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Another great recap. I think I personally enjoyed the flashbacks with Johnny Boy enough that I'm kinder to it, but what I think now is I really wish we'd gotten some late-stage Johnny before he passed away. It would have been nice to see the truth of the conflicting stories - like how Tony complained he left Livia with nothing but Junior snarks Tony doesn't know what he's talking about and Johnny left her with enough money to choke an elephant.
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Mar 27, 2019 14:00
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Dawgstar posted:Does Tony actually kick up to anybody in New York? I was under impression they just split stuff like the Esplanade project instead. Not "kick up" in the traditional sense of the hierarchy of a crew, but to split business/as someone mentioned "be in good with New York" due to the small-timeness of New Jersey compared to New York. The only time the crew kind of started to turn on Tony, as Sil tries to let him know for his own good, was when Tony B shot up Phil and his brother and the pressure of New York's power started to come down on them. After Johnny Sack is arrested and Phil pulls up to Satriale's, Christopher says something like "I loving hate that guy" and Tony remarks how he has to give him credit for his oldschool ways and how well he's running poo poo, and that there's "200 soldiers in his crew." Obviously Chris says "I'm not scared of any of them." But yeah real life New York controlled New Jersey, controlled Philly- the Scarfo's in Philly had close ties with New York with running building of Atlantic City from the jump, in same type of association way.
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Mar 27, 2019 14:42
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Dawgstar posted:Another great recap. I think I personally enjoyed the flashbacks with Johnny Boy enough that I'm kinder to it, but what I think now is I really wish we'd gotten some late-stage Johnny before he passed away. It would have been nice to see the truth of the conflicting stories - like how Tony complained he left Livia with nothing but Junior snarks Tony doesn't know what he's talking about and Johnny left her with enough money to choke an elephant. Yeah this question is pretty interesting given that Janice literally digs around her house for some huge stash of money that never gets found, and after Livia dies it's never mentioned that she had money stockpiled anywhere. We're never given any evidence that Livia spent a lot of money on anything so the viewer essentially has to decide if Livia did "bury the money" somewhere or Johnny lied to Junior. I'm inclined to think the latter, especially given the later revelation that Johnny treated Livia like complete poo poo (how he was vacationing with his mistress when Livia had a miscarriage and he didn't even come home to comfort her). I think the writers do a good job of taking just a pure evil character in Livia and later on, introducing some context to make the viewer question if Livia was always that way. Again, I tend to think she was a little more like Carmela but Johnny's repeated cruelty twisted her into such a wretched person, but it's just as likely her nature is what caused Johnny to act the way he did (in part at least- nothing can justify it, but it can explain it).
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Mar 27, 2019 16:19
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The scene where Tony is begging her for a toy you can see the frustration and sense of imprisonment Livia is suffering through. Her entire life is reduced to the house/her kitchen and Tony's crack about "the feminists" is more accurate than he knows. His mother was smart in a period of time where she didn't get to express or take advantage of that, while her husband lived a life of complete freedom and, as we later find out, was rather cruel and thoughtless towards her. Livia is still an enormously evil monster, but she didn't just come into the world fully formed that way, and Johnny Boy exists only as a memory for Tony so we generally only see his simplistic, child memory of him. Even those brief moments where an adult Tony digs a little deeper and sees beneath the idealized image, he immediately pulls away in favor of keeping the illusion alive (In Camelot is a great example).
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Mar 27, 2019 22:42
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Oh man, is that's the first time Tim Daily's character shows up. Chris turning the AA stuff around on J.T.'s gambling addiction was always funny. J.T.: "What is this, Pulp Fiction?" Paulie Jr.: "I dunno, I didn't see it."
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Mar 27, 2019 23:48
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Superb summary. I have always thought the casting for 60's Junior was inspired. We see the same guy again in flashback in S3 if I'm not mistaken. I love how wrong Tony is about Leopold and Loeb. They weren't brothers, the kid they murdered was the son of a captain of industry he was thinking of, and the murder wasn't sexually motivated- they certainly didn't "cornhole" the victim. So much to unpack in one sentence, it's amazing
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Mar 28, 2019 00:46
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I generally liked the flashbacks to Johnny Boy in the series. I feel like there could have been maybe 2 or 3 more without it feeling overused.
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Mar 28, 2019 00:56
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The casting really is excellent, it's the way they structured the flashbacks and went back to the narration/flashback format of the Pilot that bothered me. Livia's actress looked about the way I'd expect the character to look in the 60s, but her delivery of the big emotional moments (particularly the smother line) were a little over-wrought. That plus the clearly ADRed dialogue over the shot of the car driving and the freeze frames/fade to whites really screamed,"We hosed up our scheduling and had to patch it up in post" Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Mar 28, 2019 |
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Mar 28, 2019 01:25
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Dawgstar posted:Oh man, is that's the first time Tim Daily's character shows up. Chris turning the AA stuff around on J.T.'s gambling addiction was always funny. When J.T starts talking to Chris about how he never enjoyed games of chance before, but now there's this unexplainable rush and excitement from playing, Chris pauses and looks at him silently, knowing exactly what is going on and where it will lead, but says nothing and distracts him by saying he smoked some pot just to see if he could be normal.
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Mar 28, 2019 01:46
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Dawgstar posted:Oh man, is that's the first time Tim Daily's character shows up. Chris turning the AA stuff around on J.T.'s gambling addiction was always funny. I loving died when Chris scolds him for using, and is like "why didn't you call me" and he looks at Chris like what the gently caress?!
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Mar 28, 2019 01:49
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pentyne posted:When J.T starts talking to Chris about how he never enjoyed games of chance before, but now there's this unexplainable rush and excitement from playing, Chris pauses and looks at him silently, knowing exactly what is going on and where it will lead, but says nothing and distracts him by saying he smoked some pot just to see if he could be normal. I just realized it might be a callback to Tony and Davey Scatino. Sure, Tony "tries" to keep Davey out of the Executive Game, but scorpion/frog.
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Mar 28, 2019 02:33
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Dawgstar posted:I just realized it might be a callback to Tony and Davey Scatino. Sure, Tony "tries" to keep Davey out of the Executive Game, but scorpion/frog. I think it is a deliberate parallel, but it's funnier with Chris because he's too dumb and self-absorbed to appreciate any hint of tension between JT being his friend and the debtor that he mercilessly abuses and exploits. Although then again we see Johnny Boy manage that contradiction in the episode just covered. It was a different time!
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Mar 28, 2019 03:18
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Dawgstar posted:Oh man, is that's the first time Tim Daily's character shows up. Chris turning the AA stuff around on J.T.'s gambling addiction was always funny. I’m only realizing this because of this post and I just watched the episode a few hours ago, but Tim Daly gets mentioned back in season 3 when Meadow meets Noah’s father who works in Hollywood. He’s complaining that he had to sit next to Tim Daly on the plane and he talked his ear off.
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Mar 28, 2019 04:11
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Kevyn posted:I’m only realizing this because of this post and I just watched the episode a few hours ago, but Tim Daly gets mentioned back in season 3 when Meadow meets Noah’s father who works in Hollywood. He’s complaining that he had to sit next to Tim Daly on the plane and he talked his ear off. I actually noticed this in my last watch through too. Pretty funny. I believe Frankie Valli also holds the distinction of being name dropped in the show AND starring in the show.
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Mar 28, 2019 04:36
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I also like how everyone loves Goodfellas, and half of them were in it.
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Mar 28, 2019 05:06
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Kevyn posted:I also like how everyone loves Goodfellas, and half of them were in it. Unironically this- one of the best movies ever made and one of the best shows ever made Tim Daly and Frankie Valli are I think the only two people named who both play a character and are referred to by their actor in the show, but there might have been one other By contrast to Down Neck, the next episode is beautifully shot- the opening dream sequence is great and set the tone for the ones that would come later, and the shot with the train when Tony is waiting for Chris is gorgeous "Georgie comes in with vomit all over his shirt- I asked him, 'what the gently caress?'" so good
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Mar 28, 2019 11:42
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Was there any significance to AJ trying to swat the fly any time anyone went into his room? 
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Mar 28, 2019 22:32
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Haha, I wondered that myself. It might have simply been giving a child actor something to do to aid the naturalness of his performance?
