The Sopranos 5x06 Reaction
Added 2025-03-03 00:57:51 +0000 UTC
Comments
That was real? I saw that movie I thought it was bullshxt.
Bxb
2025-03-04 02:33:06 +0000 UTCJust in case it somehow hasn’t been recommended before if you two like Steve Buscemi who plays Tony Number 2 he had a pretty good show on HBO called Boardwalk Empire that also had Omar from The Wire in it.
Truemeathead
2025-03-04 01:57:36 +0000 UTC@gaboxxy Well right and i agree that it’s a bit egregious that others wouldn’t bring it up. But then i did say we do follow Tony’s POV for most of the show. Unless the other characters would bring it up among themselves which i’m not seeing too much context for. Why would paulie and silvio? Maybe carmela and gab? Idk.
Veya
2025-03-04 01:08:36 +0000 UTCCool
BNJ
2025-03-03 21:07:08 +0000 UTCThe Japanese raped/pillaged Korea.
Clay F
2025-03-03 21:01:51 +0000 UTC@Simon M. y Atana Sumi Some other examples of those "off-screen things," are the Barese crew being the biggest in New Jersey or the existence of the Philly crew.
IanJ
2025-03-03 20:11:33 +0000 UTC@gaboxxy: I can see it both ways, but I think they went with it because a) it's been shown repeatedly that they're used to blocking out anything that is inconvenient to their culture, like a day-to-day variation of the Omertà code (no one ever brings up all the people that disappear into "witness protection") b) as a comment on how hypocritical and disconnected they are. As Paulie says, no one even went to see him while in prison. Also, the show has always let the audience know that you're only seeing some of the stuff that's actually going on (Tony's crew is obviously bigger than what you see on screen, people are introduced like they were always there, and so on).
Simon M. y Atana Sumi
2025-03-03 17:16:03 +0000 UTCHe graduated to Artie for a bit, then when he doesn’t appear for a few episodes Lola goes back to Archie and Milena follows suit
Darrach
2025-03-03 15:57:28 +0000 UTCI think it was also a good idea to limit Tony’s screen time this episode probably the one where he appears the least just to really show Carm and Tony B with their own struggles
Ruben Welsh
2025-03-03 14:40:51 +0000 UTCGirls it's Artie, A-R-T-I-E. I don't even like the guy much for me to correct you lmao
bondbond53
2025-03-03 14:21:32 +0000 UTCGet out of here with your facts and logic!
Jack Hoff
2025-03-03 14:19:43 +0000 UTCI can understand that, but nobody else ever brought him up? Not Carmella, not Christopher, not Livia? And most other characters that come out of nowhere were at least mentioned at least once before, even if briefly, but not Tony B ever despite his close connection to the main character? That’s what I mean, other characters we can suspend disbelief but with Tony B his character really feels like completely out of nowhere.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-03 11:54:40 +0000 UTCWhile he's a cool likeable guy, he also takes advantage of Tony's mob influence and indirectly benefits from it in his business — Carmela has even called him out on this before. He's quite like Carmela herself in terms of being outwardly clean and honest while enjoying the very tangible benefits of being mob-adjacent. While Carmela's mother is stuck-up with a bitchy attitude and is less likeable in terms of personality, arguably she is a much more moral person as she has always wanted Carmela to be with someone else and has always explicitly discouraged Carm from being with Tony. It is repeatedly made clear that she has always wanted Carm to look at "civilian" options for a man, and has always disapproved on Tony as a partner, both in present day, and historically back when they were a young couple dating.
Abacus
2025-03-03 11:37:48 +0000 UTCI love Steve Buscemi in this episode. He has this kind of restrained, beaten down attitude that makes him feel very believably normal to me. His story arch does feel a bit condensed here but I think he does it well. Carmela's story is good too. I hate seeing them barter over AJ, no wonder he feels like shit. I noticed watching this that he's literally wearing a shirt that says 'trash' in the scenes with Tony lmao. He would probably be using ChatGPT for his essays if the show was written now. You can see how Carmela is very sharp when it comes to reading other people, but naive to her own manipulations. I was glad the teacher called her on it. It's funny how she blames it on Tony, which isn't really true here, but even if it was, yeah you're going to be judged for marrying a mobster, what do you expect? She wants the benefits of marrying him without the consequences.
Mark M
2025-03-03 08:19:43 +0000 UTCFunny that Carmela tells Ro she thought Wegler was gay, and then later when Tony says the same Carmela scolds him and tells him that he's projecting
Abacus
2025-03-03 08:11:08 +0000 UTCI think Carmela does feel overwhelming guilt for *gestures at everything in her life* so she uses her "affair" with Wegler as a pressure release valve for all of that pent-up guilt. If she feels bad enough about that, she can ignore all of her other culpability. Of course she's also totally using him to help AJ -- but people are complicated, right?
