I don’t think so. You couldn’t help but be surprised — beyond surprised — at the response. It was a pleasurable sensation that people were talking about it, that it made an impression on people. It made a lot of people angry. Sometimes I couldn’t believe it was that important to people.

With the 20th anniversary coming, are you ready for another round of “Is Tony dead or not?”

I’ve got to say I’m just bored with it. I also feel like, Jesus, there were 86 episodes and you’re fixated on that? Can’t we talk about something else?

You did an interview with the Directors Guild of America in 2015 that extensively broke down the final sequence. Was that an attempt to just put the whole thing to bed?

Might have been. I really don’t recall my reasons. I was trying to provide a context.

Is it frustrating that even after that, many people don’t seem to want to take you at your word?

It’s frustrating. It makes me use bad words. But it’s not surprising, you know? And I don’t have any statistics to prove it, but I think it’s become more accepted as time has gone on.

I think the point isn’t whether or not Tony was killed. It’s the uncertainty that’s the point, and the way the scene’s crazy tension makes us aware of the passage of time and how choices shape the brief bit of life we get. Most people can’t control when or how they die, but the choices are ours. Is that totally off base?