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Mar 29, 2019 01:09
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Season 1, Episode 8 - The Legend of Tennessee MoltisantiChristopher Moltisanti posted:It happens. The episode opens with a dream sequence, though notably the dreamer is Christopher and not Tony. For a show that captures dream logic so well, I'm somewhat underwhelmed by this one which feels like it trying just a little too hard for the "natural" surrealism that comes with a dream. Christopher imagines working in Satriale's, haunted by Emil Kolar - the Czech American Christopher killed in The Pilot - who demands a sandwich while taunting Christopher for loving up by not retrieving all the bullets used. Aided at first by a disembodied hand in the meat counter (and a disturbing image of Adriana eating sausage before turning abruptly into his cousin Carmela), it turns on him and tries to trap him as Emil warns that Christopher WILL eat Czech sausages after all. He awakens with a start, Adriana sleeping next to him in the bed, and a line he delivered in the dream indicates that he dreams of Emil every night. There is lot to parse from the dream, but I think what stands out most is the fusing in his head of Adriana and Carmela. I don't think it's anything as straightforward as sexual desire for his cousin, but rather that Adriana has become more than just a girl he is dating/sleeping with. His thoughts of her remain sexual (the obvious phallic imagery of her eating the sausage) but are now tied up in thoughts of commitment, and the fear that she will turn from his sexy girlfriend into just another fed up, repressed mob wife like his cousin. There's another reason for marriage to be on his mind, as he and Adriana attend the wedding of Melissa Barese, the daughter of Larry Boy Barese, Christopher showing enormous bad taste by handing over his gift of a laptop computer in an unwrapped box, claiming he got one for himself (he never said he paid for it). The bride is all smiles and gratitude until he leaves and she casts a furious look at her husband, who can't exactly do anything about it. Elsewhere in the reception hall, Tony and Carmela are congratulating a beaming Larry Boy who joking flirts with Carmela and warmly greets Livia, who - right next to the priest - loudly asks him if he is still seeing "your other women". Tony apologizes - she knows exactly what she was doing - and Larry Boy takes him aside to tell him he heard some disturbing news, but is called away to attend the priest before he can elaborate. The toasts are made and the bridge and groom kiss passionately, and Larry Boy finally gets around to sharing his bad news... with everybody, one after the other as each rushes to share the news with everybody else. Somebody who owes Larry Boy a favor has a girlfriend who works as a word processor at FBI Headquarters, and she says Federal Indictments are coming for the DiMeo and Lupertazzi Crime Families. Tony and Pussy push him for more, but all he can say is he got this AND he knows half of the New York mob has headed down to Florida so they've probably got inside sources too. Christopher hears it from Jimmy Altieri, who is dismissive of his fears that he'll be a marked man too since he isn't a Made Man. Everybody flocks to Uncle Junior for guidance, and they don't like what they hear: he thinks they're being paranoid and there is no need to panic or go on the run. When Ray Cuto asks Tony what he thinks, Junior is agape: he's the Boss and he just told them what the gently caress they were going to do! Tony is quick to calm the situation, agreeing with Junior that they just can't shut up their operations and expect them to be there when they get back ("The Albanians will be living in our houses"). Pussy can't believe he just gave $1000 to Larry Boy's daughter as a gift considering he might have to go on the run soon. As their families and significant others enjoy themselves, blissfully unaware, everybody else prepares to get clear, including Pussy who goes and very nicely asks to have his money back from the startled bridge and groom. Tony has diplomatically suggested that Uncle Junior's next order was that everybody should do some spring cleaning in case the Feds come calling, which Junior of course has eagerly snapped up as his own idea. Quickly everybody is on their way out, grabbing startled wives, girlfriends, children (sometimes forcefully) and clearing out as Melissa weeps inconsolably at her wedding being ruined.   Tony and Carmela are an efficient unit, again demonstrating her complicity in his crimes as she not only knows where he keeps his money and guns, but also knows places he's put them that he himself has forgotten. He looks to her for guidance on other things he should be hiding, and she asks about phone numbers (he keeps the important ones in his head) but is not happy when he tells her he'll need her to hand over her jewellery too. He can't provide receipts for any of it, which means if the FBI take it they can keep it. She's irritated but does as she is told, until he tries to ask for her engagement ring and he quickly has to backtrack and assure her he didn't steal it. Meanwhile, Meadow watches her parents hiding away money and guns and - perhaps to lighten her own miserable mood - goes and warns AJ to wipe his computer too: does he really want them finding all his porn? Pussy has his wife Angie (played by a different actress than the one we will get to know) bring him various papers to burn, while Christopher takes a more relaxed approach as he types away laboriously at his laptop working on the script he thinks will make him a Hollywood star. He calls in Adriana when his whole script disappears, and she has to show him how to recover the text he just deleted from buffer memory (he has no idea what she is talking about). He asks her to give him feedback, and she wants to encourage her "Tennessee William" but correctly points out she can't help if he calls her in for every new line of (poorly spelled) dialogue. When she points out that everybody else is cleaning up ahead of the Feds coming calling, he plays it cool: he travels light, he's a free bird  - which sounds cool until she points out he literally stole this computer and the one he gave to Melissa! Christopher dreamed a parallel between Adriana and Carmela, but we see here that even as "just" his girlfriend she is not only fully aware of his mobster life but is an active part of helping him live it. Georgie from the Bada Bing gives Christopher a call, and they watch on the news as story plays the indictments going out, which is now an open secret. In a new little transition, we shift between the news item and its viewers, seeing the reactions of Christopher, Dr. Melfi, and Carmela and Tony. Junior's name is explicitly mentioned by the expert on the news, who clearly knows his subject if not exactly particular details. He correctly guesses the death of Brendan Filone was down to a power-struggle from Jackie Aprile being on his deathbed, but claims/assumes that Brendan was an Associate/Soldier within the family. Christopher is livid, they name Brendan and not him? They think Brendan was a soldier instead of just some guy on Christopher's crew? He calls Georgie back to ask if his name was mentioned earlier, but it wasn't, upsetting him even further: what's the point of secretly being a mobster if everybody doesn't know you're secretly a mobster!?! Melfi attends an awkward family dinner with her parents, son Jason... and ex-husband Richard. An entirely innocent conversation on the etymology of the term "guinso gravy" leads to Melfi making an ill-advised aside about Tony (not named) which kicks off a giant argument with Richard. Presumably this family dinner is designed for the benefit of Jason (who clearly could care less or thinks the whole thing is dumb) as there is obvious tension between Richard and Jennifer with the grandparents having to bite their tongues. They argue back and forth over the impact the Mafia has had on perceptions of Italian Americans by the rest of the country, with Richard loathing them and believing people like Tony to be beyond salvation, while Melfi claims his passion is built out self-loathing. Just as an aside, I have always - perhaps unfairly - thought of these frequent asides throughout the series, particularly regarding Richard, to be David Chase's way of saying,"gently caress you!" to the criticism of Sopranos as glorifying mobsters and stereotyping Italian Americans. It always feels a little soapboxy to me. Melfi continually tries to push the conversation away but Richard won't shut up about it, but it actually devolves into a very interesting discussion as the non-invested members of the family enjoy shifting tangents. Jason, who is studying at Bard, makes the point that Mob movies are classic American cinema like Westerns, and his delighted Grandfather picks up on the point to discuss the latter's depiction of the Scotch-Irish, watched by a beaming grandmother who is enjoying the spirited conversation (while Melfi gulps her wine nervously). The next day at Christopher's apartment, as he writes more horribly spelled and punctuated dialogue, he gets a call from Tony at the Bada Bing. They're "exterminating" and he wants Christopher to pick up some sfogliatelle and canoli on his way in to help them out. Irritated at being called away from his "art", he heads down to a bakery and takes a number, waiting in line like a schnook. Customer after customer is served ahead of him until finally it is his time, at which point a fat guy called Gino (the actor would be recast down the line as Vito Spatafore) pops in and is called straight to the counter. Christopher is shocked, it is his turn. The young guy behind the counter explains reasonably enough that he popped in earlier but left to get gas for his car, but Christopher is having none of it, he wants his service now. That in turn irritates the clerk - Dougie - who snaps that he said Gino was next so that is that. Gino wants no trouble, Christopher can go ahead of him if he wants, but Dougie isn't putting up with the aggression and insists. So Gino tries to order, and a now eerily calm Christopher informs him firmly to leave and come back in ten minutes. Gino can see the writing on the wall even if Dougie can't, so he steps out and Christopher changes the sign to closed, then turns back to the bewildered, angry Dougie and pulls a gun on him. Terrified, Dougie doesn't know how to react as the now armed Christopher starts asking what it is about him that makes a guy like Dougie think he can walk all over or ignore him. He demands a pastry box full of cannoli, sfogliatelle and napoleons, shooting the ground to get the near petrified Dougie into motion, shooting again as he enjoys the terror in Dougie's eyes and the power he is feeling. He takes the box from Dougie, tells him to show him respect the next time he sees him... then shoots him in the foot. Dougie screams in pain, dropping to the ground and moaning that he shot him in the foot. "It happens" replies Christopher calmly, and he would know.   