The Sopranos 5x09 Reaction
Added 2025-03-13 01:17:52 +0000 UTC
Comments
It's crazy to me that they barely seem to know Steve Buscemi. Have they never seen any Coen brothers movies? Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink etc.?
Biberius Caldius Mero
2025-03-29 22:27:20 +0000 UTCA big +1 for Mad Men
Clay F
2025-03-17 08:33:20 +0000 UTCyou’re right finn is a piece of shit big time
Zach D
2025-03-16 15:10:35 +0000 UTCyou gotta get over your insecurities, life will be more enjoyable
Zach D
2025-03-16 15:09:56 +0000 UTCOh man, it would've been so cool to watch y'all react to reservoir dogs!
Nicky D
2025-03-16 13:10:14 +0000 UTCamazing blog!
Nicky D
2025-03-16 13:08:35 +0000 UTCZach D - you have issues.
John
2025-03-16 11:30:12 +0000 UTCA guy asking a woman if she has a boyfriend has an obvious inference any woman would take from it.
John
2025-03-16 11:28:46 +0000 UTCI think the fact that he was just outside the stadium, tickets in hand with a baseball cap on is sign that he wasn't going to kill him. Besides, he invited him in advance so Finn had plenty of time to tell people that he was going to meet Vito if he did, there were too many loose ends for Vito to kill him that day. Vito couldn't just go ahead and kill Finn, it was too risky due to him being Meadow's boyfriend for obvious reasons and he already knew Vito is gay so the chances that he already told her (which he did) were too high, and if that's the case whacking him would just make the word go out. I think what he wanted was to get closer to Finn while at the same time subtlety intimidate him in order to earn his silence. The carrot and the stick kinda, I treat you right and that way you don't tell on me, but if you do know that I will kill you.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-16 05:08:29 +0000 UTCIrvington, where Tony B said he was jumped when Tony asks about his foot, is a predominantly black town. It's the same town that was mentioned several episodes back when Paulie was trying to get his mother to have friends in the retirement community, and the family of another resident threatened to send her to a new home in Irvington if she didn't start being nice to Paulie's mother. With all of the racial and economic preconceptions of the region, saying "Irvington" is a go-to reference for these people to say "A crime ridden slum where bad things happen" in shorthand. It's an ongoing debate in the fandom to this day what Vito planned to happen at the Yankee game: Some people think Vito was planning to kill Finn to make sure his secret didn't come out, but others think he was just trying to smooth things over since he realized he couldn't kill Finn due to his relationship with Meadow. Personally, I think he was planning to make a decision at the game itself after evaluating Finn.
JBK405
2025-03-15 01:14:19 +0000 UTCYeah it's not an accident that the sequence with Paulie is in this episode. Finn is (relatively) naive to the reality of the mob world, but he obviously understands that being Meadow's boyfriend grants him an amount of respect and safety from Tony's crew. Being her fiance/husband would be even better.
Mike
2025-03-15 00:59:23 +0000 UTCI actually started my rewatch last week and no wonder it’s my favourite TV Show is all I’ll say
bondbond53
2025-03-14 17:22:44 +0000 UTCright.. he’s just like the rest of em
Zach D
2025-03-14 05:52:59 +0000 UTC@Zach D I mean Finn was also obviously checking her out in that scene. Did everyone forget that?
IanJ
2025-03-14 05:21:14 +0000 UTCFinn definitely proposed to meadow because he was scared. Shot gun wedding lol
Robert
2025-03-14 03:53:05 +0000 UTCStill going this asshole
Octavio
2025-03-14 03:48:40 +0000 UTCshe wasn’t random, she is a coworker that he’s having a conversation with.. i’m not really sure how her looks have anything to do with it. He’s only allowed to talk with ugly coworkers? or only allowed to talk to men? sounds controlling and insecure to me
Zach D
2025-03-13 22:19:22 +0000 UTC@Zach D the question was there at the end of the scene. If it was at the start it would mean Finn was maybe looking for relationship advice. The fact that it is at the end shows us that the writers want us to linger on that and question him. 9/10 times when a guy has asked me that while being in a relationship it ended with them being inappropriate with me. This is a written, scripted, directed show. Every line is there for a reason so I really don't think Finn just asked a random hot young girl if she has a boyfriend. Also, they don't have to defend him as they were calling out Meadow that is also a form of giving him more credence. If the fate of Finn in LM's eyes interested you that much to comment maybe you should've watched the discussion
bondbond53
2025-03-13 20:55:56 +0000 UTCYou should watch Mad Men after, Sopranos it is the spiritual followup and has less violence (physical anyway!) but the same amazing writing. A lot of people who worked on Sopranos worked on Mad Men too, they even wanted David Chase to direct it but he recommended his lead writer Weiner to do it instead ( he also wrote this episode) :)
Ken
2025-03-13 20:20:21 +0000 UTCVery likely
Octavio
2025-03-13 18:26:09 +0000 UTCit’s pretty obvious they draw the line at cheating on a spouse or significant other and it’s frustrating. One innocent question of if a coworker has a boyfriend and he looks at her in sort of a sexual way, and they judged pretty quickly, to me that was lame. Other reactions they sympathize were criminals and murderers, but because cheating is so prevalent in this show, we get to see where they really draw the line.
