The Sopranos ended ten years ago today: Revisiting one of TV's most divisive finales

Don't Stop Believin'

Tomorrow (10 June) marks ten years to the day that The Sopranos aired its final episode, culminating in a finale capped by one of the most enigmatic moments in television history.

David Chase's seminal HBO series, which began in 1999 and ran for six seasons through to 2007, starred James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, as a mobster in New Jersey, alongside a cast comprised of Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli and Edie Falco as his long-suffering wife, Carmela.

'Made in America's final scene saw the Soprano clan come together for a run-of-the-mill dinner in a New Jersey diner despite the tumultuous ups-and-downs of the previous seasons including therapy, ill-health and infidelity.

Tony's the first to arrive, taking a seat as the camera cuts to several areas of the establishment - a waitress taking an order, chefs in the kitchen. The sound of the door bell is heard ringing as the camera shows unknown characters walking in - a shot continued throughout the scene.

Sticking a dime in the jukebox, Tony selects Journey classic 'Don't Stop Believin'' as the bell rings and Carmela walks in. Sitting down with her husband, menial chat ensues when the bell rings again and in walks a stranger - referred to in the credits as 'Man In Members Only Jacket' - followed by their son AJ (Robert Iler). The camera cuts twice to the stranger sat at the bar looking around, almost suspiciously. Is he looking at Tony? The editing certainly makes it seem so.

Then we have an exterior shot of daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) arriving outside as she tries - and fails - to parallel park.

The Soprano family continue to converse. The stranger stands and heads to the toilet, entering the same shot as he walks past the Soprano family's table. A few more unknowns enter the trio tuck into some onion rings awaiting Meadow who has successfully parked outside.

She gets out of the car, runs towards the restaurant as the camera cuts to Tony sitting inside. The bell rings again, he looks up and... the screen cuts to black.

There we have it - one of the most beautifully divisive finales in television history.

Did Tony get killed at the hands of the stranger in the bathroom? A scene in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather - a key influence on The Sopranos - sees Al Pacino's character Michael Corleone retrieve a gun from the toilet in order to carry out some murders, so this is a likely theory. However, if the screen cutting to black signals Tony's life ending, surely the final shot would be through his POV and would be of Meadow walking into the diner?

'Man In Members Only Jacket' actor Paolo Colandrea's brief time working on the HBO series' most dissected scene took two days to perfect.

Series creator and director Chase commented on the scene, telling DGA: “I just wanted the guy to look over. I didn’t want him to look particularly menacing. We worked on that quite a bit so he wasn’t staring at him. The guy was like looking around the place in general. And [Tony] can never be sure that any enemy is completely gone. He always has to have eyes behind his head.”

The debate will continue...