The ending to HBO's magnum TV opus 'The Sopranos' has remained a source of debate over the last seven years, as fans and viewers analyze every sound and frame of series finale "Made in America" for a clue to Tony Soprano's ultimate fate. Now, despite a near-decade of refusals, series creator David Chase may finally have revealed if Tony Soprano lived or died.

According to a lengthy piece with Vox, Chase seems to have finally at long last admitted that no, James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano didn't die by the end of his six-season HBO New Jersey mob drama. After the initial shock and confusion of 2007 finale "Made in America"s ultimate cut to black, many have since taken the silence to imply a final gunshot, while Chase now appears to have curtly dismissed the theory.

I had been talking with Chase for a few years when I finally asked him whether Tony was dead or alive. We were in a tiny coffee shop, when, in the middle of a low-key chat about a writing problem I was having, I popped the question. Chase startled me by turning toward me and saying with sudden, explosive anger, “Why are we talking about this?” I answered, “I’m just curious.” And then, for whatever reason, he told me...

He shook his head “no.” And he said simply, “No he isn’t.” That was all.

Granted, the actual article makes clear that Chase believes in a major disconnect between factual events presented on a screen, and artistic interpretation, though it certainly seems like a significantly clear-cut answer to one of TV's most burning questions. We'd always been in the camp that Tony's mortality seemed like the most likely outcome for the series, but boy, are the guys who really ran with that theory going to be pissed.

Well, there you have it. Sort of. Tony Soprano lived to fight another day, and we'll never know how the rest of his life proceeded, at least until we badger Chase another 7 years into writing new 'Sopranos' novels. What do you think, though? Does it change anything about 'The Sopranos' to know that Tony survived after all?

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