Letters to the Editor
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I get it or I did it?
I had a completely different impression of that episode. I didn't think he was in denial as much as showing how completely narcissistic he is. Or maybe I am getting my mental illnesses wrong. But it seems like I remember that getting mad at people for expecting you to feel grief over something like that is a clear symptom of something.
Mr. Chase also seemed to be hitting us over the head with the concept of son's. I kept thinking of Jesus. God loves man so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own son for us. In this situation though, Tony doesn't sacrifice his only son for anything more than himself.
I really thought he was saying "I did it" at the end of the show. I also thought that was what he said at the roulette table. At the table I thought he was saying that he was able to turn his luck around just (from his perspective) by sacrificing Christopher. "I did it!", I was able to turn my luck around. (And focusing on the picture of the devil on the slot machine? Making a deal with the devil?). At the same time, it was like "I did it" seemed like he felt as though he was controlling the random action of the roulette ball. Then, I thought he fell down giddy with power (and peyote of course) and the realization (peyote again of course) that he was all powerful.
Then, at the end it seemed like the sun was setting, then there was a flash, and the sun was still up. I thought he was yelling I did it! I stopped the sun from setting. I am all powerful.
Where Ms.Havrilesky saw the sort of transcendent epiphany that is romantically linked to peyote, with Tony it was like instead of finding God or good at the center of himself, the universe and all that is, Tony found his own grandiosity and the source of pure evil. (There was also something about materialism juxtaposed on his Vegas trip).
Either way, I think Mr. Chase is definitely delivering the goods here.