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    Lieutenant ButtocksEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 3:31pm

    "While the idea of a gay mobster being found out is an interesting one to
    build an arc around, theoretically, Vito being given such a place of
    prominence feels off, as if the show were promoting an extra to a
    starring role to kill some time while it figured out where to end the
    story."

    I don't even think theoretically.  The arc only works if we're supposed to sympathize for someone solely on account of his being gay.  Which is about as patronizing and cynical a move as Chase could have made.

    Not to mention that this arc was obviously and completely a placeholder designed to kill time until 6B.

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      btr1630Lieutenant Buttocks
      5/16/12 3:38pm

      We can get more into it once Vito winds up there, but the big problem I had with that subplot was that the New Hampshire town he escaped to was too much of a contrast. The way people spoke ("I'm glad you decided to write your book in our little town"), the way everyone acted altruistically, it just seemed too fantastical for me and spelled out Vito's options in a ham-handed way.

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      Delvis CrashoLieutenant Buttocks
      5/16/12 3:38pm

      I had faith in the writers at the time of airing, but the years since then have revealed to me that it is, indeed, what you call a "placeholder."

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    Delvis CrashoEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 2:12pm

    Fantastic write up here, TVDW. One of your best. Here's my thoughts on this wonderful episode - one of my favorites from 6A.

    *After the first airing of this episode I found myself randomly talking about it with a student in my South American Lit class. She made a comment about how she'd never noticed just how "old" all the guys had gotten until he scene when Tony is sizing all of them up. She was definitely on to something. Look at those portraits in that scene and then pop in season 1. Even though the show wasn't on for that long of a time, I personally enjoy how the show let the characters get older and fatter. Even Christopher begins to show grey in season 6.

    *The review mentions what made Tony Soprano so damn scary and alluring. This was probably the best way I've ever seen it written.

    *Hey there, Frankie Valli. I actually really like how the show threw him in there back in season 5.

    *Try finding the original "Every Day of The Week" by the Students (the song that plays over the end credits) and get back to me. I've been looking for that one for the longest time.

    *That fight IS brutal. I especially like it when Silvio yells out that, "Don't do it!" as though it's really going to stop what's coming.

    *I don't know about you guys, but I think Bobby weighs more than that.

    *Sight gag: When Tony gets out of the car and Paulie's in that chair sunning himself. He looks at Tony and gives a little wave. Cracks me up every time.

    *This is the lovely episode with the excellent scene of Tony trying his best to relax by the pool in his bathrobe and pajamas. Seriously - rewatch this scene without any sound. It's beautiful, funny, and realistic. The only thing that would have made it better (or worse?) is if Carmela yelled out that he had a phone call.

    *It's actually quite a few things that lead up to Tony's strategic, physical altercation with Perry. The first, I believe, comes when Tony sits down to play cards and someone has to scoop out the peppers in his sandwich. However, I've always thought that Christopher's questioning of Tony's "favor" for Johnny Sack was the thing that really got under his skin.

    *Speaking of when they're playing cards - goddamn, it's so awkward when Tony's talking about his surgery to the group of guys who obviously have no interest in it whatsoever. Reminds me of my dad, though, who can go on and on about physical pains and ailments while no one around him really cares. Middle-aged thing perhaps?

    *Was this the last episode Steve Buscemi directed for the show? Pretty sure it was.

    *Next week: Finn sits down with Tony and the rest of the North Jersey crew. Hilarity ensues.

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      RolandDeschains85Delvis Crasho
      5/16/12 2:28pm

      Yes to point one. Tony looks so, so much younger (and slightly thinner) in the first season. He really turned into an old brute.

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      Acts of JaniceDelvis Crasho
      5/16/12 3:03pm

      I believe the fight with Perry came from Tony's frustration with the guys sitting around doing jack shit. There's Paulie sunning himself, and the guys playing pool, just being lazy assholes. I've honestly never seen the whole crew hanging at Sat's (or the Bing, I forget), just doing nothing. Like any business, these guys need to be out getting money. Tony needed to take down a young tough guy to make the others snap-to.

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    Iseult the IdleEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 12:43pm

    I'm not sure the question "Can Tony change?" can be answered with, "Sure."

    Two reasons, aside from the observation that he doesn't really want to change. One, he can't afford to. The status quo is his lifeline. Even if he were to chuck it all and make a run for it, there's nowhere for him to go and nothing for him to do when he gets there. Moving a problem around doesn't solve it.

    Two, real change involves identifying the reasons for the behaviors that underlie the problem, and  addressing those root causes. This is what's had Dr. Melfi so stymied all this time. Tony can't present her with all of the problem behaviors, and he can't  see the underlying causes without her help. So he spins his wheels in therapy, ultimately using her (as he uses everyone) to be a better mobster instead of a better man.

