Episode 81- "Chasing It"

Tony hits an unlucky stretch, A.J. makes a life changing decision.

I bet A.J. marries Blanca.

Should be a good one!!

i have a gut feeling blanca is pregnant
with meadow & fin out no grandkids there, so aj & blanca having a child and getting married should make for interesting twist of events, espcially her being dominican and tony telling meadow she couldnt have a black boyfriend

with tony talking about his tomatoes coming in reminds me of vito with his grandson before he died enjoying his final moments

I think Blanca's gonna leave AJ, possibly triggering anxiety or depression in him, much like his father's.

At the table when she left to go to the bathroom, didn't you think that AJ looked like the kid that he still is? Afterall, Blanca may be almost a generation older. I think she's realizing that she's involved with a kid instead of the men she is used to being with. With her comments, she seems to be showing contempt for AJ.

blanca is pretty hott, i dont know how aj pulled that

FWIW, she is only 4 years older than AJ, but I agree she is getting sick of AJ and the whole Soprano family.

Actually I wasn't thinking of Biance when i read about AJ's life changing decision. Although it's possible. Judging from the dinner table scene, I was thinking their relationship is on the way out.

I still haven't given up the idea the AJ's "change" may be getting into the family business somehow. By that I mean, possibly trying to go after Junior again. I just keep thinking he'll blow someone away before the series ends.

TIS

I just can't see that happening. I don't think AJ has the staying power to preserve such feelings over time. I think we've seen the last of Junior.

Well, I'm usually wrong!!! Just a hunch.


TIS

I have a feeling AJ isn't going to make it to the end of the series.
I don't know how or why, but I have a feeling something is going to happen to him.

Yea, you may be right JL! There are so many directions in which the story could end it seems. I too think of the possibility of Tony losing one of his children. What better payback for all the sins of the father hu?

Someone else mentioned in another post the possibility of the series not necessarily ending with a "major" event. Who knows?

TIS

That was me. I think it's entirely possible that the final scene is Tony sitting at a table in front of Satriale's puffing on a cigar as the camera pans around him over the neighborhood then goes to black. Nothing dramatic; just business as usual.

Then again it could be that as the camera is panning it catches a glimpse of a young blonde woman walking toward him. Hmmm. Who could that be?

There's a lot of speculation that the series might end with nothing major happening, leaving the door open for a movie in the future. There is also speculation that several different endings
have been filmed.

Oh great... another year's worth of olivant's speculation that Ade will be back.

Well, it would be just in time for an Easter surprise.

Well, it would be just in time for an Easter surprise. [/quote]

That would make it the second greatest resurrection.

For those of you who know anything at all about betting and odds, I'm up for placing a "real" money wager on the series ending. I just don't know exactly where to start, and/or how many scenarios to have; or how to set it up where it is a challenge. Doesn't have to be bigtime betting. What do ya think???? Anyone interested?

TIS

I'll lay odds that Adriana is dead. Hell, I'll lay anything now.

Ok big boy, put your money where your mouth is. You say she's not dead and I'll bet ya $100 she's dead. Sound fair? Yea!!!!!! I win!!

Listen to me, who admittedly is wrong most of the time placing such bets. Still, it's fun.


TIS

How would we ever be able to prove that she was dead or alive? We did not see her dead! We saw Richie Aprile dead. We saw Ralphie cut up dead. We saw Pussy shot dead. Not Ade.

And, TIS, why don't you put together a grid like a football pool and label each square with a cryptic finale summary like on Jeopardy and have it posted on the Board. Then we can pick our squares.

Olivant,

I'd love to, but don't know how. That's why I was asking if someone was interested in doing so. I wouldn't know where to begin. Is it really complicated?


I am not a sports fan, but when asked, I usually join in football/baseball pools and sign my name in the squares (my sons-in-laws) are my advisors on sports.

TIS

Vincent Pastore is guest starring on tonight's episode of Everybody hates Chris right now. His character is named Paulie, and he refers to Chris as Chrissie. Don't know if the slight Sopranos reference was intentional or not..haha.

Didn't like this episode. Right when something interesting happens, they switch to another angle and you miss out.

Hopefully things start to pick up a bit, cause I will be honest. I am starting to lose some interest.

