To start, I agree with the consensus that Tony was shot in the final episode of the The Sopranos. The cinematography and the music indicate that Tony was shot and killed. Every other episode had a different song playing during the credits; the music typically complimented the episode. In the final episode, the music equally complimented the episode- silence. The silence seemed to indicate that "nothingness" i.e. Tony is no longer alive.

I believe that Valery from the Pine Barrens episode was the one who ultimately shot Tony in the final episode. Here are my reasons why:

1st) Valery, the Russian mobster shot in Pine Barrens episode, was highly trained in the military. It is unlikely that he merely disappeared never to be seen again. In addition, Chris and Paulie noticed that his blood trail suddenly vanished and their car was stolen. All of the circumstances indicate that Valery made it out alive. Tony was a very cautious person, especially in the last episode given all of the killings going on, and therefore it required a person with very keen skills to get close to Tony without him becoming suspicious.

2nd) Tony was shot in front of his family. Although the mobsters on the show were brutal and merciless, they typically left family out of the equation when it came to "hits." The mob typically has a code which prohibits harm to the target's wife and children. Judging from the the other murders on the show, I think most of the mobsters or hit men would have aborted once they had seen Tony's family surrounding him. Therefore, the mafia style hits are typically business-like, but this hit seemed more personal for a guy to be killed in front of his entire family. Valery had a personal vendetta against the Soprano crew and wouldn't care about injuring Tony's family in the name of revenge.

3rd) The new york family and the new jersey family seemed to have come to a resolution. Alot of blood was already shed and both families had strong financial interests in each other. After all of the killings, I don't see how it was in the new york family's best interests to kill Tony- it would probably have been cheaper to keep around. Also, the show demonstrated that Phil was the one who really wanted and initiated all of the killings, so once he was killed and it is not apparent who remained in the New York who would still want Tony to be killed so badly.

tl;dr Valery, russian mobster dude from Pine Barrens episode, killed tony.

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That was pretty good video.

That was pretty good video.

I dont know if this one has been popular in Soprano's lore about the hit but this is the first ive heard it. A bit long but nteresting. Chase was a genius leaving so many clues that could be interpreted so many different ways. Lastly rewatching the series, Gandolfini's portrayal is the best acting job in TV history.

https://youtu.be/4HN96pzo2X4