Zach D
2025-03-13 18:02:54 +0000 UTCasking someone you work with about their life isn’t weird, grow up.. and I didn’t hear them say anything in his defense.. also, I only watched the reaction
Zach D
2025-03-13 17:56:50 +0000 UTC@Mark M I agree with that. And at the end of the day, despite all the difficulties involved, leaving her marriage is way easier and doable than Tony leaving the mob and it's lifestyle, yet we still hold Tony accountable for the life he lives, Carm deserves the same treatment.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 17:10:42 +0000 UTCI wouldn't say she's as bad as her husband because objectively she isn't, but I agree on most of your points.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 17:06:04 +0000 UTCIn the moment where he asked a random young girl at that job if she has a boyfriend? Yeah understandable that they'd have a bad vibe. But then they witnessed the rest of the episode especially at the end where they were very obviously baffled by Meadow's manipulation of him and in the discussion they didn't say one bad word about him. Do you guy watch with your ass just to comment how mean LM is to guys in this show?
bondbond53
2025-03-13 17:04:05 +0000 UTCIt turns out Meadow was indeed Tony's reflection as he once said. "They bring certain modes of conflict resolution from all the way back in the old country, from the poverty of the Mezzogiorno, where all higher authority was corrupt." Meadow's me when I discovered politics and philosophy as a pre-pubescent teen. Her defending her "culture" reminds me of that time she snapped after Jackie Jr.'s funeral at his sister for talking bad about the family to an "outsider".
bondbond53
2025-03-13 16:56:11 +0000 UTC“meadow ends up with that type of guy” i’m losing my mind.. Finn?! yea seems like a real piece of shit😂
Zach D
2025-03-13 16:41:06 +0000 UTC@Gaboxxy Oh I see, fair point. I might have misunderstood the scene and made an assumption that he wouldn't try to canvas everyone. Makes sense. If it is common practice though that does kind of underline the point that she it's easier for her to see herself as trapped the moment the divorce presents a challenge.
Mark M
2025-03-13 14:59:25 +0000 UTCYeah I wonder if some of the malapropisms don’t fully hit if English isn’t your first language.
jerry
2025-03-13 14:49:22 +0000 UTCDon’t want to split hairs but every time someone says Carmela is “just as bad” as Tony…. It’s like come on, he’s by definition a mass murderer. But yes, Carm is a hypocrite and it’s telling that by this point in the series you don’t really see her reflect or show much doubt on taking blood money. Like the psychiatrist said, she can never say she hasn’t been told.
jerry
2025-03-13 14:47:29 +0000 UTCI'm glad you caught that Abacus, very observant.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 14:40:14 +0000 UTCMeadow also dismissing Vito as a threat, when in fact, he’s responsible for the murder of her boyfriend that she attributes to “unidentified black males” is peak irony.
Octavio
2025-03-13 14:37:16 +0000 UTC@IanJ Finn's biggest character flaws are that he's indecisive and doesn't seem to know how to "read the room" properly, but he's overall a good-hearted dude.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 14:36:24 +0000 UTCYour second paragraph isn't necessarily true. Even if they turn him down, just by meeting him alone they can't be Carmella's lawyer due to conflict of interest. Consulting with most decent divorce lawyers in a specific area isn't really that far fetched considering Tony had apparently been doing it for over a year. That move it's actually extremely common when couples divorce, they'll start meeting with every decent lawyer they can to limit their spouse's options while as a result increasing their own.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 14:33:11 +0000 UTC@Abacus one thousand subs to watch LM, what's next? THEY GET TO FUCK US FOR A MILLION?
