Letters to the Editor
-
Christopher & JT
My wife and I think that JT's final utterance, "Christopher, you're in the Mafia," is the first time in the entire series that anyone has confronted one of the principals with the dreaded label. That might have had something to do with Christopher's killing of a "civilian," at least as much as JT's insufficiency as substitute AA sponsor. Any comments? Recollections?
-
It's getting awfully dark
Christopher's impulsive and reckless killing of JT will have huge implications. The police will be on to him on this one. Also, I think it likely that Adriana's body turns up soon implicating Christopher. He will bargain on the JT hit for turning on the family now that he's asked to take the fall for Adriana which he will not do. Carmella will have to confront the evil that she has been enabling and decide: to take it all down including Tony; or continue to enable and lose her soul (if she really still has one)
Either Pauli kills Christopher or vice-versa. If Christopher turns then it's likely to be Pauli killing him.
Christopher may get taken out by Phil
At the very end the FBI finally decides to make a move only to find Tony dead. The End
Last man standing-maybe Bobby.
-
Vito Jr.'s story tells it all... you can't go down if you are never really up
When Tony hear's about Vito Jr. acting out and uncontrollable, although he does seem concerned, his highest priority is to save his money. So he asks Phil to talk to him, as if that would help. "Be masculine," is the only advice Phil has for the grief-stricken child. Tony later decides to talk to Vito Jr. himself, only to say pretty much the same thing. Here is a 9-year-old boy who lost his father, a man who died in disgrace by the "Family's" standards, and the only advice they can give to this poor kid is "Be a man".
For an organization that prides itself on taking care of family, this incident shows that they care about nothing but business. In other words, this IS all there is.
Whoever gets wacked, or goes to jail, the truth is these are characters that are never happy. The closest they ever get is the occasional temporary material or sexual gratification. And food, always food. Greed, hunger, and ignorance. Their existence is wroght with suffering, yet they are unable to change it.
-
Tony readies himself for the final act....
and I'm thinking it'll be more Richard III's "My Kingdom for a horse" than King Lear. I see Phil Leotardo in the role of Henry VII riding in to destroy Tony's kingdom as it threatens collapse from within.
Paulie & Christopher are following a different thread though. Paulie has never liked Christopher and has often sought ways to assert his dominance. Hitting Christopher's Father-in-law is Paulie calling Christopher out - and when Christopher retaliates indirectly Paulie drives straight to Chris's home to let him know that it's personal. Though they are both sociopaths it is only Paulie who seems to have a plan - seems to have considered the consequences of his actions. His move is calculated to take out Chris as he waits for Tony to fall so that he can rise to become Phil's faithful New Jersey servant.
Tony too distracted to see this playing out under his nose and having missed his chance to rid himself of the threat that Paulie represents will have to count on bullshit luck to pull through this one.
I expect Tony to be visited by ghosts in the upcoming episodes as we approach the final battle.
-
But they have to keep Paulie around as long as possible...
because he's the greatest character ever. I've been enraptured with Paulie ever since they showed that 15-second scene of him sitting in a bathrobe at home clipping coupons. He may well get whacked, but please, let's postpone that as long as possible.
-
Look out for Vito's kid
I think Vito's goth kid will sneak back from Idaho and rub out Tony for sending him there and Phil for killing his old man.
-
I think you're right, DrTone
That was the first time I can recall the word "Mafia" being said on the show. It was a really significant moment.
Excellent episode all around.
-
It's All About A.J.
That was a thoughtful analysis, except for the idea that there's something intrinsically American about being a sociopath. Tony's passions and sins are emblematic of everyone on two legs. You graciously invited predictions. I'm guessing the last episodes will hinge on the moment a couple of shows ago when Paulie said that the best expression of Tony's father's love for his son was letting him kill the bookie. Tony's expression read, "That's what you call love?" as he threw a $100 bill on the table and walked away. So now we have A.J.'s fiancee dumping him for a reason she might not even have admitted to herself, namely that there won't be anything like Chez Soprano in her future if he stays in the pizza business. On Sunday night, A.J.'s depression seemed to evaporate as he rediscovered the pleasure of watching someone suffer. Tony and Carmela are relieved, the sicko homeostatis of their household having been restored. A.J. might even get the love of his life back. But there'll be a moment when Tony realizes that A.J. is heading down his path. That's the moment for which this fan waits eagerly. During this amazing series, many of us have spoken, as does Heather Havrilesky, of our grudging affection for Tony despite his depraved butchery. If Mr. Chase has any affection for the monumental character he's created, he'll have Tony bring his crime family down to save his home. He'll sacrifice himself, and perhaps everyone else, to keep A.J. out of the business.
-
Why is this a surprise
I watched about 10 minutes of the Sopranos sometime back and all I could think was "Is this all there is?". Given the hype, I was expecting something at least mildly entertaining...but couldn't find anything interesting or amusing. So it hit the 10 minute rule (if it sucks for 10 minutes don't waste anymore time on it) - so why are you surprised???
-
The family sucks--that's why the show is so good
Most of the central characters, including "innocents" like Carmela, Meadow and the late Adriana--are jerks or duds. And it isn't as if we haven't been reminded of this repeatedly. After being pulled into Tony's skin and living within their world we've repeatedly been pulled out and seen it sub specie aeternatatis--when the Greater Sopranos Nation meets the civilian world of people who speak with normal accents and live normal lives, or when Tony has an encounter with his good angel Hesh. It's a superb literary trick, engaging our sympathies with thoroughly unsympathetic characters--like Updike getting us into Rabbit, a boring, conventional working class jerk who cheats on his wife, is incapable of intelligent conversation, and has no goals or serious interests beyond sports.
These people suck. What makes _The Sopranos_ the great American novel is the writers' ability to pull us into their heads and into their world. And they don't suck because they're brutal or violent--anyone can be caught in that evil net--but because they're dull, conventional, hypocritical and self-deceiving, shallow, callous and stupid. Carmela is a greedy hypocrite, Meadow is a directionless Italian-American princess on whom all the fancy education and other goodies she gets is wasted, and Adriana, a holy fool, was literally too dumb to live. A.J. is borderline retarded, Uncle Junior is criminally insane and Janice is a domineering bitch.
Prediction. At least this is the way I would end the great American novel. Tony will die, whether violently or of natural causes I don't know. The last scene will be the wake. Carmela will be chopping onions at the kitchen counter, sniffling, while the rest of the lot are in the living room drinking and reminiscing. That's when Meadow will tell Carmela that she's pregnant. Life goes on--and on and on and on. Carmela will be taken care of by Tony's mob associates while playing at her shady real estate business, Meadow will become a housewife with aspirations to greater things and, perhaps, a pink-collar real estate hobby in her future, and A.J. will keep blundering along, picking up construction jobs when the mob bretheren throw them his way, chronically resentful and convinced that life has dealt him a bad hand. Chris, the chosen one, will take over the Family business and re-run Tony's life.
I rather hope that it won't be entirely dark, since this is a moral tale and there are some good guys. Artie Bucco will go back to his restaurant and Hesh will go back to his horse farm. I hope that Janice and Bobby will escape, like the young couple in the Seventh Seal. After the change in leadership, Bobby's future in the mob is not bright and given his experience taking care of Uncle Junior I see him pursuing a second career in geriatric nursing. Remember, you read it here first.