The Sopranos 6x17 Reaction
Added 2025-05-26 23:35:45 +0000 UTC
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Tiny detail that I saw online and then noticed in this episode: Georgie, Tony’s favorite punching bag of a bartender, is back working at the Bing. He can be seen in the background as Tony is chatting up the stripper right before Carmela calls about AJ.
Octavio
2025-05-29 18:57:26 +0000 UTCI just resubscribed, so this is my first time watching LM in just over a year, last time was towards the end of black sails. Watching the first 3 minutes, I was grinning ear to ear. I missed these girls so much and forgot how happy they make me 😊
TeaDrinker3000
2025-05-28 10:24:06 +0000 UTCWhat I find weird is how they are now at the point where they assume that Tony is in the wrong during ANY given interaction. In this particular episode, Carmela offers to make some food for AJ to which he responds with open anger and hostility. It is clearly AJ who is taking out his frustrations on Carmela. Tony is clearly right to ask why AJ is taking it out on them. But they responded with the usual stinkface and yelling at the screen.
Marcus Cato
2025-05-27 23:21:47 +0000 UTCI understand some of the frustrations you guys have over LM and their perception of Tony But I can’t help but laugh at you guys wanting the most basic paternal instincts to be recognised as some redeemable quality and a notch on Tony’s belt. Don’t get me wrong, the scene where he talks about Aj is incredibly moving, but it’s a basic parental reaction. Almost every parent would want to switch places with their kids if it saved them from suffering. Maybe it’s because Livia and Johnny were so fucked that this carries more meaning when Tony does it but at the end of the day, it’s something most parents feel. Again don’t get me wrong, Tony attributing blame to himself and his putrid soprano genes for Aj’s suffering is again touching but it’s also on the backdrop of telling Chris that the disease concept is bullshit but now he’s crying about that very same concept. For every redeemable quality Tony shows it’s overshadowed by the countless irredeemable ones. That’s why I somewhat understand why LM almost refuse to give him credit anymore, it gets to a point where those small glimpses of good aren’t enough.
Edward. M
2025-05-27 21:26:20 +0000 UTCAnd as far as i'm concerned he should still be there
Rok
2025-05-27 21:19:19 +0000 UTCYou want compromise? How's this, they wanted to like Tony. They compromised. They liked AJ instead.
lambo
2025-05-27 18:25:16 +0000 UTCWith Chris, I don’t think he really could have chosen another path. He even chose the movie business to the point where he successfully made a movie, but still ended up getting drawn back in to the life. He had an out right there. For example, I think even in a perfect world where all of his mafia buddies suddenly disappeared and he had the opportunity to just work in the movie business and be successful, he would still be physically abusive, still rip people off, still hurt people. I think at this point in his life he’s trapped. He’s a broken man. And this is probably a good thing, but I think he will also never fully be able to commit to the mafia. In Tony’s perfect world, where Chris has no substance issues and is fully committed to “the family”, Chris would still want something outside of the family. Basically whatever life Chris could end up in, he’s now at a point where he could never live that life to its fullest. He would always want some of the other life, whatever that happened to be. He is trapped
windyMelon
2025-05-27 18:16:22 +0000 UTCThere’s this cool app called patreon that lets you give them money in exchange for early access to content. You should check it out
Kitchener Leslie
2025-05-27 18:03:00 +0000 UTCI think I've written this before, but it's bewildering how LM have convinced themselves that Tony has done nothing but bully and demean AJ. It's like they have Tony so rigidly defined as Mr Bad Guy that literally anything nice or loving he does goes in one ear and out the other. Milena saying— "it's the first time that Tony has said something nice to AJ, that he's worth something. The only thing he ever got from his father is being belittled and violence..." —is just such a bizarre take. They have given great analysis of the show from the start, they pay attention and pick up on details, make intelligent predictions about the story, and understand nuanced characters, but it's just crazy how askew they view this one specific issue. Tony is openly loving, affectionate, protective, and encouraging towards both children throughout the entire series. On occasion when he crosses the line and says/does something really nasty, he feels bad and apologises, and has frequently made effort to spend quality time with AJ they have all sorts of meaningful, genuine father-son moments. While he can be a grouchy asshole a lot of the time, virtually any time he's saying/doing anything nasty to AJ it's directly because AJ is fucking up (which he does a lot, that's why his parenting towards Meadow isn't an issue). And don't give me any "generational trauma of the mezzogiorno" bullshit — I'm talking about how Tony actually behaves towards AJ in real terms in the present. I'm in no way claiming that Tony is father of the year, but I think LM only see coddling and therapy as valid parenting techniques. AJ is lazy and whiny, and sometimes a metaphorical kick in the ass, or being shouted at, or a bit of tough love is warranted and even helpful. Lola has explicitly stated (around season ~3) that her maternal instincts are fixated on AJ, and I think they literally cannot see this straight due to emotional compromise.
