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Season 6, Episode 12 - KaishaTony Soprano posted:We can have it all, Phil. Plenty for everybody. This episode was dedicated to John Patterson, director of the finale episodes of the first five seasons. He died in 2005, a year before the show returned for it's sixth and final season. To the tune of Moonlight Mile by the Rolling Stones, Carlo completes the last part of a very unpleasant task. Collecting the frozen head of Fat Dom's body, he drives it to Connecticut and dumps it down a sewer hole there... though not without having to deliver some forceful kicks first when it proves a little too wide to fit. It is an ignominious end, Dom was a member in good standing of one of the Five Families, now his body has been dismembered and dumped in different parts of the country, treated more like an annoying chore than anything else. Dom calls Silvio to let him know it is done, and it's a weight of Silvio's mind. Carlo asks if the wire room is still set to be destroyed as payback for Vito as originally planned and Silvio admits he can't actually remember what "the Big Man's" final decision is. That's interesting, is he just being careful over the phone? Can he honestly just not remember? Or is this a way of saving face because Tony - angry at him for killing Dom in the first place - didn't fill him in on what was going on next? In any case, we get the answer to Carlo's question, as Phil Leotardo himself pulls up outside the wireroom and prepares to escort his date (being gay is a sin, cheating on your wife isn't apparently) inside... when an explosion knocks them both on their asses: the wire room has been destroyed. It was arranged by Benny Fazio, who calls Tony to let him know that it is done AND that "The Shah" was walking in and got knocked down. Tony is very amused by that, sitting in a hotel room while HIS date (he's decidedly off the fidelity wagon now after the blowjob from the stripper) gets changed behind him.   It seems he is REALLY off that wagon, because the next we see of him is attending the final contract signing to officially complete handover of the lease of his property to Jamba Juice... and get a chance to see Julianna Skiff again. The paperwork handled, he offers an apology for how their last encounter went. She waves it off, but when he explains that he doesn't mix business with pleasure (bullshit!) but notes their business is now done so how about dinner, she's quick to turn him down. She leaves the office, this time he is the one rejected and he doesn't like it any more than she did when he did it to her. At the Moltisanti's ridiculously large new house, an excited Kelli is going through her plans to decorate the baby's room. Christopher is less enthusiastic, not from a lack of interest in the child but a superstition pushing too far ahead and risking devastation if something was to happen like "the penguin movie". To his credit, Christopher is entirely open with Kelli about this, not hiding his fears behind bluster (or worse, turning it back on her) or bullshit. But she assures him she's not Adriana, referring to his ex's difficulty with carrying a pregnancy to term rather than the fact she was brutally murdered by Silvio thanks to Christopher giving her up to Tony. Even so, he remains wary. Carmela makes a nervous visit to the hospital with flowers, but we don't see if she ever screws up the courage to go into the room of the patient she's come to see. Liz La Cerva is sedated in the bed and handcuffed to prevent her from attempting another suicide attempt like the one that put her in here in the first place. Early another morning, Carmela is unloading the groceries from her Thanksgiving shopping when Tony waddles down from the bedroom, noting with some satisfaction that nowadays AJ has left for work before either of them get up, when before he was often not home from a night out before Carmela woke. He notices her subdued mood and asks what the problem is, and she tells him about Liz's suicide attempt, apparently brought on from a letter from the Salvation Army about Adriana. Tony, without even blinking, asks if Adriana is homeless now even though he knows EXACTLY where she is. But no, it was simply a letter inquiring because Adriana usually donated to the Salvation Army around this time. Tony does his best to play it cool, but when Carmela brings up her dream in Paris and circles around the fear she has that Adriana is dead like Liz believes, he loses his cool and complains Liz just can't accept the fact her daughter hated her and got the hell out of New Jersey. This horrifies Carmela who points out that Meadow just left New Jersey a couple of weeks ago, and Tony quickly realizes that he hosed up and anger is not the right approach to this situation. Instead he quickly shifts back to the sympathetic husband, assuring a clearly stressed Carmela that she is nothing like Liz: she raised two healthy kids, Meadow is doing well, AJ is doing... better..., they have a beautiful house and she is married to a (cheating) husband who loves her. That counts for something, right? Allowing herself to be mollified, she apologizes for losing her cool and they embrace, Tony humming to her in a similar way to how Rosalie did when Carmela became overwhelmed in Paris.  Perhaps the worst thing is... Tony's right. Yes Adriana is dead like she fears, and yes Tony did order that murder, and yes Tony is cheating on her again. But as far as everything she is actually legitimately aware of/knows: life is good. AJ is doing better, Meadow is a success, the family has remained together, Tony has been more loving and attentive and spends more time with her... plus, of course, he is alive which was not a guarantee at the start of the season. It's just it's all a facade over a patchwork of lies, crime and horror, some of which she is aware of, some of which she pretends not to know, and some of which she remains blissfully ignorant of. But it doesn't change the fact that her life is seemingly blessed. Bobby and Christopher join Tony for Thanksgiving in the pool-house to watch the football game, AJ with them but fallen asleep on the floor, tuckered out from his Construction work. Tony takes great glee in waking him by tossing a snack at his head, then ordering him to go check on the turkey and bring back onion dip. Once AJ is gone, Tony takes the chance to ask Christopher about his "bird" - he knows he has a new goomar, the way he's been acting and the clandestine phone calls he's been taking make that clear. Christopher admits he has, and when he defends cheating on his pregnant wife by saying Kelli is "closed up" Tony - the loving father and husband - nods his head and agrees this is somehow a good point. But Bobby wants to know why he has brought the new girl around for them to meet, and Christopher carefully admits that she's black. They're amused by the notion but certainly not disgusted, and Tony agrees that no matter how hot or classy she might be, she'd either be the victim of Paulie's racist jokes or would feel the racism coming from him. Just like that, Christopher has adequately given a reason for them to never meet his new goomar. Ironically, of course, we've seen in the past that Paulie has had at least one semi-seriously (or at least long-term) relationship with an ethnic minority. But that's not the point here, the point is for Christopher to have had a plausible excuse he knew Tony would buy. Because the truth of who is goomar really is, is much "worse" than dating a minority, and in any case by the end of the episode we'll have seen just whose unspoken racism really gets felt. Thanksgiving over, AJ is back to work in construction. He wheels a wheelbarrow over to collect scrap and waste, stopping to greet Paulie who has stopped by to make a pickup. Paulie, like he was with Finn, is surprised to see AJ doing ACTUAL work on the construction site, but both he and AJ quickly forget each other as a beautiful Dominican woman emerges from the office and comes over to pass Paulie a check... and a kiss on the cheek he eagerly requests. Paulie tilts her cheek up and admires her like she was a thing, passively introducing her as Blanca to a gaping AJ. He greets her as Paulie takes a call from his urologist, but his attempt to start a conversation falls apart when his supervisor (Tony it seems made it clear that while AJ was being gifted the job he still had to earn keeping it) demands he gets back to work. Blanca heads back to the office, but stops at the door to look back where she sees AJ continuing to gape after her. She smiles, amused but not surprised, this is clearly not the first time she has been looked at like this, and heads inside.   