The Sopranos Returns

Me too, and I loved the transition when Tony was looking at the bright light in the reunion, and it changed into his wife and daughter's faces looking down at him as he came out of his coma.

You know, I kinda felt sorry for Vito last night.

Guess I really didn't watch the show that much in the past because I've never realized what an asshole Tony Soprano truly is. The way he jumped on that beautiful young man, just to make himself feel good, knowing that he wouldn't be challenged, well, his only redemption was the fact that he even made himself sick with his actions. What a jerk.

oh eoe, the reason he jumped on the new bodyguard was so that he wouldn't be challenged in the future.

tony was seeing how the others were starting to question his authority, even a little (christopher talking back to him, paulie and vito hoping they could hold back on Tony's part of his take).

Then the topper came when Johnny Sacks cried at his daughters wedding (when the cops humiliated him in front of everyone, ruining his little girls day)....tony could understand johnny's feelings, but the rest of the guys, led by Phil agreed it was a sign of weakness on johnny's part.

tony, in addition to realizing he might be slipping as far as his mens respect, also knew he looked weak when he got faint at the wedding, and was allowing one of his guys to take care of him (the one who took care of his mother). He beat up the new guy to show the others he was still a strong bull, and the boss.

That new guy, the bodyguard? He was the type that you never see after one show anyway....he was already showing he was hot tempered.

you know, Vito was always a real evil guy, but I was wondering if he'd have been different if he had lived a different lifestyle earlier on.

I'll tell ya though, he didn't miss a beat when he saw the 2 guys he knew at the leather bar. Didn't blink an eye.

Yeah, he had his reasons for doing what he did. Most criminals do, I suppose.

I'll bet you really feel sorry for him now...

What do you think will happen? Personally, I think Tony is leaning towards not doing anything. Just letting him be. That way, Vito isn't associated with them anymore and he doesn't have to whack him for being gay. What a nightmare for a wiseguy to be gay.

On the other hand, the guys are pretty adament on what they think should happen...so Tony might bend under the pressure and find Vito to make sure the problem goes away.

And also, what will happen to Finn? Do you think he sticks around?

While I am not extremely thrilled with this season (kinda boring) I do think it's bringing up lots of issues. I keep thinking, maybe, just maybe, they are heading for another season!!

Well, they can't just let him walk away. What did Tony say in the first episode of the season? "This ain't no hockey team. There's no retiring from this".

I'm thinking that Vito may just get lost up there in New Hampshire amongst his new friends. Perhaps the Mob's arm doesn't stretch that far into the Gay community?

Clearly Tony doesn't want to do anything to him but, as Bella says, he may be pressured by the others into doing something. And if he doesn't, one of the others may take it upon themselves to take Vito out since he's such an embarrassment to them.

Good to see Tony apologize to that gorgeous young stuff for kicking the crap out of him last week. He redeemed himself in my eyes.

I missed alot of it last night, got sidetracked by a phone call, but I'll catch it on InDemand.

Wow - I really thought Vito offed himself...

Well, I think he wants to start a new life in that little town he ended up in of course.

I think it'd be OK if Tony just let him go, and not actively look for him.

Vito loves his kids though, he'd have to make sure they were provided for....hmmmm.....

God Christopher had some really funny lines last night....

I think it was Tony who said "Maybe he's going through a mid-life crisis"
Christopher: "What? By giving blowjobs?"

oh, and Paulie...."How much more betrayal can I take?!"

Both of us were rolling on that.

Vito is toast, and he's known it for a long time.

Tony is hypersensitive about appearing weak since being shot. The Family's insistence that Vito be put down may largely be a mixture of their macho cultural values and feeling the need to wipe clean the dishonor that Vito brought on the Family, and that's bad for business. Sil's council that if Tony doesn't deal harshly with Vito, that others (and Sil mentioned Pauli in particular) might start skimming "real money". There's an even better reason that Tony has to hit Vito. Vito is no longer a trusted Capo, for maybe the first time in a long life Vito is on his own, but Vito still knows things that could hurt the Family and Tony. If the Feds get to him first, Vito is a good candidate to flip. His allegiance to silence has to be certain.

Vito has cash and who would be looking for a big city wiseguy hiding out in a New Hampshire village? Still the mob has a long reach, remember the time Tony visited his daughter at school and took the time to cancel an old contract? Pauli would probably be the most likely to take Vito out, since that would cover some of the conniving that he and Vito were involved in to skim the Family's cut.

