The Sopranos'Lorraine Bracco Recalls James Gandolfini's 4-Word Reaction to the Show's Shocking Finale

Mar. 15, 2025

Lorraine Bracco and James Gandolfini.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Lorraine Braccocan clearly rememberJames Gandolfini’s response upon learning howTheSopranoswould end after six eventful seasons.

The abrupt ending left severalSopranoscast members puzzled, including Gandolfini.

“I was with Jim. Jim said, ‘That’s it?That’s it?’” recalled Bracco, 69, who played Dr. Jennifer Melfi on the hit series. “He couldn’t believe it. … I think he was in shock like everybody else.”

James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and Robert Iler in the final scene from ‘The Sopranos’ series finale.hbo

hbo

Chase, for his part, explained his reasoning for the way he ended the show, including the use of Journey’s rock anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’” — a song choice that had the crew “up in arms.”

“It wasn’t just to be contrary. The more I was working with it, I started to hear one of the lyrics in that song: ‘The movie never ends. It goes on and on and on,'” he said. “I think what I was thinking about was the universe goes on and on.Youmay not go on and on, but the universe is going to go on and on. The movie is going to keep going.”

Elsewhere in the documentary, Chase also discussed how he once envisioned Tony driving through Manhattan’s Lincoln Tunnel for a meeting and could potentially have died there. “It didn’t look good,” he noted.

But Chase has since left the mobster’s fate up to interpretation.

The Sopranos.Alamy

Alamy

Former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht admitted inWise Guythat “countless” people have approached him aboutThe Sopranos’ending."‘All right. I know you know.’ Whatreallyhappened?” he mused. “The ending is whateveryouwant it to be. He died an old man. Somebody came out of the bathroom and shot him in the head.”

During an interview with PEOPLE in January forThe Sopranos’25thanniversary, Chase remained cryptic as ever about the show’s ending.

“I really hate spoon-feeding the audience,” he acknowledged. “I really don’t like it.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranosis available to stream on Max, where all six season ofThe Sopranoscan also be streamed.

source: people.com