    Could a Tony Soprano change? Maybe, in an ideal world, if the cosmos lined up just right and he were truly motivated. Is it likely? No, I don't think so. The die was cast long ago, and the fact that it was his hand that cast the die is irrelevant at this point.

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      EponymousIseult the Idle
      5/16/12 1:45pm

      The only plausible solution would be for Tony to pull a Henry Hill. And we know from the pilot just what he thinks of that option.

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      TheHappyWandererIseult the Idle
      5/16/12 1:54pm

      @iseult: This is perfect.  I think what you see play out in the back half of season 6 is the "decompensation" that Melfi predicts will happen for Tony because he refuses to address those "root causes". I believe Melfi discusses the inevitable "decompensation" either in this episode or the next.  She says that Tony refuses to deal with the fact that Junior shot him.  She also tries to bring him around that his own father may have been the root of Tony's problems but Tony always seems to brush her off on this.   Subsequently, Tony subconsciously rages against his "father figures" later in 6b with his destructive gambling (which his father despised) and his near killing of former father figure Paulie (whom Tony says (in that same episode) he used to wish was his father). That is the same episode where Tony doesn't exactly seem to be delighted to recall that his father ordered Tony to commit his first murder at the age of 22.

      If Tony acknowledges how his father ruined his life then it's a tacit admission that his lifestyle is a complete lie and Tony would eventually crumble.

      And yes, Tony also cannot change because he just doesn't want or have the courage to give up his lifestyle.

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    PatrickCEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 12:43pm

    Question: Why doesn't Vito just kill those New York guys? Obviously he was willing to kill people to keep himself out of danger.

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      Iseult the IdlePatrickC
      5/16/12 12:45pm

      Panic, maybe. Could he kill them? Does he have a gun with him?

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      hercules rockefellerIseult the Idle
      5/16/12 1:03pm

      he picks one up from his house later, so it's likely that he doesn't.

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    Emily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 12:46pm

    johnny sack is yet another indelible character on this show.  it is amazing to step back and consider just how many classic characters are on this show…..unbelievable.   uncle jr, tony, carmela, ralph, etc…..and johnny sack, who is really given his due in this last season.  watching him SPOILER
    get arrested (falling down in the snow), do the in court allocution, see his daughter marry, defiantly smoke cigarettes while on oxygen, and finally die of agonizing cancer …what a vivid portrayal.  all credit to the actor, writers, directors, etc.  so well done.  In the end it usually ends for us in the hospital, dying or some inevitable disease….a horrible truth that is brought masterfully across to us by the sopranos.

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      Totz Jr.
      5/16/12 1:40pm

      i think he's definitely one of the most interesting character's on the show and Vince Curatola's portrayal of him is just about perfect.

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      RolandDeschains85Totz Jr.
      5/16/12 2:16pm

      Agree to all the above, Johnny Sack is the best.

      My favorite line ever was when Tony suggested sharing power and Johnny responds: "This ain't the U.N.! Fuck that!"

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    Acts of JaniceEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 3:09pm

    "I can't believe they're making him pay for the security."
    "This is TERRIBLE, taking him from his own daughter's wedding!"

    Oh, fuck Meadow and her righteous bullshit. What makes her sound even more stupid is that she KNOWS these people are gangsters. But it may not have completely dawned on her that they are criminals in the purest sense of the word.

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      CraigActs of Janice
      5/16/12 3:18pm

      For realsies.  This is Meadow at her most willfully ignorant.  Not that I don't think it makes sense for the character, since she always had a spoiled brat streak.  But that doesn't mean I have to agree with her when she whines about the unfairness of the treatment by the government of bloodsucking scumbags like her father and his associates.

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      conor c.Acts of Janice
      5/16/12 3:27pm

      Yeah, I started to hate Meadow as the show went on. I love when Finn calls her on the fact that she blatantly ignores the fact that her family is filled with murderers and monsters.

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    TheHappyWandererEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 1:40pm

    You forgot to mention that hysterical exchange with Tony and Chris when Tony tells him John has requested that Tony take out Rusty Millio and Chris tells Tony that he shouldn't do it:

    Chris: So it's like in [Godfather] 1 when you can't refuse a favor for the father at his daughter's wedding.
    Tony: (confused and correcting Chris about the Godfather):  No, it's the father who can't refuse doing a favor.
    Chris: Then you should tell him [John] that you don't want to do this.

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      Delvis CrashoTheHappyWanderer
      5/16/12 2:15pm

      "I don't eat fish. The toxins."

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      much more cleverer than the poTheHappyWanderer
      5/16/12 3:55pm

      Actually, one of my favorite bits of dialogue from the series, dragging the mob mythology into reality.  Even they aren't quite sure what it all means.  "That means I'd be asking him for something!"

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    Rainbow SherbertEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 7:43pm

    What happened to Tony's driver? I think he appears in the next episode, where Tony gives him some money while he asks confusedly why Tony beat the shit out of him, but then he completely disappears. The next time Tony has a driver, it's that big fat bald guy. I imagine they just fired the guy in real life, but I still wonder.