Christopher has sex with his goomar, and no she's not black (she is Jewish though), she's Julianna Skiff the real estate agent who Tony rejected and who she has now rejected in turn. She apologizes for the mess of her place, explaining he didn't give her enough warning... and also she's a pig who lives in a mess anyway! He doesn't care though, and that easygoing charm and such romantic lines as "show your friends how hard you made me cum" when she notices her blew a load on her dress make it clear why she fell for a catch like him. But as they make out in post-coital bliss, she stops for a moment to question what they're doing: after all, he is married. He doesn't want to talk about that, complaining that he rushed into marriage with Kelli and she doesn't understand who he really is. Julianna is smart enough to laugh at the old "my wife doesn't understand me" line, but not quite smart enough to realize he's bullshitting her about almost everything else beyond being married. She has no idea that Kelli is pregnant, and Christopher goes so far as to tell Julianna that he has no interest in having a family with Kelly. It raises the question of just how long-term Christopher is thinking with Julianna even at this initial hot-n-heavy stage, or if lying about every aspect of his life just comes naturally to him now. Tony and Phil meet to settle the current beef between their families, in a quasi-sit-down brokered through Little Carmine as an intermediary. While he failed to take his father's leadership position, he's still got influence as Carmine's son, perhaps even moreso now that Carmine's successor Johnny has ended up in jail. Joining Tony is Silvio, of course, while Phil is accompanied by Gerry Torciano but also a man we have never seen before: a short little middle-aged man with the aggressive posturing face of somebody with a Napoleon Complex. This is Butch DeConcini, who has presumably been around a long time but has risen in standing as so many others above him like Carmine, Angelo, Rusty, Johnny and even Fat Dom have fallen by the wayside. They all take seats and Little Carmine begins his loquacious introduction, pointing out through mangled malapropisms that the recent bad blood between the two Families is impacting their bottom lines. Phil can't resist cracking a nasty joke about Vito's bottom being impacted, and Tony has no choice but to rise to the bait since regardless of anything else Vito was one of his Captains. He ignores Phil's repeated bad taste and homophobic jokes to remind him that Vito put a lot of money into BOTH their pockets, so Phil turns that around by noting one of his top earners - Fat Dom - is also missing. Just like he did with Carmela regarding Adriana earlier, Tony doesn't even blink in putting on a completely confused face and turning to Silvio with a shrug. Silvio, following along in his Boss' path, asks what this has to do with anything and Phil notes that Dom was last seen in New Jersey. That holds no water with Tony, the Hindenburg was last seen in New Jersey too but that has nothing to do with him. Little Carmine brings them both back on track, but Tony and Silvio have done an admirable job of selling their complete confusion and lack of knowledge re: Fat Dom, while Phil hasn't admitted killing Vito but made it clear what everybody already knew: he took part. Things improve from here though as Little Carmine tries to set an example by pointing out that he lost his friend Rusty recently but hasn't gone out of control looking for answers. Tony and Phil remain quiet here, both knowing despite Tony never admitting as much to Phil that Rusty's murder was orchestrated by Tony at the behest of Johnny Sack and they're both complicit. Little Carmine, who has no idea it was them (maybe he suspects Phil, he has no reason to suspect Tony), assures them both that a pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold, which bewilders everybody at the meeting. But they all understand what he means when he says they're all losing money over this bullshit, and with their initial venting out of the way they're able to play reasonable men and agree to wipe the slate clean, put the past behind them and go back to making money. Tony and Phil nod and it seems everything is actually going to work out... until Little Carmine adds one more thing to the list of things that should be put behind them, motioning to Phil and noting,"Your brother Billy... whatever happened there." Immediately Tony is trying to push on past this, but it's too late. "Whatever happened there?" demands Phil,"WHATEVER HAPPENED THERE!?!" Standing up he thrusts a finger at Tony as he explains what happened: Tony's cousin shot Billy Leotardo six times without "provocation" (Billy murdered Blundetto's friend and mentor, Angelo, remember). Tony icily reminds Phil that his cousin is dead now but Phil isn't interested in hearing it, the scab torn off the old wound. He snaps a,"gently caress you!" at Little Carmine and leads his mean out. Tony and Silvio are left behind with a wincing Little Carmine, Tony demanding to know what the gently caress as well, why would he bring this up just as it looked like they had a deal!?!   AJ takes part in a different kind of nightlife to the usual, as he joins some of the other construction workers at a bar to drink and hear stories about gross injuries they've seen on site. Temporarily left alone at the bar, he notices Blanca dancing with another girl and she senses him staring (he's not exactly being subtle). When he just continues to stare and makes no move to approach her, she saunters over knowing that he's drinking in every inch of her, and lets him know she lives in Passaic, in answer to a question he barely managed to stammer out on the site. Amused by his awkwardness she asks if he wanted to know so he could come over and take her out on a date, and with a wide-eyed smile (and a quick dart of his head around to make sure this isn't a joke) he agrees that he intends to. Testing him, she lets him know she has a 3-year-old kid but, not understanding the significance, he simply offers a polite,"Cool!" in response. Grabbing a napkin, still smirking, she gives him her number, bites the material to leave an imprint of her lipstick and tells him to call her. As she walks away he notices there are only six numbers, and still smirking she tells him she left the last number off because he's going to have to work to get the full number. AJ, who until recently hadn't worked a day in his life, has never been more prepared to put in the hard yards than he is right now. Julianna is informed in her office that she has an emergency call, and in a panic answers thinking it might be her "Pop". But it's Tony, of course, joking that he "had" to get her attention. Pissed off, she tells him not to waste her time and starts to hang up, but he cuts her off to explain he's calling on business. She has a warehouse listed on Panama that used to be a uniform supply, and he wants to know the asking price. She's rightfully suspicious, it's a piece of poo poo with no foot-traffic, but amusingly her suspicions are somewhat alleviated when he basically admits he wants her to join him in pulling a scam to make them both a profit: she gets the seller to knock down the asking price, he'll buy it and fix it up and then pass it back to her to sell at an increased value and split the profits. This has her attention, it's immoral as hell but it's also easy money, and when he asks if she doesn't do stuff like this often she doesn't deny it... but she also says she needs time to think. Hanging up, she ponders for a moment, and we get a flashback that reveals how she and Christopher's relationship began. Their point of contact wasn't Satriale's, but a AA meeting where she explained her recent slip. Though she doesn't mention names, it's clear she is talking about her encounter with Tony where they were about to have sex but then he just suddenly stopped and left. Upset, she knocked back the entire bottle of Cristal, admitting that as far as falling off the wagon goes it could have been worse, at least she didn't shoot up with heroin. In attendance at this meeting is Christopher, and he stops her outside as she is leaving to tell her how much he appreciated her sharing. He admits he also suffers similar issues to her, he gets a real rush from his job when things are going well but then struggles to cope