A fine character study episode. Ups and downs (especially with Tony).... he showed what a prick he could be, especially to Carm, with his money comments that developed into their fight and with him being pissy towards Hesh BUT he showed a decent side, too (his stepping up-to-the-plate with Marie Spatafore and finally giving Hesh all the money back after Hesh's wife died).

I liked the episode and consider it one of the (necessary) bridge episodes that appears every season.

It was the first time in a long time that I felt sorry for AJ.

Whats up with the Middle Eastern guys (at the mosque)?

The scene between Carm and Tony was great, but otherwise I hated this episode. The whole side-story with Vito's kid was just disturbing. And the whole gambling thing, although mentioned very briefly last week, seemed to come out of nowhere. And Blanca dumping AJ? Why? She did love him? Didn't? And after Tony was so concerned over Hesh and Eli when they were beaten, why was their relationship so contentious? Was it really just that you shouldn't lend money to a friend?? The stuff just seemed to come from nowhere.

Keep in mind that to be a wiseguy pretty much implies that you are nuts to begin with. Tony is a very angry guy who is able to kill without giving it much thought. He is also able to manifest bad behaviors wih little or no consequences.

Not really. Just write down your possible finale scenarios and then condense them down to a few words each (e.g., Tony gets busted; Chris betrays Tony; Ade returns). Then ask the Lords of the Board to incorporate them into the Board's structure.

I'm getting the feeling that this last season is going to deal with personal issues. Think about it, Carm & Tony's visit to the lakehouse turned into a family brawl; Tony's uneasiness/mistrust of Paulie; Christopher seems to have his mind only on the movie business; Vito's son going a little off the deep end; And, tonight poor Tony couldn't win for losing. resenting the 200 grand he owed. This "could" be an indication that it'll end with Tony losing everything.

Personally, I don't mind these storylines, and enjoy disecting the plot, however, I will be kind of disappointed if there isn't at least one "OMG" moment this season.

As for tonight's episode, my first impulse is to say not as good as the first three, but I need to think about it more and possibly see it again.

And...did you catch when Tony and his bodguard were in the car, his bodyguard made a reference to the two Middle Eastern guys that were at the bing???? Don't know what to make of it.

TIS

I did catch that, TIS, about the two Middle Eastern guys. I don't know if that's will develop into something or not. Chase is famous for his red herrings.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but....that's NOT the worst idea ever.

Sil could be a rat. Maybe he's been a rat for a while now.

We DO NOT see Ade die. Sil could have fired the shots simply to scare the hell out of her and let her know how important it was that she turn state's evidence. And now....she's spilling Chris' VALUABLE secrets. Valuable b/c he's done practically everything w/ Tony.

What happenend to the 20s something bodyguard?

I don't mind the storylines either. They're all part of the whole. But some of them are hard to figure out - their relevance and all. For example, the money that Hesh loaned him. What was that all about?

Do you think that the low-grade lumber Carmela used in her spec house will come "crashing down"? What about Tony getting aggressive with Carmela? That hasn't happened in a long time. And did Dr. Melfi look a little plumper to you? And no Janice this episode. Thank God. Oh, oh. What about Tony referring to his capos as murderers?

And last, but not least: does the V on Tony's head stand for Vendetta?

The episode was very slow. Vito's son is an ass especially after he pooped in the shower. I guess Carm gave Tony the money to pay off his gambling debt. Was that woman Hesh's wife or girlfriend? A.J is still an idiot even though he wants to get married and have a family. Blanca must have seen that and decided he wasn't for her.

It was a solid episode, you can see the tension beginning to mount with New York and New Jersey. Phil had a couple of lines that made me laugh...
"Well I guess the turd doesn't fall far from the fa***t's ass."
"You look like a Puerto Rican whore!"
It was good to see some of the other guys again like Carlo, Benny, and Patsy. Tony still has that inner douche in him. Like SC said, I actually felt bad for AJ who is slowly turning his life around and this might begin another downward spiral. Where's Meadow? Haven't seen her in awhile. How about Vito Jr. pooping in the :x...didn't need to see that! Look's like Paulie and Christopher are going at it again in the next episode..that's always good!

What a bastard. How he treated Carmella was disgusting. That was some scene between them. Such chemistry between Falco and Gandolfini.