Tony, Silvio and Pussy are playing pool, commenting on how it looks like Tony's plan for Junior to take the weight of the investigation will pay off. Georgie is scanning for electronic bugs in the background as Christopher arrives and slams the pastry box on the table, alarming Paulie who rushes in from off-screen, concerned about the sfogliatelle. Tony warns Christopher not to "go on the rag" at a time like this, and sends him and Georgie into the bathroom to search for bugs. In there, Georgie has no concerns for himself - forget not being Made, he's barely an associate - but is worried that the others might end up doing prison time. Christopher just gets more upset to hear Georgie echo his own inner-fears, that the FBI don't even know Christopher exists, he's basically a nobody, not even on the level of notoriety achieved in death by Brendan Filone. Christopher reminds him that Brendan was a nobody who HE introduced around, disgusted at the news making him out like he was John Gotti. Poor, simple Georgie just happily declares that he had no idea. At Green Grove, Carmela continues to work in conjunction with Tony as an active part of his clean-up operation. She convinces Livia to come out to brunch. Not that it is easy work, in Livia's mind, Carmela can't possibly have come to do a nice thing without an ulterior motive (which is true in this case!) and eagerly tries to figure out what it could be. As a result, these two very similar women (both would hate to hear that, Tony even more so) take turns trying to pleasantly out-guilt the other. Livia wants to know what is wrong while Carmela hits back that she's trying to be pleasant and this is the thanks she gets? Livia refuses to go, Carmela points out how far she came. Livia tries to guess the real reason: is it Meadow? Tony? The indictments? Carmela stresses her desire for quality time between the two of them, so Livia hits her with the biggest, emotionally devastating blow she can think of:  Carmela takes a moment to compose herself before insisting that there is no agenda, and implying that Livia is ungrateful for acting like there is. This is a moment of triumph for both, because Carmela has kept her cool AND gotten her to agree to come out with her, while for Livia she can silently gloat over the fact that now SHE is the one doing a favor for poor, cheated on Carmela who can't even keep her husband happy. It's fascinating to see these two go at it, but in the end it accomplishes exactly what the original plan was: Livia is out of her apartment, and Tony takes the chance to sneak in hide huge amounts of cash AND guns inside her wardrobe, a place that surely even the FBI wouldn't be so low as to search (but that Tony is low enough to hide things in). At therapy, Tony explains to Melfi that he may or may not be going on vacation at some undefined time for some undefined length of time without any warning. Melfi cuts to the chase, this has something to do with the recent news reports, right? Tony doesn't admit it but accepts her assumption that if he doesn't show up to an appointment, it'll be due to a sudden vacation and she should wait for somebody else to contact her rather than chasing him up. Paulie comes to Christopher's apartment, which is a mess and he's barely dressed. The two were meant to "step out", and Paulie has even provided a "couple of broads" since he knows Adriana is staying at her mother's for a little bit. In spite of Paulie's often comically stupid brutality, when he notices that Christopher is clearly upset about something his first reaction is actually a positive one. He wants Christopher to open up and talk to him, he recognizes this is aberrant behavior and he wants to help. It's actually... sweet? He explains that he recently ran into Billy Cracciolo, a meter maid who let him know that the cops in Nutley are looking for a guy driving a Lexus who shot off some poor bakery clerk toe. Christopher cringes, he wasn't exactly subtle but that is still more information than he thought they'd have. Paulie again proves surprisingly insightful, if not exactly subtle. He knows that Christopher is down, that he's acting out of character, and when he learns that he's suffering writer's block he obviously recognizes or at least instinctually understands the dangers of depression. He notes, seemingly out of nowhere that "the writer with the bullfights" blew his own head off. The obvious message is that he's concerned about Christopher being similarly suicidal, and his solution is both obvious and - perhaps in this case only - probably practical: they should go get their "joints copped" by the girls he brought along, and tomorrow the words will be flowing. Christopher mutters about feeling like nothing good would ever happen, and explains the concept of a character arc. What worries him is that while characters in movies have arcs, his own life doesn't appear to have one. Paulie doesn't understand what the gently caress he's talking about, but he's actually listening. He settles down as they discuss the film The Devil's Advocate, which Paulie of course saw because Al Pacino was in it. He dismisses the need for an arc, pointing out his own life was simple: he was born, grew up, spent some time in the army, some more time in prison, and now he's "half a wiseguy", so what? Christopher laments his lack of identity, even Brendan Filone has an identity and all he did was get killed. Christopher killed Emil and it got him absolutely nothing apart from nightmares every night. Again, I'm surprised by how the mobsters deal with this. You'd expect the likes of Paulie to mock Christopher for being sad, but he recognized and dealt with the depression and possible suicidal tendency by sitting and listening to him. The news that the murder is giving him nightmares doesn't lead to mocking him for being soft, but another sitdown the next day with Pussy who offers his own experience as an example for Christopher to look to. He admits that nightmares of your first murder victim are common, but - and here comes the subversion as all this nice work gets filtered through the reality of their criminal life - the more of them he does, the better he'll sleep!   As surprisingly supportive as Paulie and Pussy were, though, the latter certainly had no concerns about having done anything wrong when they dumped Emil's body. Christopher is convinced though, and takes Georgie with him to the burial site underneath a bridge to move the body. They find it and are revolted and fascinated to see his beard and nails continued to "grow", Georgie puking up as Christopher considers moving him to the Pine Barrens (he'll eventually settle on a farmhouse in Kinderhook, but it won't be Emil's final resting place). Melfi meets with Richard again at a plot of land they purchased during their marriage, which they are considering selling to help support Jason after he graduates, a real show of confidence in their son. They argue, amicably at first but soon with more aggression as Melfi jokes about his predilection for Irish girls and dismisses his retort that he married her as she was a mother-figure to him. Tellingly, Melfi is the first to bring up Tony (not by name), accusing Richard - who hasn't mentioned him once this entire argument - of being obsessed with him. I'd argue that she isn't obsessed with Tony herself but is obsessed with proving (to him, but really to herself) that she is right to continue his treatment. While Richard's arguments are simplistic and rather heartless, there is probably a large element of truth to them that obviously hit close to home for Melfi. Get beyond moral relativism and you find simple good and evil, and in that scenario her patient is unmistakably evil. Christopher picks up a fuming Tony, punching him in the side of the head as he apologizes for being late, just hard enough to hurt without doing any damage. He demands Christopher drive, snapping he could wipe his rear end with Christopher's "feelings", and rants at him as they drive, getting angrier and angrier, louder and louder, shouting down every attempt Christopher makes to explain himself. Makazian (not Paulie) came to Tony to inform him Nutley PD had a clear description of Christopher's car, and they're looking for him because he shot a kid in the foot for making him wait. He showed up to the Bada Bing and found Georgie with puke on his shirt, and learned they'd dug up a body. He's furious, all this is happening WHILE the FBI are looking at them? Quite accurately he describes it as Cowboy-itis, he's seen it before, Christopher WANTS to get caught, he wants the notoriety. With his rage expelled, he sits fuming in silence for a few moments until finally Christopher gets his chance to defend himself. Now he has the chance to, though, he finds it hard to articulate. But what he says immediately gets through to Tony, as he says he's finding the regularness of life hard to work through, and Tony immediately recognizes in a far more informed way than Paulie the tell-tale signs of depression. He probes him for further information, asking if he's sleeping all the time (he is), and you can see it tearing him up inside because how does he go about addressing this given its taboo nature in their line of work. For Christopher, it's something he can only express in physical terms - he can feel something horrible inside of himself and so the only assumption he can make is that he has cancer. It would be funny if it didn't ring so true, it's tough enough getting a handle on mental conditions in 2019, let alone in 1999. But when Tony finally, timidly ventures that maybe Christopher is suffering from depression, the answer wounds him deeply. "I'm no mental midget" jokes Christopher, and Tony can only pretend to laugh along. He suggests it could be physical, but in the form of a serotonin problem. Christopher again mocks the kind of loser who would take Xanax, delivering another unknown blow to Tony. He asks if he has ever considered suicide, even then making a joke of it with a mimed gesture rather than coming out and saying it directly. Christopher immediately dismisses the idea and Tony turns into more of a joke, laughing about how pathetic those people are, and Christopher happily agrees. The mood is lightened, the tension is broken, all is good between them again... and Tony sits heartbroken, knowing that any attempt he'd ever make to come clean about his therapy, his depression, his prescription drugs etc would immediately diminish him in the eyes of his men, and that it's not something he could ever come clean about. While Paulie and Pussy showed there is a willingness to listen, to recognize problems and try to find solutions, it only goes so far. Admit depression, take drugs, consider suicide, they're signs of weakness, signs of patheticness, and so they suffer in silence while pretending everything is fine.   At home, Tony snaps at AJ when he is too busy playing a computer game to answer the door, but that soon becomes the least of his worries. A knock at his back patio door pulls him away from the door, where he is outraged to find two FBI Agents - including the first appearance of Agent Harris - who calmly inform him they have a search warrant, but they'd like to make their search as unintrusive as possible for the sake of the kids. Melfi heads out to greet Tony, but finds the waiting room empty. Tony and the family as Harris looks under their couch cushions and other Agents move about the house. Meadow and AJ's computers are removed, irritating Meadow who has an English Paper on the hard drive. The sound of glass breaking in the kitchen gets their attention and they find an Agent has spilled a glass tray out of the fridge. Carmela is furious, what did he expect to find in the fridge anyway? He is apologetic, and Harris notes that they will pay for its replacement and tells Grasso to clean it up. When Tony hears that name, his anger flares up again and he tells Grasso "Ti faccio un culo così" and gesticulates with his hands, both of which apparently basically translate to,"I'll gently caress your rear end till it is this wide" - which immediately infuriates Grasso who snaps back,"YOUR rear end!" Harris has to get between them and assures Tony they'll be done in a few minutes. That evening, the Soprano family eats dinner at the table where they end up having a similar conversation to Melfi's as they discuss Italian American pride and the prejudice they face. Tony recognizes that Harris' good cop act was just that, an act, and assures them Grasso was only brought along as a slap in the face to them. They discuss Michelangelo and Antonio Meucci, Tony pointing out AJ's lack of knowledge of the latter being a perfect example of the bias against Italians. Meadow can't help getting some digs in and brings up the Mafia as another Italian creation, and Carmela quickly brings up John Cabot to change the subject. Just like with the Melfis, the family has ended up enjoying the engaging conversation (with the exception of Meadow/Richard) that the entire mood has shifted, and even Tony is beaming by the end of it.   