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Pope Corky the IX posted:And it seems like everyone complains about that stutter-freeze-wipe from "Cold Cuts" now. Just rewatched that episode, and that transition made me jump harder that the Livia demon ghost in the stairwell!
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Apr 21, 2020 08:33
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MrBling posted:so about all dem saints. Huh...for some reason I can't see this doing well at the theaters. I'd expect an HBO airing or something similar to how The Irishman was handled.
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Apr 21, 2020 11:40
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BiggerBoat posted:Huh...for some reason I can't see this doing well at the theaters. I'd expect an HBO airing or something similar to how The Irishman was handled. Yeah, I didn't think mob movies really did well anymore.
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Apr 21, 2020 15:31
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Mob movies do fine a prequel about an old TV show that focuses on characters people don’t really care about, probably not
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Apr 21, 2020 16:15
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Beyond being interested in the movie just to see what David Chase comes up with as a movie in its own right, I think the character I'm most interested in learning more about is Livia. There's not much real humanity left in Livia by the time the show starts (or at least by the time she's furious about the retirement home), so it'll be interesting to see what a pre-degeneration Livia looks like. Tony's memories leave us with the impression that she was always a cruel woman, but I suspect she'll be a bit less one note than just that.
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Apr 21, 2020 20:02
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"Oh, poor you."
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Apr 21, 2020 20:21
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Maybe she'll wave her hankie for the first time.
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Apr 22, 2020 00:20
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Dawgstar posted:Maybe she'll wave her hankie for the first time. If it was a series run by Vince Gilligan we'd absolutely see the origin of the hankie.
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Apr 22, 2020 01:04
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Sinteres posted:Beyond being interested in the movie just to see what David Chase comes up with as a movie in its own right, I think the character I'm most interested in learning more about is Livia. There's not much real humanity left in Livia by the time the show starts (or at least by the time she's furious about the retirement home), so it'll be interesting to see what a pre-degeneration Livia looks like. Tony's memories leave us with the impression that she was always a cruel woman, but I suspect she'll be a bit less one note than just that. Yeah, this is exactly the thing I want to see too. By the time The Sopranos starts they've been running in that groove for over forty years, and she's set in her ways like you'd expect from a woman in her seventies or eighties (and yeah, she's probably starting to mentally deteriorate a little.) I want to see what their relationship looked like when Tony was younger and less dominant a personality, and Livia was capable of running their family.
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Apr 22, 2020 02:01
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I also really want to see more of an expose of just how much of a piece of poo poo Johnny Boy was and how Tony's insistent recollection of his father as henpecked and ground down by her is bullshit.
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Apr 22, 2020 02:35
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If anyone can play a huge piece of poo poo its Jon Bernthal
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Apr 22, 2020 03:00
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MrBling posted:so about all dem saints. https://mobile.twitter.com/AmbJohnBoIton/status/1249119813143801861
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Apr 22, 2020 04:18
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Jerusalem posted:I also really want to see more of an expose of just how much of a piece of poo poo Johnny Boy was and how Tony's insistent recollection of his father as henpecked and ground down by her is bullshit. See, that's why "In Camelot" is such an important episode. It's the first time you really see what Johnny put Livia through. He knew she was pregnant and in the hospital and there was a chance that not only could she lose the baby but also die herself, and he still decided to spend the night with Fran. Then he makes up a ridiculous bullshit story at her bedside after the miscarriage and basically forces sixteen year old Tony to lie for him. Not that it explains everything about why Livia was the way she was, but it certainly goes a long way. And you can see in the therapy session that Tony hates that he's remembering this, because he was comfortable with the image of his father he had built up in his head as well as blaming everything on his mother. And at the end, he's all "She made my father give my dog away" when every bit of evidence from Janice, Fran, his own memory, etc proves that's simply not true.
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Apr 22, 2020 13:15
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Pope Corky the IX posted:See, that's why "In Camelot" is such an important episode. It's the first time you really see what Johnny put Livia through. He knew she was pregnant and in the hospital and there was a chance that not only could she lose the baby but also die herself, and he still decided to spend the night with Fran. Then he makes up a ridiculous bullshit story at her bedside after the miscarriage and basically forces sixteen year old Tony to lie for him. Not that it explains everything about why Livia was the way she was, but it certainly goes a long way. And you can see in the therapy session that Tony hates that he's remembering this, because he was comfortable with the image of his father he had built up in his head as well as blaming everything on his mother. And at the end, he's all "She made my father give my dog away" when every bit of evidence from Janice, Fran, his own memory, etc proves that's simply not true. Tony's refusal to accept the reality that he had a lovely dad (or at least that his dad was a lovely husband), despite it staring him in the face, really is a lot more frustrating on a rewatch. He was on a precipice of an enormous crossroads but couldn't quite take himself over the edge. I think he does know the truth deep down, but he's really good at compartmentalizing so he doesn't have to face it anyway. To be fair to him, his mom seems to have decided Johnny Boy was a saint after he died, so it's not like she was presenting a counterview. Dr Kool-AIDS fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Apr 22, 2020 |
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Apr 22, 2020 16:43
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Even though AJ ends up being some sort of (IDK what you'd even call his job by the last ep. Producer? Middleman?) legitimate businessman, he's already shown that he only cares about himself and wants to be a success like his dad. I'm not sure his relationship with Blanca was really him discovering something new about himself as it was a rebellion against his parents. I think a big part of why they separated was that Blanca was able to sense that. The real AJ likes to be a bigshot (sure, that's understandable and he's still young) but he's only coasting on the family name. And by the end, it's the family name - and their connections and money - that land him his new "career". So much for his feint at integrity. Both Tony and AJ model themselves after their fathers while secretly despising them. You want to shake them but it's hardly worth the trouble. Just ask Melfi. There's the idea of a "good father" that they venerate and then there's the real person they resent deep down.
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Apr 22, 2020 21:16
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Pope Corky the IX posted:And at the end, he's all "She made my father give my dog away" when every bit of evidence from Janice, Fran, his own memory, etc proves that's simply not true. She was an albacore around his neck.
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Apr 22, 2020 21:48
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phasmid posted:Even though AJ ends up being some sort of (IDK what you'd even call his job by the last ep. Producer? Middleman?) D-Girl
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Apr 22, 2020 21:58
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phasmid posted:Both Tony and AJ model themselves after their fathers while secretly despising them. You want to shake them but it's hardly worth the trouble. Just ask Melfi. There's the idea of a "good father" that they venerate and then there's the real person they resent deep down. I've always wondered about the intentionality of Blanca's name choice. Meadow had a half-black boyfriend and Tony hated it, but...
