Where we left off: The Sopranos, halfway through the final series. Photograph: Channel 4
It was Norman Mailer who remarked a few years ago that The Sopranos is "the closest thing to the Great American Novel in today's culture". There are those among us who might want to pick a bone with that and make a case for another HBO gem, The Wire. But now is not the time for nitpicking.
On June 10, the 86th and final episode of The Sopranos will air on American television. UK viewers will have to wait until the autumn to see the final nine episodes of season six. Either way, this magnificent series is preparing to take its final bow after eight years during which time it hoisted high the bar in terms of writing, acting and direction in television drama; attaining a dizzying level of artistry that was more than a match for the greatest novels and movies of our time.
As the agonizing countdown to the final episode begins, let speculation be rife. Just how will Tony Soprano's fate unfold? All suggestions gratefully received. Here are some of mine below.
NB: Would everyone responding to this blog, especially those from the US, please try their best to avoid posting spoilers?
1. The Christopher theory To date, Tony has survived two attempts on his life by members of his extended family - the first orchestrated by his dear old mom and Junior, the second by Junior in solo mode. Could it be third time unlucky? "Nephew" Christopher Moltisanti would seem to be an obvious candidate to pull the trigger. Carefully groomed as Tony's eventual successor, he wouldn't lack motivation. And since being ordered to whack fiancée Adriana for snitching to the FBI, he's resembled the tightest of coiled springs, suggesting he's capable of anything. Plausibility rating: 8/10
2. The Big Bang theory The first half of season six saw a steep escalation in conflict between Tony's New Jersey family and Phil Leotardo's New York wiseguys with bodies falling like nine-pins. Now recovered from his heart-attack, could Leotardo be about to start a full-scale gang war that climaxes with Tony going down in a blaze of shoot-'em-up glory? Plausibility rating: 6/10
3. The Natural Causes theory Could it be possible that producer David Chase and his superb team of writers are preparing to thwart all expectations of a grandstanding bloodbath finale and polish off Tony in shockingly mundane fashion a la Brando's Vita Corleone keeling over whilst tending his tomatoes? Choking on a black olive, perhaps? Or maybe getting run over by a milk float whilst grumpily collecting his morning newspaper from the Soprano drive. Plausibility rating: 2/10
4. The Enemy Within theory The Feds have been hot on Tony's tail since the start of Season Two without making a case fit for trial. Their only real chance of collaring the big man would be for someone close and trusted to rat him out. None closer than Meadow Soprano. She's been peripheral to the point of ominous throughout Season Six. But, after a lifetime spent silently fuming about her mob lineage, could it be that Tony's favourite child has decided to shop her dad and consign him to a lifetime in the slammer spent stirring giant vats of marinara and slicing garlic with razorblades? Plausibility rating: 6/10
5. The Godfather II theory The Godfather II movie ended with Michael Corleone gazing at the lake and reflecting on the killing of his own brother. Might the conclusion to The Sopranos knowingly echo with Tony dying at the hand of his eternally put-upon brother-in-law, Bobby Bacala? Or might Bobby himself be bumped off by Tony, leaving Tony's sister, the formidable and vengeful Janice, to provide the final twist of the Oedipal dagger? Plausibility rating: 8/10
6. The Singing Soprano theory The increasingly wayward AJ goes too far, gets himself into serious legal jelly and the Feds make Tony an offer he can't refuse. Turn informant or it's pie-faced AJ who'll be thrown into the kind of maximum penitentiary facility where "stirring ragu" is only a euphemism for unrequited lust. Tony sings like a canary, enters the witness protection programme and heads off to Des Moines to work as an affable postman, thereby reinforcing our belief that there was always a solid good guy existing in awkward tandem with the homicidal thug. Plausibility rating: 1/10
7. The Hell on Earth theory The chillingly self-righteous and forever paranoid Paulie Walnuts, a capo capable even of disowning his own mother, decides to avenge himself for a lifetime of mob servitude under Tony's command. He plans a hit on Tony's immediate family and wipes out Carmela, Meadow and AJ. Tony narrowly escapes but is left to contemplate an extremely lively and morally squalid past, and a future that is all but cancelled. If nothing else, this finale would make the way clear for that long-rumoured movie spin-off. Plausibility rating: 7/10