Abacus
2025-05-27 17:59:52 +0000 UTCThe more I rewatch this episode, the higher it climbs on my list. Can you imagine Season 1 Chris saying the things he says at that BBQ? It looks like he finally gets his arc after all. I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this, but JT is sort of an alter ego of Christopher without the Mafia life, someone with an addiction he successfully overcame and a successful writing career. By killing him, Christopher tacitly admits that he will never have that life.
IanJ
2025-05-27 10:59:21 +0000 UTCAny way your fans can donate money to you like a paypal venmo or something
ryler05
2025-05-27 09:21:11 +0000 UTCGreat commentary. Man I can't wait for the next episodes now. The end is very reminiscent of all the times Chris would come back and complain to Adriana about Tony. Just another reminder that Chris sold his soul to the devil. He is starting to understand himself and those around him better, but it's too little too late. It is sad to see even if it's justified. His comment about Tony 'understanding the human condition' also mirrors what Tony said about himself to Melfi, 'I know too much about the human condition now'. These comments come across more as threats and accusations than as a positive thing.
Mark M
2025-05-27 09:19:55 +0000 UTCBenny laughing at Chris? I remember when he used to wait in the car
Ruben Welsh
2025-05-27 06:43:13 +0000 UTCThe ending song ‘The Valley’ by Los Lobos has a great lyric “They could’ve gone, but instead they chose to stay to watch the clouds way up high, as they turned to gray.” It encapsulates the theme of Christopher’s story perfectly.
Knot
2025-05-27 03:44:52 +0000 UTCThose are the exact same things that Tony himself does, and also everybody who works for Tony. The only reason Tony is turning these two into the FBI -- in violation of his own code -- is because they're Arabs and presumably Muslim. They haven't done anything to indicate that they're terrorists, only criminals. They're not 'innocent victims', but Tony very much is ONLY judging them based on their background.
JBK405
2025-05-27 02:33:48 +0000 UTCThis is why I think it's important to try to remain objective when evaluating characters. Your comment captures an extraordinary amount of nuance that is lost when the audience begins to root so intensely for and against certain characters. Sometimes viewers even start retconning previous plotlines in light of their updated viewpoints on the characters. Life is infinitely more morally complicated than is shown in most entertainment. I love stories like LOTR, Star Wars, Harry Potter, but those stories tend to take a simplistic view of moral questions. I know that Martin Scorsese offended a lot of people when he said that Marvel movies are not cinema, but I think this is a big part of what he was getting at. Sorry, that went on for far longer than I intended. 😂
Marcus Cato
2025-05-27 01:59:12 +0000 UTCThis show is in large part about decay. There's another channel that just started a Sopranos reaction at season one right now and it really highlights how important it is to remember early relationships to see that theme in full effect. Tony did love Chris. It's practically undeniable if we have a bird's eye view of their relationship from beginning. It started to decay with time and Chris even mentions in this episode that he feels it started to really fall apart after the Adriana conflict. Two big relational subtext in the episode: - During season 5, if you dig around different analysis and reviews there's a number that picked up on Tony feeling some fondness for Adriana (even if it's delusional or a projection of his separated wife). If Tony is viewed purely as a black hole incapable of love, that probably won't resonate, but it's a notable reading and a contributing factor towards his disdain of Chris, especially when he generally doesn't get violent with Carmela and Chris did the opposite. Cleaver bringing up the whole messiness of that triangle also didn't help. - Tony, Dickie and Chris. Vestiges of fathers still runs throughout. Dickie helped rope Tony into this life and Chris plainly states that he's nothing more than a junkie. Putting aside that it likely shatters any illusion Tony had of mentoring Chris himself as any sort of positive, since he was personally fond of Dickie, it likely fuels more personal resentment towards Chris for tearing down a more positive father figure in his life compared to the more complicated feelings towards his own father that we have seen bubble up in the last couple of episodes (lashing out at Paulie and Hesh). Also Tony has no idea that the college kids are beating people and burning toes. Based on everything we know about his character at this point, there is no way he approves if he actually knows that's what they're getting up to. He says in this episode he thinks they're doing college frat boy stuff.
