The head of the Barese crew helps the FBI locating the body of a murder victim who was killed by Tony over 25 years ago. But at the. And in the back of my mind, I said, Well, well see what happens.'. walker hayes daughter. The jacket possibly signifies his affiliation to a special gang. Eugene Pontecorvo inherits $2 million and would like to retire with his family to Florida. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. It's a town in Italy, but the name translates to "crow bridge." Patsy himself almost took out Tony in the season 3 premiere, so you know his resentment ran deep. In both of those, Chase employs an unusual editing style, cutting directly from a shot of Tony looking out at the space hes just entered to a different point of view where hes already crossed most of the distance to the relative hes come to see. Does Tonys death alter the career plans of either kid? Alan: Maybe we should ask the cat. Morrow ultimately ended his life at the ending of the film by committing suicide in a garbage incinerator. ". Because I really enjoyed acting in it because of that through-line. with six you get eggroll racist jeopardy tournament of champions 2022 date and time Now? Except the longer you and I talked about it, both on our own and with Chase, the less substantial that idea felt, too, until by the end, I wasnt entirely sure that even Chase knows if the guys dead or alive. Death is the only absolute truth for everyone, and if you read that ending simply as he died, you can wash your hands and walk away from it and not have to think about anything else that might be raised in that scene. It seems so obvious now. Whenever the Sopranos ending is discussed, and somebody starts with the presumption that Tony is dead, I ask the same follow-up question: Why do you need for Tony to be dead? Because you have to need him to be dead to insist not only that he got shot right there in the diner, but that him being dead is in fact the entire point of the scene, and that no other approach is permissible. But I also think its fair to say that he lived beyond that moment, even to a ripe old age, because ultimately this scene is making us ask, What have we learned? or Where have we been? and Where is Tony, right now, as a person? These are reckoning questions, and they can occur at many different points in a persons life. Bits of time are elapsing in terms of the physical motion of Tony in that space, but thats not indicated by the music, which never stops. Follow the Clonestar's Socials Follow Ashlei on Twitter and Insta Intro music courtesy of bensounds.com Patsy himself almost took out Tony in the season 3 premiere, so you know his resentment ran deep. Then Chase called to say they would kill off Gene by suicide. The time was certainly right. Vito instructs an overwrought Eugene to take the rest of the day off. After Eugenes death, his wife would be devastated and most likely his family would be too. Now, Off the Back of a Truck takes you one step further into the world of Tony Soprano and his families, offering an Italian potluck of fresh and fun takes that any true fan can get lost in for hours. Now that Fleishman is out of trouble, Caplan can go back to catering. After Raymond Curto dies of a massive stroke while giving potentially damaging information to Agent Robyn Sanseverino about Tony discussing a murder, the F.B.I. Matt: Yeah, hes checking out the scene in there for self-protection, but he does that everywhere he goes. And the music is continuous throughout. The bulk of the episode is devoted to Eugene Pontecorvo, previously a very minor character who appears infrequently and barely ever has any lines. And thus, that cat is Christopher and not Christopher at the same time. His bad influence helped lead Jackie Aprile Jr. to his death. This leads me to believe that a relative of Eugenes, The Man In The Members Only Jacket is the one who killed Tony out of an act of revenge for Eugenes suicide. Actors with recurring roles on The Sopranos lived in fear of their characters dying. The Roys continue their downward spiral into total desperation as Matsson and their dead father loom over every decision they make. The way the ending teases audiences by seeming very definite while denying us answers and closure makes it the ultimate Sopranos moment. Matt: The point is, The Sopranos resisted all the usual gangster movie reflexes for seven seasons. The scene in which Uncle Junior shoots Tony was also shot with Phil Leotardo in a window shooting at Tony instead. Spending long hours trying to prove Tony was shot at the diner becomes a substitute for meaningful engagement with the shows themes, which are disturbing not just because of their implications, but because Chase and the writers present them in an open-ended, mysterious, or deliberately opaque way, like a brutal reminder to us that we cant absolutely know certain things, and its delusional to insist we can. Im reminded of that moment in D-Girl where Dr. Melfi summarizes existentialism for Tony. Thats all I wanted to say.. If he didnt die that night, hes going to die very soon, Chase told USA Today in 2012. Maybe he left a note warning the wife about what he did, I hope so. Dye's lack of size and heft makes him a tough fit in the NFL, but don't underestimate his ability to find a way to stick on a roster. And does that matter? While he is the only son of the Tony, it becomes obvious he lacks potential for a career in his father's organization, though . This ending puts us in their shoes. Whos Going to the Met Gala Dressed as Karl Lagerfelds Cat? Matt: Yes, but why does a preponderance of imagery related to death and decay mean that Tony had to be shot dead at that diner at that exact moment? Roy Wood Jr. Talks Scandals at White House Correspondents Dinner, Watching Frank Oceans Coachella Set Online Wont Be Easy. Butchie had antagonized Tony in the past, but at this point in time he agrees his boss Phil went too far. So at that point, you have to ask: Why would Tony Soprano become a target for a hit right then? 15 35 Related Topics Eugene killed himself because of the FBI, more so than because of Tony, right? Matt: Death shows the ultimate absurdity of life. AJ Soprano. While Tony "thinks on it," Chris has Eugene kill a man, implying it will give him a better chance of having Tony let him go. Sirico reportedly racked up a total of 28 arrests in his younger life, even if he was only . But why wouldnt he just walk in and do it? Tony, Vito, and Christopher, now a capo in the Soprano family, meet with Phil and Gerry "The Hairdo" Torciano. "Members Only" is the 66th episode of the HBO series The Sopranos, and the first of the show's sixth season. The Sopranos Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Over the course of the next few minutes, he glances twice at the family's table before standing up, walking past the table before entering the restroom . Scan this QR code to download the app now. Why is this critical episode dominated by a character who hardly mattered before? Why did he choose that place to kill himself? It could refer to the Mafia code of being a member-only and never a retiree, just what Eugene Pontecorvo attempted to become. With his wife bitter and his son using heroin, Eugene hangs himself. The murder happens in a restaurant, as does Tony's. Gene Killing himself It makes it so much harder watching that after the scene where he finds out his son his using heroin. David Chase had this all planned out since at least the beginning of Season 3, when Eugene first appeared. Raymond is also an FBI informant throughout almost the entire series. ' Funaro recalled. Its a great show, Chase told him. