[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Radii

I'm with JG here. There is definite ambiguity. I'm really leaning towards the more subtle explanation that the stress that every viewer had waiting for something terrible to happen is just the way life will go on for the Soprano family, however long it goes on for. We see every person as a threat, every time the door opens we assume the worst, every time someone glances over we expect the hit to be coming. We expected something terrible to happen while Meadow was trying to park her car, while she was running across the street, when the Members Only Jacket guy walks to the bathroom, and that's all there is. That *is* Tony Soprano's life, that feeling that was instilled in every viewer during the last 5 minutes is the feeling that Tony has every second of every day. We don't know when, or how it will end, but we know that it will, and that moment Tony has is spent fearing the worst in everyone.

I'm sure all of the above has already been said by people here, but after reading reactions all over the place, that seems to be where I'm settling. And it doesn't mean that Tony didn't get killed by one of those people 5 minutes later, just that it didn't necessarily happen then, and it doesn't really matter when or how it happens.

This is how I see it as well.