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 14:22:12 +0000 UTCHe's a bit of a poseur, if you ask me.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 14:20:26 +0000 UTC…one thousand more?!
Darrach
2025-03-13 13:06:22 +0000 UTCOut of all Meadow's boyfriend, Finn is probably my favourite as well lol.
IanJ
2025-03-13 11:30:21 +0000 UTC@Bxb It's a spoiler free analysis of the scene in the episode they just watched, with other footages from previous episodes that they've watched. The only "spoiler" is a footage from 9x10, which they've already watched in tandem with this one.
IanJ
2025-03-13 11:28:48 +0000 UTCThey should avoid any videos of the actors talking about the show until they have finished the series themselves.
Bxb
2025-03-13 10:43:03 +0000 UTCGreat episode, every storyline is good in this one. I love Finn, poor guy just gets pulled apart by everybody. Some of the lines Meadow throws at him are so funny, 'they have different methods of conflict resolution'. After he saw a guy get glassed and Vito's 'saw that coming!' That whole storyline is very funny. Meadow also cooks a chilli in the middle of a heatwave lol. Carmella's dilemma reaches a head here too. She benefits to an extent from Tony always being the worst guy in the room. It makes it easier to minimise her own role. In a sense Tony is right that he bears the burdens for her and the family. They both talk about being stuck in their positions. Carmella describes it as a prison, while Tony ascribes it to fate. But both of them could live differently if they chose to, it would just involve sacrifices and consequences. Carmella's consequences are she doesn't get the benefits of divorce that she would in a normal marriage. Can she live with that? Probably not. I loved the therapy scene too, amazing acting. It's quite touching watching Melfi walk him through it. I love the ending line too about it being like 'taking a shit'. Very relatable.
Mark M
2025-03-13 10:02:41 +0000 UTCGive me one thousand subscriptions 🫱🏻
Abacus
2025-03-13 09:12:31 +0000 UTCLol how did they manage to have a 25 minute discussion of this episode without once mentioning the gay Vito storyline, despite using it for the thumbnail?
Abacus
2025-03-13 09:02:48 +0000 UTCProbably one of my personal favorite Sopranos episodes, definitely in my top three! Some people dislike the inclusion of Tony B, as it feels abrupt, but even so, I’d argue it’s worth it for this storyline alone. The highlight of this episode for me is Tony’s final therapy session with Melfi. We see him opening up to a degree never seen before, even in the way he describes the hijacking plans to her. We see how Tony reveals his deep-seated disdain for the mob life in that scene, echoing the themes previously explored in Pussy’s storyline. It’s a masterclass performance from James Gandolfini. In fact, Lorraine Bracco (Melfi) once shared a story about how she became so engrossed in Gandolfini’s performance during a scene that she forgot she was acting alongside him. I highly recommend watching this video analyzing Gandolfini’s acting in that scene. It delves into all the subtleties he did in his performance to truly bring Tony Soprano to life: https://youtu.be/rLSm2RSpVKI?si=EotxaRGmOgtnYJ2D. As for Vito’s storyline in this episode, it was inspired by the real-life story of a gay mafioso who was spared because he was a big earner.
IanJ
2025-03-13 08:33:28 +0000 UTCCarmine Jr and his conflict with Johnny Sack is referencing President Bush Jr going into Iraq (which was the year before this aired). The quote where he says: "Will I be as effective as a boss like my dad was? And I will be. Even more so. But until I am, it's gonna be hard to verify that I think I'll be more effective." is a slightly adapted quote of something Bush Jr said. At the time, Bush Jr was well known for his "Bushisms" when he said things will clumsy, sometimes nonsensical phrasing, as Carmine Jr often does.
