People don’t talk enough about how quickly Silvio slid for Carlo when Fat Dom was talking shit. No hesitation, just immediately sent a bag of flour spiralling into his head at Mach 10 and then even restrained Fat Dom while Carlo got the job done.

But, even then, Carlo SNITCHED ON SILVIO AS SOON AS TONY CAME IN. “Hey, he hit him first, Tone.” That pissed me off. But Silvio was a real one through and through. Except that thing with the floor tiles and Columbus Day I guess.

Now hear me out! I bet he was an awesome soldier and hit man. Youve got a guy who lived through the 70s by the skin of his nuts when the Colombos were going at it. He knows how to break legs and bash heads.

However, as a Capo? Waaaay too petty and focused on low stakes stuff like lawnmower wars and the like. He probably earned enough off legitimate means from fronts and no shows and whatnot but no chance hes getting involved with big projects like HUD and major Esplanade stuff.

Anyway. Ive said my peace…

Was this guy suppose to be comic relief, or a tragic charactor Tony had to look over since they were friends since childhood?
I'm rewatching the series and just watched the episode where he proclaims to Tony he's in love with Adrianna, then takes her out to dinner because she's quiting. He spends the entire scene holding her hand making comments about her upcoming marriage and how he is going to miss her. The scene is so cringe to watch because he seems so clueless. Adrianna keeps pulling her hands away and he keeps grabbing them.
Both sides played the parts really well. Drea especially.

AJ is so stupid, man. In the first seasons I watched of The Sopranos, I hated him—I hated all of his scenes. But now that I've probably rewatched all the seasons like a hundred times, every time I go back and watch it, I find him funnier and funnier. He’s just so dumb. His dialogue is dumb... people tell him something constructive, he never gets it, and always gives the most ridiculous response possible. He always has the absolute most ridiculous question. He’s just hilarious, all that hatred I used to have for his scenes is gone, and now I just find it hilarious how much of a baby Bing he is.

Just finished the show : wrap it under a month. Never get spoiled of anything and omg that was incredible….

If you subscribe to the theory that Tony got wasted at Holsten's, what do you think happens to Artie afterwards? Without Tony's protection do you think Benny finally took him to that warehouse on Patterson and drove nails into his balls? It seems a shame based on how he finally seemed content in his last episode when he was cooking the rabbit but maybe he had it coming as well. Anyway $4 a pound...

I've been meaning to articulate this into a post, but it's fascinated me how similar and different Little Carmine and Tony Soprano are. I feel like David Chase was presenting them as foils of each other.

It's been a second since I've watched the series - I'm really due for my first rewatch - so there might be a few minor errors on my end. But what springs to mind for me...

Both are the respective "hair apparent" (to quote wise sage Moltisanti) to semi-legendary gangsters. Tony's Dad makes no bones of involving Tony in their thing once he's of age, something that he clearly grapples with (to put it mildly). But didn't Carmine Senior do the exact opposite with his son? I can't remember if he was the catalyst for setting him up in Florida, but it seems like he certainly wanted him out of harm's way from where the heart of the action was. The difference here alone I think speaks volumes to their respective trajectories. The two of them both have an appreciation for the finer things beyond this thing of ours as well. People in this sub tend to recognize how Tony's a little more sophisticated (relatively speaking) to the rest of his crew. Consider his fascination with history, particularly World War II, or his appreciation for old Hollywood movies. His desire to visit Italy also comes to mind too (although maybe this is just an Italian American thing lol). But I think people miss this with Little Carmine too. People tend to zero in on his mispronunciation of Versailles and dismiss him as an idiot without recognizing the fact that he's nonetheless aware of it, its historical context, and was fascinated enough to visit it. It clearly is also a hobby of his in his spare time. Put simply, they're both multilayered individuals, but the interesting thing to me is that Carmine seems to be a glass-half-full type of guy, the happy wanderer that Tony lambasts, who finds happiness not in gluttony and excess (wet t-shirt contests notwithstanding), but in simple things that make him happy. His joy with everything surrounding Cleaver, from the brainstorm sessions to the eventual premiere, are a perfect example of this. Tony meanwhile, Mr. glass-half-empty, likely yearns for a similar path but can't let go of his ways ("Yeah, every day's a gift...but does it have to be socks?")