when they're not. She admits she's never heard him share in a meeting before, though she is quick to assure him that isn't a judgment. He notes that he also splits time between AA and NA, and there is a certain wistfulness in his voice when he notes how tough kicking heroin can be. When she asks where she has seen him before he reminds her of Satriale's, and her face falls somewhat, reminded of Tony or maybe even suspecting Christopher is there at Tony's request. But when she tries to leave and he asks her if she wants coffee, it strikes her as genuine and she agrees, asking him to follow her in her car to a coffee place she knows. They never get inside though, as things move fast and they quickly move from making out to having sex in the car. In the present, Julianna remembers that wild, unexpected first encounter with obvious pleasure. At home, Tony is watching a special on Abraham Lincoln and the way he dealt with depression (Tony is no Abraham Lincoln) when Carmela returns from a meeting for an annual Christmas toy drive. She gives him a kiss and then settles on the couch beside him to tell him she met Stan Klimik there. Tony has no idea who that is, and alarm bells start ringing when she says he works for Kroll, a private detective firm. She told Stan about her fears for Adriana and he recommended hiring a private eye to see if he can track her down, and even gave Carmela his card. Tony's unease increases more when she enthusiastically tells him about a case where the private eyes tracked down a man missing for 12 years at a Mojave Desert watering station. Soon he's at the Bada Bing, where he tells a confused Silvio that he has to go see the Building Inspector and get Carmela's Spec House up and running again. But Tony told him to leave it alone? Well he's changing that order, in fact he wants it done TODAY, because for all their sakes, his wife needs a career. Yes, after months of taking no steps to do the one simple thing she asked him to do as part of the deal that got him his entire marriage back, Tony has finally gotten off his rear end and gotten proactive... because once again it affects him directly. He heads towards the back, passing Ahmed and Muhammad who warmly greet him from their normal spot, wishing him and his family season's greetings. A little surprised but not entirely unpleased, he offers the same back to them.   Tony and Julianna visit the warehouse and as warned it is a piece of poo poo. She explains the developer originally thought he could turn it into apartments with some retail stores but they got caught up on zoning restrictions. An amused Tony assures her he will worry about that... and then asks her to tell him more about her fiance. Julianna is furious, she took him at his word that this was purely a business thing. When he explains he was confused before but isn't now, she takes some satisfaction in saying that she also isn't confused any more... she wants nothing to do with him. Storming out, she tells him to leave the keys in the lockbox when he goes and heads out the door, her dignity intact. But in spite of herself, now thoughts of Tony Soprano are in her head. Later when she has Christopher over, she reads through the current draft of Cleaver and gives him her thoughts, and eventually this leads to discussing the Mob Boss character in the film... and she has to ask, is Tony like that? Christopher is quick to say that he used Tony as a jumping off point for the character only... but then can't help but admit that there are still some similarities including a belief that EVERYTHING is his. This leads to their first semi-argument, as he admits it is a little strange being with her when Tony has "already been there", pissing her off since she never actually had sex. That doesn't actually matter Christopher explains, because he's been there in his MIND. Quite justifiably she takes exception to being marked as somebody's territory just because he IMAGINED being in a relationship with her. He tries to crack a joke about Tony's weight to lighten the mood but it doesn't cheer her at all, so instead he get handsy with her. Kissing her, he attempts to simultaneously achieve twin goals of getting her to stop being mad (or at least having to deal with it) while also getting to have sex. She aggressively takes part as well, pushing him back onto the couch in an attempt to regain some sense of control/autonomy after being equated to what she bitterly calls being seen as a "loving parking spot". At the Averna Social Club, Phil sits with Butch, Gerry and Albie to discuss the current situation. The problem is that they don't really know if Tony had Dom killed, and if he did then why the hell would he ALSO blow up the Wire Room in Sheepshead Bay? Albie is clearly uncomfortable with this question, and it proves why Tony was smart to go ahead with his initial planned bombing, because it DOESN'T make any sense to both kill Dom AND blow up the room both as reciprocal actions for Vito. But Butch is eager, as eager as Rusty was for his Boss to go to war, full of assurances that it will be easy and quick. Ironically given the mirror argument is often made on the DiMeo Family side, Butch complains that Tony is constantly testing Phil who keeps letting him get away with it. Phil agrees that he has been too indulgent with Tony (!) but he's adamant that even if that is the case he absolutely will NOT whack another Boss. Butch dismisses that concern, noting it has been done before, but in Phil sticks to his principles: it was wrong when it happened before, it would be wrong now. Sure he gets pissed at Tony calling him the Shah of Iran behind his back, he thinks he's a fat piece of poo poo and the leader of a glorified crew... but a Boss is a Boss, and that role should be sacrosanct. Butch doesn't force the issue, but he isn't willing to just let the whole thing go: they have to kill SOMEBODY for this, so Phil needs to pick somebody. On that, Phil is far less opposed.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that Phil is Acting Boss himself and probably doesn't want to set a precedent that Bosses can be killed just like anybody else. A frustrated Christopher leaves a Narcotics Meeting with Murmur, complaining about the "Jerry Springer poo poo" from white trash junkies. Murmur has picked up on his bad mood and asks what the problem is, and the moment Christopher admits that he's started seeing Julianna he straight up tells him to back off since Tony already "planted the flag". Christopher explains that she and Tony never had sex and Murmur shrugs that it's still touchy but maybe okay, but Christopher - despite bringing up the problem to Murmur - complains that it doesn't matter if it is touchy, gently caress Tony because what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Murmur is smart enough to keep his mouth shut when it comes to something like that, plus he can sense there is a deeper issue going on here. There is, Christopher admits that she's a recovering heroin addict herself, and Murmur again is immediate in his warning that this is not a good idea. Except Christopher WANTS it to be a good idea, dismissing Murmur's concerns that the two could end up enabling each other, insisting that actually they'll be familiar enough with the signs to see trouble coming and keep each other strong. His heart clearly not in it, Murmur admits that two being stronger than one has been argued as a recovery tool before, but he knows that it's bullshit in this case. This is the bind he is in: as Christopher's sponsor he has a duty help Christopher avoid trouble and help him when he gets into it... but he's also Christopher's underling and subject to his whims, and doesn't really have the authority he needs to lay down the law. So all he can do is warn Christopher of how hard it was for him to come back from his last slip back into using at the Feast of Elzéar, and listen to Christopher lay out all the same old bullshit excuses and justifications he has heard a million times. Meanwhile, Julianna and her sponsor Amy are shopping at a supermarket while they discuss her latest relationship, yet another married man.... this one connected to the Mafia... also she was involved with his Boss. Amy is mortified, but as her sponsor she doesn't want to judge, so instead she explains as clearly as she can that unlike Julianna she has lived in North Jersey her whole life and she knows that people like Tony Soprano are sociopaths and legitimate, actual, genuine murderers. "I think you're getting a little carried away" Julianna claims, like