Now with Vito's wife and kid, I got the opposite feeling. I thought again, that Tony was being a self centered selfish prick. Here he was going around all episode long telling his crew how Vito was his best earner, the money maker, etc. Then Vito's wife asks him for a measly $100,000 to change her life and help her kid, the kid of the guy who was Tony's best earner, and Tony squirmed, twisted, and took every avenue he could NOT to give her that money. So instead, he takes the cheap way out and for $18,000 has the kid taken out of his house like a dog, to one of these camps. SC, I saw how he handled the Spatafore situation much differently. He was a cheap and cold hearted prick for the way that he threw Marie and the kid to the dogs by taking the cheap way out. It was horrible how they came and dragged that kid out the way that they did.

The Mosque scene may be a pre-lude to something to come with the 2 middle easterners that were hanging out at the Bing. Someone in the car makes reference to them during that scene.

I too felt sorry for A.J. I think that the kid was sincere and felt that he finally had some direction in his life and she just crushed him.

Anyone else get the feeling that Chase is paralleling John Gotti scenerios this season? The hit on Doc last week, the way that Johnny Sac dies, and how Tony has become this degenerate gambler and is getting very leary of those that he once trusted.


Question: Does the Puerto Rican day parade take place during Football season?

I too liked the scene with Tony & Carm. However, are we to assume that it was Carm's money Tony used to payback the debt? I know that's what he was trying to do, but they never actually showed an agreement.

Also, this debt to Hesh, that was never shown in previous seasons was it?

As far as Vito's son, the shower seen was disturbing and I could have done without seeing it. I took Tony's help in that regard as kind of taking the cheap way out as well.

As far as the lumber for the house Carm sold goes, yea, I wonder too if that'll come back to haunt her.

With AJ, I was surprised that Bianca first accepted his proposal, because the last couple times we see them, she didn't seem particularly happy. I think it's because of AJ's "family".


TIS

Patsy pisses in the pool, Vito's son shits in the shower. Is someone gonna drink out of the toilet bowl next?

TIS. If you re-watch some of the earlier episodes of this season, you can clearly see that Bianca is "disturbed" by Tony in several scenes. Just by the way that she looks at him. Then again, she could also have been giving him those looks and then thinking to herself that AJ is a loser and will never be the man that his father is. She may have thought that she hit paydirt when she fiorst met AJ and then saw that he was never going to be anything like his father.

Could be interpreted either way.

Is it possible that the Feds would get to Bianca? Could she be the one who does him in? Although, I don't know that she'd really know enough to turn him in no? But she did suddenly change her mind about marrying AJ.


TIS

I don't think so. She really has nothing substantial to give the feds regarding Tony. The only thing that she could possibly provide them with is inside information regarding the construction company itself.

Its called "tough love". That kid NEEDED it!!

Tony tried talking to the kid in a fatherly way. The little snot wanted none of it.

You wanna jump on someone for NOT helping anymore than he did? Jump on Phil Leotardo. For two or three episodes he ranted and raved about how much Vito did his family a dishonor with his behavior and here was a chance to do something for his family and the Shah of Iran ( ) just turned his back on the kid.

The money that Tony had lost, and its effect on Tony was shown by how much of a prick he became... he picked on Carmella, he "turned against" an old friend (Hesh), he lost sight of a responsibility (to Marie Spatafore). Once Tony "realized" this he corrected it... he apologized to Carmella (and I thought it was a heartfelt apology), he paid Hesh back in full, and he did what he thought was right with Vito's kid (by intervening on his behalf).

For all that I applaud Tony.

Yes, Phil was a hypocrite in all of this, no question. But I can't agree with you about Tony in regards to Marie Spat and the kid. He took the cheap way out. Tough love? Maybe. Was Tony being sincere talking with the kid? Ahh ahh. He was more concerned with finding an angle so that he wouldn't have to dish out that kind of money and save face at the same time. In his talking with that kid he was hoping that the kid would listen to him so that he could save the money. Once he saw that the kid didn't listen to him, he went to plan B. Almost as if he said to himself " f**k this kid now! He's going to cost me $100 grand, now screw him." So he saves his money and saves face with his crew at the same time. Chase showed us last nihgt what cold hearted, cheap son of a bitch Tony really is.

I don't see that at all.

Ok. Then WHY did Chase show us such a disturbing scene with the kid being taken away like he was?

If you have to question Chase's reasons for showing such scenes you're missing the point.

