Many years ago, the hit television show, The Sopranos, ended with a series finale called "Made in America". The ending left many feeling their television sets or power were acting up. The abrupt cut to black has had many arguing on whether or not Tony died at that table. I am of the belief that Tony was indeed killed in front of his family. However, in this piece, I don't want to analyze who ordered the kill, why it happened, or any of that. I want to focus on what happened to those around Tony Soprano if he did indeed die while listening to "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. So I will be going character by character and explaining some of the possibilities for the futures of these characters.
Anthony Soprano Jr.
The reason I chose to talk about A.J. first is because I fear his fate may be the darkest of the rest of the characters. Earlier in the season, Tony was shot by Uncle Junior. When this happened, A.J. decided that Corrado needed to pay. He went after Uncle June with the intent of killing him, but dropped the knife and was taken away after. Later in this same season, we saw A.J. attempt to commit suicide himself, and was committed. All that to say, A.J. had a troubled season. We saw how he reacted when someone accidentally almost killed his father, so how would he react to the murder being committed right in front of him? To the point where the blood would cover his and his mother's face. I think it is a possibility that Anthony Junior would attempt to rush the shooter, and potentially be killed in the process. If he went after the killer, the instinct of the killer would be to shoot at him. He could maybe die from his injury, or be hospitalized. If A.J. did not rush the killer and just watched on in shock, he would clearly be spending a lot more time in therapy. He wouldn't have Tony in his corner anymore, and we know he has had his fair share of issues with his mother, Carmela. Maybe he could go on with the connections put in place by Tony to pursue a career in the film industry, maybe a consultant on a biopic about the life of his father and his other "family".
Carmela Soprano
The interesting thing about the possibility of Tony being gone is that we got a look into what that could possibly look like early in the final season when he is shot by his uncle. We see how hard that would be on Carmela. People like Vito and Paulie are "taking care" of Carmela and we see that they don't enjoy doing it. This time around though, most of those people are dead, and if they are alive, they may not be for much longer. I imagine that Tony probably set up some sort of financial stability for his immediate family in case he was taken out in their scuffles with Phil Leotardo. So financially, I think Carm would be fine, it is emotionally where I would be worried about her. I imagine she would go into therapy herself, maybe even with Dr. Melfi is Melfi would allow it. I think she would have an incredibly difficult time providing support for Meadow and A.J. because she would be grieving herself. Especially considering the fact that it happened in front of them all. I would not be surprised if they moved out of Jersey, or at least out of the house to combat the memories. Carm always knew this was a possibility, but it becoming a reality has to be incredibly heartbreaking, maybe Furio will come back over and she can find love again in the future.
Meadow Soprano
I feel Meadow would actually be the most stable out of the immediate family after the events of "Made in America". The shooter would probably have to run past her and because A.J. and Carm would be covered in Tony's blood, she would probably have to be the one to identify the shooter. I feel she would attempt to prosecute and bring justice to the people who murdered her father. I could even see her begin to spearhead an anti-mob movement so that things like this would not happen to any other families. Meadow has gone through a lot, she is incredibly strong. Obviously this would be traumatizing for her, but I think she could really step up and become a better version of herself in the future.
Corrado Soprano
Due to Junior's condition, he probably wouldn't be able to process the events of Tony's death. I do feel Corrado would not last much longer. Every time we saw him in the final season, he was deteriorating. I think he will succumb to his death sooner rather than later. I think Janice would probably be the one to attempt to tell him about Tony's death, since Carm seems to have no interest in speaking with him.
Janice Soprano
To put it simply, Janice is going to Janice, it's her nature. I do think Tony's death would hit her pretty hard, especially since she just lost Bobby as well. I think she would take Tony's final advice to heart. He told her she should reconnect with her first-born. She was pretty spiritual at times, and I feel she may take his final words to her as a sign from the universe. She will probably spend all of her time in the house that Tony helped her get.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Outside of the family, I think Tony's death would take the hardest toll on Dr. Melfi. I think she would feel guilty for cutting him loose from therapy and him dying soon after. This would obviously come out in her therapy sessions with Elliot, who I'm sure would love the whole thing. Outside of her own guilt for it, I think she would have a hard time around her peers. Elliot outed her at their friendly dinner for having Tony as a patient, which clearly upset her. Tony was a big project for Melfi, but the truth is, she knew this was a possibility. It's clear she cared for him. In the earlier episodes of the season, she repeatedly called the hospital to check on his health and well-being. I also believe it is possible Carm would try to come see her, but I find it hard to believe that Melfi would take her on as a patient due to her being Tony's widow. I could see her even wanting to speak to someone other than Elliot since he upset her so much at the dinner table.