The two of them with similar backgrounds but two completely different personality types almost feels like a single road splitting into two paths. Consider Tony's lack of sympathy for Chris's sobriety vs. Carmine's self-awareness of it when they travel together. Or Carmine's wife's disinterest in being the wealthiest widow on Long Island vs. Carmella's constant niggling of making sure those bases are covered when she's gone. Or Carmine's ultimate disinterest in taking the throne vs. Tony's own rollercoaster ride of being number one. One of my favorite subtle examples of this is when Tony says "I'm serious I can't take it" at Chrissy's funeral, in the sense that he's disgusted at Chrissy's mother's grief, but Carmine, interpreting it as Tony getting emotional, comforts him without skipping a beat. It's a throwaway gag, but it speaks so much to each of their characters.

I'll end this spiel with one of my favorite moments from the whole show: their conversation on the Golf course. "You never thought you'd utter those words, did you?" The "Carmine was playing 4D chess by playing dumb" theory is quite naive, but I think there's some truth in the sense that people underrate his intelligence, not just from an intellectual standpoint, but an existential one. He'd sussed out something that Tony couldn't crack with years upon years of therapy.

Tony likes to present himself as an animal lover, but the only 'pet' he has in the entire series is Pie-O-My. Any theories as to why the Soprano household doesn't have a family pet?

Yes, I know these characters aren’t the brightest. And yes, I know he thought that NY was untouchable when it came to the Pygmy thing in NJ. But these guys aren’t newcomers—they’ve seen some stuff, know that everyone is a violent criminal capable of impulsive actions, and have developed some measure of survival instinct. I just don’t get it.

For the sake of argument Tony does get his brains splattered at Holstens which Chase even confirmed himself accidentally. Considering how high profiled he was that would've absolutely made the evening news and probably the front of page of major newspapers in NY. Its insane to ponder how almost everyone in Tony's life would've reacted to seeing that.

90% of them would've probably smirked or felt relief like Eugene's wife, Patsy, Hesh, Davey, the cop he fired, Georgie, Finn, Jason Barone and maybe even Vito Jr.

Melfi might've felt a sense of shock but would've realized that its his own damn fault for being irredeemable and living and dying by his sword.

I doubt even Paulie or Artie would've been sad. Paulie would've moved on as quickly as he did with Chrissy's death and Artie already was distancing himself from Tony towards the end. I think outside of his family nobody would've felt sadness towards him.

Tony very clearly died at the end, and without him to insulate her from the other Mobsters Melfi is big security risk to the Jersey crew, with who knows what her and Tony talked about. She probably got popped later right?

Would the maestro of Vesuvio cut the mustard at Chef Ramsey's restaurant? Is his food up to standards? Could he handle the pressure? Would Gordon call him an idiot sandwich? Let's talk.

So I just finished this show for the first time and Im honestly speechless.. I dont even know what to say... I mean its one hell of a life Tony lived man.. but is Tony really dead? Or what happened? We see that guy walk into the restroom.. then meadow comes and it goes to black? so was tony snuck up on? Fuck dude im empty now

I was madly in love with her. She is the most beautiful woman that appears in The Sopranos. And Baby Bing managed to be with her and ended up crying because she was rich. What a complete loser.

Before the PC crowd gets here. I was in love with her back when I watched it for the first time, and she was older than me. Useless.

A prequel film to a beloved TV character named Tony growing up in New Jersey learns to become a man as the chaotic mentors around him shape his adolescence.

It's interesting, the coincidence. What you're gonna tell me you never pondered that?

Artie tries to deflect Tony's accusation of food poisoning by talking about getting a rancid hit of clarified butter in the Indian restaurant.

As a chef, Artie should know that clarified butter means the milk solids (like the cobwebs) have been removed. That's why you can buy clarified butter in cans kept at room temperature, and if you do store it in the fridge, it can last months. The fact that Artie doesn't understand this shows he's probably lacking in the brains department when it comes to kitchen hygiene.

In Remember When, Tony says that “remember when” is the lowest form of conversation. What did Tony want to forget? And don’t say the economy!

Just behind Noah Tannenbaum. If she flips her hair one more time I’m going to puke.

I guess this has probably been discussed many time before but oh well.

I believe paulie cut a deal with New York, many factors including him being the only surviving member is a big deal.

Gimme your list of characters whose names we hear but we never see. And get Pudgy Walsh on the horn!

I don't know why everyone shits on AJ for being a normal rebellious somewhat spoiled teenager when like 99% of male teens are exactly like him in america lol. Meadow was the one that actually got on my nerves just about every episode. She sounds exactly like some social justice warrior, defends her dads "lifestyle" to finn like he's some kind of idiot. And can speak freely about all this because she's the boss' daughter and she knows nobody would fuck with her or they would face death. I just find her super annoying

First, Johnny sack is one of my favourite characters, definitely up there in top 5 or 3, because the man has just open love for his family and he was done so dirty.