BUT, to use your "argument", do you really think that if the Spatafores simply moved to Maine their troubles (and Vito. Jr.'s) would simply disappear?

Little Turd Boy is over-reacting out of anger (about his father). Tony, in his home-spun philosophical way hit it on the head when he said that a geographical answer was not the solution to this issue. He (Vito, Jr.) HAD to be made to face what was REALLY bothering him.

I agree that moving to Maine was not the answer. But I do believe that Tony succumbed to that theory more out of selfishness/cheapness than for the kid's sake.

And it is my feeling that Chase wanted us to feel the horror of how the kid was taken away to show us that Tony took the cheap and heartless way out.

The fact that each of us interprets these scenes differently is what makes this show so interesting.

Tony is a cheap, heartless f**k when it comes to money!

I, for one, will never again tell a moody teenager to go take a shit.

I don't think AJ is going to handle this breakup very well. I mentioned last week that I thought that AJ could slip into depression under this scenario because he has suffered anxiety attacks in the past. There's alot of dark stuff going on this year and suicide has been prevalent in the past. I wouldn't be shocked to see the kid attempt to kill himself.

Who knew that Heshy had a hot young black wife ? Wasn't it enough that he stole the royalties from the black singers in season one. Now their women, too ?

Seriously, I felt bad for Hesh. He has treated Tony better than most of his Italian associates. I know it's human nature to resent people who help you too much but Tony was sooooo wrong here. However, like SC, I do give him credit for doing the right thing in the end.

I think I see some friction again developing between Chris and Paulie in the preview for next week. Paulie picking on Christopher's inability to handle a glass of wine is pretty petty. Obviously, Paulie doesn't come from the "12 step" generation. With or without peer pressure, I can't see Christopher getting through the whole season without using. I think it might play a major part in the final episodes.

Tony telling Carmela that her cheaply built spec house would fall on the mother of an unborn child was really a terrible thing to say. Certainly something that his own mother might have said. Ah the Sopranos, such nurturing parents. Again, I think this might foreshadow something happening to one of Tony's children.

Did Vito Jr. really have to step in the shit ? Overkill.

Best line of the episode: Phil on Vito Jr.

Phil: "The turd doesn't fall far from the fa***t's asshole."

I watched the episode with my pop who is at least the same age as Phil. He laughed till the 10 o'clock news came on.

Tony called Hesh about borrowing th emoney last episode.

Yeah, that scene with AJ's girlfriend didn't make much sense.

And how much did Carmela make o the house? She said 6, but is that thousands or 6 figures?

Also, I didn't like the scene where they kidnapped the kid. Again, why that?

Yes, he seems to be having problems (the previews indicate so) with his crew. He did call them murderers.

I think Tony is growing increasingly paranoid as the season wears on. First Paulie, then Hesh - both long time associates, drawing his ire. Now the remark about them being murderers, which by the way was another Godfather nod (We're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker says.)

I guess in that life it could be said that the paranoid survive but I think something else is going on here. I've never, in 8 years - even when his own mother wanted him dead, seen Tony so miserable.

Adding my two cents. I don't think that Tony disturbed AJ's girlfriend as much as Carmella did. I think that her belated refusal of AJ's proposal was because she doesn't want to end up like Carm, especially after AJ tells her that she'll never have to work again, they'll have kids, and so on. I think that she looked at Carm, and saw her future as AJ had it planned.

As for Tony, he is a cheap, heartless bastard. And he always has been. His handling of his crew, the Spatafore problem, his wife, the spec house, all of it just showed that.

I agree mostly with DC. After he lost the last football bet, instead of coughing up the $100K, he goes to plan "B" and sends the kid out to Utah for a fraction of the cost.

And had he won, he would have thought of another excuse to NOT give Marie the money anyway.

There's so much to comment on in the episode.

In the end, Tony is just a guy like many other guys. He's no more prepared to deal with situations than most others. Yes, he really doesn't want to spend all that money on a kid who, to be honest, is not someone who's on his radar screen until someone puts him on that screen. Both Phil and Tony handled him like alot of guys would and like guys tend to handle so many situations - being tough.

Remember, the series started with a guy that needed psychiatric help. Sooooo, he's got "issues" that he has not yet completely eliminated. Can he act nuts from time to time? Yes. Does he have the resolution to all problems? No.

