"Old Friends" Lack of Respect for Tony

Loved The Sopranos, Re-watch the seasons alot. But something has been eating at me for sometime. There seemed to be a trend with guys getting out of the can. Alot of those guys would first come to Tony to get back in some action but ended up showing their unapproval of Tony's position and had a hard time taking orders. Richie April,Feech La Mana, etc...

I just dont understand the reason of thier disrespect. Its not Tony's fault he stayed out of jail and rose through the ranks. These older guys seemed to respect the heads of the other families. Does anyone understand my confusion?

I just think it's human nature for older guys to resent younger people succeeding at their expense; in all walks of like, not just the Mafia. And don't forget, when a guy like Feech went away, Tony was still pretty much a kid. It's very difficult to take orders from someone who you watched grow up.

Sure I understand your confusion, but it seems like a combination of several things that had an effect on the relationship between Tony and Ritchie, Feech, et al. Not only were these guys expected to take orders from, yes, who might have not been made when for instance Feech went away in '84.

They said Ritchie went away for ten years (1990-2000) and by 1990, Tony was definitely a caporegime having taken over his father's reign. It just seems sometimes like Ritchie was written throughout the 2nd season as having been "in the can" much earlier than 1990.

I also think that the characters were written that way to underscore an important subtheme: "No honor among thieves." If the Mafia is an "honored society" and Mafiosi are "men of respect," where's the "honor" and "respect" these guys are supposed to show the new boss? And where's the "honor" and "rspect" Tony showed Feech after Feech got to be a pain in the ass?

Exactly. Perhaps a smarter boss would have taken these older guys out for dinner and a night on a town and made a big to do about them getting out of the can, while still making it very clear that he was running things and would brook no challenges.

And smarter mob guys would have come to terms with the fact that the power structure had changed while they were away.

This is a good point, I think it's along the lines as someone they probably didn't think too highly of before is now the boss instead of them because they went to prison. Realistic or not (Richie or Feech as boss) it causes resentment.

Even Blundetto had a hard time with it.

Some say they held resentment for Tony. I think a false sense of entitlement got them all taken care of

Its kinda ironic that the things to a turn for the worst once a younger guy took over.