The Sopranos

[neatoman]

I couldn't find a thread about this show, even with advanced search. So I'd figured I should make one. I'm on season 6, so I'm almost finished. It's pretty damn good, really surprised there wasn't a thread here.

I do have a question about Paulie.

Spoiler:

He doesn't actually qualify to be a made man and only is one because nobody suspected the truth about his parentage, right? Isn't the rule that you need to prove your paternal line goes back to Italy, something he can't do since he doesn't know anything about his biological father?

[ToTheNines]

Love Sopranos. Rewatched a while back leading up to Many Saints (which stunk). The writing and acting is all so good, the show will definitely remain timeless.

About Paulie:

Spoiler:

You’re going off of the hard and fast rules of the old days within the 5 families, which were even more strict in that your lineage not only had to be 100% Italian but specifically had to be traced back to Sicily. I think outside of New York and as time went on, this rule has become more and more lax.

Tony himself is from Avelino on the mainland. So part of the reason the New York/Lupertazzi family didn’t respect them was because they weren’t Sicilian. And like Phil said: “they make anybody and everybody over there”.

[Andrew NDB]

I don't have an answer to that. But I have my own question.

Wtf. What happened to that Russian guy that got lost in the snow? That would have started a war? I've always wondered about that.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I don't have an answer to that. But I have my own question.

Wtf. What happened to that Russian guy that got lost in the snow? That would have started a war? I've always wondered about that.

According to Chase, he was found by some campers who brought him to the hospital. He survived but the gunshot left him unable to say what happened and he deported back to Russia, if he ever recovered it would have been too late to cause any major problems. Not sure who took the car though or why the incident wasn't investigated, the whole explanation just kind of sounds like a retroactive excuse for abandoning a cliffhanger.

When I watched it, I just assumed it was one of those implied supernatural events, like the psychic being oddly specific for mere cold reading or Pussy appearing in the mirror. You know, because they couldn't find a trace of him aside from a little bit of blood.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by neatoman

According to Chase, he was found by some campers who brought him to the hospital.

But wait... if campers found him and brought him to the hospital, who took Paulie's car?

[sdp]

I was too young to watch this, is it actually worth watching in 2026? Or a product of its time where most of its impact would no longer be felt if watched now like Lost for example.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by sdp

I was too young to watch this, is it actually worth watching in 2026? Or a product of its time where most of its impact would no longer be felt if watched now like Lost for example.

I suspect it would be even more impactful now, but I'm not sure. I think the "whackings" might be a lot more spaced out than you might imagine, but there's a lot more there.

[CyberCubed]

I watched it all for the first time about 3 years ago on the illegal streaming websites. It was pretty good, but it's a lot darker and more violent than I expected. And not like "movie gangster violence" stuff where bad guys just shoot each others heads off, but actual realistic and disturbing stuff.

Like for example

Spoiler:

one of the guys literally beats his pregnant girlfriend to death on the streets with his bare fists.

I was so happy that guy got killed later.

There's a lot of dark episodes, because it has realistic violence and themes and not just cartoony movie style gangster violence.

[Andrew NDB]

I love the one where there's a big protest about Columbus Day and the gang get all pissed off about it being anti-Italian and go out there and start beating up the protesters.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

But wait... if campers found him and brought him to the hospital, who took Paulie's car?

I don't know either, wrote as much in the post. Could just be as easy as it was stolen by an unknown third party, maybe?

Originally Posted by sdp

I was too young to watch this, is it actually worth watching in 2026? Or a product of its time where most of its impact would no longer be felt if watched now like Lost for example.

Yeah, it's good. I watched like 24 years after it first aired and I was impressed. The problem with Lost is that it was largely a sloppy excuse to make the "weird magic mystery island" show that kept adding to a mystery that wasn't resolved, a problem like that isn't something the Sopranos have. Maybe the Sopranos lasted much longer than intended and as a result they were forced to elevate a bunch of minor characters to main players, simply because the big players kept getting whacked. It's not really a problem, it's just weird to see the first time watching the show.

[Mad Dog McMutt]

I also just recently watched it for the first time a couple of years ago. I absolutely loved it and it is for sure worth watching.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I watched it all for the first time about 3 years ago on the illegal streaming websites. It was pretty good, but it's a lot darker and more violent than I expected. And not like "movie gangster violence" stuff where bad guys just shoot each others heads off, but actual realistic and disturbing stuff.

Like for example

Spoiler:

one of the guys literally beats his pregnant girlfriend to death on the streets with his bare fists.

I was so happy that guy got killed later.

There's a lot of dark episodes, because it has realistic violence and themes and not just cartoony movie style gangster violence.

Joey Pants said women started hitting on him like crazy after that episode aired. Weird.

I hated that episode when I first saw it. When I did another rewatch like 4 years ago, it was still very disturbing but the writing on that one is so brilliant.

And yes, seeing him die later was great. There are a ton of really satisfying deaths. My wife jumped out of her chair like it was the Super Bowl when Janice shot Richie at the end of season 2 lmao

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I love the one where there's a big protest about Columbus Day and the gang get all pissed off about it being anti-Italian and go out there and start beating up the protesters.

I hate that one!

[Andrew NDB]

There's also the wonderful scene with Paulie Walnuts trying to steal something from his mother's friend when she's out of town and then it turns out she's NOT out of town and catches him. He has to awkwardly play it off and then when she doesn't buy it he has to murder her right there and then, and she's all like, "You always were a little bastard!!" meaning like when he was a little boy.

Just finished the first three episodes of season 1 in my rewatch. Yeah, this is all pretty good now. Shesus, the the subplot with two gay guys stealing the car of Tony's son's science teacher. Tony sends Silvio and Big Pussy to track them down and they do. Then after beating them to a pulp it turns out the car is already chopped up. So what do they do? They make the gay guys go and steal the same make and model car in the middle of the night, repaint it and transfer the plates and all to the new car... before killing them both and stuffing them in the trunk.

Also, the thought occurred to me. Michael Imperioli. He might have made a hell of a Joker at some point.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I love the one where there's a big protest about Columbus Day and the gang get all pissed off about it being anti-Italian and go out there and start beating up the protesters.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

I hate that one!

Just got to that episode again. Yeah, it wasn't as good or impactful as I remembered. Mostly it's a lot of David Chase taking the opportunity to share his political views, using the characters as mouthpieces for it. Even Furio was like, "YES, f*** those guys for disrespecting Columbus! But... I also do like Columbus, and now let me tell you the story of my village in Italy and how we all do not like Columbus."

[ToTheNines]

Yeah the whole episode is not great. The stuff with the Indians is idiotic too.

There are some pretty big plot developments, so you can’t skip it. Johnny Sac finds out about the joke Ralphie made about his wife and *spoiler* unexpectedly dies in a car crash.

Random thought, but for some reason I hated Bobby when I first watched the show as a teen, but loved him when I last rewatched it. I think Schirripa is a bit of a dunce IRL, but still a great character.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Mostly it's a lot of David Chase taking the opportunity to share his political views, using the characters as mouthpieces for it.

Yes, and that’s a big reason Many Saints sucked ass. It’s not really like him to be too heavy handed getting a point across. Weird.