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Apr 22, 2020 21:59
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COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:She was an albacore around his neck. I don't know if  but I like it
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Apr 22, 2020 23:49
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I dunno if Blanca was a rebellion against Tony. AJs a dumb horny teenager who got overly attached to the first girl to let him stick his peen in like a lot of guys do
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Apr 23, 2020 00:31
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^^^that^^^|phasmid posted:Even though AJ ends up being some sort of (IDK what you'd even call his job by the last ep. Producer? Middleman?) legitimate businessman, he's already shown that he only cares about himself and wants to be a success like his dad. I'm not sure his relationship with Blanca was really him discovering something new about himself as it was a rebellion against his parents. I think a big part of why they separated was that Blanca was able to sense that. The real AJ likes to be a bigshot (sure, that's understandable and he's still young) but he's only coasting on the family name. And by the end, it's the family name - and their connections and money - that land him his new "career". So much for his feint at integrity. Huh, I think that's a really odd take on the character. I'll buy that last part though. I view him more as having inherited depression from his family/dad, wanting love deep down but really only receiving equal measure of being spoiled and "needin a smack in the head". In other words, the superficial trappings of what the Soprano parents consider to be "loving their kids". He's lazy, sure, but not only because he's spoiled but also but also due to depression. He's also not particularly bright, which is shown throughout the series as is his sister having inherited the brains in the family, so his opportunities are limited and compounded by his average/below average intelligence. To me, Blanca not only made him feel loved, but also GROWN UP and mature. Not a "big shot" but as a model of his dad. I don't think her race entered into his thinking at all so much as a her being a really hot chick who was mature beyond his years and it's the age old trap of falling in love with the first woman you hook up with who's out of your league. Combined with that was the idea that he could ape/impress his father by being a "family man" and when it all went to poo poo, he felt he lost everything; love, maturity, acceptance, modeling himself after his dad, etc. which triggered everything about his underlying depression. Everyone here remembers that really hot one that broke your heart. It's no mystery why he rushed into a marriage proposal. Have we ever seen him with a really serious girlfriend before that - one that felt like love? I don't see that he "enjoyed being a big shot" all. In fact, aside from a few scenes (and even those are open to interpretation), it seems to me he's shown to be very uncomfortable and quite uncertain in the role - knowing he's not up to it. Think: the giving away of his bike, getting the bill at the strip club and even the playground fight in S1. I guess you could argue he's TRYING to be a big shot with the Junior/knife incident (which he botched) and yelling at the reporters but those feel forced and reek of him seeking fatherly acceptance more than anything. I've always seen him as a victim of lovely parenting, having average intelligence and also mental illness. Tony loved him but didn't show him love, if that makes sense.
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Apr 23, 2020 00:31
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It was hinted pretty strongly that AJ and that rich girl were hooking up, wasn't it? They dated for a while anyway. As for his father's love, if nothing else, going forward he has the memory of Tony saving him from drowning. I don't know if that'll be much comfort after seeing his father murdered in front of him though.
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Apr 23, 2020 02:50
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Yeah, I can see it being him as a victim with his obvious depression and the weird upbringing. Still, one has the feeling that he'll still grow to be a slightly more benign version of Tony. As for Blanca, I think that the racial element was just a coincidence. The big part was that she had a kid and AJ wanted to prove that he was mature enough to fill that role. That's a rebellion in the sense that it completely discards his parents' plans for him.
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Apr 23, 2020 09:30
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Sinteres posted:It was hinted pretty strongly that AJ and that rich girl were hooking up, wasn't it? They dated for a while anyway. Oh definitely. I just never saw anything in that relationship that screamed "love"
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Apr 23, 2020 11:41
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Season 6, Episode 18 - Kennedy and HeidiChristopher Moltisanti posted:I'll never pass the drug test. At a garbage dump, a driver backs up a huge load of construction debris and begins to dump it, workers helping to spill it out from the truck-bed when their manager comes racing up screaming at them all to stop. He demands the driver lower his bed, put all the stuff he's just dumped back in and take it elsewhere, and to tell his boss he can't dump their anymore. The driver is baffled, this is his job and this is where he has always dumped, and he sure as hell isn't going to pick back up the stuff he already dumped. One of the workers tries to calm his irate manager, telling him in Spanish that they'll take care of it. Still fuming, the manager walks away and spots a younger man sitting nearby eating a meal. He's mortified, telling him to stop, which the young man assumes is because it's not his break-time so he explains he missed it earlier. That's not the problem though, the manager informs him just what was being dumped and what he's currently inhaling along with his meal: asbestos. Depressingly, the young man has no idea what that is. Phil Leotardo does though, and that's the subject of a late night meeting held not longer after at a lookout overlooking the harbor and the State of Liberty. Tony and Christopher join Phil and Butchie to discuss the asbestos, something Phil claims to have been unaware of and that Tony - similarly depressingly - doesn't seem all that concerned by. Yeah he's been dumping asbestos, has been for years, and he doesn't see why that bothers Phil now that he knows. The concern isn't environmental or health-based, of course, as Butchie points out that Tony and his man Stefano have been billing the townships for who-knows how many years on asbestos removal while not following EPA guideliness... which means they've been pocketing big bucks. Tony is amused, because Butchie's exactly right but he knows his scam isn't anything unique, he's sure the Lupertazzis have something similar running on their end so again, what's the big deal? It's about posturing, of course. Tony has had this dumping arrangement since his days at Barone Sanitation, but not only is he not "employed" there anymore, he's enjoying an enormous severance package that was negotiated back in the Johnny Sacrimoni days, and now it's Phil who is in charge and he wants to change the agreement. Tony, no stranger to this type of thing, doesn't fly into a rage or get offended, he just sighs and asks Phil to just get to it and say how much he wants. He laughs at Phil's initial demand for 25%, and walks away when Phil doesn't pull back from it. So far it's just normal negotiating tactics: a ridiculous figure is declared as non-negotiable, the other person walks away in a display of being offended, then they'll come back and negotiate properly later. It's how it's always worked, from Carmine to Johnny and now to Phil... or at least so Tony believes at the time.  Lost in this shot of rich assholes discussing percentages against the backdrop of the statue seen by their forefathers when they fled to America in search of a better life is the asbestos. Phil isn't morally condemning Tony's dumping of a toxic chemical in uncontrolled conditions, nobody is saying,"Oh poo poo we have to deal with this or people are gonna die"... the entire disagreement is because both sides thinks the other side is being greedy and wants too much of the money for themselves. The fact the workers, the drivers, the people who live nearby etc are all going to be exposed to asbestos with no knowledge isn't anything they appear to consider for even a moment. Tony and Christopher make the long drive back to New Jersey, where Tony admits that walking away doesn't change the fact that Phil has them by the balls. They need to be able to dump the asbestos somewhere or they'll lose a lot of money, and the deal they made in Pennsylvania for dumping other materials won't do as a back-up since the manager there is terrified of the EPA coming down hard on him. Christopher fiddles with the radio and notes that his opinion is that they just meet Phil's number, life is too short to being going head-to-head like this. Tony disagrees, with Phil only just having been made Boss and looking to exert his authority, now is the wrong time to simply kowtow even if theirs is the weaker position... life is also too short to live as a lackey. Christopher nods in agreement, fiddling with the radio again. He's not taking Tony's rejection of his ideas personally, and Tony isn't angrily overriding his position but simply explaining his reasoning, they're engaging in a discussion and seem far more in synch personality-wise than they have in a long time. Tony is a little irritated though by Christopher fiddling with the radio, so Christopher pops in a CD of the Departed soundtrack instead, and they're both in sync again: they love the soundtrack, and as Comfortably Numb comes on, Tony finds himself coming around to Christopher's point of view. When he reminds Tony of his own statement to "stop and smell the roses" he agrees that maybe he's picking a fight for no good reason. They laugh together over the absurdity of the situation - they're dumping asbestos for Christ's sake - and for just a moment everything is like it used to be. Nearly a decade earlier, Christopher was the young kid in a baseball cap driving Tony