 01:48 PM

I remember watching the ending with one eye on the clock, that gradual realisation there was no time left for any kind of ending, and then, black screen/silence. Brilliant.

The dead silence is jarring and I love when it's used properly in TV shows. You know you just watched an intense episode when it goes to black and the credits roll silently and you're just sitting there staring like, "holy

". I'm horrible at remembering specific episodes of shows, but I remember the end of season 3 of Better Call Saul did it to great effect.

I find myself watching the clock sometimes too during intense scenes like that, I feel like it takes me out of the moment a little bit but I can't help it.

Tony was a monster who didn't deserve to walk away.

Yeah, towards the end of the show he was beset on all sides. It was only a matter of time before he was shot or arrested, it's just a matter of who got to him first.

**Cookiegod** · August 26, 2020, 03:50 AM

Never watched Better call Saul past the first season. It was too slow for me. Is it good/better now?

**John Doe** · August 26, 2020, 07:12 AM

S2 and S3 of BCS are pretty much like S1, S4 gets slightly better and S5 is good.

**Akar** · August 26, 2020, 07:28 AM

Things slowly ramp up throughout the show. First two seasons are a bit of a slow burn (but I still loved them), but three is when things start really getting interesting and it only gets better from there. It took me two or three tries to get into the show, but now I'm hooked and I've rewatched it a couple times.

**Kyriakos** · November 27, 2020, 03:28 AM

Imo the Sopranos was a bad show. Even the Wire was better - obviously due to the greeks

**John Doe** · November 27, 2020, 09:41 AM

I just finished the show. For me there are 2 ways of seeing the finale scene. Since we don't see it happen, either it means he could get clipped anywhere by anyone as part of the lifestyle or if he gets killed then it's normal we don't know, that's the way of the mob.

Then there was to be a mass arrest by the FBI and Tony was almost surely on the list, considering the number of mafioso who turned rats to save their skins, may be the higher echelon of the organisation did not want to risk it. Tony knew too much, considering the damaged he could have done his death is a small price to pay for the safety of the business.

**alhoon** · November 28, 2020, 07:25 AM

Didn't the creator of the show say that "Actually, nope, nobody killed Tony Soprano." in a recent interview?

**Halie Satanus** · November 28, 2020, 04:54 PM

Interviewers have been trying to get Chase to commit one or the other for 20 years. As far as I'm aware he's never given a definitive answer regarding how the show ended. He has previously said he always intended to kill Tony and not show his death, the only thing that changed was the black screen.

**Lord of the Drunk Penguin** · November 29, 2020, 05:17 AM

Originally Posted by Halie Satanus

Theory 4: Eugene Pontecorvo's Brother: In the first episode of the last season 'Members Only' Eugene inherits $2m. He and his wife plan to move to Florida and he seeks permission from Tony to leave the Mob. After some pondering Tony refuses, which is told to Eugene through Sil. Eugene is distraught and takes his own life, presumably wanting a better life for his family but thinking his wife and kids will never be able to leave while he is connected to the Jersey crew. 3 o'clock: When Christopher is shot and coming out of his coma he tells Paulie and Tony of his near death experience and gives them a warning from dead associate 'Mikey Palmice.' The warning is 3 o'clock. In the final scene we see a man sitting at the counter wearing, the same members only jacket Eugene Pontecorvo was wearing in the first episode of the season. Later in the scene the man goes into the men's room, which is situated at Tony's right hand side, at 3 o'clock.

This.
It's the only thing that makes sense.
Foreshadowing all the way to the beginning.