Also, remember in the back yard when they were all eating and the camera lingered on Meadow's face and Carmela's face as Bianca looked at them? Did anyone else catch that? It seemed as if she was saying "white faces".

Ice..I agree with you..I never believed Ade was dead..and I believe there is most definitely a rat or two somewhere..maybe Sil thew money at her and told her to get lost....what ever happened between Meadow and finn..she was supposed to go to CA with him..and also what happened to Artie..hes not around either??

Couple of thoughts...
1. I agree that Tony took the cheap way out of the Vito situation.
2. It was only natural that Tony develop a gambling problem. Like he said, he's been so lucky for so long, that he has to get a little high on himself.
3. WHERE is Artie and Julianna?!?!?
4. Why did Hesh's wife/girl die?? Did Tony order it? It seemed to unnatural and she was very young.

Also, there seems to be the recurring theme of: "Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, when all the while a great wind carries me across the sky."

This has been applied to many characters, but the most applicable is Tony. Which is why, I think, this will be the most prevalent theme of this season. Maybe Tony looks back after he hits the gutter and thinks, "Hey I really didnt have it that bad and I took it for granted."

This week's episode was a good example. "Chasing It" is about throwing good money after bad... in reality its not about the money at all but rather a secret desire to lose. Tony seemed to right that (before the episode ended) and I'd be surprised if we saw more about his gambling this year.

I personally enjoyed this ep. There was a lot of good character interaction and development and it really fit in well. A good show evolves as time goes on (ie Tony turning on Hesh, Tony's gambling problem, the Middle-Easterners filling the neighborhood, etc), as opposed to having the same basic thing happen in every episode. Nice seeing Tony and Carmella back to their old fighting ways. I think that no matter how much they go through together and how many times they reconcile, deep down inside it's just a marriage that cannot ever work. Looks like some (more) turmoil with Paulie and Chris next week, and it might even come to a head. Good times with the 'pranos.

I feel a war a brewin'!

i agree with dc on chase using John gotti references the cancer the gambling and the boss hit. i personally did not like the episode that much but i can see good things happening in the remaining episodes

yes bduff i want war war war lol

Good article in the New York Daily News today about The Sopranos by David Bianculli, who I find to be pretty spot on most of the time with his reveiws.

A big gamble on 'Sopranos' ending

By DAVID BIANCULLI
DAILY NEWS TELEVISION CRITIC

Tuesday, May 1st 2007, 4:00 AM

Sunday's episode of "The Sopranos" betrayed the characters, and everything the HBO series usually works so hard to present.

On a show whose greatest strength is its subtlety, and what its characters take great pains not to reveal, this latest episode spelled things out like a grammar-school primer.

So let me spell something out, just as obviously.

Only five episodes remain until "The Sopranos" is as dead as Vito, Adriana and Big Pussy. Fans of the show have waited years, literally, for series creator David Chase to dole out an ending to the story of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano.

And when you can count on one hand the hours that are left, you ought to be able to count on them being great. Or, at least, good.

Sunday's episode, repeated tonight at 10 on HBO, was not. Not even close. It didn't propel the story forward, unless you count a bit more jockeying between Tony and newly crowned New York boss Phil Leotardo, or the sudden unhappiness of Tony's son, A.J. - stories that may somehow intersect, if either Tony or Phil decide for some reason to target the other.

What it did do was give Tony a suddenly out-of-control gambling problem, something never established in all these years on "The Sopranos." His sudden large losses led, in turn, to Tony's confrontation with Carmela and his nasty alienation of Hesh. Anger seemed to come from nowhere, and return there just as quickly.

Even less justified was Dr. Melfi's scolding of Tony out of the blue, and the entire story involving Vito's rebellious son, whose public defecation scene had much more shock value than redeeming value.

Nothing was so shocking, though, as the weary, distrustful way Tony described some of his loyal lieutenants to Hesh, just before turning on Hesh, too.

"I look at my key guys," Tony confided, speaking of Paulie, Christopher and Bobby, and overlooking Silvio entirely. "What's No.1 on their agenda, you know? They're all f-ing murderers, for God's sake."

Well, Tony knew that. Tony's a murderer himself, an obvious irony. Too obvious, in fact. Tony's strength is that he thinks a lot more than he says.

What made the previous week's boat trip between Paulie and Tony so powerful was that we knew what each man was thinking, but nothing was stated.