around and trying to figure out how to make this life work. Now he's in the baseball cap and driving Tony again, but he's changed: he's married, a father, he's sharing informed and reasoned discussions with Tony on how best to do business, they're even discussing how they've both realized family is the most important thing and how being fathers changed them... has Christopher Moltisanti finally grown up? And that, of course, is when it all goes wrong. Christopher leans forward to fiddle with the volume, complaining that the system has no balls. Tony, belatedly, peers closer at his nephew/cousin and slowly seems to either realize or at the very least suspect that The Departed soundtrack isn't the only thing that is comfortably numb. Christopher is fidgety, anxious, keeps darting looks Tony's way... he's high as a kite, has been the entire time, only the smooth phase of his high is over and now he's struggling to maintain his composure. Suppressing his disappointment, maybe even giving him the benefit of the doubt, Tony asks how the party at his house went the other day. Christopher isn't listening though, he's leaned over again to adjust the volume on the sound system, and as he does the car passes over the center lane. Tony spots the other car coming their way, screaming out a warning to Christopher to slow down. Christopher, reactions delayed, tries to pull back into the other lane, narrowly clipping the other car driven by two screaming teenage girls. They fishtail, go off-the-road and the car tumbles down the slope, ending up back on its wheels more by luck than anything else. Still on the road, the two girls - Kennedy and Heidi - are frantic but keep driving, Heidi is on her learner's permit after dark, so she simply drives on and leaves the two men behind not knowing if they're alive or dead.   The music has stopped, the car is still, there is no motion from inside. Slowly Tony stirs, looks around with a grunt towards a motionless Christopher. Christopher speaks, a grunting rasp for help, both men against all odds have survived the crash. Tony, who has managed to escape multi car-crashes now with superficial or minor injury only, assures him he's coming to help, but as he begins to work on the door he's stopped by Christopher's next statement,"I'll never pass the drug test." All doubt is gone now. Christopher has fallen off the wagon again, and Tony listens in a mixture of shock and disgust at Christopher moans that Tony has to get him out of the driver's seat so he doesn't lose his license. Looking in the back, Tony spots baby Caitlyn's baby-seat... a tree branch has gone straight into it. He becomes fixated on this sight for a moment, looks back at Christopher, then forces his way out the door. Christopher is wheezing, unable to move at all as Tony stumbles his way around the front of the cat. When he arrives, Christopher isn't moving at all, but when Tony smashes the already cracked window with his elbow, Christopher moves again. He's hurt, badly, but there's a strong chance he'll survive provided he gets the proper medical attention. Tony tries to force the door open, but the motion of the car makes Christopher spit up blood. Tony freezes, and Christopher - his brain rattled by the crash far more than the drugs - can only repeat the one thought that is most prominent to him now: he'll never pass a drug test if given one... and then he asks Tony to call him a taxi. It's the concussion talking, of course, he's so out of it that he's forgotten where they are or what their situation is, like they've just been out for a night on the town and he's run into a lamp post or something. Tony stares down at the man who was meant to be his protege, his shield from the FBI, at the complete mess that he has become (or worse, remained). He pulls out his phone and starts to dial 911, but then Christopher's coughing up blood and wheezing makes him come to a momentous decision, one that he ultimately rejected with Paulie and Hesh. Closing his phone, he steps over to the side of the car again and places one meaty paw over Christopher's face, pinching his nose shut and sealing off the flow of oxygen. Christopher's brain reacts to this, cutting through the haze to scream at him that something is wrong, he's not breathing. But his body is too battered to react, he can only turn widened eyes Tony's way, and most distressing of all is that even now he doesn't quite seem to grasp what is happening. He coughs up more blood, staring at Tony, his body making only the most minor gestures as it tries to force his limbs into action to remove the blockage from his face. Tony simply stares, first at his nephew and then again at the baby-seat and the tree limb. A passing car up above draws his eye for a moment, all he can see are the passing beams of the headlights and their crash remains unobserved. He turns back to Christopher, whose eyes can't even focus on him anymore and then finally go still. Tony holds on a few moments more and then finally releases him, Christopher's blood literally and figuratively on his hands. Wiping his hand off, he lowers himself with a grunt to the ground and finally makes the call to 911... now that he has guaranteed that at least one problem in the life of Tony Soprano has been permanently removed.   Christopher Moltisanti's death was a huge shock at the time it happened. As the show had been winding down, a popular thing in the media was to speculate on which character was going to get "whacked", with the mindset being that as the show was about to end it was time for the characters to get their "just deserts" as if audiences hadn't been thrilling along to the joyride the entire time. But few if any expected Christopher to die like this, and especially not with three episodes still to go in the series. His life was a miserable series of failures and disappointments, both for himself and those around him, and as often as he was a victim in his own right never forget the monstrous acts he committed as well. A murderer from his very first episode, Christopher's own troubled upbringing and addictions do not exonerate him from the cruel acts he committed... but nobody deserves to die like this. Suffocated to death by Tony (who ironically threatened to do just this when he found out Christopher killed Adriana's dog), drowning in his own blood at the hands of a man who for all intents and purposes was his father. Whatever Tony's supposed motivations for this kill were, they're either lies of convenience or internal justifications: Christopher let him down one time too many and he saw the opportunity and took it to remove an inconvenience from his life. He constantly looks at the baby-seat as if the potential danger Caitlyn may have been in excuses his actions, but look at his face: there is no emotion, no horror or even pleasure. He restrained himself with Paulie, he was restricted by societal norms into giving up his pointless vendetta with Hesh, but with Christopher he finally indulges his baser instinct and simply kills the thing that is inconveniencing his life. If he could do this to a man who was near as close as a son to him at one time, imagine the horrible things he could do (and has done) to any other person that got in his way. As a final aside, Michael Imperioli was never quite as prominent as James Gandolfini or Edie Falco but this series was a revelation for him. As an actor and a writer he excelled and shone brighter here than at probably any other point in his career: he was such a fixture of the series that it seems insane he could be written out with three episodes still to run, and that his death would come in the opening 10 minutes of the episode rather than at the climax. The balls it took to do this blow me away, even more than Ralphie Cifaretto's death the placement of Christopher's murder in the season was yet another example of why The Sopranos was blowing away most every other series on television at the time, and why it still holds up so strong even today. Tony is taken by the ambulance, and once in the hospital asks how Christopher is as if he doesn't already know. He is "informed" that the paramedics called Christopher dead in the ambulance. When they ask him if he has a next of kin they can contact for Christopher, he tells them Kelli, and then has a nurse call Carmela for him. She's woken in bed where she fell asleep looking up new real estate opportunities online, but is immediately alert when she realizes she is getting a call from the hospital. After ensuring she is sitting down, Tony tells her that there was an accident and Christopher is dead. She lets out a sudden loud gasp of pure shock (Edie Falco is incredible) and frantically gets up and begins running through her wardrobe, looking to get changed and straight to the hospital. Tony, maintaining his calm, tells her that Kelli will be called soon if she hasn't already, and what he really needs is for her to contact Kelli's parents and get them over there to be with her as soon as possible. She agrees, and then after getting his assurance that he is fine (just a flare-up of his knee injury from High School) she pauses for a moment as the reality sinks in, and she asks him.... is Christopher REALLY dead? Tony, looking puzzled for a second (we'll find out why later) says that yeah, he is, and Carmela promises to be there soon. She hangs up and Tony returns the phone to the nurse, left alone on his bed in the corridor for a moment. Looking down the corridor he sees the body-bag containing Christopher's body, and beneath it in a pile his clothes, including the Cleaver cap. Tony once told Christopher that long after they were dead the film he made would still be there... the movie that Tony has come to loath as a representation of Christopher's hatred of Tony. Perhaps that, too, is another justification Tony can tell himself for why he "had" to murder him. David Letterman is airing in the background when Kelli takes the call, dropping the phone and letting out an anguished scream. Whether this is what really happened or just a dream of Tony's we don't know, because it lasts only a split second before cutting to Tony in his bed the next morning.   