Jonathan Kleier
04/23/07
Why is it nerve racking to see Tony fight Bobby? Or even Tony fight Ralph in Season 4? Why did Paulie immediately begin lifting weights after he’s made aware of his possible demise on the boat? At the end of the day, they’re all “just assholes in the woods.” There was the Russian who may or may not be dead in the woods, but that seems irrelevant. After all, what if he did, in fact, die? Then how could that story line comeback -- he's dead. But maybe he's not, and for Christopher and Paulie, the uncertainty rooted in "Pine Barrens" is visible in every episode, especially #82.
It reminds us that so much of what we do everyday is heavily reliant on established social rules and norms. Tony should be able to walk down his driveway peacefully, but with the rules breaking down, it’s too dangerous. Without these social norms we are vulnerable to threats everywhere. When Tony kills Ralph he is, in the scene, vulnerable because all established customs are irrelevant. Tony’s status as Boss, usually protection enough, is not protection. Ironically, his only protection is the medium that he comes to us through, television and its established rules. So, his only protection in his fight scene is because it is in the middle of the 4th season, in the middle-to second act of (at the time) a 5 or 6 season T.V. show. Tony being our protagonist is the olny comfort the audience has. Also, no matter how much Chase has and will mind fuck us, we were reasonably confident Tony would remain alive in the Bobby fight scene… after all, there’s 8 more episodes left, and you cannot kill the most interesting character that early, can you?
Some of the biggest critisisms shot at David Chase is "What happened to the Russian? We all know the rules of film, right? You wouldn't dare show the gun in Act 1 but not pay it off in Act 3 when that gun is the murder weapon?" How dare Chase.
But then there are the stories, or more accurately, the one liners, that Chase does quickly pay-off. Tony coming up the driveway, "it's too dangerous to pick up the newspaper, has been for years" is felt as Paulie brings Tony the morning paper.
So for the mob, appearances are so important because they are indicative of larger implications: will this person follow established protocol in the more important situation? Ralphie turned down Tony’s offer for a drink, a seemingly minor if meaningless issue, yet this plot-line became the focus of at least a full episode plus. The espresso maker Paulie sends tonight speaks volumes, as does his “hey skip” as Tony walks into The Bing. Likewise, when Doc asked Phil for a bite of food off of Phil’s plate, we knew something was awry. These little social norms that say so much, seem meaningless alone, yet without them, what would we have?
But what is the mafia? If it is nothing else, it’s a deliberately anti-establishment, anti-social norm structure. Yet, it is dependent on mostly the exact same need for “rules” as any other organization. Tony reminds Ralph in S3.13, “Chain of command is very important in our thing," yet the so-called chain of command is ignored numerous times.
So we must keep in mind, at any moment, any random "jerk-off" could pull the trigger on Tony and end it all. That is, if Chase chooses to deliberately buck the medium. Tony is so vulnerable, which he knows, yet so brazen. Does that Miami gang respect who Tony is? Tony and Paulie were outnumbered like 8 to 2.
Tony said that things are going great and he wonders if all his worry is just a matter of his “Waiting for the other shoe to drop.” Are things going great? I was under the impression that there is a building crisis. In S7.1, Tony is beaten by Bobby. As we learned in S6.5, appearance is quite important in the mob (and real life, clearly). So Tony appears like a weak boos as a result of physical shortcomings, and what recourse does he have? Chris writes a fantasy film ending in Tony’s death. How does Tony deal with that? Kill Chris for a subconscious unconfirmed desire? Let him live knowing Chris, at any moment wants Tony dead and that could manifest anytime? Then, Tony probably mean by saying, "things are going great," that "things are deteriorating." Tony lies. A lot.
Tony’s using a new cell phone which we can assume is just a “dumb” phone to be used in the interim.
