"These people were talking about onion rings."

Last night’s Sopranos finale was the highest-rated episode of the drama this year, averaging 510,000 viewers and a timeslot win in all markets. It was strongest in Melbourne with 186,000 viewers.

The series ended with the hotly-debated closing scene that left American viewers bewildered, frustrated and passionate. Writer / Director David Chase managed to find an ending that was aptly, unlike anything any other series had utilised as a means to concluding a long-running series.

Talking about the finale in an upcoming book, Chase has admitted he knew viewers would be perplexed by the scene in which Tony Soprano’s family gathered in a diner. But he didn’t expect viewers to be so aggrieved for so long.

“It seemed that those people were just looking for an excuse to be pissed off. There was a war going on that week and attempted terror attacks in London. But these people were talking about onion rings,” he said. Spoilers follow.

In the scene the family is gathered at a diner, having already resolved to move forward from long running gang wars and family disputes. In the background a nameless man moves from the counter to the bathroom. Mid-scene as we watch the family the television screen cuts to black. Initially there are no credits or sound. Viewers in the US thought their TVs had failed them. Then when they realised they hadn’t, there were on-going debates about Chase’s intent. Had Tony been whacked from behind? Was it simply a scene to indicate that life goes on?

“I must say that even people who liked it misinterpreted it, to a certain extent,” said Chase. “This wasn’t really about ‘leaving the door open.’ There was nothing definite about what happened, but there was a clean trend on view — a definite sense of what Tony and Carmela’s future looks like. Whether it happened that night or some other night doesn’t really matter.”

You can read the full interview here.