Controversial Final Scene: ‘The Sopranos’ Star Shares Her True Feelings
One of the main cast members of The Sopranos was unhappy with her final scene on the show.
The HBO series ended in 2007 with a finale that continues to be meticulously analyzed to this day. The scene featured a seemingly normal but extremely tense restaurant scene between Tony (James Gandolfini) and his family, ending with the screen cutting to black.
Viewers were stunned by the moment, and over the years, many have assumed that the stylistic decision symbolized the show’s main character being “beaten.” Creator David Chase has since responded to requests for clarification — and in 2020, even called it a “death scene.”
Now, weeks after Chase highlighted a scene in season three that could reveal the “truth” behind what really happened, Lorraine Bracco, who plays Tony’s therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, has been outspoken in her criticism of her character’s final appearance.
Melfi’s final appearance in the penultimate episode, which saw her cut ties with Tony in shockingly obvious fashion, was a shock – and Bracco said she was “not very happy” that this was the end of their relationship.
“I wasn’t very happy with the way David ended it,” she told SiriusXM’s The Spotlight With Jessica Shaw, adding: “I thought it was terrible and wrong. I was angry. I said to him, ‘How can you invest five years in someone’s life and then just walk away?’ I said, ‘That’s not cool.’ And you know, that was it.”
While many believed Tony was dead when the screen cut to black in the final episode, Bracco was more optimistic.
Expressing hope that he had survived, the Goodfellas actor said: “Honestly, I think they ran into each other at restaurants and things like that. I don’t know. I think part of me wants to believe that she left him for a while, and they got back together, got back together in therapy. I can believe that.”
“I was with Jim and he was like, ‘That’s it?!’ she said, adding: “He couldn’t believe it.”
Meanwhile, Drea de Matteo, who plays Adriana La Cerva, said the sudden cut to black made her think there had been a power outage, saying: “I started calling people, like, ‘Hey, did my TV just break?'”