A crow is cawing in the background (remember the crow that Christopher was obsessed by when he got Made?) as the maid gently pokes her head through the door. She tells him that "Mr. Silvio" has come to see him, but that "Miss Carmela" told her to make sure Tony stays in bed. Sil calls out to say he's just outside the room, and comes in with Paulie, Bobby and Walden Belfiore who assures Tony that Carlo is on his way. Benny arrives soon after, and they all share their commiserations with Tony who lies that all he remembers from the previous night is leaving the meeting with Phil. Gently he tests the waters, pointing out that Christopher wasn't wearing a seatbelt, that the doctors say he drowned in his own blood and that they're also testing his blood to see if alcohol or drugs were a factor. They wince at each of these statements but Tony's real purpose is to demonstrate all the very real things that could have killed him, in case there is any doubt in their minds (why would there be? It's pure paranoia from somebody who knows he should feel guilty). But Silvio admits that the thought that Christopher might have been high did cross his mind, and they ask if Tony saw any signs. Of course not, insists Tony, and probably unintentionally makes the ironic claim that he would have strangled Christopher himself if that was the case. Walden, clearly nervous and uncertain what to say, has been constantly bringing up that Carlo must be soon to arrive, mistaking the sound of AJ's car for Carlo's. Silvio irritably asks why he's obsessed with Carlo, but anything would be better than his other contribution to the conversation, when he notes that Christopher was doing really well sobriety-wise since throwing Little Paulie out the window. Silvio is quick to nip that particular line of talk in the bud, mindful that Paulie is right there. All of them hypocritically laud Christopher for his sobriety, talking up how hard he fought despite the fact they all looked down on him, tempted him, complained when he didn't drink or use, mocked him when he did etc. In any case, the important thing now is that while Christopher may have died, it's good that Tony survived and he shouldn't forget that. Tony, confronted with friends lamenting the death of a man they don't know he murdered in cold blood, reacts with the stock answer he gave the last time somebody died and he didn't feel the way he was supposed to. "What are you gonna do?" he offers rhetorically, exactly as he did in the wake of his mother's passing. Meadow helps Tony downstairs after he's dressed, prompting concern from his men. He assures them that he's fine, he needs to be up and moving so he can join Carmela at Christopher's to help support Kelli. Meadow helps him to the counter and offers to get him a coffee, but he asks for Scotch and when she's surprised he suggests she get one too. She leaves and he notes to the others that she and Christopher were close, which was true at one point though they've long since been on vastly different life tracks. Carlo arrived at last it seems (Walden must be frantic to find something new to talk about) and offers Tony a commiserating look, but Tony is more concerned by Paulie's faraway look, asking if he is okay. In a surprising display of not just empathy but also introspection, Paulie explains that he feels he failed Christopher. If Tony was his dad, then he was Christopher's "Dutch Uncle", and yet all he did was break his balls and argue with him over money, which seems incredibly unimportant in this moment. He even criticizes himself for his appalling treatment of Christopher's sobriety, a realization that comes far too late but at least came. For Tony's part, that line about being like Christopher's dad must sting... or perhaps the fact it doesn't is what upsets Tony. Quietly, maintaining his calm but also not wanting to continue down a path where he might have to face his own faults, he simply notes that "it" is over. It being Christopher's relationship with either of them, he's dead now and nothing can change that (and thus Tony should not feel guilt because he can't change things either?).   At Kelli's (not Christopher's now, just Kelli's), the family has gathered though Kelli is still in bed, probably either drugged herself or just too depressed to get up. Janice asks if they've heard from the hospital and Kelli's mother Rita admits with dread that they did find cocaine in Christopher's blood. Al is furious, moreso when Meadow explains the damage to Christopher's ribs would have come from the airbags since he wasn't wearing his seatbelt, even moreso when Rita notes that the hospital said he might have been able to survive the crash regardless... but didn't. Al won't be calmed, quite justifiably pointing out that his granddaughter has been left fatherless. But it's still tough to hear the recently dead criticized, especially for a weeping Joanne Moltisanti who appears to have fallen off the wagon herself, having to be restrained from pouring herself a drink as she weeps for the death of her only child. Bobby and Carlo are present too and obviously no better able to deal with these outbursts of emotion than Tony, who moves to the window more to hide his distaste for these lamentations for a man he still feels he was justified to kill (and an act he feels no remorse for). Patsy enters the room having just taken a phone-call, the bearer of even more bad news that he can't believe he has to deliver. In a surreal turn, Christopher is not the only death: Paulie's mother Nucci has also died, a stroke in the back of the bus on the way back from Green Grove after seeing Jersey Boys. And of course, THIS death Tony actually has a real emotional reaction to. Tony sits in session with Melfi, where at first he goes through the motions of expressing his sadness for Christopher's death... before blinking, shaking his head and declaring this is bullshit. With great relief he tells Melfi that he hasn't been able to admit to anybody else that he's actually relieved Christopher is dead. She doesn't judge, just asks him to elaborate why, and he does so with an eagerness not often seen in his therapy. Christopher was a drag on his emotions, on his concerns for future security, a weak, sniveling drug addict who any day could have just decided to turn witness to the FBI against Tony. With a dark, gleeful satisfaction he brags to a now stone-faced Melfi that he doesn't have to be confronted to his face anymore by daily reminders of the biggest mistake of his "career": trusting in Christopher to be his spokesman/go-between. He sits satisfied, then frowns again before taking things one step further over the line. Sneering with pleasure, he admits that he's murdered friends and even relatives before, and actually names them: his cousin Tony, his best friend Pussy Bonpensiero. But this? The murder of a man who was like a son to him? This- -he jerks awake with a snort in his bed, horrified. It was all a dream, but not one filtered through the usual (excellent) surreal dream logic we're so used to seeing in The Sopranos. No this was shot just like any other scene and for a reason, not only to fool the audience into thinking we were seeing a real scene but to hammer home the hyper-reality for Tony. When he wakes, it's with the immediate sense he's said something out loud he can NEVER admit to. He rolls over and sees Carmela staring at him, and nervously asks if he was talking in his sleep, terrified that the words he spoke to Melfi in his dream were words Carmela heard in the real world. But no, he was just snoring, and she mistakes his jerking awake for being upset about Christopher and tells him she hasn't been able to sleep either. She switches on the television to an old interview with Katherine Hepburn (who apropos of nothing has the best voice in the world) and he lays there, contemplating his dream. The next morning he limps downstairs and prepares to pour himself a coffee... until he realizes he has grabbed a Cleaver mug at random. Heading outside, he tosses the mug into the bushes, one less reminder of what he has continued to tell himself was a burden he finally relieved himself of. When Carmela joins him downstairs, he complains he couldn't figure out how to use the coffee machine Paulie brought them and asks her to make him a cappuccino. As she does she talks, of course, about Christopher. About how attractive he was, how kind, how despite his upbringing he would never hurt anybody he loved. She is revolted with herself for ever buying into Liz's claims that he killed Adriana, he would never do that to somebody he adored as much as he adored her! Tony listens uncomfortably, not offering anything back as she continues to chastise herself for being so willing to want to blame somebody and picking Christopher as an easy target. She brings him the cappuccino and he thanks her, and they sit together as she struggles with her feelings of guilt. Tony, who still feels no guilt and seems eager to assure himself he's not alone in this, broaches a dangerous subject with as much sensitivity as he can manage... which isn't much. When he called her on the phone and she asked him if Christopher was REALLY dead... he felt like he heard something like... relief in her voice? She's shocked and too late he tries to pull it back, simply saying it's good that he was wrong. But he's opened the floodgates now, because Carmela has been wracked with guilt because she DID feel relief. But not in the same way Tony did, fighting back tears she says that "if" he heard relief in her voice it's because she was relieved... that it wasn't him who died. Startled, genuinely upset himself for the first time, Tony tries to tell her that she shouldn't feel bad for thinking that way, it makes sense. But Carmela hates herself for thinking that way, a very human reaction that she is trying to reconcile with, and now Tony has this to deal with too: his hopes of being able to express his actual relief at Christopher's passing (or, in a more cynical take, to project that relief onto somebody else) have only given rise to a deeper outpouring of grief and guilt from his wife. She adds on to that by weepingly chastising herself (and unknowingly Tony) because it was Christopher who held her when she was distraught over Tony being in hospital with the gunshot wound. So he tries a different tack, the same justification he gave himself for being "forced" to end Christopher's life. He tells her about the branch that smashed into the baby-seat, and how it would have killed Caitlin if she'd been in there. That's too much for her to take and she leaves the table, and he's left baffled and confused. For her it's just another horrible thing stacked on top of the tragedy of Christopher's death, while he thought it would... what? Make her grateful that Caitlyn wasn't there? Make her think less of Christopher for causing an accident that COULD have killed his baby IF she had been in the car?  