so many others before her she's just kind of assumed the mafia is mostly played up for television and movies and the people she meets and likes SURELY can't be monstrous criminal scum murderers. Amy, troubled but wanting to support her, offers a hug but Julianna turns it down, worried she is getting a cold. AJ did the work, because he's not only gotten Blanca's number but made it to her house. They're watching The 40 Year Old Virgin together, having a great time laughing at Steve Carell getting waxed when suddenly loud rap music starts playing outside. Blanca is pissed, poking her head out the window and angrily shushing them, not wanting them to wake her baby. The teenagers sneer back and call up to her to come down and suck their dicks, and she retreats back inside and closes the window. With a sigh she explains to AJ that her ex used to go down and kick their asses if they played the music too loud, but he's gone now and the assholes are back. She heads down to her son's bedroom as he starts crying to check on him, while AJ is left feeling ineffectual on the couch, the shadow of an ex (boyfriend? husband?) cast over him. As she returns holding the crying baby, he draws up his courage (or at least a rough approximation formed by anger) and heads downstairs and through the doors all squared up and ready to fight... until he sees the three hooligans turn around more than prepared for a fight. Instead, he heads to his car and opens the back, takes his bike out and wheels it over to the now confused teenagers. Rather than kicking their asses (or rather, getting his rear end kicked) he offers them a trade: take their music and go somewhere else, and they can have his nice expensive bike for themselves. Technically speaking they could probably kick his rear end and take it anyway, but they're not stupid, just assholes. So they shrug, agree, and wheel the bike away. AJ returns upstairs, far from the manly heroic figure of Blanca's ex.... but it doesn't matter, because he achieved the same result. Was it worth AJ losing his bike? He'd probably more than agree it was, because the next thing we see is his happy disbelief as he lays beneath her as she goes buck wild riding him Cowgirl-Style in bed.  
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Mar 3, 2020 15:00
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Post-sex they lay in bed together, eyes only for each other. He asks if it bothers her he's younger than her but of course she doesn't care, the 10-year-difference probably means far more to him than it does to her. She asks if it really doesn't bother him that she has a kid, and he happily explains he loves kids (Bobby Jr might disagree). They share a little more small-talk, including the fact AJ's birthday is the same as Jesse Ventura's (neither of them know who that is) then go back to making out, each counting their lucky stars to have gotten such a catch. A beautiful, exotic young woman for him, a not-bad looking and very nice young man who is financially well-off and doesn't care she has kids for her. Less sexy is the current situation between Christopher and Julianna. Her flu has gotten the best of her and Christopher insists they're not going out as planned, he'll bring up the 50 Cent movie from his car they were giving away at the car wash (an in-joke at Terence Winter's expense) and they can watch that. She hacks and coughs and he insists he's going to go to the pharmacy and get her Robitussin, but she finds the strength to warn him from doing that, as it contains dextromethorphan which they could use to get high. When she breaks down coughing again he insists that it's over-the-counter so it can't be that bad. But she calls him back, saying that a safe alternative might be Valerian tea: if they put 9-10 teabags in it'll have roughly the same effect as a Valium, since they're in the same chemical family. Christopher is surprised and impressed by this knowledge, and agrees he'll go hunt it down at a Health Store instead of going to a pharmacy. After all, even if it doesn't suppress her cough it might at least allow her to sleep. Christmas is approaching and Tony has bought the tree, and is breaking AJ's balls about his struggles to use pliers on the base despite working construction. Carmela arrives and comments on how nice the Christmas-sy smell is, then goes through the mail she just collected. One of them is a very pleasant surprise, the Building Department has repealed the stop-work order on her Spec House... she can begin construction again immediately without having to tear it all down and start again. She is ecstatic, and she also knows that Tony must in some way be involved. She hugs him tight and declares it the best Christmas Present ever, and he enjoys the affection... as well as the hope that this will shove all thoughts of Adriana aside for good. Just a reminder in case it was forgotten, the house is literally not up to code. Her fight this entire time has been to get away with having a house made from incorrect materials, that she plans to eventually sell to some poor family to live in and have to deal with years down the track. At the Leotardo home, Patty is going through the plans for Christmas Eve while a less than engaged Phil grunts approval or makes complaints as appropriate. Patty complains (though with long-suffering good nature) about his attitude, and he insists he's not feeling well due to the clams he ate. The cleaning lady gets supplies from a cupboard and Patty only acknowledges her via a curt instruction on how to clean. Phil doesn't react or acknowledge her at all, and it is extremely easy to miss (I did!) that this is the goomar we saw him with at the start of the epispde. Yes, Phil is banging his cleaning lady and she works right there in the house right under Patty's nose. Unknowing (or perhaps aware but just resigned to the humiliation), Patty checks his forehead to see if he's running a fever. He dislikes her mothering, noting he never said he was hot, he's feeling a tightness around the esophagus. Settling back down across from him, she certainly doesn't help him calm down when she starts talking about how rough Christmas will be for Marie this year. Unbelievably, she starts talking lovingly about the previous Christmas and how nice a part Vito played in their celebrations. Phil doesn't want to hear any of that of course, especially from the woman who made it so clear that Vito had to be "punished", and grunts that he's going to take a poo poo. It must have been one hell of one, because the next we see of him is in hospital, being given a clean bill of health from the doctor after he started thinking he was having a heart attack. The doctor promises him that he wasn't, none of the markers that would be present in his blood from the released proteins caused by a heart attack were present. He was probably just suffering from bad gas, and he's going to give him a prescription for an antacid. Phil quietly calls him an arrogant prick after he has left, but Patty is cheerful, she for certain appreciates that her husband has been given a clean bill of health, and affectionately calls him a nervous nellie. There's affection between Christopher and Julianna too, but of a very different type. Long over her flu, she arrives late to meet him in his car, apologizing because she had to deal with an rear end in a top hat Wall Street couple looking at a loft space. But all he cares about is that she's here now, and they can begin. Sex? Like the passionate sex in the car they had on their first "date"? No, something else entirely. As was probably inevitable from the moment they got back together, they're back on heroin. Maybe the Valerian root made them think they could start edging back into stronger stuff. Maybe he couldn't find any and this was the "only" way to alleviate her cough. Maybe they convinced each other to see if they could maintain if they watched out for each other. It doesn't matter what it was, because like Murmur warned they're simply enabling each other. They smoke and then lean back in a daze, Julianna laying her head down in his lap where he strokes her hair much the same way he petting the dog while high at the festival. The entire scene he never says a single word to her, just wordlessly prepares things for her to pour in the powder and light it up and so they can smoke it together.   