...The question is whether the don broke his promise and his code of honor. This is much much harder to define and not the black and white question that you’re choosing to answer.
It is not hard at all to define, it's been defined throughout the discussion and the answer is no, he did not. He said he would not be the one to break the peace they had made. His word was nothing more, and nothing less that that. Can
you define the 'code of honor' that says he was forbidden to plan Barzini's or anyone else's murder once
they broke the 'code of honor' you seem so fond of holding Vito to? (Granted, no other man in that room stood and made that pledge the way Vito did. All the more reason to expect that someone would eventually make a move...and to plan accordingly.)
...The deleted scene would be a much more valuable source to draw on if it were not deleted.
Deleted or not, it is
still a valuable source to draw upon because it was eventually included in the Saga, and is therefore now part of the story. (As are all the deleted scenes.)
I've been on this Board a while and have seen people draw upon not only deleted scenes, but also draft transcripts and even their own theories of subplots. If there is a source to be drawn upon for the sake of discussion then it is 'valuable'.
...The facts are: you have absolutely no idea if the Don broke his code and Don Vito’s granddaughter was killed.
Actually, I do know: The Don did not break his 'code'.
I've mentioned before that it's highly unlikely Mary's accidental killing was a result of anything her grandfather did. What you
could say though, is that her tragic, untimely death was directly related to the kind of family that she happened to be born into....which would have put not only Mary, but also her brother and all of her cousins, male and female at the same exact risk.
It's possible though, that you have a minor point there. Had Vito not contributed to the plan to eliminate Barzini and the other Family Heads, Moe Green and the unnamed traitor who turned out to be Tessio...then Michael himself would've been assassinated before ever having a second child with Kay
So, by advising his son on how to survive a conspiracy against him and live to rule the Corleone Empire from a lakehouse in Nevada, Vito paved the way for Mary to be born, grow up and be shot dead in violent crossfire 20 years later.
PrimoPaisan, you are simply brilliant. Welcome to the Gangster BB.
Apple
