<P> According to Nielsen ratings, an average of 11.9 million viewers watched "Made in America" on its United States premiere date Sunday June 10, 2007 . This was a 49% increase from the previous episode and the show's best ratings for both parts of the sixth season . It was also the show's largest audience since the season five premiere . </P> <P> "Made in America" received mainly favorable to semi-favorable initial reviews from critics, while early fan reception was mixed to negative, described by one critic as "a mixture of admiration and anger". During the weeks following the episode's original broadcast, "Made in America" and its closing scene in particular became the subject of much discussion and analysis . Several new interpretations and explanations of the ending were presented in magazines and on blogs, which led many critics and fans to reevaluate the ending . </P> <P> Marisa Carroll of PopMatters awarded "Made in America" a score of 8 out of 10 and particularly praised the final scene as one of the best of the series . Mark Farinella of The Sun Chronicle called the episode "(a) perfect ending to a perfect TV series ." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called "Made in America" "the perfect ending" and wrote about the final scene, "On shock of that cut to black, the marvelous way it got you to roll the scene over, again and again, in your mind's eye . (sic) Rather than bringing the series to a close, that blackout made The Sopranos live forever ." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle characterized the finale as "(a) n ending befitting genius of Sopranos" and wrote that "Chase managed, with this ending, to be true to reality (...) while also steering clear of trite TV conventions ." Frazier Moore of the Associated Press called the episode "brilliant" and wrote that "Chase was true to himself ." Kim Reed of Television Without Pity gave "Made in America" the highest score of A+ and praised it for staying true to the show . Alan Sepinwall of The Star - Ledger called the finale "satisfying" and wrote that the episode "fit (s) perfectly with everything Chase has done on this show before ." Chicago Tribune critic Maureen Ryan's first review was mixed; she criticized the final scene for not providing any closure . Ryan later wrote: "Chase got me totally wound up, then ripped me away from that world . I was really mad at first (...) I still think what Chase did was, all due respect, kind of jerky . But minutes after the finale ended, I started laughing ." </P> <P> Retrospective reviews of "Made in America" have been highly positive; the episode has been included on several lists of the best series finales of all time . Alan Sepinwall of The Star - Ledger wrote, in an essay analyzing the finale one year after its original broadcast, that he felt the episode was "brilliant ." In 2009, Arlo J. Wiley of Blogcritics wrote: "by focusing on that last ambiguous parting shot from creator David Chase, we run the risk of forgetting just how beautifully structured and executed an hour of television' Made in America' is" and ranked it as the eighth - best series finale ever . Also in 2009, Stacey Wilson of Film.com named "Made in America" one of the 10 best series finales of all time and wrote: "Crude, rude and no time for emotional B.S., this finale was a delicious end to a show that reveled in the ugliness of humanity ." TV Guide included "Made in America" in their "TV's Best Finales Ever" feature, writing: "What's there to say about this finale that hasn't already been said? The much - anticipated closer had everyone waiting to see if Tony was finally going to go from whacker to whackee . Instead, they got Journey, a greasy plate of onion rings and a black screen . But, the fact that we're still talking about it proves--for better or worse--that the episode did its job ." </P>

What happens in the final episode of the sopranos