Patty wakes to the sound of Phil wheezing heavily and gasping for breath, clutching at his heart. In a panic she hauls him back to the hospital, he is barely able to walk as he staggers from her to the same doctor who gave him the all clear earlier. He collapses into the doctor's arms, unable to hold himself up anymore, and the doctor screams for a crash cart. At the Bada Bing, Murmur arrives with the news, and for once he's not laughing or cracking jokes: Phil is in Intensive Care in a Brooklyn Hospital, having suffered a massive heart attack. Tony for once completely fails to read the room, a huge grin breaking out over his face and ordering drinks all round (and even a club soda for Murmur), proclaiming there is a Santa after all. But Murmur is concerned, Silvio is concerned, and even Paulie outright states that he's surprised that Tony is happy with the news. Tony, still grinning, can't understand why they're not all delighted too, Phil is a huge pain in his balls. Silvio agrees... but it's a manageable pain: Phil is the devil they know. Christmas is growing closer, and decorations are going up everywhere, including at the mental health facility where Junior Soprano has effectively been left to rot. He's not taking part in any decoration making or hanging anything up, and when they suggest he make a hand turkey he sneers that this isn't the type of thing you do for Christmas. He seems completely mentally aware, all there for perhaps the first time this season (with his lawyer he was aware but also in a panic over being abandoned), and in some ways that is worse because it makes him all the more cognizant of his situation. To his great pleasure however he hears that a visitor has arrived to see him: it's Bobby Baccalieri. Thrilled, he gets up and hugs Bobby who hugs him right back, a big smile on his face. They sit down at a table and a pleased Junior wants to chat, but Bobby - his eye only just healed enough to take the eyepatch off - sadly explains he can't stay long... and he's here to give something back. It's an envelope full of cash, sent to them by Junior via Beppe as a Christmas present, and they simply can't accept it as nice as it is. Junior is bewildered and says it's so he can get something nice for "Karen" and the kids. Bobby is saddened to see that Junior isn't as all there as he thought but doesn't correct him over Karen being dead, and explains that he shouldn't even really be here at all after what happened with Tony. Junior, mind starting to slip more, is aware enough to complain about Tony "still being up on that cross" but also to try and claim that "maybe I didn't act alone", another vague reference to JFK like he told the cops who came to question him back at the start of the season. He tries to convince Bobby to stay but he won't, simply offering a sad but heartfelt "Happy Holidays" before sliding back the envelope of cash and walking out. Junior is devastated, but with Bobby gone he knows he has to fend for himself again. Collecting the envelope, he passes it over to one of the orderlies and notes that one hand can wash the other. Tony is chatting animatedly with some firemen, stealing one of Murmur's jokes to tell them. As he heads back to Satriale's, he notices Christopher chatting through the car window to Julianna. Julianna drives away and Christopher starts to amble across the street, looking momentarily startled when he sees Tony but quickly recovering. Tony asks how he knows her and Christopher "remembers" that they had a thing going, and asks how that went. "I had to put her on the shelf" is Tony's bullshit reply, and then he waits impatiently for Christopher to answer HIS question. Pretending like he simply forgot what was asked for a moment, he spins some bullshit about how Julianna is a friend of his black goomar: Kaisha. She was asking him for advice on what to get Kaisha for her birthday. When a suspicious Tony pushes for more details, such as what he suggested, Christopher's,"Luther Vandross boxset" comes just a little too late, clearly the result of having to think rather than remember. But Tony lets it go... for now.  At Julianna's, she brings him a bottle of water he can barely even lift he's so doped up. In her underwear, she can barely stand up, and she crawls onto the couch with him and into his arms. There he muses on how interesting it is that they've managed to figure out a way to use heroin again but to integrate it into their lives while maintaining mastery over it. It's the pathetic justification/self-delusion of the junkie, and when Julianna mumbles that the one rule is that they can't use needles, it's basically telling him that they're both going to end up using needles. Christopher, water bottle in serious danger of tipping over, mutters that he thinks he might have to tell Tony they're loving. After a long delay this finally registers with her and she asks why, pointing out that they're not actually loving anymore, all they do together now is get high. But Christopher's concern is more that if Tony finds out some other way, he'll look for more details and find out they met in AA, then suspect that Christopher is using again. None of this is any concern to Julianna though, who slips out of his arms and crawls along the floor of her mess of an apartment so vomit into a vase. Truly they have mastered heroin. Tony leaves the Bada Bing as Christopher arrives late at night, cleaned up enough to seem normal, cracking jokes when he learns from Tony that Phil has just gotten out of surgery. Tony tries to excuse himself but Christopher wants to talk first, and admits that he lied about Julianna before, the truth is they're banging. Tony of course declares triumphantly that he knew something was up... but why did Christopher lie to him? Christopher, trying too hard to smile "casually", admits that he was stupid, that he wasn't sure how things ended between her and Tony but once Tony told him he knew it was okay now. Essentially he tells Tony that Tony is okay with it, hoping that his smile and confidence will win the day. Tony, pretending indifference, grunts that he doesn't care what Christopher does with her and then leaves. Christopher, idiot that he is, takes this at face value. Tony Soprano got shot in the stomach, went into a coma, went into shock, then came out alive and with complete control of his mental faculties. He got his marriage back, he got the love of his wife back, he impressed his men with the speed of his physical return to health, he escaped indictment along with Johnny Sack, his Uncle got thrown away into a mental institute but he's alive and kicking and even back to cheating on his wife scott-free. He had his nephew's fiance murdered and got away with that too, and his wife's sniffing around that has been expertly sidelined. He has escaped near-miss after near-miss, and is alive and healthy and whole. So what does he do? This man who bemoans the lack of the Gary Cooper type? He goes to his therapist and whines that "this is my reward". She asks him what he means and he bitterly complains about how he went out of his way to NOT have sex with his beautiful, intelligent woman because he felt guilty about Carmela... and his "reward" for actually keeping to his marriage vows is that Christopher got to gently caress her instead. That's how this bitter, selfish man who earlier this season gratefully told his sister that every day was a gift feels now: that it is unfair that somebody else gets to have sex with a woman who is not his wife. Christopher was right when talking about the Mob Boss in Cleaver sharing this trait with Tony: he thinks everything belongs to him. But Melfi sees something encouraging in all this anyway, and tells Tony so. Because everything she's learned about him over these years had lead her to expect this story would end with him lashing out violently against Christopher... but he didn't. Tony "jokes" that Christmas isn't over but she insists on sticking with her point: he doesn't need to have sex with every female he meets, and maybe finally he is starting to understand that. The man who once told her that men can't stop themselves after a certain point has learned to stop himself even when right on the cusp of sex. But there is still a loooong way to go. Tony sits and ponders for a moment and then tells her that he's started to realize that a certain type of woman seems to attract him. To her credit she maintains her cool as he makes the "breakthrough" that Melfi herself, Gloria, Julianna etc all sit a similar pattern, so what is that about? Melfi, who for years has been hammering him with the fact that his mother casts a gigantic shadow over all his relationships with women, doesn't scream in his face for suddenly coming up with this "all by himself". Instead she asks him what HE thinks it means. Only half-joking, he says maybe it means that's why he keeps coming to these sessions with her? After all, the therapy (that he refuses to ever engage with on any meaningful level) hasn't actually accomplished anything!   