Veya
2025-05-27 01:47:37 +0000 UTCBUT YOR DA MANAYER
Kalcatalc
2025-05-27 01:14:13 +0000 UTCTony has inherited Livias philosophy of nihilism: “It’s all a big nothing”.
Darrach
2025-05-27 01:08:27 +0000 UTCmasterpiece of an episode imo. the therapy scene is my favourite of those scenes in the show, and honestly maybe my favourite scene overall. for as awful as Tony is, it's such a vulnerable moment for him, and it echoes a lot of the reasons i personally don't want kids given my own mental health. the way his voice changes when he goes "it's like...when they're little" and everything he says after that gets me emotional every time i watch, and when he asks "is this all there is", god...
castration_rite
2025-05-27 01:01:22 +0000 UTCProbably my favorite ending song of an episode in The Valley by Los Lobos. Los Lobos is a great Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles; my dad was a big fan so I’d heard their music for years prior to seeing this episode.
Octavio
2025-05-27 01:00:34 +0000 UTCPoor, poo JT Dolan. Chris came into his life and just dragged him down. "Walk Like a Man" is the title of one of the most famous songs by the band The Four Seasons. That is the band that Frankie Valli was the front man for, who appeared as Rusty Millio in seasons five and six. Another example of just how hypocritical Tony is, back in season five (I think when they decided to send Feech back to jail) Tony told Silvio that this isn't a popularity contest he's running, it's a business. Now, when Chris is apparently doing a good job at the actual business (They're making good money here), Tony's after him for not being sociable and popular enough. This isn't Tony's biggest hypocrisy, not even his biggest hypocrisy when it comes to Chris specifically, but it's just one more example of how he's got no real standards that he'll hold to if it's inconvenient.
JBK405
2025-05-27 00:54:12 +0000 UTCIf Paulie had dared to make that joke about anyone else, it would have been a fight and then a sit-down at the very least, if not someone getting killed for it. Chris has gone from Tonys heir apparent two seasons ago, to now being seen as a joke by the entire family. I love that slow-motion shot of everyone laughing, and finally we pan to Tony at the end. Shrouded by his cigar smoke with that grin, he literally looks like the fucking devil. “That’s the guy Adriana. My Uncle Tony. The guy I’m going to hell for.” Roll on Kennedy and Heidi.
Darrach
2025-05-27 00:44:56 +0000 UTCA detail I really loved was how when Christopher starts talking about Adriana, you can hear the police sirens in the background. No matter how much shame, guilt or regret he feels, he can’t escape. He has to atone, not only for Adriana but for the countless wrongs he’s committed. Justice must prevail.
Edward. M
2025-05-27 00:44:07 +0000 UTCSo, Carmela asks AJ if he wants her to cook something for him, and he lashes back with anger at her. But Tony is wrong to ask why AJ has to take it out on them? Later on, the two young men have been involved in credit card fraud and trying to buy a shitload of guns, and what is the response? "They are from the Middle East. That's the only thing that Tony has on them." I'm sorry if this sounds combative, but the biases are being taken to absolutely insane extremes.
Marcus Cato
2025-05-27 00:39:06 +0000 UTCThe characters all bullshit (themselves and everyone around them), using endless euphemisms instead of calling things what they are, whenever someone tells the truth it’s a show stopper, sometimes with devastating consequences. Carmela goes to see a shrink and weakly hints her husbands crimes are “organized”; the shrink replies “The mafia?” and Carmela breaks down crying. Meadows calls her dad “Mr. Mob Boss” and insist they stop bullshitting each other; Tony becomes very menacing towards her. Ralphie calls Tony a hypocrite for being so upset over a horse when they hurt people for money; Tony kills him. JT tells Chris he’s in the mafia, hence why he hates his life and can’t get better; Chris shoots him.
John Collins
2025-05-27 00:09:51 +0000 UTCBuckle up folks, it’s peak Sopranos from here on out! Can’t believe we’re almost at the finish line :(
LegacyFilms
2025-05-27 00:07:31 +0000 UTCOh god, here we go, pure peak from here to the end. Strap in everyone!
joster
2025-05-26 23:53:04 +0000 UTC
