'Sopranos' 'Johnny Cakes' Oral History: Vito's Gay Love Story Alan: Tony's situation as he enters Holsten's is complex however you look at it. Eugene Pontecorvo was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1959 to a family of Italian descent, and he became a made man in Tony Soprano's crew of the DiMeo crime familyafter having worked as a bodyguard for Junior Soprano during the 1990s. Remember, too, that Tony is the Homer Simpson of crime bosses, miraculously avoiding death or prison even as it claims other characters. That is not to say that he would not get back at her in other ways, but he would never physically harm her. The Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime ''The Sopranos'': AJ hits bottom | EW.com (Well, maybe not the scouts.) He, along with Vito Spatafore and Donny K., found Gigi Cestone dead on the toilet in the Aprile Crew hangout after suffering a constipation-induced heart attack. He is a prototypical underachiever and a constant source of stress and anxiety for his parents. Chase lingers on the parking job to raise the question of what terrible thing will happen because its taking her so long. Eugene killed himself, after all. Christopher Moltisanti had him kill Teddy Spirodakis in Boston as a favor for him; Moltisanti promised to convince Soprano to let Pontecorvo retire as a reward. So New York had plenty of reasons to kill Tony. Tony Soprano has clearly made many bad choices, as have the other people at that table with him, as have nearly all the characters with whom weve spent these 86-plus hours of television. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. Meadow runs to the door, the bell rings, Tony looks up, and nothin. Then Chase called to say they would kill off Gene by suicide. Every other major boss on the show, from Johnny Sack to Phil Leotardo ( Frank Vincent . It has also been suggested that Tony himself got whacked in those polarizing last minutes in the series finale. Not much character development is given to Lorenzo, making him the average informant. 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. Professionally, he has just survived a war with New York has, in fact, enough juice that he was able to . And it throws all the other things weve been discussing, here and throughout this book, into sharper relief. His jobs include running a low stakes poker game, a sports betting agency and a 'No Work' job at the Esplanade construction site. and our Alan: Tonys situation as he enters Holstens is complex however you look at it. Chase was right about Funaro going out on a strong note, of course. The hit was ordered by . 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. Raymond is also an FBI informant throughout almost the entire series. Gene Killing himself : r/thesopranos - Reddit Matt: Yeah, hes checking out the scene in there for self-protection, but he does that everywhere he goes. Adriana's off-screen death in The Sopranos also shuffles up the character dynamics for the rest of the series. 15 years later: Did Tony die in 'The Sopranos' finale? - New York Post In short, Ralph was just the worst and was killed in Season 4, Episode 9, "Whoever Did This." When one of Ralph's sons nearly killed . Later, Tony gets Phils location from FBI agent Harris (Matt Servitto). The Sopranos has always explored various facets of its characterstheir ethnic, cultural, social/class identities, and even their meta-identities as fictional characters in a 21st century TV show. I like having to make a case for a particular interpretation or just throw my hands up. Eugene doesn't respond. The Walking Dead (Drama) - Namuwiki Most people think the crow was there for Christopher. That bell, to me, is a tolling bell, as in Bring out your dead. It rings every time somebody goes through that door. 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. Off the Back of a Truck: Unofficial Contraband for the Sopranos Fan That coffinlike image isnt the first major allusion to death of the final season, nor the last of Made in America alone. Coachellas parent company AEG is removing any and all videos related to Oceans only performance. Maybe, after spending a decade telling stories about this man and having spent a whole lifetime thinking many of the same thoughts as Tony, particularly where their mothers were concerned Chase just couldnt bring himself to direct a scene explicitly killing him, or even one where he asked James Gandolfinis face to point us more blatantly in that direction. By telling other people what we think happened, we are revealing ourselves. Only the bravest celebs will go full catboy at 2023s Met Gala. Chase provides glimpses of all the other customers a scout troop, two unidentified black males at the jukebox, a man in a Members Only jacket like Eugene Pontecorvos at the counter because he wants us to wonder if one of them might be there to take out Tony. We dont know, and will never know. We only have this one life, and precious little control over how long it lasts. I made arguments like the one above, about how a secret assassin repping an enemy we never heard of before would clash with every narrative rule the show ever followed. Alan: Okay, but then, why the cut to black? Does Paulie freaking Walnuts somehow become boss of the Family, or does Butchie throw up his hands at this point and decide to put his own guy in charge of the gang that couldnt shoot straight? No. Members Only (6.01) | Sopranos Autopsy So was it in part to free them? At the same time, IFC Center in New York City is hosting The Sopranos Film Festival, a mix of episodes, features, shorts, cartoons, and panel discussions. Thats