So I saw some bs on yahoo suggesting that he was whacked.
1. The Sopranos narrative was from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, NOT from tony's point of view. Therefore, in the interest of narrative coherence, the screen would not fade to black if Tony got whacked. We'd see it, unless we were in one of Tony's dreams. In which case, he wasn't whacked
1.a. I read somewhere that it was the audience who gets "whacked" . . . which actually makes more sense.
1.a.i The whole "don't stop" thing works just as well for the audience.
2. Everyone keeps talking about what Bobby Bacala said, which is just wishful thinking b/c Bobby hadn't even killed a man at that point.
2. a. When Bobby bought it, he certainly felt it, as he did not die instantly.
3. It is possible that the first shot was fatal, but see 1.