NEW YORK – Will “The Sopranos” end with a whack or a whimper?

The HBO series on Sunday night concludes its eight years of mob maneuvering, metaphor-laden dream sequences and mad exclamations of “Marone!”

Questions abound as the series finale nears. The gathering storm finally touched down in the penultimate episode that aired Sunday, where Phil Leotardo’s New York family killed Bobby Bacala [in an instantly classic death scene] and left Silvio Dante clinging to life in the hospital.

Our last image was of Tony Soprano locked away in a barren, upstairs bedroom, drifting off to sleep with an automatic weapon draped across his chest. Everyone is wondering what fate lies in store for Tony.

Critics are weighing in, polls have been cast: Will Tony live or die? Other theories revolve around the Feds: Will he turn rat to save himself, or could Tony still be arrested? And what role will his son, A.J. play in the conclusion?

“Sopranos” creator David Chase reportedly filmed three different endings to the finale to help keep the conclusion secret. Chase has always reveled in denying audience expectations and likely delights in foolhardy pundit prognostications. But it’s fun to try anyway.

Back in 2001, Chase was illuminating about his approach to the ending while speaking to Rolling Stone magazine: “The paradigm of the traditional gangster film is the rise and fall. You have to ask yourself: Do I want to bother with that paradigm?”

The bloodletting of the second-to-last episode has some predicting a finale low on action.

“We need to be as prepared for ambiguity as we are prepared for certainty,” says Williams, a New Jersey native who has blogged about “The Sopranos” on www.slate.com. In his posting Tuesday, he called these days leading up to Sunday’s show “the longest week of our lives.”

“I have learned in searing fashion never to try to predict what goes on in David Chase’s mind,” adds Williams.

Nevertheless, the enormous build up and the great secrecy of the ending suggest that Chase still sees the finale as a big deal.

Most dramas and sitcoms that bid adieu with a much-anticipated finale do so without the weight of passing a final judgment on its main character.

The way things have gone this final season, it appears Chase has decided Tony is beyond redemption.

Dr. Melfi, too, has given up on Tony. She abruptly terminated their therapy sessions after being persuaded by recent psychiatric studies that talk therapy doesn’t rehabilitate but emboldens sociopaths. That she could wonder whether it all was worth it might reflect Chase’s own doubts in so long humanizing such a violent, corrupt figure.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, James Gandolfini acknowledged that he also has lost faith in his character. Asked whether he likes Tony, Gandolfini said, “I used to. But it’s difficult toward the end. I think the thing with Christopher might have turned the corner.”

“It’s kind of one thing after another,” he added. “Let’s just say, it was a lot easier to like him before, than in the last few years.”