Tony attends his next therapy session with Melfi where, still in a good mood, he laughs that he'll be back next week too unless she knows something he doesn't. But his good mood drops when she tells him he'll still be charged for the missed session, as per the agreement made at the start of her taking him on as a patient. He's confused and mad, he TOLD her he might have to miss a session and why, but she still expects him to pay? She refuses to play what if? games with him and in a fit of pique he hauls money out of his pocket and flings it at the ground. Maintaining her cool despite her obvious fear as he towers over her, she quietly but authoritatively tells him she doesn't appreciate being made to feel afraid. He rants that she's nothing but a call-girl, only interested in his money, not giving a poo poo about him. When she tells him it will show as paid on the next bill, he tells her to stick it up her rear end and storms out. At Green Grove, a stand-up comedian bombs HORRIBLY as Junior visits with Livia and humble-brags about the toughness of being the Boss while the FBI is sniffing around. He suspects a bad apple in the mix, but asks her not to tell Tony as he's got enough on his plate as it is. After Tony stepped aside to give his full support to Junior as Boss, and with the way he backed his play at the wedding, Junior is feeling particularly warm towards his little nephew at the moment. But Livia sees the chance to put the cat among the pigeons, still offended at what she is sure is a slight against her, and "let's slip" that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist where he probably blames his problems on his mother. Junior is baffled, a psychiatrist? He can't accept it, can't wrap his head around it, but Livia keeps repeating it, and just to really make Junior takes notice, quietly notes,"God only knows what he says" before going back to sarcastically talking about how she must have been a terrible mother. Junior wants to know more but she knows nothing more, which itself offends her more, and she assures him she hasn't said anything (directly!) to Tony since that would only give him satisfaction. Then, as the pièce de résistance, having just put her son's reputation AND life in danger purely for the savage satisfaction of getting one back on him for a perceived insult, she decides to proclaim nobly,"Junior, I don't want there to be any repercussions."   We saw a little last episode of what may have poisoned Livia to begin with in the past, but none of that changes what an unbelievably horrible human being she is in the present. This is an absolutely incredible and horrific act she has just calmly and with malice of forethought performed, all because of something secret she discovered and decided must surely be intended as an insult towards herself. Christopher is getting more of the only thing he looks forward to anymore, sleep, when the phone rings and his mother talks over the answering machine. She's worried about him, asking him to pick up because she knows he's there. He grabs a pillow and jams it over his ear, not wanting to hear or deal with anything or anybody... until she mentions part of what worries her is that a neighbor told her she saw his name today in the Star-Ledger newspaper with all those scumbags. He's immediately awake and alert, leaping out of bed and into action. Melfi, Richard and Jason attend a Family Therapy Session, again probably intended for the benefit of Jason who clearly thinks the entire thing is a giant waste of time. They are discussing Melfi's patient and Richard's concern for her safety, a concern she now shares after having seen Tony turn his rage on her for such an inconsequential thing. The therapist - Dr. Sam Reis, played by Sam Coppola - asks if Jason is concerned and his answer is completely honest: he doesn't care, probably like he doesn't care about these sessions. Reis notes that he agrees with Richard that she should drop "Patient X", but she is disgusted that both of them are afraid to get their hands dirty. Despite being revolted and afraid of Tony, she has no intention to stop treating him, and Jason notes, again accurately, that this is actually what she is paid for. Jason finally sparks up in interest when Richard starts to suggest something horrific might happen before cutting himself off, accusing his father of always doing this type of thing. Reis, laidback to the point of boredom, encourages Jason to pursue this thought but before he can, Melfi talks over him to get back to the subject of her disagreement with Richard. This Family Therapy Session is more about the mother and father scoring points on each other, and it's clear why Jason has no interest in them. Reis cracks a poor-taste joke which offends all of them, and he admits that this is a real personal and professional dilemma for Melfi... before bragging about how his mother's uncle was the wheelman for Louis "Lepke" Buchalter from Murder, Incorporated. The utterly baffled family stare in rare unison at the utterly inappropriate, perplexing Reis who with great pleasure pronounces,"Those were some tough Jews."  Christopher's "therapy" is working much better. To the tune of Frank Sinatra by Cake, he drives to the nearest newspaper kiosk in shorts and an undershirt. Grabbing a copy of the Star-Ledger he is thrilled to see his name listed on the front page (of the B Section, beneath the fold) as a "reputed gangster". He grabs every other copy of the paper and chuckling happily he races to his Lexus and drives away, an Italian American who couldn't be happier to be associated with the Mafia in the public eye.  Season 1: The Pilot | 46 Long | Denial, Anger, Acceptance | Meadowlands | College | Pax Soprana | Down Neck | The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti | Boca | A Hit Is a Hit | Nobody Knows Anything | Isabella | I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6.1 | Season 6.2 Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Apr 23, 2020 |
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Mar 29, 2019 11:52
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Excellent writeup. One of my favorites from S1, but going through these again I'm realizing there are a few. I always loved that AJ is playing  Blast Corps , one of my fav N64 games
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Mar 29, 2019 20:08
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The family therapist is loving hilarious. Amazing delivery of all of his lines.
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Mar 29, 2019 20:19
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Mahoning posted:The family therapist is loving hilarious. Amazing delivery of all of his lines. What's funny is I've known people with a super-tangential relation to organized crime talk about it in the same kind of hushed and reverential tones, like they climbed the fig tree to see Jesus.
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Mar 29, 2019 21:06
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Mahoning posted:The family therapist is loving hilarious. Amazing delivery of all of his lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQkVMRHyfi4 Such a memorable scene. You could almost swear Melfi's ex husband's actor is on the verge of corpsing at the very end there.
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Mar 29, 2019 21:42
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I love how both the therapist and Jason clearly could give less than a gently caress about these sessions, which makes the therapist's token efforts to actually do his job all the funnier because Melfi just shits all over it so she can continue to thrash out what seems like a multi-year argument with Richard.
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Mar 29, 2019 23:01
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Hey, snakes were fuckin’ themselves long before Adam and Eve showed up.
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Mar 30, 2019 02:26
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One of the most memorable lines of the entire series to me is when Grasso says 'YOUR rear end'! It's so weird.
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Mar 30, 2019 03:35
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Borrowed Ladder posted:One of the most memorable lines of the entire series to me is when Grasso says 'YOUR rear end'! It's so weird. Tony has just, in Italian, issued him a specific threat regarding the composition of his rear end. I think Grasso responding in English was to help the audience infer what Tony said but maybe it didn't work.
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Mar 30, 2019 12:49
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I just assumed Tony had asked him whose rear end was bigger
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Mar 30, 2019 14:11
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Given Tony's hand gesture I thought it was something to do with Grasso's mother and certain orifices, which still made his response not the most clear.
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Mar 30, 2019 14:28
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He's so whitewashed it's not his default to respond in italian even though he understands it. This is probably a guy who says mozzarella and not moozadell e: regarding the dreams- while they exaggerate the essence of dreaming maybe a bit too much, I think they're the perfect counterbalance of levity in how they're presented, contrasting with some of the really dark poo poo that goes on throughout the series. They're funny. And later on, we see the coma isn't just another dream- it's following a totally different and much more realistic set of rules. Harold Stassen fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Mar 30, 2019 |
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Mar 30, 2019 14:35
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It’s funny that you would say that mozzarella is the “whitewashed” version when that is the proper way to say it. Moozadell is the Americanized version, coming from Americans unable to roll their R’s and turning it into a D sound.
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Mar 30, 2019 16:53
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That's true- they don't use the real Italian words, but they think they are- the true essence of a goomba. They're proud but not knowledgeable, which is relatable to people within every ethnic grouping.
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Mar 30, 2019 17:30
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It’s important to remember too that Italian immigrants to America were, for lack of a better word, hillbillies. They were the uneducated lower class, so you’ve got basically the American born children and grandchildren of Italians who themselves spoke a very “low class” version of the language.
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Mar 30, 2019 19:55
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My favourite bit of Italian "racism" is when Livia is in the hospital and Artie goes to see her. He has brought her some nice homemade food, because we all know about the hospital. She initially looks pleased and the after one question dismisses the entire thing with “Oh… Northern.”
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Mar 30, 2019 21:06
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MrBling posted:My favourite bit of Italian "racism" is when Livia is in the hospital and Artie goes to see her. He has brought her some nice homemade food, because we all know about the hospital. To tie in it's also funny that the reason Furio doesn't like Christopher Columbus is he's from the north.
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Mar 30, 2019 21:41
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Dawgstar posted:To tie in it's also funny that the reason Furio doesn't like Christopher Columbus is he's from the north. Also, Carmela's mom, who was dismayed that Meadow was born "so dark" and wanted Carmela to marry someone other than Sicilian-descended Tony for the other side of the North/South inter-Italian racism. 