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 23, 2020 12:56
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In (real) therapy, Tony explains his supposed reasoning to Melfi, that he told her about the baby seat so she wouldn't feel so rotten, complaining that Christopher was high as a kite but he didn't tell her that. Melfi simply states as non-judgmentally as possible that in retrospect it was perhaps not the best approach, and grumpily he complains that he's the rear end in a top hat AGAIN. You. murdered. your. nephew. He hesitates for a moment to continue but then pulls back, but she insists he say what was on his mind. So he admits that he's pissed off that Joanne Moltisanti is a lush who essentially abandoned Christopher growing up but NOW she gets to reap the "reward" of all the attention and sympathy. Of course she doesn't call him out for being a selfish piece of poo poo, instead she focuses on the needs of her client and asks him the question he's clearly angling for: how is HE doing? Grabbing greedily at this straw, he admits that there have been some hard times, and then launches into a sanitized version of his dream confession that stills floats uncomfortably close to the line of the truth. He talks about how weak and lazy Christopher was, how his drug use caused Tony no end of problems. He mentions that he's seen friends and family die in accidents and even murder, telling her for what appears to be the first time that his cousin Tony had his face "shot off". He complains about Cleaver being a piece of filth put out into the world to mock him, and then outright admits for the first time that he doesn't feel the same grief that others do for Christopher's passing. In a rare showing of self-awareness (or at least, open admittance of self-awareness) he explains that he understands that the feelings others are expressing are genuine, but that he's putting on an act for their benefit (and his own) which makes him feel like a hypocrite, and he knows that this is why he is mad at them. He's aware it's entirely a problem in his own head and of his own making... but none of it changes the fact that he's still mad at them regardless. At Christopher's wake, Tony passes an envelope of cash for the family to Beppy Scerbo who is sitting at the entrance while Carmela signs the guestbook. Uncomfortably, he encounters Julianna Skiff and introduces her to Carmela.... as Julianna Skiffle. She quietly corrects him, then equally uncomfortably has to try and explain to Carmela how she knew Christopher, first saying she bought her meat at Satriale's then going with the more truthful but still weak explanation that actually they knew each other from Narcotics Anonymous and Christopher helped her out a lot. Clearly suspecting that she was Christopher's goomar, Carmela is polite but curt, and as they leave Julianna - who does at least appear to be more together than the last time we saw her - coldly notes to Tony how attractive Julianna is. Tony frowns but doesn't make a thing of it, after all he almost had sex with her himself so better to let sleeping dogs lie. The wake is packed, Daniel Baldwin is there as well and exchanges a nervous nod with Tony, unaware that his portrayal of Sally Boy is now something Tony loathes. Carmela looks at Christopher in the coffin, make-up giving him an unreal "lifelike" look, and braces herself to go up and see his body up close. Tony quietly says he'll go up later and she can give up his seat in the meantime, needing to get out of the room. Touchingly, she asks him the question he was complaining about not getting to Melfi, asking him how HE is doing. He offers a generic,"It's tough" response which is about as much as him keeping up the pretense of being sad as it is anything else, but that's made tougher by Carmela warmly assuring him that Christopher - the man he murdered - loved him so much. Tony joins Silvio, Little Carmine, Burt Gervasi, Artie and Jonathan LaPaglia (the real life actor who played Cleaver in the film) where Burt notices "3 to 5, 7 to 9" making her entrance. She's a large older woman with a sad face, and Silvio explains to LaPaglia that they call her that because she never misses a wake (she has been present at every wake seen in the series, if I recall correctly) and those are the traditional hours for Catholic wakes. Joanne Moltisanti in the front row suddenly collapses to her knees in front of Christopher's coffin, and Tony grumbles angrily that it's "loving James Brown now", surprisingly open contempt for the mother of the deceased. Maybe Tony says it because he feels safe in this group, maybe he really has just reached tipping point, but luckily for him the man he's standing next to is Little Carmine Lupertazzi. Because when he admits that he really can't take it anymore... Little Carmine turns and pats him sympathetically on the shoulder and back and assures him that it's all right, they're all here for him! Next in is Kelli, moving like she's in a dream, wearing giant sunglasses to hide eyes made red and puffy by crying and probably sedated to the gills by prescription drugs too. Al and Rita follow along with her, and Burt says she looks like a movie star, while a clearly stunned Tony likens her to Jackie Kennedy. It's hard to tell if he's impressed or disgusted until she breaks down sobbing as she approaches the coffin, and he is clearly disgusted. Just like he told Melfi, he doesn't feel anything for Christopher's death and unfairly resents those who do for making him feel like a hypocrite. AJ is present at the funeral with the two Jasons, and in a surprisingly touching moment they hug him and warn him that he can't let this tragedy get into his head. Expressing an understanding and sympathy for depression that Tony could only dream of from his own peers, they hug him in tight again and make it clear they are here to support him if he needs it, and he hugs them back with unashamed gratitude. Unlike Christopher, could AJ finally be growing up? Returned to his seat, Tony tries to keep himself composed as he fixates on Kelli reaping the "reward" for a grief he doesn't feel. Turning to Morgan Yam, the director of Cleaver, he brings up yet again the baby-seat as he if he thinks anybody is going to respond with,"Oh phew, it's a good thing Christopher is dead then!" here at the wake. More than anything he's sounding more like his mother, constantly bringing up the potential for child death and seemingly drinking in the horror it produces. Carmela steps up and asks Meadow and AJ if they'll be sticking around, because she thinks she and Tony should put in an appearance at the other wake happening right now too. That other wake is, of course, Nucci Gualtieri's. The only mother that Paulie ever knew, even if she wasn't biologically so, he's infuriated and humiliated by the poor turnout for her wake (who scheduled it for the same time as Christopher's?). Tony and Carmela arrive and are shocked at the tiny turnout, Carmela leafing through the guestbook to see who actually showed up (and judging those who didn't, of course) while Tony hands over an envelope of cash for the family as is tradition. Staring in at the empty room and Paulie's fixed stare, Tony can't deal with it and tells Carmela he has to get out of there. It's too late though, Paulie has heard his voice and is up like a shot, immediately joining them to thank them for coming... and to bitch about how so few others have. Carmela offers whatever compliments she can against Paulie's disappointment, then excuses herself to pay her respects. Paulie unloads on Tony, not towards him but the others for not coming: Carlo, Silvio, none of them have made an appearance, and Councilman Carillo was only there for 3 minutes before leaving to attend the Moltisanti wake. As they talk, Miss 3 to 5, 7 to 9 moves post them in the background. Tony, trying to keep from exploding himself, points out that he and Carmela are here, is that nothing? Chastened, Paulie immediately acknowledges he is grateful, but can't help but fire up again as he points out Nucci suffered too and deserves better. Tony calmly points out the wake is neither the time nor the place and Paulie controls himself again. He leads Tony into the room so he can say goodbye to a sweetheart of a woman who somehow raised a son who shared almost none of her redeeming qualities but more than a few of her worst ones.   