Mike
2025-03-03 06:00:22 +0000 UTC"One of these days, you wait, I'm gonna kick your ass" "What's wrong with right now, huh?" This exchange between Tony and AJ reminds me of Tony’s therapy session in Season 2, where he shared a story about sending Furio to beat someone up and wishing he could have been the one doing it. Melfi then asked him if he’d rather be the one delivering the beating or receiving it. On some level, Tony would probably respect AJ more if he fought back, even if it meant defying him. The conversation between Carmella and Father Phil is also pretty hilarious. His thinly veiled jealousy, masked by his supposed devotion to the church, clashes with Carmela’s not-so-subtle attempts to provoke him, and of course father Phil defending Tony in some way once again. When the Church appears in the show, it's always presented in the context of having accommodated organized crime in some way. Every single clergyman we see is like this, even the African priest that Carm goes to for counseling. I'm starting to get the feeling that David Chase doesn't like the Catholic church. Carmela’s actions in this episode essentially encapsulate the common moral outlook and worldview of the Soprano family: use people for what they’re worth, take what you can, and avoid hard work whenever possible. In this context, AJ is simply acting on what he’s been imprinted with since birth; buy the assignment he’s supposed to be studying for. Buy people, buy power, steal power, take power. To sum up the episode’s central theme: acquiring money without hard work ultimately corrupts and destroys you as a person, erodes your humanity, and seals your fate.
IanJ
2025-03-03 05:54:42 +0000 UTCCarmelas dad is the only wholly good person on this show. He's adorable.
Jack Hoff
2025-03-03 05:47:13 +0000 UTCI love it when Carmela is so obviously shitty even the girls notice
Jack Hoff
2025-03-03 05:27:01 +0000 UTCI didn't notice that. He must be younger here.
Clay F
2025-03-03 05:06:54 +0000 UTCKeep your eye on the tiger, man!
JG
2025-03-03 04:23:59 +0000 UTCDid they notice the teacher is the badass from The Expanse?
Pulp
2025-03-03 04:22:07 +0000 UTCAnd Goodfellas
BNJ
2025-03-03 04:20:38 +0000 UTCRemember Pearl Harbor!
BNJ
2025-03-03 04:19:36 +0000 UTCIt's not that deep. Bobby Jr. mentioned at his welcome back party that he's never even heard of him, which implies Tony chose to never bring him up in conversations or social gatherings. Won't say anymore due to spoilers.
JG
2025-03-03 04:13:59 +0000 UTCYeah but Tony's personality is well established as one that doesn't like bringing up difficult subjects and holds a very "out of sight out of mind" characteristic (pretty much how we see him deal with guilt for the entire show up until now). Every memory of Tony B would have been tainted by that one event and he definitely wouldn't be bringing it up on his own unless he has to and his temper is enough that others probably know not to bring it up around him. The only thing slightly egregious, to your point, is maybe other characters can bring it up in passing in conversations with each other. But we're also with Tony's POV 90% of the time. Also, Tony WAS super close to Jackie, so Ritchie arguably should have been brought up at some point by the same reasoning, considering Jackie died and they talked about his health all the time.
Veya
2025-03-03 04:06:20 +0000 UTC@Veya fair enough, but the difference is that Tony B is literally first cousin of Tony S. and supposedly one of his closest friends before getting jailed, and close to Christopher even, yet he is not mentioned once. We can understand characters like Ritchie or Ralphie coming out of nowhere because they are not that close to the main character, so it can be at least believable that they were not mentioned, but you'd think a beloved first cousin that is in jail and grew up with the main character would be mentioned by somebody.
Gaboxxy
2025-03-03 03:26:11 +0000 UTCit's actually not rlly an unpopular take
Erin
2025-03-03 02:50:21 +0000 UTCI'm literally not denying anything you say about comparisons to Richie and other stuff but it just didn't work for me. Steve Buscemi actually broke my immersion as well
bondbond53
2025-03-03 02:45:21 +0000 UTC@john there's nothing that doesn't make sense. there's stuff that's for plot convenience but again, the show has done that before. and yeah the blundetto name was mentioned in season 2. feech was actually also mentioned in early season 2.
Veya
2025-03-03 02:21:50 +0000 UTCIf it's any consolation, his mother was with Livia at the airport in season 2.
IanJ
2025-03-03 02:18:19 +0000 UTC“The blues are my business, and business is good”
Darrach
2025-03-03 02:16:43 +0000 UTCThis episode highlights why "associating with criminals" is always something prohibited in probation/parole situations. It's the EXPOSURE that drags Tony B back into the world. Nobody had to do anything. Seeing the money, seeing the women, and most importantly seeing the ACTION was a lure too strong for him to resist. Robert Wegler (David Strathairn) is AJ's guidance counselor. This is a position in American school systems that are responsible for "guiding" students. The exact responsibilities will vary system to system, but they do things like help students pick classes for the next year, offer advice on schoolwork or meet with parents, and (most importantly) in their final years of High School help them pick and apply to colleges. Guidance counselors tell them what grades they will need to get to make it into THIS school versus THAT school, what extracurricular programs to sign up for to get an impressive application, etc. They're not teachers per se, but they have school authority.
JBK405
2025-03-03 02:16:25 +0000 UTCI like Tony B but I get where you're coming from, some parts of his story don't really make too much sense
John
2025-03-03 01:58:06 +0000 UTCBecause it’s not something the show hasn’t done before. Ralphie suddenly came back from miami. Ritchie suddenly released from prision even though we met his brother a season prior. The premise of a big mob allows for this type of character in and out. Also i think most get over his abrupt introduction because his arc is thematically rich and ties into the “two tony” idea established in the first episode. Also Steve Buscemi is awesome.
Veya
2025-03-03 01:57:42 +0000 UTCI just feel like Tony B. and his story is a bit shoehorned for me in this season. I know again that this is an unpopular take
bondbond53
2025-03-03 01:47:59 +0000 UTCGirls we need that Godfather II reaction before you finish this show!
bondbond53
2025-03-03 01:17:09 +0000 UTC