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Mar 31, 2019 00:47
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COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:e: regarding the dreams- while they exaggerate the essence of dreaming maybe a bit too much, I think they're the perfect counterbalance of levity in how they're presented, contrasting with some of the really dark poo poo that goes on throughout the series. They're funny. And later on, we see the coma isn't just another dream- it's following a totally different and much more realistic set of rules. I absolutely adore the dreams in Sopranos for the most part, they do a better job than almost every other tv show/movie I've evern seen in capturing the bizarre logic of a dream as well as that sense of unease in particular that comes from a nightmare. There are just a couple early on in the show that fall more into the usual television representation of dreams, basically they're trying too hard to make it work instead of letting it flow naturally.
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Mar 31, 2019 01:56
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DarkCrawler posted:Also, Carmela's mom, who was dismayed that Meadow was born "so dark" and wanted Carmela to marry someone other than Sicilian-descended Tony for the other side of the North/South inter-Italian racism. Tony’s family isn’t from Sicily, they’re from Avellino, near Naples.
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Mar 31, 2019 05:44
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Jerusalem posted:Everybody has to kick up to the guy above them, with differing guys deciding how much they feel is appropriate for a "taste". Obviously everybody ends up wanting to take more from those beneath them to offset what they're paying to the guys above them, which is why people like Christopher and Brendan feel so hosed because they're busting their asses and getting almost nothing for it. The lower on the totem pole you are, the less you keep, and even as you start moving up you get into situations like Christopher did where he's having to pay for everybody's meal/drinks etc. Or Ralphie happily giving Tony a taste of his racing winnings, then realizing that now Tony expects this to be an ongoing thing AND that he expects more than he was happy to give. Paulie was also pocketing more than he should have been, something acknowledged by Tony and Silvio. He got away with it because of seniority and being a good enforcer, but Ralphie's advancement made him realize that money was always more important. The bottom rungs of criminal organizations making less than they could in legit jobs (We got stockbroker licenses! I went to Pace college!) seems to be universal. Sudhir Venkatesh did a famous audit of a Chicago drug gang in the 80s, and the kids at the bottom were making less than minimum wage. But their equivalent to Tony was making six figures and lived like a king by their standards. This harsh pyramid causes massive amounts of issues in real life, just like it does on the show. The bottom layers start breaking rules to supplement their earnings, or they see violence as the only way to advance. Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke started dealing drugs because they couldn't become made men in the Lucchese family. Paul Castellano got taken out by John Gotti because he prohibited drug dealing while increasing his take of all the street captains doing the "real" work. Despite all the talk about respect and hierarchy, the constant of the Mafia since the beginning seems to be people ignoring the rules and taking over because they feel like they're not getting theirs. Its why Lefty in Donnie Brasco was such a poor schlub, because he actually believed in the code.
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Mar 31, 2019 07:21
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Season 1, Episode 9 - BocaCoach Hauser posted:They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. AJ runs with stray dogs through the cemetery, having a blast while Livia attends to Johnny Boy's tombstone and Junior watches. Livia is upset that the grounds haven't been maintained and weeds are cropping up, and the flowers that have been left are plastic! Junior comments that nobody ever comes down to visit, but not in an angry way. If anything, the visit to the grave is just reminding him of happier times, and he talks warmly of family trips and ignores Livia's attempts to rant about Tony as best he can. She won't let it go and finally he has to tell her enough is enough, he doesn't like the fact Tony is seeing a psychiatrist either, but he also plainly doesn't think it's something he needs to be worried about. Not yet, anyway, and he continues to defend AJ as Livia warns him the dogs will start foaming at the mouth and bite his hand off, pointing out he's just doing kid stuff. The rest of the family are attending a soccer game being played by Meadow, Silvio's daughter Heather and Artie and Charmaine's daughter Chiara. The parents are vocal (VERY vocal) supporters of their girls, surprising even Carmela who comments on how much Tony is enjoying girl's soccer, to which he replies that he doesn't have much choice, his son is a couch potato. Meadow blocks a goal and basks in the glow of Tony and Carmela's pride, while Artie and Charmaine thrill to the fact that Chiara - younger than Meadow and Heather - has been picked by the coach as a definite starter for next season. Silvio, dressed in only a wifebeater, bellows out to Heather that he'll give her $100 for a goal and joins Tony and Artie on the sideline to scream their support. They note Ally, the usual star player, isn't particularly energetic today, which surprises Tony since she is a frequent visitor to their house and eats constantly. Silvio storms out onto the field when the ref makes another yellow card call against the team, and the ref demands he get off the field of the team will forfeit the game. Silvio agrees to leave, but stops to kick dirt at the ref on his way out, as the crowd cheers for him and a laughing Tony and Artie welcome him back as a hero. The coach - Don Hauser - screams at Ally to pay attention to him, and when she turns to look he whispers a heartfelt,"Come on!" at her that seems to fire her up, and she zips through the opposing team to score a goal. The crowd are delighted, the team is delighted, but you'd think Tony, Silvio and Artie had just seen their team win the Superbowl. Hugging and squealing in delight, Artie tells Tony that Coach Hauser is a genius, joking that if he can steer Chiara to a college scholarship, he'd happily give him a blowjob in the midfield. Remember that joke, it'll play into a lot of what goes on on-screen in the rest of the episode.   As everybody basks in celebration, Tony turns things somewhat to business. Artie has been cheffing at a place called Dimples to make ends meet since the restaurant fire, disgusted by the low standards and assembly line work. Tony of course would be more than happy to front him some cash to get him up and running his own place again, with a share of the profits of course. Artie, clearly uncomfortable but not wanting to offend, insists that he can't figure the numbers in his head because he's "just" a chef, an "artiste" and not a businessman. Speaking of uncomfortable, post-game they take Coach Hauser to the Bada-Bing to celebrate. Appreciative of their support but uneasy in the seedy surroundings, he accepts drinks, keeps his eyes off the girls and tries his best to talk shop and keep things to both sports and family. What he doesn't understand is that Tony and Silvio are completely relaxed about mixing talk of loving families and supporting their daughters with offering him a complimentary "full service" private dance from some random girl they call over. Hauser wants to settle down, stop moving his family around every time he gets a better offer. Yes he's taught college soccer, but here in Jersey he gets a good salary, his family are settled AND he gets to coach his own daughter. It's all about the kids they all agree, as the topless girl stands awkwardly in place waiting for the coach to bang her as a "reward". He gently turns them down in spite of being a freebie, while Tony is irritated to see Vin Makazian bringing his rumpled rear end in the club. Looking like he might already be half-in-the-bag, he's shown up to give Tony whatever info he could gather on the current Federal Investigation. While he hasn't been able to see who has been named in indictments (and fears he might be targeted himself) he has gotten a list of people being investigated whose "fiscal interests intersect with your own". Tony is dismayed to see at least one of the names, but oddly less bothered when he discovers that Mickey Palmice has hired a Manhattan P.I to tail Tony - perhaps he's actually relieved that his Uncle's right-hand man is actually being suspicious? Makazian, betraying a complete misunderstanding of how his own law enforcement brethren might operate, thinks that if he checks their liquor license under the guide of doing footwork on a local rape-homicide, it will help him pass a lie-detector test if he ever got hauled in. Flirting pathetically with the girl behind the bar as she shows him the paperwork, another girl takes a call from a furious Charmaine who wants to know if Artie plans to spend the entire evening there instead of helping her paint the house like he promised. He says he'll be right home, and Hauser takes his own opportunity to escape, while Tony and Silvio playfully mock Artie for not laying down the law. Like the earlier blowjob joke, this too has relevance for the rest of the episode. At the law offices of Melvoin, Perlov, Schneider and Archide, Junior Soprano is running everything out of the office of his personal lawyer Harold Melvoin, under the protection of Attorney/Client privilege. He's irritated that they're down on collections, an obvious symptom of the pressure the impending indictments are putting on everybody. Melvoin explains that given Junior has two prior convictions, a third would possibly take into account the habitual offenders statute which would put him away for a long time. Despite claiming this is all eating away at his insides, the true magnitude still doesn't quite seem to have hit Junior as he muses on the lunch order that has just come in, and is upset at a letter written by Melvoin offering to surrender Junior into Federal Custody. Melvoin quickly smoothes his ruffled feathers, he needed to know exactly what they had on Junior and he couldn't find out through other means, so he used this "target letter" to try and force them to say one way or the other if they were actually coming after him. Mollified, Junior appreciates the effort but is unsurprised that even then the Feds wouldn't tell Melvoin anything. He does prove he's well-informed though, when Junior sighs he wants to get away for a bit he correctly guesses he plans to head down to Boca with his "lady friend". Junior beams as Melvoin - stroking his ego - notes that "somehow" she has a cushy job in the Fitters' Union with control over the Labor Management Fund which is completely outside of the Feds' oversight. Junior swells with pride, asking what the point of success is if you can't help out your friends, and heads into the bathroom (pointedly he makes Melvoin give him the key to the partner's private bathroom) where he dismisses Palmice's insistence that whatever leak there is, it is coming from Tony's crew. Junior doesn't like Mikey pussyfooting around but forgives him (with a pat on the face from a hand he hasn't washed after taking a piss) when he says he's just doing his best to look out for him. In any case, he's not going to worry about what might be right now, he's heading to Boca to get a tan.   