AJ attends his own therapy session, where Dr. Richard Vogel is impressed by the marked improvement in his patient. He admits that Christopher's death is sad but much like Blanca, he finds that he isn't obsessing over that type of thing any more. More importantly, he's started attending some college classes at Rutgers unofficially, at least until his transcript from Ramapo comes through. Vogel is pleased to hear he's even sitting in on some classes he isn't taking purely out of interest, and delighted to hear that AJ hasn't been put off by the complexity of a class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict but rather intends to enroll in it next semester so he isn't stuck trying to catch up at the halfway point. When Vogel asks if he's been sleeping, they share a good natured mutual laugh at AJ's first thought being that he was asking if he slept in class. No, his insomnia seems to be a thing of the past, and whether it's just the drugs he's taking finally kicking in or an improved mindset in general really doesn't matter: AJ Soprano appears to have finally turned a corner in his life. Later he and Jason Parisi are hanging out with a college girl comparing the effects of different prescription drugs when Jason spots Victor Mineo passing by on crutches. The girl notes that he's in her South American Literature class and apparently he had to get his toes amputated due to an accident with a car battery. AJ and Jason burst out laughing at this, apparently finding the fact the boy they tortured lost a couple of toes hilarious. Okay so maybe AJ Soprano still has a fair way to go, but he's made an improvement at least! Tony is upstairs when he hears the doorbell ring, and stepping out he sees Kelli, Caitlyn, Rita and Joanne are visiting. Carmela coos over the baby then steps back as Kelli says she needs nursing. Joanne says it is good that at least somebody feels like eating, it's a blessing in disguise that she's too young to realize her father is gone forever (it wasn't a blessing for Christopher to never know Dickie). Kelli pulls out a breast for Caitlyn to suckle on, and Tony retreats back into the bedroom. It's unclear if he was driven away by Joanne's misery, seeing the daughter of the man he killed being breastfed, or even if it was something as crass as ogling the naked breast of the wife of the man he murdered. In any case, he pulls out his phone and puts through a call to a man named Alan Kaplan in Las Vegas, who appears to be a "fixer" of some sort who helps the hotels keep VIPs happy. Tony wants a suite for himself, even turning down Alan's offer to find him companionship (prostitutes), he just wants peace and quiet. Alan, who keeps men like Tony happy so they keep spending up large, offers to send him a private jet to pick him up, and he quickly takes him up on the offer. Before he knows it, he's soaring high over the clouds in luxury privacy, finally away from the seemingly unending consequences of his actions as everybody seems completely unable to understand that Christopher's death should have been the end of complicating HIS life. In Vegas he does what you do in Vegas, he gambles. There's none of the energy or excitement that came even from his recent losing streak though, the whole thing feels empty as he sits at the roulette table and wins nothing. Getting up, he lumbers away and ends up spending a quiet dinner alone at a table for one. He has the peace and quiet he wanted, but he's getting none of the satisfaction that he thought would come with it. In one of his unofficial college classes, AJ actually listens and considers as his professor discusses Wordsworth, actively trying his best to engage in the learning process for perhaps the first time in his life.   Tony sits at poolside on his second day of peace and quiet, and continues to garner no satisfaction. Coming to a decision he makes a visit to an apartment, finding the door left open by the occupant who he called to get directions from. Her name is Sonya Aragon, and while she wasn't strictly speaking Christopher's goomar she was essentially his "girlfriend in Las Vegas". He flirts, of course, saying Christopher never said how beautiful she was, and she's amused at the thought that Christopher suggested that Tony "look her up" sometime. But this isn't going where it initially seems, as she pulls some wine out of the fridge Tony explains the reason he came was to give her some serious news: Christopher is dead. From the moment she first appeared on screen, Sonya has been one of those astonishingly pretty women who always seems if not happy then at least bemused by the world as they encounter it. Now for the first time the smile drops and look of amused curiosity disappears, she's stopped in her tracks by the news and Tony seems somehow... disappointed? He gives her more info when she requests it, that they went off the road and flipped and Christopher was killed instantly. Despite the clear bruise around his eye she either hasn't noticed (or more likely hasn't mentioned) that he was in the accident too, so he notes that it was a miracle he walked away relatively unhurt. For the first time, however, somebody actually takes note of how bad this crash must have been for HIM, noting that it must have been scary. Tony, who has lied to others that he has no memory of the crash, admits the sound alone was terrifying. But she's still a million miles away and understandably more focused on Christopher, asking if he ever married the girl who ran out on him. No, Tony says, not mentioning Adriana by name, then brings up Kelli and Caitlyn. He's surprised for the first time when she reacts in an unexpected way, noting that maybe it's a good thing. She doesn't mean it in the sense it is good that he died though (Tony would disagree), but that it's good that if he died, he at least left a part of himself in the world through Caitlyn. Tony reaches out and holds her hand, passes on his commiseration and then leaves. Initially it seemed that he went around with the intent of sleeping with her, some final weird exorcism/insult to the man he murdered. Now it seems that he felt this unfinished bit of business was keeping him enjoying that peace and quiet he was looking for (in Las Vegas!?!). So he simply leaves, having upended her day but done his duty. But back at the hotel he's still not feeling that serenity he seemed to expect. Things are made worse when he takes a call from John Stefano, freaking out about the fact the Asbestos dumping situation still hasn't been resolved. He's currently got a job at East Haledon Middle School the asbestos laden material is piling up, none of it wrapped to code and a number of other violations just waiting to destroy his career and finances and possibly see him get jail time too. Tony promises it will be resolved, the "other guy" is just being a hardass right now. At the two Jasons' Frat House, AJ has joined his new friends for a relaxing afternoon of day drinking on the balcony. When an attempt to toss an empty into a crate smashes, they laugh that Jeff (presumably a pledge) will clean it up, AJ - who isn't even a member - suggesting he do it in bare feet. Yeah uhhh, look... he's kinda doing better, okay. Jason Gervasi pulls up outside the house, calling up that he's got the venison steaks. He opens the driver's side door without a care in the world, not looking first, and a passing cyclist hits the door at speed and goes flying over the door and crashing to the ground. More amused than concerned, AJ and the others race down to see the aftermath, Jason Gervasi angrily blaming the cyclist for not looking where he was going. The cyclist, a Somalian who luckily was wearing a helmet, snaps back that it was Jason's fault for not looking when he opened the door, which gets everybody fired up. The Somalian is horrified by the damage done to his bike, and Jason Gervasi - the bright kid whose father is so proud, the kid who offered such kind support and empathy to AJ after Chris' death - with great glee fires back with,"gently caress you, friend of the family!" Everybody, even Jason Parisi, freeze in surprise at this. The Somalian is understandably outraged, shouting in Jason's face that he's from Somali, he attends school and he works, he won't be reduced to some horrible and cruel word, especially not coming from somebody who was absolutely at fault in this situation. Jason declares that in this case, he is a "terrorist piece of poo poo" and the others are getting in his face too, telling him he's in the wrong neighborhood. He's shoved backwards and right into AJ, who reacts with immediate disgust, shoving him away from him. He hits the ground and the others are immediately on him, kicking and punching, tossing his bike under a passing car and screaming more racial epithets. AJ stands apart, horrified and shocked by the sudden escalation of violence as well as the clear racism underlying it... but also doing nothing to stop it.   