Christopher and Julianna attend a screening of Vertigo. Christopher finds himself staring at a woman he's perhaps no longer entirely sure why he's still with. It seems to be one of the few occasions where they are not blitzed out of their minds (or at least not entirely), while a series of super-imposed shots show them smoking up at other times. Catching him looking at her, Julianna mistakes his quiet analysis for affection and snuggles in close to him. In the back of Satriale's, Tony is informed that FBI Agent Harris is out the front eating a sandwhich and wanted Tony to know he was there. Intrigued, Tony heads out the front and greets him, asking how the War on Terror is going. His joke falls flat for himself when Harris simply mumbles that Christmas is their "busy season", as much as anybody else Tony was just as susceptible to the phantom terrorism boogeyman that plagued the American psyche in the early-to-mid 2000s. Harris admits the reason he came was because he still has friends in the Organized Crime part of the FBI, and they've been hearing chatter that somebody close to Tony is potentially in danger from the Lupertazzi Family. Tony tries to play it off but this has him understandably concerned, especially with Phil recovering from a coronary and not actively running things. Harris can't offer him any more than that, but notes quietly that it's Christmas: in other words, this warning was his gift to a man he spent so long investigating/tailing/researching until 9/11 changed his entire career focus. At the same lovely diner they didn't quite make it to on their first "date", Christopher and Julianna undergo a long and unspoken break-up. After talking to his wife on the phone who just wanted to talk to him for no reason other than to hear his voice, he awkwardly blows a kiss down the phone right in front of Julianna which she can't help but notice. They then discuss their biggest issue with AA: the higher power. He thought he could make his oath from his Making ceremony as his higher power, but he's come to increasingly understand that NOBODY actually follows that oath, including Tony, so how can he rely on it? Julianna, sensing what is coming, asks if he is breaking up with her but he insists he isn't. They ponder whether to go to a meeting, Christopher putting the decision in her hands, and they head outside. She asks if they should go together in the one car but after a moment's thought he says he'll follow her in his. They both know he has no intention of following her. Tony, thoughts of the Devil he DOESN'T know worrying him, visits Phil in the hospital. In the waiting room, Butch, Gerry and Albie see him coming and are caught by surprise. Butch admonishes him that he should have called first but Tony ignores him as he should: Butch is NOT the Boss of anything and doesn't get to make demands of him. Ginny Sack is in the room with Patty who is sitting at Phil's bedside when Tony arrives. Spotting Ginny, he asks quietly how John is doing but she shakes her head that she can't deal with that conversation right now: for all his other faults, Phil is the one who looked after Ginny during the dark period after Johnny's arrest and now he too is in danger of being taken from her. A red-eyed Patty forces a thin smile and notes,"Something Christmas Present, huh?" Turning back to Phil, she whispers she'll see him in the morning, and a distraught Ginny rushes out of the room. This leaves the Boss of the DiMeo Family and the Acting Boss of the Lupertazzi Family alone together. Tony settles down across from the man who has been a thorn in his side almost since he first got out of prison, now weakened and vulnerable... at the worst possible time. Phil and others have discussed hurting or killing somebody close to Tony, and the only way to prevent that is to do a deal, and Phil is the only person he has a legitimate background/history with, even if some of it is horrible on both their parts. So Tony sits down, braces himself, and then admits something he never told anybody: he does remember something from his coma. No details, but he knows he went somewhere that he never wants to return to, and he suspects Phil knows what he is talking about. It is the first time Tony has ever admitted that he may actually believe in Hell after all, something he at least suspects Phil believes in too. Phil doesn't answer, so Tony takes him firmly by the hand and tells him that ultimately the no-show jobs they argued so strongly over mean nothing. He wants him to get better, stronger, to get out of hospital and focus on the good things like grandchildren. Because there's no reason for them to fight, they can have it all: there is plenty for everybody. Tears pool in Phil's eyes, though whether he is crying or this is a side-effect of the surgery who can say. Phil doesn't give a response, though he takes in Tony's words, he's too smart to say something in a vulnerable state. But Tony has said his piece, and with any luck made a gesture that Phil will appreciate.... because the man behind Tony won't.  Butch has arrived and stands in the doorway as Tony finishes talking softly to Phil. When Tony turns to go, Butch is standing there in his way, and when Tony goes to move past him Butch steps to the side to keep in his way. "We gotta stop meeting like this, huh?" he sneers, a big fake grin plastered over his face. Tony steps past him and walks away, but there is a worried look on his face. Carmine is gone. Johnny Sack is locked away. Phil is stuck in a hospital bed. These are the men he has known and worked with for better or worse. Who is Butch? What will he do? How will he react? He's clearly spoiling for a fight and thinks he is a lot more intimidating than he really is... but that in itself is nerve-wracking, because he looks the type to start a war just to prove he's not scared of doing it. Butch watches him go, a smug look on his face, utterly convinced that his is the superior position to the Boss of a Family. At home, Carmela goes through her address book and business cards as she gets back into the swing of working on her spec house. As she does, she comes across the card for the private eye firm that could have potentially tracked down Adriana, who Carmela was so concerned about. Except she has exciting things to do for herself now, so she tosses it aside along with the card of a supplier of party balloons, then happily makes a call to a contractor who can order in roof slates for her. The card will be thrown in the trash and dumped somewhere nobody will ever find it again, and probably never think of either... just like Adriana La Cerva. Christmas Eve arrives at last, and the house is full of energy as the women in the family work in the kitchen, Sophia Baccalieri finds herself lumped in with this too by Janice's order, while Bobby Jr gets to sit and watch A Christmas Carol. Hugh - apparently no longer refusing to be in the same house as his daughter - arrives and marvels at the frankly ridiculous number of gifts under the tree. Bobby, full of the Christmas Spirit, brings up how WABC used to give updates on Santa's whereabouts when they were kids. Tony grins at the memory, but then notices Christopher popping ice-cubes into his drink and snaps at him, asking if he intends to hog all the ice. Apparently "plenty for everybody" was a limited offer to himself and Phil. If there's one thing Tony Soprano can't stand, it's somebody who wants everything for themselves! AJ arrives at the house with Blanca and her son, Hector. Spotting the presents, Hector rushes excitedly to the tree and a mortified Blanca calls after him that they're not for him. Amused, AJ heads over to pick him up, while Carmela and Tony exchange worried glances between beaming smiles at Blanca, especially after learning that the expensive looking necklace she is wearing was a gift from AJ. Left alone for a moment, Tony and Carmela ponder what they've just seen, Carmela horrified that she's 10 years older than their son.... AND Puerto Rican. No no, Tony corrects her, she's Dominican... maybe! Yeah, Paulie's the one who would have created an undercurrent of racial tension. He reminds Carmela she's at least Catholic, plus don't blame him since they both agreed it was a great thing he made AJ work the construction job! Carmela, still uncertain, goes to talk to Meadow calling from California on the phone, while Tony heads back into the lounge where he hears AJ telling Christopher he bought the necklace at the mall. Tony points out he has a guy and could have got him a better deal, and AJ retorts back that HE has a job. He's proud of it, that AJ, he worked and made that money... in a job his father got him and he tried his best to avoid taking.   