Paulie Gualtieri
Paulie is one of the harder characters to predict for. Mainly because we don't know the reasoning behind the death of Tony Soprano. If it had something to do with Phil Leotardo or the New York family, then Paulie could be next on the chopping block. He is really the last of Tony's top guys (except for Sil who is in the hospital). So he could either be taken out next, or he could be free of that. I don't see him wanting to take over the family. He was pretty clear about not being interested in that. If Sil survives his injuries, I think Paulie would be his right-hand man. If Sil were to die, then I could see Paulie maybe taking it as a sign from the universe that he needs to get out of this lifestyle. He has had an interesting relationship with spirituality throughout the series, and if he ends up being the only survivor, he may want to relocate.
Silvio Dante
The last we see of Silvio, he is in the hospital from his injuries, and I've got to be honest. I don't think he is going to pull through. I was quite surprised he wasn't dead yet. I think his death wasn't confirmed so we would see it weighing on Tony, and if Tony is dead, he will never know what happened to Silvio, and therefore neither will we. If he were to pull through, I think he would take charge of the Family. We saw how much of a toll this took on him earlier in the season, but if he is able to surround himself with reliable people, it may just work out.
Patsy Parisi
Patsy is again, one of the only survivors of the attack on their family. Assuming the family continues in some form, he will be a part of it. I feel Patsy would take a more active role helping the Soprano family since his son and Meadow are engaged. He will probably feel he needs to help take care of them and provide them with emotional support after the loss of Tony.
Artie and Charmaine Bucco
I felt it best to talk about these two characters together because their stories are so intertwined. Obviously the death of Tony would be sad, especially for Artie, but I also feel it would relieve him in a sense. He had a lot of built up resentment towards Tony over the years, and I think he probably had fear of his restaurant getting burned down again or that he would get in trouble for something that Tony did. I also feel this could benefit his marriage with Charmaine. She was always very clear that she did not like having the mobsters as customers at their place of business, but I am sure she would still feel empathy for the situation. At the end of the day, these two are going to do the same thing they did throughout the series, but I do feel that better days could be on the horizon for them following the death of Tony Soprano.
Furio Giunta
Furio was absent from the last two seasons of the series. He probably did find out about Tony's death, and honestly, he probably stayed where he was. That being said, I think it is more interesting to theorize about the possibility of him returning. Clearly he and Carm had a huge connection. I think there is a possibility that he would maybe come back to the states and reconnect with her. He would definitely give her some time to grieve, maybe send a card or something, but I do believe there is a possibility of a future for them. Maybe they send some cards back and forth and Carmela goes to visit and convinces him to move back. Unlikely? Probably. However, it is an ending I like to imagine.
Dwight Harris
Once Agent Harris finds out that Phil Leotardo was killed, he exclaims, "We're gonna win this thing!". I included him on this list because this came from real life. In the DeVecchio FBI case, an FBI agent who provided information that led to murders was indicted. So, I feel it is a strong possibility that Agent Harris could be indicted for giving out information that led to the death of Phil Leotardo.
Sir Ben Kingsley and Jon Favreau
Okay okay, this is just a fun little entry on this list. I like to imagine that Favreau and Kingsley ended up talking about how they both knew Christopher Moltisanti one day when they are on the set of Iron Man 3. It makes me giggle thinking about them reminiscing about Chris trying to get into the business.
Well, those are my thoughts on what happens after the end of The Sopranos! I left some characters off because I don't think their lives would change that much after the death of Tony Soprano, but if you think otherwise, feel free to let me know!
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