Tony's duties ended, he shifts to pleasure as he returns to Sonya's place after all and they end up banging. She rides him as he grunts and groans beneath her, as always his orgasm looking more like he's suffering a heart attack. Finished, she pulls out a joint and offers him a toke, assuring him this is the "new poo poo", medical-grade, mellow and paranoia-free. He takes a puff, then provides his own paranoia as he asks her what she means by noting that Christopher loved to party. There was no ulterior motive though, he just reminds her of him is all. She's amused as he asks if she means they gently caress alike, and doesn't get offended when he starts to get fired up and ask why she's bringing him of all people up now. He starts to mellow though as she calmly, warmly explains that there's a certain type she never meets on her college campus, but that she sees at the places she dances, and Tony fits into that second criteria. Tony is amused at the thought that HE is a "a type", noting that she's is stripping her way through college. Somehow this rather cruel statement doesn't come across as cruel though, and she doesn't take it as such. They just laugh together as Tony starts to feel and appreciate the marijuana, and he brings up a Christopher memory of his own: is it true they did peyote together? They did, though she hasn't done it in awhile. Tony admits that he has started to wonder why he is here and she mistakes this for an existential crisis, but he explains he means literally: why is he in Vegas? He admits that he always wanted to try peyote, but laments that he - the man who gambles incessantly, drinks to excess, snorts coke on occasion and fucks around on his wife constantly - always had responsibilities that kept him from enjoying himself. In other words, his escape to Vegas and coming around to do his duty and inform her of Christopher's death were roundabout ways of servicing his own agenda. loving her was probably a lovely bonus, but what he really wanted was a source for some mind-altering drugs. First comes business though. At the Averna Social Club, Phil puts through a call to Tony, pointing out how difficult it has been to reach him, reminding an irritated Tony that he is returning HIS call. Tony is in no mood to deal with him, having long since either forgotten or angrily dismissed his agreement with Christopher not to fight Phil on this. He says he knows the real issue isn't the asbestos but Phil being unable to let go of old poo poo (the death of his brother at Tony Blundetto's hands) and he wants him to just be a businessman, after all he's by this point gotten everything he wants: Blundetto is dead, Johnny Sack and Doc Santoro are gone, Gerry Torciano has been avenged, Phil is the Boss etc. But Phil smugly says he hasn't gotten EVERYTHING he wants yet, then insincerely offers his condolences for Christopher's death as Butchie snickers in the background. Tony doesn't even get the satisfaction of hanging up on him, mistakenly claiming he's going to do so which gives Phil time to smoothly turn off his own phone and leave Tony hanging on the other end. The old negotiating dance has fallen apart now. Phil laid out his ridiculous opening position but refuses to move from it, even in spite of Tony doing the traditional "walk away and come back later to negotiate" bit. Even the trump card of a death in the family hasn't garnered the usual reluctant sympathy and accommodation usually expected. AJ attends another therapy session with Dr. Vogel, in marked contrast to their earlier one. Gone is the optimism, the enthusiasm, the interest, replaced by a bleak nihilism. The world is monstrous, anybody who doesn't see that is deluded and stupid, everything's a big joke. But he refuses to be drawn on what triggered this emotional collapse, outside of unknowingly echoing the words of Rodney King when he bemoans,"Why can't we all just get along?"   Tony has returned to Sonya's and she has sourced peyote. She offers him guidance on how to take it and he licks one off her palm and downs it with water, and she joins him with the other before curling up on his lap. They kiss... and seconds later he's erupting into the bathroom and throwing up, a marvelous frame-rate shift indicating a significant amount of time has passed without him seemingly realizing. He slumps against the wall, wipes his mouth clear and looks up at the overhead light which seems to shine and buzz with remarkable intensity, to his great delight. Dressed up, they return to Caesar's Palace, enthralled by the lights and even moreso by the sounds of the casino. They wander in, Tony spots a red devil and becoming transfixed for a moment before they move further in. He returns to the roulette table, watching fascinated as it turns, informing an equally astounded Sonya that "it's the same principle as the solar system" before placing a chip down. It lands on 24 black and Tony is pleased to see it won, and places chips at random on numbers as Sonya rides the vibe with dazed pleasure. He wins again, his eyes narrowing slightly in confusion... this isn't the way it works, he decided he was on a losing streak because he was "way up" after surviving his shooting, but now.... he's winning? Sonya for her part is just thrilling to the experience, and Tony with a dazed shrug passes a chip to the dealer and then lays out more bets as Sonya attempts to regather her composure. Tony wins again, with 24 AGAIN, and now he feels like the universe is telling him something... and with quiet surprise speaks the revelation that has come to him. "He's dead." He begins to laugh as a confused Sonya tries to follow his line of reasoning. Tony just laughs louder though, squeezing her in a hug, actually tumbling back to the floor and laying on his back laughing. It's nothing new to Caesar's Palace, who surely see more than their fair share of the drunk, the stoned and the just plain crazy come through their doors. With practiced ease, security are already on the scene preparing to "help" Tony out of the casino before he makes a scene. Back in Jersey, a "solution" has been found to the asbestos problem. They simply back it up to the Jersey wetlands and dump tons of asbestos laden material right into the water and on the edge of the bank and then simply drive away. Tony and Sonya have, not particularly wisely, driven out to Red Rock Canyon in the desert. Their shoes removed, Tony sits on the sand as Sonya gapes with delight at some rocks she has collected then tosses them into the air and joins Tony to watch the sun rise. A sudden flare of light from the sun catches his attention and he leaps to his feet, overjoyed. "I GET IT!" he screams, his own voice echoing back at him, Sonya sitting confused by his side. Laughing but also openly weeping, Tony stands and basks in the light of the rising sun, throwing his arms high in triumph as the episode ends. Christopher Moltisanti is dead, and the man who murdered him has decided that everything is going to be all right now.   What does he mean when he claims "I get it"? Everybody will have a different opinion of course, but I'm writing this so I'll share mine, and I encourage you to talk it out, rebut it or offer your own take freely. Since recovering from his gunshot wound, Tony has been trying to pare himself down to the bone, to shuck off the negative aspects of his life before the injury without grasping (or at least consciously acknowledging) that he is the primary source of that negativity. An increased interest/devotion to his family, attempted rejection of former father figures in Paulie and Hesh, the replacement of his "son" Christopher by a more deserving "peer" in Bobby. Tony has been looking for a way out while he's ahead, he no longer values as deeply relationships he once held dear to him. When he killed Christopher, he thought he was removing a millstone around his neck, what he believed was the biggest source of his potential problems/vulnerability. But the catharsis he felt should have come with it never did, and coupled with the absence of any grief he was left feeling empty and uncertain. He turned that emptiness and self-loathing outwards on those who genuinely felt grief, desperate to prove that he wasn't alone in his reactions and thus in some way to blame for his own issues. When he takes peyote with Sonya, he's not so much looking to go on a spiritual journey as he is looking for an escape from his own internal turmoil. Tony told a horrified Carmela that he reason he was losing so often in gambling was because he was "way up" due to surviving the shooting against all odds. Treating life as it was some balanced system where you only get so much good before it has be balanced out by the bad. With Christopher's death, Tony seems to "realize" during his peyote trip that his sudden run of wins at roulette isn't just pure luck but rather the final irrevocable confirmation that Christopher is dead, and that his murder has "balanced" the ledger so Tony is no longer "way up" but back to 0. NOW he can win again, because now he isn't skating uphill against the overwhelming "up" of having survived being shot. It never seems to occur to him that being in a casino with a beautiful woman and