Proshai Livushka

I just re-watched the episode when Tony's mother dies, and remembered all the strange things that happened during the episode. For a split second, Tony sees Pussy in the mirror, and then a strange man appears on the stairs in the background during Janice's "remembrances session". This man (who I think looks like the young Junior actor) also appears at the burial I think. Wanted to know what you guys thought about this.

I've always wondered about the random man on the stairs at the wake, can't put my finger on who it is. I always thought that it's maybe it was a mistake, that was left in for some reason..

I just pulled it up a few minutes ago -- the whole scene is probably one of the most uncomfortable in the entire series and I usually skip it. Between Christopher's heroin-infused diatribe and Janice having the gall to put Hesh on the spot, I just hate the scene.

There's a thin, tall man on the stairs behind Tony's shoulder, but the shot's focused on Tony, and the man is blurry. He ducks upstairs after a few seconds. A few minutes later, when Artie and Tony are going at it by the pool, you can see a similar man through the kitchen window.

With Pussy in the mirror, that's Tony having to come to grips with having to kill his friend. If there's symbolism with the man on the stairs, perhaps it's Junior ducking out of the post-funeral gathering.

I love the uncomfortableness of that scene. Carmela downing tons of drinks, Artie ready to spill the beans, Carm's parents calling Livia's b.s. for what it was. The only way it could have been more cringe-worthy is if someone would've asked Janice where Richie was.

And Hugh finally remembering where he left his balls after 50 years of marriage...

It definitely has a strange feeling to it how they show the guy coming down the stairs. But at the same time I can't help but feel he was a guest who really just didn't want to sit through Janice's bullshit and went back up the moment he saw what was going on lol. Though you would think the guests would notice someone wasn't there and mention it and go look for them.

I always like the stoned chat from Christopher..

I always found it creepy, especially when watching it after Gandolfini's death. He doesn't look like any of the main characters... I guess it's just one of those things Chase loves to put throughout the show.

Or after Jackie jrs wake. When ralph is sitting down watching a football game, there is an old guy kinda inching his way up to the tv

But the best was after Vito's funeral, where the old guy turns on the TV with the muscle contest, which just about sends Phil into a coronary.

That would have been a great segue from Janice shooting Richie Aprile to cut to Hugh going off on his wife. She was such a pain in the ass on both Sopranos and in Goodfellas.

Pesci mocking her in Goodfellas is great.

In the Season 2 premiere, she sends Hugh off to the store to get pears. Poor guy asks her what kind, and she responds with "I'm not even going to answer that."

In that instance, Hugh could have committed a justifiable homicide.

Or in the season where Carmela & Tony separated, Hugh was shown falling off the Soparno roof. Should we question whether it was an accident or a deliberte jump?

Jump. He saw what an unhelpful little shit AJ was (playing with his drums instead of helping his grandfather), and decided life wasn't worth living.

I always enjoyed Hugh's scenes as well. I think that he liked Tony and his antics so much just because he knew it would piss off his wife. His birthday was hysterical too (The Dr. Figoli incident)

The cgi on the mother looked so bad in this , head doesn't fit the body at all

Agree. From what I recall, that CGI bit was one of the costliest scenes in the entire series. No excuse for it really - production on that would have been late 2000, and CGI was well-advanced. Band of Brothers was produced around the same timeframe, and look how well the CGI was executed there.

It was a rush job i except, if it was done now im sure if would be done differently, cut the scene and go straight to the phone call that Tony receives..

Yeah the weird CGI and mix-mash of Livia quotes just sufficed and no more.

I wish the lord would take me now.

Ever notice the one book-on-tape Tony brings her is "Omerta?"

Looking back, Season 2 had its finale in April 2000, and Nancy Marchand died in June. Had she not passed away, Livia potentially testifying against Tony was to be a central plot line in Season 3, so not only did David Chase have to massively change course, he had to tie her death in as well. Perhaps that scene was an attempt to try something different from other instances where a major character died unexpectedly.