AJ got his moment to shine in the final season. With Meadow engaged and AJ on a path to adulthood, the ducks finally left the pool... It's the natural end-point of the series.
I think the only character who really didn’t get a proper send-off was Melfi. I understood her motivation for ending her work with Tony, but I think it could’ve been done better.
I've seen this criticism before but I'm just not sure how it could have gone any other way. Melfi's final scene with Tony where she sends him off is truly heart wrenching. I think she felt trapped with him, so going Cold Turkey makes sense in that way. It would have felt out-of-character for it to escalate beyond that since she always treated their relationship with a sense of professionalism.
Melfi's arc is basically over in season five, when she refuses to date Tony. She is intrigued by his lifestyle, even going so far as to fantasize using Tony to kill her rapist, but ultimately she decides to not cross that path.
I used to frequent the IMDb boards a lot near the end of the show. The two dumbest theories were: 1. The Canadian that Bobby kills is Harpo (Janice's son). 2. Adriana is alive since you didn't see Silvio kill her. That, or Carmela's spec house is on the same land as her body.
Where did the rule that you can't hit a made man come from when Tony beat up Ralph? Tony beat Mikey Palmice senseless and stapled a piece of paper to his chest.
Since David Chase used Goodfellas as a blueprint, it’s mentioned in the movie that made men can’t be whacked unless they get approved first, but Tommy did it anyways when he killed Billy Batts, which later led to his demise by his own mob family to appease the rival family. I don’t think beatings are off limits.
No, he is referring specifically to Tony punching him. That is why he says Tony hit him in the next episode.
Wasn’t Ralph a captain at that point? Mikey was lower in the rankings so maybe it just wasn’t as big of a deal. It is weird though and does seem like an inconsistency since they specifically say made men.
No. He wanted to be a captain but Tony did not trust him and installed Gigi as captain. When Gigi dies, Tony makes Ralph a captain to smooth over the disagreement.
Oh that’s right, I had my timeline mixed up. Either way though Ralph seems a lot more respected than Mikey. Probably just poor writing.
Gigi feels like a wasted character. They set him up in season two and essentially all he does is act as a plot device in the relationship between Ralph and Tony. Johnny Sack is one of the best parts of every scene he is in. He is always clearly calculating, manipulating, and sizing people up.
The New York crew are always such a more menacing group compared to the NJ crew. Probably because we obviously see more of Tony’s guys. Though Johnny Sac is such an interesting character, and when he flips out you really feel it.
I remember a podcast, I think “Who Charted?”, where the host brought up a radio interview Vincent Curatola (Johnny Sack) did and said he only memorized his own character’s lines and knew when to say them in a given scene he’s in. He doesn’t read the entire episode so he has no idea the overall plot of the show or even other characters in the show
An underrated part of Pine Barrens is that they genuinely think they are going to starve after not eating for a day.
It's super ridiculous, but to be fair, they are in the freezing cold. And I'd be freaking out if I were lost in the woods after dark with no reception.
They never deny themselves anything, whether it is food or sex or alcohol or drugs. The idea of an empty stomach is completely foreign to them. As much as they desire the tough guy image, they are all a bunch of babies.
doing a more casually paced re-watch, just finished S2. S2 is absolutely top tier Sopranos. Maybe the 2nd best season to 3.