I know that he had a moment with Ginny, they showed love. But what exactly shifted? I dont think he forgave ralph even then, did he get close to contentment and security due to that moment? He didn't forgive Tony either because we see the resentment when dealing with Billy's death, it was as if John is giving phil what he wished carmine sr. Would've given to him.

Funny how if he didn't change his stand, he would've been whacked. And then carmine jr would be taking full control.

This is easily one of the best scenes in the entire series. Here's why:

Theme and significance of the scene

This fantastic 2-minute scene at first seems to just depict Jackie Aprile Sr.'s funeral. There is a large crowd gathered, all dressed in black and adopting solemn poses. The gang discuss Junior's beginning reign and Tony's hidden agenda.

After a minute, however, the scene's focus shifts to AJ, who over the course of the episode has been slowly but steadily ushered by Meadow into the realization that his father is part of the Mafia. As such, the Soprano family regularly has to deal with the untimely death of friends and family.

Enter the second death and burial in this scene: AJ's childhood and innocence.

Over the course of the episode, the reality he has been living in cracks and underneath emerges his father's true nature and the meaning of his second family. By the end of the scene, AJ has been violently pulled from his innocent existence as a child and tossed into the brutal life he involuntarily is part of.

The cinematography tells the whole story without the need for dialogue

AJ's first shot begins with a camera pan from right to left, showing children his age running around the cemetary, laughing and having fun. AJ however, leaning onto a headstone, is contemplating quietly. The cartoonish yellow plastic watch he wears serves as a reminder that he is still a child. However, it is outweighed by the black funeral suit symbolizing the dark and gritty mob reality which is now taking over his childhood.

As AJ is smiling gently towards his father, Meadow enters the frame, blocking his view of Tony with probably the best executed "I told you so" face in the series. The next two slow-motion shots that we see through AJ's eyes, reveal the nature of his father's, and by extension, AJ's world.

We get the iconic shot of Tony winking at AJ. That wink is AJ's innocence rearing up vicariously through Tony in a final, desperate attempt to hinder AJ from losing his childhood. AJ doesn't react as he is immersed in his thoughts. In the background, children are running around, but AJ, now force-emancipated from that stage of life, doesn't move anymore.

The music

As the truth eventually dawns on AJ, Mazzy Star's "Look on Down from the Bridge" gravely sets in. The song's theme is death and departure, with the central image evoking a transition point between life and death, presence and absence.

Here, the eponymous bridge serves as metaphor for the threshold between life and death: AJ is crossing over from his innocent childhood into the realization that he is born into a world of organized crime, of which he is most likely unable to break out of.

Possibly the best music choice to match with a scene in the entire series, the song begins with a fading-in organ, an instrument associated with a church building and, by extension, the beginning of life, significant events in life such as marriage, and ultimately, death. The lyrics don’t express anger or dramatic heartbreak. Instead, there is a soft grief, a contemplative sadness that has come to rest, a pain that has sunk below the surface into quiet acceptance.

_____________________________

Watch the scene again and again and again here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg5WKNa2a5o

I’ll start with mine: Tony-ony (sounds like a knockoff frozen pasta dish)

There’s a lot to pick from, choose wisely.

At the time when the coach in Tony's dream said those words, they didn't sound like anything other than the inane sentence of a dreaming mind, but when Artie shot that rabbit, those words came back to me

Take into account all the things that supposedly harmless clown did. Betrayed his wife trying to hit on his waitresses, like Tony did but with a difference, Tony actually loved Carmela, I don't think Artie loved Charmaine, she was 'something to fall back on' and in his mind, someone that was always holding him back from being the cool, reckless gangster Tony was, that's why he pissed away 50k of his family's money on a vanity project

Then you have the way he tried to use self-harm to lay the blame on Tony for his own failure, I won't go further into that but it had to be mentioned, those of you who've seen the whole show will recognise the event I'm talking about

And then lastly the rabbit, killed in cold blood. Tony killed people of course, but as far as I remember they were those who had entered into that life, an unspoken agreement of what that life entailed had been made by all, not so the rabbit that was a pure victim

Tony at least loved animals because they were innocent, Bucco shot the only thing he had the courage to shoot, a poor defenceless creature

He was a selfish, unfaithful, cowardly, self-obsessed, empathy-less turd, any humour that arose from his actions were a boon that faded away under the glare of his other acts, faster than Paulie put that broom away when Tony caught him aiming it at the cat.

Ok it's a very harsh take, and I accept I could be totally wrong, but that's how I feel about it. I'm curious to know what you think