constantly winning bears more in relation to the Twilight Zone episode that Carlo told him about a couple of episodes back (remember the red devil Tony spots when he enters the casino?). When Tony was in the coma the beacon shone constantly in the periphery of his vision. When he asked on the phone what it was, he was disappointed by the answer, but he followed it nonetheless to take him to the mansion that offered all the love and warmth and family he had always longed for only to be anchored by his "business" and distracted by the call of his daughter in the real world. Now here in the desert, high on peyote, he sees a flare-up in brightness from the rising sun and declares,"I GET IT!" with exuberance. Unlike the beacon of his dream, this time Tony is satisfied by the answer he gets, because it's the answer he wants. He believes he has literally seen the light, that the universe has sent him the message that he is square with the house, that he is right not to feel guilty and that Christopher's murder was the right thing to do. That he is sobbing as he celebrates indicates to me that even now on some level he doesn't truly believe this, but on a conscious level at least in his drug-addled state he has found joy and relief in this moment. Of course, the truth is rather more mundane and far more damning. He's an overweight mobster with emotional issues who murdered a man he once considered a son simply because his continued presence in his life had become an inconvenience. He went to Vegas, took peyote and had an "epiphany" that most stoners first experience in their late teens or early 20s. He's not square with the universe and he's not forgiven or redeemed. He's a murderous monster of a human being who pisses and moans the second things don't go exactly the way he wants them to, and sometimes even then too. Which makes the fact he's such a compelling, fascinating character to watch, to like and often to root for all the more an incredible feat of both writing and, of course, performance.  There have been and will be many other great and compelling characters in television, but there will never be anybody quite like Tony Soprano again. Season 6: Soprano Home Movies | Stage 5 | Remember When | Chasing It | Walk Like a Man | Kennedy and Heidi | The Second Coming | The Blue Comet | Made in America | The Final Scene Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6.1 | Season 6.2 Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 12:07 on May 17, 2020 |
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Apr 23, 2020 12:56
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Jerusalem posted:
Amen. Great write-up as usual, Jerusalem!
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Apr 23, 2020 16:01
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A comedy where AJ, finally coming to terms with his father's murder, attempts to nudge his way into the mob life to seek revenge, with hilarious consequences
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Apr 23, 2020 16:30
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Looked up the cast list for this episode (Couldn't remember it was Sarah Shahi as Sonya) - the cyclist was Banbadjan from The Good Place!
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Apr 23, 2020 16:45
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Jerusalem posted:
That is for sure. A performance the likes of which we will probably not see again. Also, another bit of symbolism: When Christopher dies, and the car drives by, from the low vantage point of Tony, it looks like the beacon swinging past from the coma. Then it is echoed again at the end (which you noted) in the desert. This episode was a shocker when it aired, and for me was the one where I was finally pushed over the edge to rooting against Tony Soprano instead of being judgmental but still hoping things would work out better. Looking back over the series, he did so many things that were awful, but for whatever reason this was my personal last straw. The face he made while killing Chris wasn't a tormented mobster who was trying to reconcile his good intentions with his horrible actions, it was an emotionless villain who was taking advantage of a tragedy to spare himself some trouble. Personally, at that moment the Tony that interested me was gone, and the message of the show came into focus: people don't change. Tony started as a guy who lived in a violent, amoral world but had a conscience lurking underneath that sent up warning flares in the form of panic attacks. But over time and through his constant effort to refuse growth, even life-altering events like the shooting couldn't stop him from his downhill slide. He chose to be a piece of poo poo at every single turn, and eventually that's all he was.
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Apr 23, 2020 17:02
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codo27 posted:A comedy where AJ, finally coming to terms with his father's murder, attempts to nudge his way into the mob life to seek revenge, with hilarious consequences Mentored by Little Carmine. "You know, AJ, I heard about your little... alteration, and I think I think I can help you make sense of everything, both the sacred and propane." *AJ nods intently, eyes wide at the wisdom on display*
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Apr 23, 2020 17:53
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I can’t help think of this exchange when Tony’s choking Christopher:quote:Phil Leotardo: Anybody ever die in your arms, you cocksucker? A family member, somebody you love? This was only ever true because Tony isn’t capable of love.
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Apr 23, 2020 19:22
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JethroMcB posted:Looked up the cast list for this episode (Couldn't remember it was Sarah Shahi as Sonya) - the cyclist was Banbadjan from The Good Place! Yeah I was watching it recently and went huh, she looks kind of like Sarah Shahi...
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Apr 23, 2020 19:32
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One thing I want to say, I think Chris an only child or maybe he is, I thought he had a sister the one with the fat kid from the episode killer the detective.
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Apr 23, 2020 20:25
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Jack2142 posted:One thing I want to say, I think Chris an only child or maybe he is, I thought he had a sister the one with the fat kid from the episode killer the detective. I was under the impression they were cousins of Chris.'
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Apr 23, 2020 20:45
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Ishamael posted:and the message of the show came into focus: people don't change. This is my ultimate takeaway from the show, also. Look at the final episode; after all this poo poo everyone has been through for the last eight years, no one has really learned anything, and they are all on more or less the same paths they were on in the beginning.
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Apr 23, 2020 20:57
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The Wire says systems don't change The Sopranos says people don't change.
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Apr 23, 2020 21:08
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Vegas Tony and LA Don Draper are both a similar kind of mutation from their east coast selves.
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Apr 23, 2020 21:14
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Jerusalem posted:Al won't be calmed, quite justifiably pointing out that his granddaughter has been left childless. drat newborn not giving me any great grandchildren!
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Apr 23, 2020 21:59
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I always see people mention the child seat with the branch through it as somehow justifying what Tony does as noble or right. It's kind of the point since S1 that with Tony its animals and "innocents" that set him off but they are just a simple excuse for him to act on his rage and impulses with some kind of mental cover that its not just because its his equivalent of a temper tantrum. Listening to him rattle off how Chris was high and such to the other mob guess it felt almost too obvious how he was making it look like Chris dying was better for everyone. Bip Roberts posted:Vegas Tony and LA Don Draper are both a similar kind of mutation from their east coast selves. In what way? Don Draper seems exactly the same every time he's visiting Megan or the LA office.
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Apr 23, 2020 22:06
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