I think Ralphie's fate was sealed from the moment he killed the stripper and Tony was just looking for an excuse. I think at that moment anything Ralphie did or said would have just been seized upon as justification. Even if he had done the human equivalent of a dog rolling on its back and baring its neck in submission, he was done.
I agree. Tony was just itching to put Ralph down. After the confrontation between the two after the discovery of the strippers body behind the bing, Ralph was living on borrowed time.
With Ralphie all but admitting to setting the fire
Alot of folks, including my girlfriend, feel as if Ralph did admit to setting the fire, but I never bought it. It could have been Ralph, but the way that Joe Pantoliano delivers he line "but so what if I did?" (or something along those lines) in reference to whether or not he set the fire was always interpreted by me not as an admitance of guilt but as an act of defiance. Ralphs rationality being that even if he did set the fire (which for arguements sake lets say he didn't) he couldnt be touched for doing so because Pie-o-My's death earned them both money, something Ralph was very good at doing.