Abacus
2025-03-13 07:09:20 +0000 UTCYeah, he handles erections. Hear what I said Ton'? Omar said Vito was a construction tycoon, and I said he handles erections. It's a double entendre. Heh heh heh
Abacus
2025-03-13 06:13:32 +0000 UTCOhhh! I knew THAT was coming
Abacus
2025-03-13 06:02:18 +0000 UTCThe episode also made it a point to contrast Finn and Carmela. Even though he still took a job from Tony, he was still shown applying to other jobs prior. Carmela on the other hand doesn't even consider an alternative path. And while her mother is annoying and snobby (and LM is completely right about their own hypocrisy about benefiting from Carmela's marrige), she still explicitly tried to get Carmela out of the life by trying to get her to marry a person outside of the mob. Contrast this with Tony's mom who said she raised him right because of his big house (in season 2) and his father giving him positive reinforcement for witnessing violence and being "brave" (right before his very first panic attack which adds a number of layers to his guilt about Tony B), he had a far more powerful reason for being involved in this life. Still don't agree at all that she's as bad as him in spite of this though.
Veya
2025-03-13 04:56:20 +0000 UTCThe thing is...Tony is entirely correct about Carmela. She willfully entered into a life with him fully knowing what it entailed. She isn't Finn, nothing about any of this should be a surprise to her; she grew up around all of this. She wants the lifestyle, but suddenly 20+ years in the realities of the life her husband leads is a problem?! It's notable that she isn't looking to start a new life. She still wants the 1% lifestyle financed by literal blood; she just doesn't want the person spilling the blood in the house with her. She's just as bad as her husband, a terrible hypocrite in every aspect of her life. Her mid-life crisis isn't any more justified than his, imo.
mbds
2025-03-13 04:26:40 +0000 UTCHe's just an old school guy, very allegorical
IanJ
2025-03-13 04:09:38 +0000 UTCYeah they have great write-ups as well. The issue is they include spoilers and connections to future episodes directly in the main body, whereas av club will keep it to a section at the very bottom and label it spoilers with the main article being spoiler free. Plus sopranos autopsy is better for technical/cinematography analysis and connections but emily's writeup in av club is far better for thematic readings that actually ended up being confirmed and reinforced by the show and david chase.
Veya
2025-03-13 04:03:26 +0000 UTCCheck out Sopranos Autopsy
Octavio
2025-03-13 03:57:00 +0000 UTCGonna point out again the write up in AV club has a very good breakdown of the episode and people should read it. It focuses more on the macro thematic and structural view that we will see crystalize in the end. Very important to note that this is the first time Tony pushed past the bullshit he tells himself and it's the most honest he's ever been in the therapy room. It's also the most forthright he's ever talked about a crime with Melfi. The black bear (beyond being a symbol of Tony's innate presence) also reflects the fact that just like how all these people use black people as a stand-in for something they ignore or want covered up, Carmela ignored the what the therapist told her about leaving him ENTIRELY, particularly his blood money, and now it's the exact thing trapping her (with the bear appearing at the house, the biggest material item). Tony is not going to hit or kill her. She can leave. Tony has never ever tried to turn Aj or Meadow against her (quite the opposite in fact), so she's not going to lose them. The only thing she would lose IS materialistic. But her continuing to take his money, to live in the house he paid for, all seemed to reinforce his entitlement regarding their marriage (I don't think that he views her as property. He's an emotional man-child and it would seem like saying a kid views their mother/sister/friend as property). I know a counter-point is going to be "well, she raised their kids for twenty years and did all the house work for him and she deserves money in the divorce". Yeah, in a normal marriage that's very valid. But they are ultimately dealing with blood money. It's very very difficult (bordering on unrealistic) for her to take a menial job and live a COMPLETELY different life, but the show, or least the therapist, would still suggest it's the right thing to do, just like how it'd be very very difficult for Tony to just quit the mob life and turn himself in, but it would be the right thing to do from a moral absolutist standpoint.
Veya
2025-03-13 03:30:35 +0000 UTCI completely forgot about that therapy scene at the end. Just another moment of vulnerability that the mafia lifestyle would not tolerate
mundanelotus
2025-03-13 02:57:04 +0000 UTCI hope Vito gets a happy ending
20 16
2025-03-13 02:42:39 +0000 UTC‘F’n Jason, he’s dyslexic’
Knot
2025-03-13 02:01:41 +0000 UTCLet’s get something straight LM: you watch, I pay.
Darrach
2025-03-13 01:54:59 +0000 UTClol, I think they finally realized Little Carmine is an idiot
Octavio
2025-03-13 01:50:25 +0000 UTCHey, this is very hard on Tony too. Don't forget, he's a strict catholic.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-13 01:42:39 +0000 UTCBig construction tycoon that Vito🤭
Omar
2025-03-13 01:19:16 +0000 UTC