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He is either an enormous success or a pitiful failure. Did Eugene kill himself so his family could move to Florida? Matt: All right, let me back up for a second and say that at no point during my now ten-plus years of arguing about the meaning of this scene have I said that Tony died is an inconceivable or unacceptable interpretation. It is revealed Eugene has been an informant for the F.B.I., though it is unclear for how long. Eugene is also an informant for the FBI, and has become more valuable to the Bureau since the death of Ray Curto; they, too, will not free him. I just mean that Schrdingers cat is useful if youre applying it to a story that could end either in a radical, art-house movie way, or in a traditional way, but with a fancy wrapping. Anthony John "A.J." Soprano, Jr. frequently referred to as Anthony Jr. or Tony Soprano Jr. is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano, and the younger brother of Meadow Soprano. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. The actor had appeared in mob movies like "Goodfellas," and was also no stranger to crime himself. We dont get to watch the show anymore. So it felt better to go with Tony died. It was An Answer, in a way that Tony lives never entirely felt like one to me, and when Chase wrote that article about the scene for DGA Quarterly, and talked about the fragility of our mortal existence, I was able to smile and say, Aha! A lot of characters live there and have to make peace with it. Anyway, the focus is on whod order the hit. Jack Nicholson Reprises Role as Courtside Lakers Fan. Chris assures Eugene he will put in a good word for him to Tony as a favor for doing the hit. Eugene has a talk with Tony about him and his family moving to Florida permanently. Every other major boss on the show, from Johnny Sack to Phil Leotardo ( Frank Vincent . But its an enormous leap from how the series told stories in every scene, and episode, up until this one. The idea of presenting the ending as a thing that can be mastered and explained is philosophically the opposite of everything that led us to that point. He simply gives Vito a death stare. And the matter of whether Ralphie was responsible for the fire. Patsy himself almost took out Tony in the season 3 premiere, so you know his resentment ran deep. Uncle Junior 's mind is deteriorating. (Well, maybe not the scouts.) At times a little too much, but Livia never did at all. Tony had antagonized the Lupertazzi family on several occasions in the past; hed defended the indefensible (Ralph Cifaretto) and backed another banished capo (Vito Spatafore); and, last but not least, he began working with the FBI while another member of his crew became a full-fledged informant. In the episode Eugene and his wife have an unexpected financial windfall when a beloved aunt, the wife of a successful Hollywood agent, leaves him $2 million in her will. I mean, if you step back and think about it, killing Tony this mysteriously does defy Sopranos modus operandi in multiple ways. Translation: He's not an actor. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. I know this is a minority reaction, but I like being baffled or challenged or frustrated by art. Where am I going?" The final close-up of James Gandolfinis face contains no note of fear or apprehension. Eugene doesn't respond. He jolts awake within moments, but we begin our final hour in Tonys company with this image of him suggesting that hes already dead, and that he just like Silvio watching the Gerry Torciano hit needs some time to catch up with the finality of the situation. He couldve had a coronary or another panic attack. Pontecorvo had a tendency to lose his temper, and he severely beat Paul Germani for insinuating that Pontecorvo was gay. Even Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), the least sensitive person about characters getting killed off, had words of encouragement. As for Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) ordering the hit, that theory does have some validity. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google And, flipping that, what if hed whispered, Guys, Tonys alive? 86 Related Topics The Sopranos Drama series Television 55 comments Best Add a Comment [deleted] 1 yr. ago Its not an insult to say that he doesnt really know why he did what he did, because all through our interviews with him, we kept trying to get him to explain the reasoning behind certain choices, only to discover that there wasnt any, and he and the writers and directors were just doing what felt correct. So New York had plenty of reasons to kill Tony. Maybe the ending is saying, This guy never got it. And get this: The actor who plays MIMOJ, Paolo Colandrea, is an Italian-born pizza-shop owner from Pennsylvania who appears to have no pre-Sopranos acting credits and just one after The Sopranos, as "BBQ Guest" in an "over-the-top comedy" called Hooking Up starring Corey Feldman where I'm guessing he's just doing a winking reference to his infamous Sopranos role. It gets harder to watch the episode everytime. Alan: Okay, but then, why the cut to black? More recently, I found myself swaying over to Team Tony Dies, not only because of the death imagery throughout the season including the way so many episodes open, as this one does, with Tony waking up from a deep slumber but because some of my initial, long-hardened impressions of the scene didnt hold up under further scrutiny. La La Anthony, Chloe Fineman Will Play Fashion Correspondents at Met Gala 2023. For Robert Funaro, who played Eugene Pontecorvo for 24 Sopranos episodes (seasons 3-6), getting killed definitely had a silver lining. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Carm protects AJ from a lot. Disputes between Tony and Phil are resolved, and it is explained that the New York associates were protecting Gerry's area and did not know Eli was associated with the Sopranos; they agree to pay Eli $50,000 compensation. Good story, right? And the single most obvious thing to do in a gangster movie is to kill the main character out of reflex, or because the storytellers want to express that crime doesnt pay. Coachellas parent company AEG is removing any and all videos related to Oceans only performance.