Meadow and her friends drink out in the woods, accompanied by Coach Hauser's daughter. They're all high on the coach, who has really pushed them to succeed in a way they appreciate and probably haven't experienced from their own parents. Noticing that Ally is nowhere to be seen, Meadow and Taylor head down to the playground not far off and are horrified to find her sitting on a bench cutting her wrists. A subdued Tony in therapy tells Melfi about the situation, trying to figure out how it could have happened. Yes her parents are divorced, but she's always seemed so together, there didn't seem to be any reason for her to try and take her own life. Melfi queries whether it was a genuine suicide attempt or simply a gesture, explaining that the latter is a cry for help. Tony reveals that her mother let them know she'd attempted this before, which causes Melfi to take a moment, knowing that this isn't good but pondering whether it would be appropriate to bring them up now. Instead she asks Tony to shift focus to his own personal issues, and he admits the Prozac is being put to the test by his current stresses. Melfi asks if this has to do what is in the news and he dismisses that by saying he'd rather talk about his daughter. Too right, as well. It probably comes from good intentions, but Melfi wanting to focus on the news items and Tony's reactions feels like she is being a tourist or just looking for gossip/inside info. Whether it is the case or not, Tony clearly feels it's really not the important matter right now, Meadow is. Ally seemed like the perfect young woman and she tried to commit suicide, what does that say about what Meadow could do? Sports is supposed to be of benefit to teenagers, keeping them busy and disciplined, lowering drug and alcohol abuse etc. But now he has to wonder if there is more going on beneath the surface of his perfect daughter. After an uncomfortable silence, he finally addresses the elephant in the room with a wonderful example of understatement. Tony Soprano posted:Last week I called you a whore. I might have been... overstating the case a little bit. Junior pops into the Union Office where he pats Bobbi Sanfillipo on the rear end, and she huskily explains that she needs him to sign a check for 20k for "Research and Development into furthering the Art and Science of Metal and Ceramic Joint Fittings". This research will be taking place in Boca Raton, what a remarkable coincidence! The two happily and openly flirt with each other: Junior is a single man but Bobbi has been his long-time mistress for want of a better word. They don't date, they don't live together, they're not planning to get married, but for 16 years (almost as long as Tony and Carmela have been married!) they have been together. He tells her he just needs to see his cousin Jerry (another beneficiary of Junior's success) briefly before they head away, but is sidelined by a contractor who approaches to explain he was going to meet with Jerry regarding a mall job but maybe he could just talk directly to Junior instead? He opens his coat to reveal an envelope clearly stuffed with cash, and Junior beams all the brighter, saying that he'd be happy to pass on his recommendations to Jerry. It looks like the Research and Development Fund just got another boost! At Green Grove, Livia is enjoying lunch with another resident when Larry Boy Barese pops over to say hello. She's surprised but happy to see him, openly proclaiming he once set a house on fire (the other resident is amused), and largely ignores what he is saying as she comments on his shoes. What he is saying is pretty drat important though, he's moving his mother into Green Grove as well, as is Jimmy Altieri. It's a move instigated by Tony, who has figured out that FBI wouldn't make the disastrous PR move of trying to surveil an old folk's home, and this will give the Capos an excuse to meet and talk freely. hell, even if the FBI did try, do they have any 70+ year old Agents to go undercover? Or young Agents willing to be live-in nurses for the elderly just to maintain their cover? Tony, Larry Boy and Jimmy start discussing work together, but as Tony browses the sports section of the newspaper he is horrified to see a story on Coach Hauser: he's leaving Verbum Dei to take on a job at the University of Rhode Island. At training, an upset Silvio and Artie come to visit Hauser as he's taking the clearly reluctant girls through exercises, which he puts down to them being upset about Ally. He tries to dismiss Silvio and Artie, practice is closed today, but they want to know why he is leaving, how he can do this to their daughters. Hauser is frustrated, he asked the reporter to wait till after Sectionals to publish, but explains that Rhode Island offered to double his salary AND give his daughter a full ride through College. Regrettably, he tries to make a joke by saying it was an offer he couldn't refuse, and Artie quickly has to defuse the tension as Silvio warns that he hasn't heard their offer yet. Noticing the team has gathered to watch, the coach yells at them to get back to training, and a disgusted Meadow tells him to go gently caress himself. Silvio is astonished but Hauser takes control, forcing her to run laps and then with fake good cheer encourages the rest of the team to play keepaway. Silvio and Artie leave, not satisfied in the slightest.   In Boca, Junior and Bobbi are in domestic bliss at the Waldorf Towers, a small but nicely appointed apartment. They drink champagne and nibble on a tray of meats, cheeses and peppers in bed. They're in heaven, and Bobbi wouldn't change it for the world. When Junior even comments that he's been looking at real estate and maybe she'd like him to get them a bigger place he is surprised when she declines. This is THEIR place, they've been coming here for 16 years, and he agrees that every single one of them has a been a good year. The love and happiness exudes from them, their relationship maintaining a level of excitement and spontaneity it perhaps wouldn't have been capable of had they been an official couple or legally married. Instead there is a thrill, a sense of adventure and a revitalization that comes from their periodic trips together coupled with the freedom they have when they are apart. It is probably what Tony is unknowingly looking for with Irina (who wants something more), but Junior has the benefit of no wife or children: for him it is not a selfish act of betrayal to be with Bobbi, but a reward and way to unwind during trying times. However there is on fly in the ointment. As she cuddles up against him and joins in his bliss, she can't help bringing up what she considers one of his greatest strengths: oral sex. He is, according to her at least, an artist in that respect. He eats her out with a skill and enthusiasm second-to-none, bringing her again and again to the heights of untold pleasure. You would expect any man's ego to swell three sizes to be told this, moreso if you knew the compliment was genuine. For Junior though, it's an uneasy reminder of yet another thing he has to be wary of with his new position. Trying to maintain his cool and not ruin the moment, he is still firm when he warns her that this is something she needs to keep to herself. She is amused but loving as she agrees, but the idea can't get dislodged from her head and she has to press further: but why? Why is oral sex such a taboo subject? He doesn't want to talk about it but she won't let it go so he explains, "they" (it's always "they" or "them") think if you'll suck pussy you'll suck anything - it's a sign of weakness, maybe even a sign that you're a finocchio. She dismisses that out of hand for being ridiculous, how the hell can you equate bringing a woman to orgasm with your mouth as a predilection for homosexuality? There'll be far more to come on this subject as the episode progresses, but I'll digress for a moment. What always grabs me about rewatches of The Sopranos is just how physically affectionate the males are. They hug, they pat the sides of faces, grab the backs of heads to pull others closer, they don't mind being physically close to one another. They also are free with their "love" - there is no stigma associated with saying you love another man, if anything it is celebrated as a sign of the strength of the bond between you. And yet, this same physical proximity and seemingly emotionally healthy expression of love goes hand in hand with an extremely toxic idea of masculinity. You can love another man, but you cannot LOVE another man. To be gay is to be weak, untrustworthy, disgusting even. To be faithful to your wife is another sign of weakness, a real man will go after any woman he can AND get her. The more women you sleep with, the more masculine and respected you are. If you're paying them to have sex with you, or you are using a power relationship to sleep with them then hell that's just another sign of power and respect for other men to appreciate. So why does oral sex on a woman apparently count just as much against somebody as homosexuality would? How, as Bobbi asks, do the two relate? Well I'd argue that the concept of masculinity the men in this show share is that same toxic line that has plagued the world for centuries: the notion of submission in sex as a demonstration of inferiority. Hell, in Ancient Roman times it was considered perfectly fine to have sex with another man... so long as you were the one penetrating and not being penetrated. That same twisted line of thinking plays through to the modern day where Junior performing oral sex on Bobbi is considered an act of weakness, of submission. If he is taking time to pleasure her and ONLY her, then he is on the "inferior" side of the relationship, which makes him unfit for a leadership position. When Artie joked about giving a blowjob to the Coach, part of the joke was the idea that Artie would go so far as to be humiliated, to lower himself to performing an act for somebody else's pleasure than his own. When Tony and Silvio jokes about Artie failing to lay down the law, it was because he was allowing his wife to tell him what to do instead of being the man in charge. These same men can hug and hold each other tight and tell each other how much they love them, but fail to meet their ridiculous standards of what being a "real" man is and they will forever look down on you.  