Now Chase has clarified matters in an interview for the book The Sopranos: The Complete Book, published this week. 

He says Tony Soprano "had been people's alter ego. They had gleefully watched him rob, kill, pillage, lie and cheat. They had cheered him on. And then, all of a sudden, they wanted to see him punished for all that. They wanted 'justice'...The pathetic thing to me was how much they wanted HIS blood, after cheering him on for eight years."

So what was the “hidden” message intended by the ending, which had all four members of the Soprano family eating dinner while Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” blared?  Chase says he was not attempting to conceal any secrets.

"There are no esoteric clues in there. No `Da Vinci Code.'"

He explains his vision for the story beyond the final scene as well.  Tony’s son A.J. will "probably be a low-level movie producer. But he's not going to be a killer like his father, is he? Meadow may not become a pediatrician or even a lawyer ... but she'll learn to operate in the world in ways that Carmela never did. It's not ideal. It's not what the parents dreamed of.  But it's better than it was."

As for the blackout ending, Chase says, “I didn't want any credits at all.  I just wanted the black screen to go the length of the credits, all the way to the HBO `whoosh' sound. But the Directors Guild wouldn't give us a waiver."

To the question of viewers feeling a prank had been pulled: "Why would we want to do that?  Why would we entertain people for eight years only to give them the finger?"