Letters to the Editor
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Why I still fear for Melfi
Someone asked "Why would Tony off Melfi? She's the only one helping him," or something to that effect.
But (a) if he does something that triggers her obligation to report him to authorities, he won't hesitate to protect himself; and (b) who says it would necessarily be Tony that would whack her? It's no secret that Tony's in therapy, and wouldn't take too much effort to find out who the therapist was. If someone were led to the conclusion that Tony has told her a bit too much (not about himself, but about others), OR wanted to yank Tony's chain in a major way (Phil is that mean and vindictive), she really could be in danger.
Also, it seems to me that you could also cut Tony's business out from under him if you whacked Silvio, or if Silvio somehow turned out to be a betrayer. Silvio's the bean-counter and consigliere. There's an unquestioned reliance on him that Tony was never able to enjoy with Chris or anyone else. That could really make the whole operation come unglued.
Yeah, wouldn't it be a hoot if Paulie ended up at the top of the scrap heap, after shaking like a leaf on that boat with Tony a few weeks back and having to buy him a cappucino maker to avoid having to sleep with the fishes? He doesn't have what it takes to be a capo di tutti cappi over the long term, but you couldn't half-blame the guy for trying. Poor guy, still having to clip coupons to make ends meet!