Back in New Jersey, Tony eats dinner at a restaurant with Artie where he continues to try and convince him to take money and go into a "silent" partnership with him. Artie, uncomfortable, changes the subject to the Coach and Tony complains that he is avoiding the subject and changes it himself: why does Charmaine hate him? Artie laughs awkwardly about that, and they turn their conversation to a safer subject: some rear end in a top hat at another table is wearing a cap inside the restaurant. Artie finds that disgusting too, and Tony walks over and silently menaces the poor schlub in front of his date (another masculine powerplay), simply standing and breathing loudly until he removes it. The head waiter thanks him sincerely as he returns to his seat, and Artie is thrilled by the display of power, especially when Tony acts gracious by telling him to send them a nice bottle of wine compliments of himself. But then Tony brings it back to reality by asking the Head Waiter to take the license plate details of the two men sitting behind them, who he suspects of being cops. That the Waiter would comply indicates this may be another of those silent partnerships Tony was just recently insisting were perfectly normal. Suddenly Artie is left feeling uncomfortable, and pondering whether Charmaine is right to feel the way she does. Meadow and Ally watch music videos together, delighting Tony and Carmella when they return home after Tony picked her up from her sister's (I think the idea of Carmela having a sister was largely abandoned after this throwaway line?). Tony is even more delighted when Ally says she feels well enough to play in the upcoming game, ignoring or talking over Meadow and Carmela telling her she doesn't need to do that if she doesn't feel up to it. Ally explains she had a long talk with the Coach and came to the decision on her own, she wasn't pressured, insisting with some alarm the Coach would never pressure her to do something she didn't want to do, much to Meadow's clear disgust. In Boca, Junior and Bobbi dance together to Frente a Frente at a Lounge Bar. Junior again reminds her he was serious about not spreading around that he performs oral sex, telling her they'll go "10 rounds" if she does. She's clearly still not taking it seriously (why would she? It's ridiculous!) but she can tell it is bugging him so she promises her lips are sealed, a pun that puts Junior back into a good mood as they laugh and dance together once again in utter bliss. Watching from the bar, an undercover Federal Agent reports on Junior's whereabouts - they're a Federal Agency after all, going to Florida for a holiday isn't gonna leave them in New Jersey scratching their heads. After an odd freeze frame/fade out from Junior dipping Bobby, we return to New Jersey where Coach Hauser leaves the house playing happily with his dog... until he spots a van parked on the curb and two biker-looking heavies awkwardly carrying a 50-inch projection screen television alongside Paulie Gualtieri. It is a gift from his "friends" at the Bada Bing, and when Hauser explains in exasperation that he's already signed his Rhode Island contract, Paulie - probably completely legitimately - explains that he doesn't know what any of this is about, but he was told to bring him the television so he is, and that means the television is staying no matter what. He advises Hauser to just do whatever it is his "friends" want him to do, and you can see it is eating him up as Hauser begins ranting about law enforcement, Silvio having obviously told him not to hurt Hauser. Still, Paulie ("My name is Clarence" he tells Hauser when he calls him a Guido) has done his job so that's that. He and the two heavies casually leave, get into their vehicles and drive away as Hauser screams at them that he's not intimidated, looking more and more ridiculous as they just ignore him and go, leaving him to deal with that giant TV. Bobbi has returned to New Jersey and is getting a pedicure, raving about the weather in Boca Raton to everybody else in the salon. Her nail technician - Bebe - is jealous, not so much of the weather or the trip, but the fact that Bobbi has such a sensitive and "giving" man. She has to badger her Lou for oral sex, not like Bobbi's Corrado who gives it freely and enthusiastically. Slightly uneasy, Bobbi leans forward and explains that even though they've been very open about their sex lives in the past, she'd like them to stop. Bebe is taken aback but quick to assure her that this is fine, and Bobbi smilingly mimes zipping her lip, satisfied that she's done what Junior asked her to and there'll be no repercussions to come. Livia and Junior join the family for dinner, where the subject of conversation is Meadow's upcoming game: the team made it through to Sectionals. Livia complains that nobody told her about it, frustrating Tony who literally just told her about it. Meadow is also uncomfortable and asks if they can change the subject, so Tony asks Junior about Boca. He beams, saying he doesn't go down enough, which causes Carmela to quip that this isn't what she heard. Everybody is confused by this statement, and AJ reminds them that last time Aunt Bobbi brought him a live piranha. Meadow says he is an idiot for believing it was a piranha, while Livia is frustrated: Bobbi is not AJ's Aunt. There is apparently some tension/history there, as Junior warns her obviously not for the first time to leave Bobbi alone. He calls her a sweet, sweet girl which again gives Carmela the giggles. Everybody remains confused by this, but quickly forget it when Meadow asks to leave and tells them she quit the team. Tony and Carmela are shocked and furious, and Tony says exactly the wrong thing by trying to channel Melfi and snapps that Ally "only" committed a "suicidal gesture". Meadow storms off, Carmela rushing after her as Livia - suddenly lively - encourages Meadow to stick to her guns. Irritated, Tony complains that she only acts like a Grandmother when she can score some points. Offended, Livia demands Junior take her home, the baffled Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family lamenting that he hasn't finished eating yet! Later that night in bed, Tony and Carmela share a fairly reasonable parental conversation colored - as everything is - by Tony's "job". Carmela feels Hauser pushed the girls too hard and it was unhealthy, but Tony counters that they're trying to instill the value of commitment into Meadow's head so letting her quit sends a bad message. Carmela is quietly alarmed though when Tony starts complaining about the Coach failing to prove his own committment, warning him not to try and solve this his way. Tony wisely changes the subject, asking what was up with her at dinner with Uncle Junior, and in a charming and rather endearing scene that reminds the viewer that they got married for a reason, the two have a playful argument as he tickles her and insists she tell him her secret. She finally, still giggling, explains that Silvio's wife Gabby goes to the same nail parlor as Bobbi and has overheard the conversations she had before Junior put the kibosh on them: Corrado "Junior" Soprano gives head, and he's world class at it. Tony is amazed, cracking awful joke after awful joke as Carmela laughs and laughs but begs him not to take things too far, since he never quite knows when to stop. Tony's laughter does stop immediately though when she cracks a comment about how he and all his friends all do it too, and with deadly seriousness he tells her that what goes on in their bedroom is between the two of them only. Carmela undercuts him wonderfully by assuring him she can resist the temptation to brag about getting oral sex from him once a year.   Artie comes home from Dimples, exhausted and despondent from the smell of the cheap fryer they use. He's not helped by Charmaine stomping down the stairs to use this opportunity to harangue him over Silvio's attempted bribe of Coach Hauser. Artie has no idea what she is talking about, and when he learns the details he laughs it off: as if a TV set is going to make a difference to Hauser compared to what Rhode Island is offering. Charmaine is understandably frustrated if perhaps a little ill-timed as she forces him to face up to the truth: does he really think they're going to stop at a bribe if they don't get their way? She reminds him that he grew up in the neighborhood, he knows that Tony is capable of. A little of that is being demonstrated, as Hauser is woken by incessant ringing of his doorbell and answers to find Christopher Moltisanti standing on his doorstep informing him that he "found" his dog. The dog in question was sleeping upstairs in the house, but Christopher says nope, he "found" it, and leads Hauser outside to show him the dog in the backseat of his car. Hauser is mortified, he doesn't know Christopher but he knows exactly what is going on. Even though Christopher doesn't say anything actively threatening his implication is clear: he can get into the house anytime, an accident can happen at any time. He walks away, leaving Hauser for the implications to sink in. The next morning, Tony - up early! - tells Meadow he has a feeling the Coach will reconsider moving. Carmela can't believe it and Meadow is horrified, storming away which infuriates Tony, he can't believe she doesn't appreciate what he's done, while Carmela can't believe he didn't listen. Tony rushes to Meadow's room and bitches about her lack of appreciation, saying he saw how upset the team was about Hauser leaving so he didn't something about it. She snaps back that this isn't what is upsetting them, none of them can stand Hauser anyway. Tony, not exactly quick on the uptake, still fails to pick up on the hints and rants about how successful coaches clash with their teams all the time but it helps to build success. Finally Meadow just comes right out with it: Hauser had sex with Ally. Tony is speechless, Carmella horrified. Meadow lets it all rush out in a torrent now that she's finally said it (probably sworn to secrecy by Ally): this is why Ally cut herself, why Meadow has been spending so much time with her. Ally thinks she is in love with the Coach, she thinks the Coach is in love with her but won't divorce his wife because of his own daughter etc. All the crap that a million young women have been fooled by in the past and a million more will be fooled by in the future. Tony, struggling to process the giant turd that just got dumped in his lap, tries to find whatever reason he can and to Meadow's horror asks if maybe Ally got the wrong idea? Maybe she was trying to be sophisticated/mature/grown-up and accidentally lead the Coach on? Meadow is aghast, as is Carmela, but it is clear even Tony doesn't believe this horseshit. Carmela tells him there is no excuse, no reason, no situation where this could be allowed, what if it had been Meadow? She makes Tony leave so she can talk with Meadow alone, and he rages out trying to figure out how to deal with the emotions spilling out of him. Meadow, still a child in many ways, is scared that Hauser will stay because he is intimidated by Tony, and also that revealing the truth will destroy his daughter Deena who obviously worships her father. She just wants Tony to let Hauser go, so the problem will go away with him. Carmela knows it will never be that simple, but all she can do is hug her, and offer her support.   