They really should have spelled this out for us viewers. You're definitely right about The Blue Comet. Paulie DID have to take an order from Bobby. Which means he got phased out to a greater extent than I was aware of.
My belief is that between S5 and "Members Only", Paulie was bumped up to Underboss, and Chris took over the Gualtieri Crew. Sure, this opinion was based on what I've seen on various wikis/fansites. But it does make a little bit of sense. If Chris were bumped up, there would be some kind of backstory. This makes the most sense.
But I actually don't have too much evidence for Paulie being an official Underboss. But just watching season 6 it seems to be hinted at a lot. In 6A, Tony is consulting with Paulie like he does with Sil. When Vito asks to resume business but over in Atlantic City, the sitdown is held with Sil and Paulie. Bobby and Chris are absent.
We've heard Tony indicate many times that he plans to eventually fill the #2 spot with a member of his real family. Chris was obviously his choice, but when that went sour, he was left only with Bobby. Bobby had clearly really stepped up to the plate, already looking much better than Chris in Tony's mind. And in comparison to Paulie, Bobby was quite level headed, while Paulie was neurotic and practically insane. This, combined with a loss of respect for Paulie in "Remember When", I think caused Tony to waste no time on grooming Bobby. By "Chasing It", evidence points to Bobby being Tony's new #2, which supports my Remember When theory.
In short: Paulie was Tony's second in command by 6A. By 6B, Tony shows much respect for Bobby, and has come to see him as as true family member, as much as Chris. Bobby upstaged Paulie and Chris by stepping up as a level-headed leader. Tony realized grooming Bobby as his successor could only fare him well, as he was neither neurotic and reckless (Paulie) nor lacked discipline (Chris). Notice the "Acting Underboss" rank that all the sites give him seems to support this.
From Wikipedia: Paulie Gualtieri
Soldier (season 1)
Capo/de facto Underboss (Season 2-5)
Underboss (Season 6) of the Soprano crime family
with Paulie being elevated to underboss of the family. Paulie may have been upstaged by Bobby Baccalieri because after the death of Christopher Moltisanti, Bobby was being groomed to be his replacement. Also, during Phil Leotardo's "decapitation" of Jersey, Bobby is considered as part of the management, and Paulie is not.
From Wikipedia: Bobby Baccalieri
Soldier season 2-4, Acting Capo season 4-6, capo season 6, Part I, Acting Underboss season 6, Part II
Between seasons 5 and 6, Christopher Moltisanti was made Capo of Paulie's crew,
Bobby's attitude was affected by his elevation to Tony's acting underboss, and the added responsibility and privileges of the position. Tony brought Bobby up into the administration of the organization, because his earlier plan of positioning Christopher Moltisanti as his emissary and eventual heir had failed, following their personal falling out. While Paulie Walnuts held the nominal title of underboss, Bacala attended high-level meets and sit-downs alongside Tony and Silvio being a high-ranking capo however, he was never considered as an underboss but was consulted in strategy sessions, such as when Tony consulted Bobby about what to do about Phil Leotardo's attempts to displace him as boss of the family. A few years earlier, Tony would have never brought Bobby into such a high-level discussion. And unlike Moltisanti, Bobby did not take Tony's trust for granted nor did he take his new position lightly. Conscious of his abrupt rise from low level soldier to underboss, Bobby actually worked hard to keep Tony's trust and respect, rather than simply coasting on his goodwill as Moltisanti had, and his loyalty and work ethic hadn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated by Tony.
I happened to have researched this a bunch, and the general consensus fits my opinion. Only saying I didn't form my opinion off a wiki haha.
Also, this site seems pretty legit. I mean, the guy did a lot of research.
6A:
http://www.utopiaplanitia.info/sopranos/sopranos-family-tree-season6.html6B:
http://www.utopiaplanitia.info/sopranos/sopranos-family-tree-season6b.htmlDiscuss.