A Christmas Carol has ended and Casablanca is on now, and Bobby Jr is still just sitting on his rear end watching the TV. Carmela finishes up on the phone with Meadow and hands her over to Tony as everybody settles in the lounge to eat, Janice finally getting Bobby Jr away from the television. Barbara, Tom and their kids aren't there yet because Tom had a job, as Tony explains to Meadow before saying goodbye and wishing her a Merry Christmas, and passing on his love to Finn. He hangs up and for a moment the room is utterly silent. Blanca breaks it by saying what everybody who first comes to the house tells Carmela: she has a beautiful home. Carmela always thanks them and then points out something that she wants to redo or humble-brags about the cost of something. But today after the requisite thanks, she takes a moment before she agrees, they really do have a beautiful home. She and Tony hold hands and smile at each other, and the camera slowly pulls away on the Soprano Family - both direct, extended and by proxy - gathered together by the fire with plenty of food and drink on Christmas Eve. Tony Soprano is alive, loved and everybody he in turn loves is safe. He has a beautiful home, a loving wife, kids who despite many problems over the years both seem to be doing well. He should have been dead, or still in the coma, or severely brain damaged, or paralyzed or any number of other horrible things. But he's not, and this first half of the Sopranos' final season ends on a surprisingly wholesome note even with awareness of all the rottenness underneath. But that's all for next season, for this final scene on this final episode, all is well.  THIS is his reward. Season 6: Members Only | Join the Club | Mayham | The Fleshy Part of the Thigh | Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request... | Live Free or Die | Luxury Lounge | Johnny Cakes | The Ride | Moe n' Joe | Cold Stones | Kaisha Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6.1 | Season 6.2 Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Apr 23, 2020 |
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Mar 3, 2020 15:00
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Great write-up as always. If I'm not mistaken, the reason for the lingering shot of the cleaning lady is that it's Phil's comare. The same one that he was with when the wire room exploded, and the same one that was killed along with her father next season.
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Mar 3, 2020 15:53
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Weird thing for me to focus on but I always loved Carmela's Christmas Tree decorating skills.
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Mar 3, 2020 18:28
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That sort of thing would be right up her alley tbh
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Mar 3, 2020 18:31
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My mother used to do the same thing, too. Just sitting in the living room "enjoying the tree"
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Mar 3, 2020 18:36
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Great write-up as always. dang good catch
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Mar 3, 2020 18:46
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Which makes me wonder whether or not Patty knew about it, which would add another whole dimension to their back-and-forth over Vito and their marriage in general. EDIT: I just checked and it's correct. Matilda Downey played Yaryna, Phil's maid and comare in "Kaisha" and "The Blue Comet" Pope Corky the IX fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Mar 3, 2020 |
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Mar 3, 2020 18:51
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This show does an exceptionally good job of writing how addicts talk, behave and rationalize. It's hard to do and more subtle than it might seem and, as an addict myself, it's always stood out for this reason.
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Mar 3, 2020 19:32
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Also like to chime in that your analysis of his sponsor's reasoning is a little wrong - he isn't going 'two are stronger than one,' because he's frightened of him, it's because he already sees he's made his mind up and isn't going to waste his time and energy on a lost cause. A big part of sponsorship is picking your battles, and that is one he will not win.
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Mar 3, 2020 19:39
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Jerusalem posted:Tony and Phil nod and it seems everything is actually going to work out... until Little Carmine adds one more thing to the list of things that should be put behind them, motioning to Phil and noting,"Your brother Billy... whatever happened there." I think that out of all of the funny moments from the entire series, Tony's "Alright then!" makes me laugh the most. Lemon fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Mar 3, 2020 |
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Mar 3, 2020 21:07
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I also love everyone exchanging quiet baffled looks at "A pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold"
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Mar 3, 2020 21:23
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Pope Corky the IX posted:I also love everyone exchanging quiet baffled looks at "A pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold" If Carmine had a better way with words he'd be pretty loving profound, he already is in some way. Especially when he's explaining to Tony why he doesn't want to be boss. BiggerBoat posted:This show does an exceptionally good job of writing how addicts talk, behave and rationalize. It's hard to do and more subtle than it might seem and, as an addict myself, it's always stood out for this reason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhDq-70caV0
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Mar 3, 2020 22:18
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Pope Corky the IX posted:Great write-up as always. Well god loving drat I COMPLETELY missed that. Comrade Blyatlov posted:Also like to chime in that your analysis of his sponsor's reasoning is a little wrong - he isn't going 'two are stronger than one,' because he's frightened of him, it's because he already sees he's made his mind up and isn't going to waste his time and energy on a lost cause. I think that's part of the reason we see Amy with Julianna straight after, because she is doing her best to be a good sponsor. With Murmur, I do get the sense that he is never going to give Christopher ANY pushback the moment he sees any resistance from what is basically his Boss. To be fair, I've also never been in that kind relationship on either end so I'm fully willing to admit I'm just reading to much into my knowledge of their respective roles in the mob. Pope Corky the IX posted:My mother used to do the same thing, too. Just sitting in the living room "enjoying the tree" Yeah, mine too 
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Mar 3, 2020 22:59
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Ehhhh, I mean it could be to do with the mob, but that's the philosophy I've seen from most - know when to walk away and not invest too much in someone else's sobriety
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Mar 3, 2020 23:09
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BiggerBoat posted:This show does an exceptionally good job of writing how addicts talk, behave and rationalize. It's hard to do and more subtle than it might seem and, as an addict myself, it's always stood out for this reason. Yeah it's really remarkable, the scenes of Christopher and Julianna marvelling over how in control of their lives they are as they're blitzed out on the couch, Christopher unable to even hold a bottle of water and Julianna crawling over to a vase to puke into it is put together incredibly well.