The thing about this show is the consistently fine writing. All of the characters are monsters of one sort or another, yet each is also a human being and we catch ourselves for empathising with people that richly deserve the harshest penalties our society is willing to mete out. None of these characters are cardboard cutouts, over the life of the show we come to understand how they came to be, and we sympathize with them. Even the forces of Law and Order are touched with venality, and utilize tactics that are as manipulative as the Sopranos do themselves. I'll miss this show when its gone. In the meantime its a bright spot on the television schedule.

I am so disillusioned about the mob's morals.

Whacking a guy due to sexual preference...? <demoralized>

Organized Crime isn't known for its laid-back ways, or the strength of its ethics. These guys are monsters almost by definition, but they are still human and the very nature of their twisted lives is fascinating. Vito expected to be bumped off, because even he has bought into that cultural value. Ultimately Vito will be hit not because he's gay, but because he's a loose end that could do serious damage to the Tony and the organization. Lest ye forget, Vito became Captain because he was willing to use maximum violence to steal other peoples money and lives.

The ones to feel soory for are Meadow and A.J., neither of whom chose to be the kids of a mob boss. The kids will never get out from under their daddy's reputation, and A.J. might easily fall into the life himself. The children of the mob must have a very twisted set of values, and that will make life difficult for them. Vito, and Tony, may occasionally think they'd like out, but in the end they can never escape the lives that they've constructed from themselves, and they are doomed to an early death having achieved nothing of value for having lived.

I do like smart writing from people who see beyond surfaces.

Anyone else glad to see that the Sopranos seems to be back to it's normal form? Let the whacking begin! :wink:

I enjoyed last nights show a lot. I am more convinced now that the familiy is going to fall apart. Chris is going to relaps and get himself back into trouble...he's losing focus already. Tony is quickly losing control of his guys and what they are doing. Benny has a beef and I don't think he is going to let it go, especially after the comment made in front of his wife. It isn't over there. Arnie is going to get hit if he doesn't check himself...I can't believe he was talking to Tony that way. And hour was not long enough last night.

I can't wait until next week to see where this is all going....will it be fixed or will it all go in the toilet?
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Asherman is right. These guys aren't nice, fuzzy teddy bears.

The mob has ethics, just not the kind that the rest of us abide by. They abide by Omerta, or the Code of Silence and take vows such as the following. These things are what are important to them.



Their ethics lie in respect for the famility, loyalty to the family and integrity of the family. All of which they feel Vito has ignored. A wiseguy can't be gay....its not macho. And being a man is big to these guys. Mafia, roughly translated, means "manly" in Sicily. Being tough, unbendable, unbreakable. Vito is a weak link in the chain as far as they are concerned and keeping the family together is more important than any one life. Especially if that life is outside of the familiy.

As a side note, back a while ago in my "seriously facinated with the mafia" days, I wrote Henry Hill and asked him some questions....where better to hear about the mob than from a flip. :wink:

Anyway, I asked if the Sopranos was acurate in any way to the way the real mafia is and he said that out of all the shows and movies, Sopranos is almost dead on. Which is kind of scary since we never think of tv like real life. But he said that they have it down pretty good but that most of Hollywood downplays the legacy of brutality in the mafia. Things aren't the same as they were 20 years ago, but they aren't much different either.

And then he asked me if they'd fixed the spot on I696 where Hoffa was buried...followed by (a joke, ha ha) But you gotta wonder....is it?

I'm on the edge of my seat to find out how the 2 for 1 works out at the restaurant....and will there be a new menu? I'd love to know how the couple enjoys the rabbit. There's something about the mob in this show?

Arnie just never knows when to keep his mouth shut.

I have a feeling that it will be shut permanently for him.

And then I think Benny will get it.

Maybe that's how **** will go down...they'll just all whack each other.

and they never answered the question..."Do you have a low salt menu?"

I thought I would die laughing when Christopher puched Lauren Bacall for her swag! That was classic Sopranos.

yeah, that was funny.

I can't remember exactly how he said it, but Christopher said something to her when she was leaving like.

"Congratulations on your success"

uhhhh.....ok......

I was utterly appalled when Lauren Bacall got punched. An elderly lady? Sheesh. She was obviously aching to be on the show.

For me it would have been better if he'd nailed Sir Ben.

And it was the other bozo, Christopher's partner, who uttered those silly words "congratulations on your success."

It's been interesting to watch young actors from the past get roles on this show. Tthe actor who plays Benny was Doogie Howser's good buddy Vinnie. Remember?

I was surprised at the way Artie (didn't the feds refer to him as Arthur?) talked to Tony also. They must be pretty tight or Artie is a real badass.