And Just Like That, The Sopranos... Fades to Black

Spoiler frickin' alert. It was perhaps the one way no one guessed HBO's The Sopranos would wrap up its (largely) esteemed run. Having taken care of business with regards to Phil, yet with a serious legal threat pending and assorted nefarious (or are they?) figures loitering near their booth, Tony, Carm, A.J. and (perhaps?) Meadow rendezvoused for the best onion rings anywhere (at Holsten's, down the road in Bloomfield, New Jersey), when... well, we may never know what came next. I had to rewind the DVR a few times, then check some message boards to confirm that the episode in fact ended the way it did, with the screen abruptly going black, just as Meadow (she of the parallel-parking ineptitude) jogged into the parlor. All the while, as the tension seemingly mounted, "Don't Stop Believin'" played on the table jukebox. Should the Soprano family not stop believing that somehow everything will work itself out? Will Carm get her dream beach house? Was Adriana reincarnated as a cat? Do Xterra catalytic converters really overheat that badly? Me, I'm going to give David Chase a check mark in the "brilliant" column, but how about you? You know what I am getting at.... POLL: What did you think of the ending? Vote here. POLL: What fate would you have liked to see befall Tony? Vote here (bottom right). What do Sopranos cast members have to say about the controversial finale? Check out the TV Guide News Report. Also be sure to read Matt Roush's take on it, and relive the final episode in its entirety with Michelle's Sopranos blog.