Watching Paulie laughing, alone, laughing at Three's Company, a look of disgust graces T's face. Tony hates people who laugh at inanimate objects. He told Melfi in “Cold Stones,” “How about the fact that I hate my fucking son? I come home, and he's sitting on the computer in his fucking underwear, wasting his time in some chitchat room, going back and forth with some other jerk-off, giggling like a little schoolgirl. I wanna fucking smash his fucking face in. My son. What do you think about that?” Paulie laughing maniacally at the T.V. triggered that feeling.
Tony is now, for the second week in a row, placing sporting bets (I just read this is a big part of the coming attractions. I fucking hate coming attractions, goddammit). Isn’t he too smart to be a degenerate gambler? That's certainly possible given the high level of stress lately. However, I think Tony is "gambling" away his money to some possible offshore spot to be laundered. It's not a matter of if, but when will the FBI finally get its case, and Tony is extra aware of this.
Beansie’s name is Peter, Paulie’s name is Peter. There may have been some confusion by the girl Tony slept with, since both the characters are Peter.
Tony is as complex a hero as television/film has shown. The past means a lot to Tony, he/it carries a certain sentimentality that oh so delicately can be eradicated if needed, yet still carries meaning. He had serious problems killing Big Pussy, but Pussy was a rat so rat outmatches sentimentality. He hates Paulie in so many ways, but kill him? Possible, but not an easy choice. We could argue Tony's reasons all day though and if his hatred warrant Paul's murder.
Also, Paulie is ruthless as they come and one would think once he realized that his life was in danger (immediately once Tony mentioned to go fishing) that he would maybe kill Tony in self-defense. In retrospect he seemed accepting of his possible end. Paulie is old school. However, his big mouth is antithetical to everything Tony believes as good traits, i.e. Gary Cooper, "the strong silent type."
Chase's instincts are usually perfect. He releases and withholds information better than most, however, sometimes he reveals more than I think he needs to. I’m not the normal viewer, so perhaps I cannot comment here, but I needed nothing more than Tony’s asking Paulie to go fishing to know what was going on. Paulie’s uneasiness is a nice touch as well. But why the flashbacks to Big Pussy? We got the intended parallels already. Ultimately, in Chase I trust. Far be it for me to criticize this most brilliant art of our time, but it’s still curious why he wraps up major plot-lines with a couple of words, while treating others so differently. Of course, each strand stands on its own merits and thus needs to be treated uniquely, but I’m just thinking aloud here.
Tony said the one thing that bothered him is that he was never sure where he stood with his father. In Season 1, Vin, the crooked cop who commits suicide, said that at least with Tony, you know where you stand (Vin was also Finn’s father, Annette Benning’s husband and AJ’s “father” in “The Test Dream,” Season 5 episode 10). Tony once wished Paulie was his father, and until last week considered Christopher his son. Junior calls the Asian kid Anthony.
Tony doesn’t seem at all concerned with all the recent New York activity, but how could he not? If all these high level people are eligible for killing, then what is he? And Jesus, we just witnessed 2 potential bosses assassinated, and really is New York any weaker? Imagine Silvio and Paulie gone. What remains, Tony, Christopher, Carlo? How could there ever be a war between New York and NJ when it is so obvious that NJ is just a “glorified crew.” The highest earning Soprano Family crew no longer exists (The Aprile crew, with Ralphie gone, Eugene, then Vito), anyway.
Side note, everything in this final season is an allusion or reference to events occurring earlier in the series. Paulie at the buffet taking the rolls to some might be meaningless, but to others we might remember that butter roles were his mother’s favorite left overs. Tony Mentions Gary Cooper, Tony's long time hero for his "strong, silent, type" qualities. It had been a while since hearing Tony mention Gary Cooper. More obvious is the Ginny Sack 90 pound mole joke. I mean, I could go on, but finding them oneself is more fun.
Oh and Junior’s letter to Dick, come on, if The Sopranos isn’t the best comedy on T.V., I don’t know what's better (besides Curb Your Enthusiasm).
Jon Kleier with help from Samantha Kleier