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      The WormRainbow Sherbert
      5/16/12 8:47pm

      He wasn't really "in the mob," so my guess is after he reflected a bit on the beating he decided this wasn't for him.

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      TooMuchTimeRainbow Sherbert
      5/17/12 12:39am

      I really wish "Urrite" was here to say, "Mob boss? More like moob boss, am I right, bros?!"

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    TheHappyWandererEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 3:38pm

    SPOILERS

    I cut and pasted below from Master of Sopranos blog his (or her?) analysis of the entire season with the discussion about a scene that was in this episode.  This is not exactly a "clue" that Tony died but more of a connection or a gut feeling.  In the context of Tony's death, the scene between Tony and Meadow has that much more emotional impact. It also makes sense in that Tony has not learned his lesson from his Finnerty experience and in death loses his family and his chance to see his grandchild:

    "Tony’s bedside advice to Phil to “focus on the grand-kids, the good
    things” takes on an even greater resonance in the final scene. It
    appears from several scenes in the final episode that Meadow and Patrick
    Parisi are engaged. Early on in the Holsten’s scene, Carmela tells Tony
    that Meadow will be coming from the doctor as she had to “switch birth
    control.” This may imply that Meadow may be pregnant as her original
    birth control was not working (before switching the doctor would give
    her a pregnancy test). Meadow rushes to the door of Holsten’s with an
    anxious look on her face which may indicate that she has big news to
    tell her parents. This moment is congruous to a scene in the 6a episode
    “Mr. and Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request.” In that episode there is a tender
    moment between Tony and Meadow as they prepare to leave for Allegra
    Sack’s wedding. Tony, having just survived the shooting of Junior, talks
    about the importance of having grandchildren and asks Meadow about any
    plans of marriage to Finn. Tony, in a clear state of emotion says “What I
    have been through [near death experience] changes the way you think.”
    Tony says “all of sudden it is very important to me [to hold his
    grandchild in his arms].” In the final scene, Tony will soon hear the
    news that he has waited for, that he will be able to hold his grandchild
    in his arms. However, Tony is killed just before Meadow delivers the
    news. The final scene is a tragic and ironic counterpoint to the scene
    in “Mr. and Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request.”

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      Derek NoakesTheHappyWanderer
      5/16/12 6:27pm

      It's an interesting thought, but I think it's also one of the more easily cited examples of the Master of Sopranos blog over-reaching on its point. Eventually it starts to sound like conspiracy theories.

      For the record, I am firmly in the "Tony dies" camp. For a lot of the reasons that are brought up on that blog. It just gets a little out of control from time to time.

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      Wad VanDerTurfDerek Noakes
      5/16/12 7:23pm

      I'm definitely in the "Tony dies" camp, and I was largely swayed by Master of Sopranos, but I think MoS needed to separate its case better:

      -Evidence pointing to the fact that Tony dies at the end
      -Thematic connections throughout the season and series that, looking back, tie in to the "Tony dies" theory nicely

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    Unregistered4LifeEmily Todd VanDerWerff
    5/16/12 2:55pm

    Thought Melfi in this episode telling Tony he needs to show his crew that nothing's changed was a bit weird. She's not an idiot, she must know what he's gonna do with that advice. Definitely the most direct she's ever been in helping him be a gangster.

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      Born Sadly DevotionalUnregistered4Life
      5/16/12 3:14pm

      This actually speaks to one of the reasons I genuinely dislike Melfi. She recognized years ago that Tony would never have the courage to push forward in therapy, but has kept him out of a mixture of prurient interest, professional narcissism, and unresolved sexual feelings. Though she actively refused his help in Employee of the Month, she rarely confronts him with any opposition to what he does and seems to simply ignore the fact that she is giving him advice that could directly assist in the performing of criminal acts. None of this is so awful in and of itself, what makes it awful is (SPOILERS) the way she behaves in the Blue Comet. She pretends as if the stagnation of their therapy was somehow all Tony's fault and not a result of her negligence and incompetence. She also genuinely behaves unprofessionally in their final session and only drops him after being publicly embarrassed and cajoled by the utterly despicable Kupferberg. Grrr…it still pisses me off to this day. I have no idea how anyone in the audience could identify with her.

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      Delvis CrashoBorn Sadly Devotional
      5/16/12 3:47pm

      All well put, BSD. I must say, though - her behavior (based on prurient interest, professional narcissism, and unresolved sexual feelings) makes sense to me. In fact, people do this all the time.

      Let's not forget that this show was kept on for longer than originally planned. Melfi dumping Tony or Tony dumping psychiatry for once and for all was probably supposed to happen a whole lot sooner.

      I don't particularly care for how they handled the whole Melfi situation either, but I can't help but enjoy every damn therapy session since James Gandolfini is amazing.

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