Sopranos 6/3 - Second to final episode

Maybe Patsy or his kid offs Phil, a way of showing their devotion to Tony.

This has been said before, but Phil's not cut out to be boss. He doesn't inspire the fear and loyalty from his men that the great dons have.

When Phil told Butchie and his consigliere that he wanted the top three guys--but not Paulie--offed, he had to scream at his soldiers twice to leave. His consigliere also argued, pointing out the business New York and New Jersey have done. A real don doesn't have to scream at his men; they know to leave.

 

I also thought that was telling.

Could you imagine Gotti having to tell someone to get the fuck out more than once?

 

The second time Gotti would have said that would be part of the following sentence: Get that fuckin' body out!

 

It has the advantage of making the point that, despite the life-or-death nature of the Sopranos' world of violence, there are even larger forces at play in the world. I like it.

 

That's REALLY interesting. That would be some ending.

I've thought all season that Tony is so consumed with the "terrorists" because he recognizes they wreck real havoc and power in the world. The mafia is a dying industry whose past is far more exciting and "dangerous" than its future. It scares no one outside of small-business owners and wrecks havoc internally instead of externally.

Tony recognizes that, in the end, he's nothing more than a small-time crook. For a guy with visions of grandeur, that's got to be tough to swallow. I think he wishes he really mattered and really caused people to live in fear, like the real terrorists.

 

I know the previews are often intentionally confusing and misleading, but in the latest (for the series finale) A.J. is clearly awestruck by something he sees in the distance -- and his eyes look as if he's looking at the sky, or maybe at a high-rise or bridge.

 

Hmm. That's true. I thought maybe the GF hiked up her skirt. Bada-bing!

 

I don't think Gotti was a great don. He was far too consumed being The People's Boss, generating admiration from New Yorkers and seeing his picture smirking back at the world in newspapers in magazines.

A real don would not have his soldati so close to him. He would not have to bark twice before they scattered. If he was respected and feared by his men, they would stay away until their captain gave them their marching orders.

 

No we don't want some contrived "deus ex machina" ending where some terrorist attack swoops down all of a sudden, resolves all plot points and everybody goes home in a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation.

Please no. Leave those kinds of endings to Brady Bunch specials.

 

What kind of scary-ass Brady Bunch episodes did YOU see as a kid?

 

The one where they went to Hawaii and all these bad-luck things happened to them. At the end, they realized it was this evil idol that they found that was causing it all.

 

I remember that one ... and enjoyed that episode so much more than the others.