We've Been Whacked

**SPOILER ALERT** If you haven't watched the series finale of The Sopranos, I highly suggest you skip this post. I do suggest you read this post if you want to find out what I think happened.
Last night was the TV event of the season. The series finale of The Sopranos. From what I've gathered, everybody has seen it, and everybody feels differently about it. I'll admit it at first, I didn't like it and I was totally disappointed. I wanted shootouts and action, and really with the exception of Phil Leotardo getting clipped and then having his skull crushed by a runaway SUV, there wasn't much action. The ending scene was pretty tense. You couldn't help but sit there on the edge of your seat waiting for something to happen. It was set up very well. And then the screen went to black, stayed that way for 5 seconds or so, and then roll credits. The wife and I were sitting there wondering if our TV or cable crapped out, and from what I've read and heard from people, they all felt the same. That's funny in it's own right. I loved how the show used Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for the final scene and right when you hear "Don't stop," the show ends. Classic.
Now here's where things for me take a turn for the better. And I can't take any credit for it. I was checking out Pete Abraham's blog this morning and he posted about the show. There were a few interesting comments and I think some have hit the nail on the head, and it's something that totally blows me away and makes the ending one of the greatest I've ever seen.
Earlier this season, there was an episode where Tony and the missus went and visited Bobby at a lake house. There was a scene where Tony and Bobby were fishing and Bobby was telling Tony how when you die, everything goes black and you don't hear anything. And that's exactly how the show ended. Meadow walks in, instant black screen and silence. Now some people interpret it that Tony got clipped as we usually see the show from his point of view. Someone mentioned, and I totally subscribe to this theory, was that we (the audience) got whacked, and life in Sopranosland goes on without us. It makes total sense. And if that's truly what David Chase's intention was, then wow! That could possibly be one of the greatest and most ingenius TV endings I've ever seen.
Face it folks, we're dead.
J