Tony eats at the Bada Bing where Silvio considers who he will use to deal with Hauser (it is left unclear if they're talking murder or "just" a savage beating, but I'd figure the former), but Tony says this is personal so there will be no hired help, much to Silvio's relief/approval. Artie arrives, none the wiser about the new details, to read Tony the riot act about his attempts to intimidate Hauser, warning that if any more happens he'll go to the authorities himself. Silvio can't believe the temerity of Artie to come here and say this, and quickly informs him of what he doesn't know. Artie doesn't believe it of course, until he does, as the full weight of the revelation comes down on him and he remembers Chiara being driven home by the Coach one night when it rained. Suddenly every interaction, every moment out of sight takes on new meaning for him, while Silvio actually demonstrates he can think about the feelings of others as he notes that his own daughter, while not the one molested, has this knowledge now: she now has to have this on her mind on top of everything else going on in her life. Now Artie, who showed up to stop Tony taking any further steps, is the one to outright say Hauser deserves to die. Tony assures him Hauser will never do anything like this again, and the weight of that too is more than Artie can bear, as he takes a seat and lets it all sink in. Junior and Mikey Palmice arrive at a public golf course to play 18 rounds with Tony and Silvio. Junior is upset with Mikey for having Tony tailed, quick to dismiss the information that the P.I keeps losing Tony twice every week around the Medical Center. Junior at first claims it is a girlfriend, but Mikey knows about Irina, and says the only reason he'd be taking such strict precautions is if he is talking to the Feds. Junior, who knows that Tony goes to a psychiatrist, isn't about to let Mikey know that so he just ignores it/plays it down as they greet Tony and Silvio (in one hell of a hat). Unfortunately, like Carmela warned, Tony himself doesn't know when to leave well-enough alone. After mocking Mikey constantly as he tries to make his shot, Tony gets his ego punctured by Junior who points out that it was constantly talking that caused him to miss a fly ball in a game waaaaay back, embarrassing Junior in front of his friends. Tony, immediately reduced in mindset to a child by his Uncle's belittling, takes a child's approach to get back at him. As Junior takes his shot and Tony follows, Tony makes frequent and increasingly transparent cunnilingus jokes. Silvio joins Mikey in having no idea what the gently caress Tony is talking about, or why he is singing "South of the Border". Junior warns him that, unlike Tony, he can deal with his own problems, upsetting Tony further which in turn makes him make cruder jokes. Artie tends to his garden, seething while Charmaine vents her own frustrations about the situation: Ally's mother is on sedatives, the father somewhere in Europe and uncontactable, while Ally blames herself like so many young women before her have done. When Charmaine comments that Hauser isn't going to get away with this, she is horrified when Artie grunts that he certainly won't, grasping that Tony is going to do something crazy. It's easy to get frustrated at Charmaine because she's always having a go at Artie or not letting him have a moment's respite. But in this case (and many others) it is warranted, and it shouldn't be forgotten that unlike Tony and Carmela, Artie and Charmaine actually tend to communicate. When Artie says he would do it himself if he had any balls, Charmaine offers him what he doesn't realize is a compliment: he does have balls, because he's never been weak enough to take the easy option that so many of his friends have. She knows the romantic notion he has of Tony and his lifestyle, but this isn't making some douchebag remove his hat, this is about murder and torture. She agrees that Hauser deserves it, but she disagrees that they or anybody else gets to make that decision. When Artie won't come around, she tells him he's being selfish and storms off, leaving him furious... but the idea is in his head now. They argue and clash and she hounds him constantly, but in the end they have a healthier relationship for it... for now at least. Getting changed after the day's golf is done and they've showered, Mikey asks Junior what the gently caress is going on with Tony. Junior is clearly upset even as he dismisses the "sushi" stuff as just Tony babbling like always. But it's eating him up, far more than the indictments supposedly were, and he has to vent. Mikey is there, so Mikey is the one who hears it, as Junior finally snaps that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist. Mikey is shocked, but for all his dislike of Tony he is quick to remind Junior that Doctor/Patient confidentiality applies just like it does for a lawyer like Melvoin. Junior disagrees though, Melvoin is a lawyer, that puts him in the "ballpark" of what they themselves do. A psychiatrist though? He mentions the Escobedo brothers (probably a reference to The Menendez brothers) and how their psychiatrist gave evidence against them. As Mikey considers the ramifications of that, Junior - clearly really hurt more by the cunnilingus jokes than the therapy - says if Tony wants to play games, he should remember who taught him how to play. Mikey immediately grasps the significance, is Junior talking about having his own nephew killed? Junior's response warms Mikey's sadistic heart: nobody would blame him if he did.   In therapy, Tony is letting vent about Hauser and Melfi's response is exactly why Junior doesn't grasp the technicalities of Doctor/Patient confidentiality. Alarmed by Tony's rage towards Hauser, she warns him that if she thinks he intends to harm him, she will have no choice but to alert the authorities. Tony complains there is no point in telling her anything, but as always Melfi's interest lies in addressing HIS issues: why does he feel it is his place to punish Hauser? Tony, with no sense of the irony, coldly rages that if Hauser was arrested he would be treated to therapy, get to complain about his childhood and come across as the victim and somebody to sympathize with. That this applies exactly to his situation never occurs to him, which makes his claim that Melfi is the one ignoring reality all the more laughable. She, of course, won't let him dodge the question and repeats it, and he can't provide her with an answer. At the Bada Bing - a place where they make their money of older men leering at younger women - Tony and Christopher count their assembled takes with Paulie watching the door, but are interrupted by Artie showing up and begging to see him. Left alone, Artie is clearly uneasy about how best to approach it but firm on his resolution: he's here to prevent Tony from taking action against Hauser. Unknowingly repeating Melfi's line, he insists that Tony killing Hauser would be wrong, that all it would do would make Tony (and Silvio, and admittedly himself) feel better. But it wouldn't help his daughter, or Ally, it would be done for purely selfish reasons. Artie is right, but unlike Melfi here is somebody that Tony can take his frustrations out on for being forced to swallow a hard truth. He demands to know who the gently caress Artie thinks he is, how dare he come in here and tell him what to do? Artie, clearly terrified, won't back down, telling him not to do it, and Tony shoves him out the back room and slams the door on his face. It's probably one of the bravest act of Artie's life, in spite of his clear fear, and proof that Charmaine was right: in this instance at least, the man had balls. A remix of the theme song plays as time passes while Tony sits fuming in his office. A cutaway of the strippers dancing helps to show the passage of time, but also is a nice reminder of the hypocrisy of Tony and Silvio, who happily exploit women (though at least they're not still in High School, and definitely not underage) while being in moral outrage of Hauser, a man they offered a woman to screw as a reward only a few days earlier without a second thought. Tony, drinking constantly through the night, keeps looking at the phone from which he can make the call to end a man's life, something he has done many times before. At the Fitter's Union office, Junior arrives to find Bobbi alone, concerned because he is so late and didn't call to say where he was. She'd prepared a dinner for him, bbq chicken, salad and a lemon meringue pie: she has no idea what is coming. Fuming, he lunges at her roaring that he told her to keep her mouth shut, fist clenched as he slams her against a filing cabinet. She squeals for him not to hit her, and he restrains himself enough to keep from doing so. Instead, he grabs the lemon meringue pie and slams it into her face, twisting it around in a display of outright contempt (and venting that rage), a direct homage to The Public Enemy. Bobbi sobs, utterly devastated, Junior screaming that she's a stupid loving blabbermouth oval office. She wails in misery, not understanding what is going on, and he roars at her to take her stuff and leave, and not be back tomorrow. She begs him not to leave, howling that she loves him, but he just storms out without a word. The entire time, Frente a Frente plays again, as Junior comes to a stop outside to allow a moment of grief to wash over him before continuing on without a backward look. He genuinely loved her, but in the world he lives in he can't allow a weakness to remain, and so he turns his back on 16 years of bliss.  Silvio, waiting outside Hauser's house, takes a call from Tony and is told to walk away, to forget it. Silvio agrees, accepts it calmly, hangs up and then rages himself. He wasn't just willing to do the deed, he desperately wanted to do it. Tony gets drunker in his office, watching on the television as it is reported on the news of the sudden, shocking arrest of Don Hauser for an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his students. You would think Tony was the one who made the call, but the news claims a student friend was the one to make the call. Meadow? Taylor? Chiara? Maybe even Hauser's own daughter? It doesn't matter, the fact is Hauser is a piece of poo poo who is going to face legitimate justice. Hell, Tony may have even dodged a bullet, who knows if the police might have burst in while Silvio was in the process of kidnapping him to murder him. Meadow hears disturbing sounds coming from downstairs at home, and walks out to stare in a mixture of revulsion/fascination at her clearly drunk father staggering about the house, singing and laughing in false cheer, trying his best to dance with Carmela while she just tries to manage him into bed or at least a couch. Meadow looks down into the lounge as Tony collapses to the floor, and Carmela figures out he's mixed his medication in with copious amounts of alcohol and is basically as high as a kite. She tries to get his bulk up so she can get him up to bed, but pausing for a moment he looks at her with clarity and tells her that he didn't hurt nobody. The briefest smile crosses Carmela's lips at that, while upstairs Meadow's fascinated look could be read as disgust but equally relief. Tony mumbles that Carmela should call Melfi and tell her the town owes her a bonus, while Carmela takes a couch cushion and gives it to him as a pillow. He hugs up tight against it and drifts off into a drunken slumber, leaving Carmela to turn and look up at presumably Meadow. We don't see Meadow's reaction, whether there is a mutual understanding or a sense of despair at the situation, but it is a powerful final shot that also leaves Tony - big, macho, tough-guy Tony - cradled like a baby at the feet of his wife while his daughter looks down on him from an elevated position, above the miasma that Tony and Carmela can never truly escape.  Season 1: The Pilot | 46 Long | Denial, Anger, Acceptance | Meadowlands | College | Pax Soprana | Down Neck | The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti | Boca | A Hit Is a Hit | Nobody Knows Anything | Isabella | I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6.1 | Season 6.2 Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Apr 23, 2020 |
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Mar 31, 2019 11:14
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