why Members Only was really great, he said on Talking Sopranos. Alan: Made in America opens on Tony asleep in the safe house. Who killed Tony Soprano. - Total War Michelle Obama and Bruce Springsteen Tore Up the Stage with Glory Days. The Sopranos was so deliciously bold, fresh, funny, complex and authentic that, for me, it rendered most other dramas on television unwatchable. With this in mind, I looked up the meaning of Pontecorvo. The Sopranos abruptly cut to black at the end of the series finale. The show absolutely dabbled in the supernatural throughout, from Paulie being haunted by Mikey Palmice, to Tony dreaming something that Tony B was actually doing, to whatever and wherever Kevin Finnerty was. Do the Feds show up a week later to arrest him, Carlo having finally given them the missing piece of their RICO prosecution? There are no cookies for figuring things out. Basically, those fans wanted to definitively know if Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) died right there in Holstens. Youd expect the family to be long gone, living their lives in Florida, trying to forget Jersey. Is this, the superstitious Paulie wonders, just a cat, or his late colleague returned to life? She tells Eugene that he should kill Tony in "Members Only." The great news was, it was gonna be a great episode for me, he said. What I dont like is any kind of conversation that seems to be leading toward, Hes dead, end of discussion. Because that should not be the end of the discussion when youre talking about a show like this one, a show about psychology, development, morality, and all these other deep and tangled subjects. His first act on the show is seen in "Proshai, Livushka" when he and Bobby Zanone assault a garbage sanitation man for threatening to rat out Ralph Cifaretto. Exactly 15 years ago, millions frantically yelled, thinking they lost their cable connection as HBO's "The Sopranos" ended its final season thanks to creator David Chase inventing one of the. Privacy Policy and The loved ones who lost people to witness protection or because they ran away suspect they were murdered but cant prove it, even though we viewers saw it happen. As for Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) ordering the hit, that theory does have some validity. Eugene killed himself, after all. The Sopranos Ending Explained: What Happened at Holsten's? There has to be something else going on here, otherwise the scene wouldnt end as it ends, in such a studied inartful way. Doesn't it seem strange that Eugene was there? He does so by stalking the man, following him into a convenience store where the juror takes a drink and a candy bar. For Robert Funaro, who played Eugene Pontecorvo for 24 Sopranos episodes (seasons 3-6), getting killed definitely had a silver lining. The actor had appeared in mob movies like "Goodfellas," and was also no stranger to crime himself. The most popular theory is that Butchie had Tony killed. Were admitting who we are. But he always manages to avoid going there. He loved his family, the only way they could get the inheritance money and go to Florida is if he was dead, he ended his life for their benefit. Matt: Well, this isnt how I thought this would go. Alan: The distance he walks is shorter each time, and when he gets to Holstens, we just cut from him looking at the restaurant to him in the booth, in a way that suggests hes seeing himself really, that hes seeing the whole scene play out, like hes already left his body and is just envisioning what might come next back on this mortal plane. I've been fascinated lately with the meaning of names in The Sopranos. But I dont think he has to be dead for us to think about all that related stuff, and I dont think thats the only possible interpretation. The Austrian physicist Erwin Schrdinger famously theorized that if you place a cat into a box with some kind of hazardous material, the cat may live or die, but until you actually open the box to check, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Personally, hes on good enough terms with his immediate family that theyd all happily join him for onion rings and more at their favorite ice cream place. Butchie had antagonized Tony in the past, but at this point in time he agrees his boss Phil went too far. When the Soprano family meet at Holsten's diner for a meal, this man enters the diner ahead of Anthony Soprano Jr. and sits at the counter. And the matter of whether Ralphie was responsible for the fire. While Tony is cooking dinner, Junior, thinking he is a long-dead mobster, shoots him in the gut. But why wouldnt he just walk in and do it? Alan: Back in the day, I felt like death was an easier sentence for Tony to take, because so much of his life thanks to genetics, mental health, and the monstrous business he has chosen brings him so much misery. I mean, if you step back and think about it, killing Tony this mysteriously does defy Sopranos modus operandi in multiple ways. The time was certainly right. Its become increasingly clear to me as weve worked our way through the entire series again, with over 10 years of perspective on that finale and nearly 20 years of living with the show in some form, that Chase is an intuitive writer, somebody whos not trying to send messages or create puzzles for people to solve, but is just trying to make people feel and think and question themselves. Shazam! Fury of the Gods - Wikipedia I felt then, and now, afraid for Tony Soprano, and painfully aware of both his fragile mortality and my own, more keenly than any other piece of art has made me feel.
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