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Mar 3, 2020 23:46
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Little Carmine is in the odd position of being really inept but also wise enough to realize it and step back from trying to dominate that world. And in the end he gets to just coast by with his businesses and not worry about being boss. And he gets to be happy by stepping away. I do love how many idiot sons there are on this show though. Jackie JR, Little Carmine, AJ. They're all such great idiot sons.
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Mar 4, 2020 00:42
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Little Carmine realized he was standing at the precipice of an enormous crossroads.
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Mar 4, 2020 04:28
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Yeah but the fundamental question is, will he be as effective as a boss like his dad was? He will be, even more so?
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Mar 4, 2020 06:54
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Does little carmine have an actual position? Hes obviously made and most likely came up entirely under his dads reign as boss but hes just kinda off loving around in Miami and making pornos with his production company. Is he in a crew? John and Phil obviously tolerate him enough to let him stay around just kinda doing his own thing. Everyone calls him an idiot or whatever but man hes low key the slickest dude in the organization when you think about it.
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Mar 4, 2020 07:51
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He owns businesses that make money. They're all built on mob money and are probably also used as fronts for more ill-gotten cash as well, but he's extremely well placed to be a guy who enjoys most of the benefits without much if any of the responsibility. The upcoming episode where he explains the moment he decided to give up his aspirations for greater power and the values he held more important than rank is really great.
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Mar 4, 2020 08:56
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banned from Starbucks posted:Does little carmine have an actual position? Hes obviously made and most likely came up entirely under his dads reign as boss but hes just kinda off loving around in Miami and making pornos with his production company. Is he in a crew? John and Phil obviously tolerate him enough to let him stay around just kinda doing his own thing. Everyone calls him an idiot or whatever but man hes low key the slickest dude in the organization when you think about it. It's not uncommon to have a made guy overseeing interests for his family in another part of the country. Heck, Ralphie may have been doing that for the Aprile crew before he came back.
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Mar 4, 2020 12:51
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Ginette Reno posted:Little Carmine is in the odd position of being really inept but also wise enough to realize it and step back from trying to dominate that world. And in the end he gets to just coast by with his businesses and not worry about being boss. And he gets to be happy by stepping away. Yea I think the interesting thing about Little Carmine is that he actually does have really good instincts. He gets himself into trouble by trying to sound smarter than he is, but the actual decisions he makes tend to be pretty spot on. Relatively speaking, of course.
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Mar 4, 2020 16:04
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Basebf555 posted:Yea I think the interesting thing about Little Carmine is that he actually does have really good instincts. He gets himself into trouble by trying to sound smarter than he is, but the actual decisions he makes tend to be pretty spot on. Relatively speaking, of course. Little Carmine won The Mafia like everyone thinks he's a joke but by the end of everything he's rich, happy, domestically secure, and no one is trying to murder him
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Mar 4, 2020 18:20
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Pattonesque posted:Little Carmine won The Mafia He's very allegorical
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Mar 4, 2020 18:35
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Pattonesque posted:like everyone thinks he's a joke but by the end of everything he's rich, happy, domestically secure, and no one is trying to murder him It's quite the stagmire.
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Mar 4, 2020 20:39
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Pattonesque posted:Little Carmine won The Mafia The sacred and the propane
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Mar 4, 2020 20:49
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Pattonesque posted:Little Carmine won The Mafia Ironically he's the perfect role model for AJ.
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Mar 4, 2020 23:04
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Ungratek posted:He's very allegorical In the parlance of our times. Jerusalem posted:Ironically he's the perfect role model for AJ. Holy poo poo, you're right.
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Mar 5, 2020 01:49
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Jerusalem posted:Ironically he's the perfect role model for AJ.
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Mar 5, 2020 03:06
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Jerusalem posted:Ironically he's the perfect role model for AJ. 
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Mar 5, 2020 03:18
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somebody posted this way back but i finally watched it and was just wheezing laughing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqE7ZxH7BJE
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Mar 5, 2020 04:40
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n-rGnI9XNo Mr. Show did a Goodfellas sketch like this. Fun, along the same lines.
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Mar 5, 2020 04:41
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Little Carmine and Albert Barese are probably the two smartest guys in that entire organisation. Basically everyone called Albert dumb, but he handles Richie Aprile so perfectly in this scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3Nvi5vVxw
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Mar 5, 2020 17:47
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Albert also figured out that Tony killed Ralphie over Pie-O-My and he was the only person to not only say it out loud, but state what the consequences for such a thing are supposed to be. And he ended up making a lot more money than Larry while he was in charge of the Barese crew. "Do you have any idea what Albert brought in last week?" "gently caress that fuckin' parakeet!"
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Mar 5, 2020 18:09
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I love Richie literally biting his tongue rather than calling out Albert as an idiot for repeating himself; which if he wasn’t trying to swing him, would probably be the reaction
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Mar 5, 2020 18:09
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Ralph was really smart too, both with the business and things like being the only one (until Tony years later) that figured out Paulie was the one that told Johnny about the Ginny joke. Problem was, he was a loving psychopath.
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Mar 5, 2020 19:21
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Jerusalem posted:Ironically he's the perfect role model for AJ. goddamn Pope Corky the IX posted:Albert also figured out that Tony killed Ralphie over Pie-O-My and he was the only person to not only say it out loud, but state what the consequences for such a thing are supposed to be. And he ended up making a lot more money than Larry while he was in charge of the Barese crew. rules for surviving in the Sopranos: 1. bring in an above-average amount of money 2. Never cause the boss actual problems
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Mar 5, 2020 19:42
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Pattonesque posted:2. Never cause the boss actual problems It's amazing how many don't get this one. Benny was one of Tony's favorites for a long time until he had the balls to run the credit card scheme at Vesuvio's.
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Mar 5, 2020 20:27
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| # ? May 25, 2024 06:41 |
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Pattonesque posted:rules for surviving in the Sopranos: Paulie breaks both of these rules repeatedly but manages to make it to the end
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Mar 5, 2020 22:28
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