At this point in the journey, we neither need nor want signposts. We want to get somewhere, and fast. If we see Vito's kid one more time, that'll be a clear sign of danger ahead.

I thought the episode was horrible.

I wondered where this sudden gambling problem came from.

Vito's son could have been taken care of a lot quicker that it was

Why does an apparently healthy young woman suddenly die with no explanation?

etc, etc

Tony's gambling is a metaphor. The life he leads as a Mafioso is a gamble. His statement that his guys are murderers is an acknowlegment of the life he has chosen, the types of people he has chosen to surround him, and his vulnerability to the variables encountered in life (the death of Hesh's wife is a perfect example. Sometimes people do just die for no apparent reason) and to them in particular. As so many have opined before on this Board, this series is simply about a guy, but in an organized crime context - nothing more.

I understand the metaphor, but my problem is with him suddenly developing a gambling addiction overnight

While we are never fully sure of a problem in seasons' past, we do see Tony gambling. Like I said, I think that it was a natural progression for Tony to have a gambling addiction. He has been so lucky for so long (as in not getting busted or killed) that he HAS to be cocky and high on himself. Tony even said it himself..."I survived a f***in gutshot wound. I'm one up on life." IMO, I think he should learn when he's been too lucky for something bad not to happen....

And it seems every episode this season focuses SO much on Tony either getting killed or in jail that it is almost TOO OBVIOUS to happen...

I agree with that article that Tony calling his men murderers was totally out of line. Even when he was telling Sil, "Why me? Cuz Im the boss of the family?" Tony should know better- what if someone was wearing a wire or the place was bugged?

And that's exactly why I think that Tony went on this gambling binge. He felt that because he survived the shooting, and then slipped by the feds when they dug up the guy that he made his bones on, and the guy who turned rat told the feds that someone else did the killing, he felt lucky and invincible with an "I can't lose" kind of attitude.

Why did Tony tell Melfi that Hesh was bugging him about the money? Not only wasn't it true, he didn't have to tell her.

While I won't call the episode "horrible", I thought about the same things you mentioned. Especially the young woman dying in Hesh's bed for no apparent reason.

I have to agree, Lou. Kinda suspicious that she was a pretty healthy, young woman. Women that age don't usually just die in their sleep. Maybe Patsy snuck in and put a poison pill in her drink? I don't know, but the timing of it seemed off to me. The episode wasn't horrible, but if left a lot of things to be desired. GO RANGERS!

I think that's Tony twisting it in his own mind to justify his bitter feelings about the debt.

Definitely. It's always "poor me" in Tony's mind.

I just remembered something. Remember a few years ago in a flashback scene ? Johnny Boy Soprano chops off old man Satriale's finger, then he tells Tony to never gamble, it's bad or something to that effect. I wonder if, psychologically, it ties into his recent gambling somehow. Maybe he's about to have a breakthrough in therapy.

The episode and that scene could be further developed later, making it seem more realistic. Maybe Carlo did it to get in good with Tony. Tony did seem pretty mad at him.

It would make sense that Carlo would do it, Tony really did dress him down in the car and Carlo looked kinda surprised. Was it just me or did Bobby suggest killing Hesh? Maybe Bobby found killing people to be an enjoyable experience...

I don't think Bobby was suggesting that Tony kill Hesh, just that he tell him to go fuck himself, something to the effect of "fuck you old man, yeah I got your money, what are YOU gonna do about it."

According to Frank Vincent, in today's Daily News, the last few episodes are supposed to be very dark. This coming from the guy who buried Joe Pesci alive in CASINO. I can't wait!!

He owed Pesci for the beatings that Pesci gave him in Raging Bull and Goodfellas.

And he got buried in a trunk in Goodfellas.

Remember how Al Neri murdered the prostitute in GFII to set the senator up. Just a thought.

I'm lost...who was Carlo again??

Carlo is the capo that replaced Vito in construction. He has apparantly brought in about one third of what Vito did. He is seen in the backseat of a car Tony is riding in while Tony scolds him about not earning enough: "Maybe you should go suck a c*** instead of watchin TV Land or whatever the f*** else you do. Cuz when Vito was in charge of construction, he brought in 3 times as much as you."
One of the funniest lines of the show.

I always thought the murder of Vito was extreme. I mean, what did he do? Nothing! He was gay, minding his own business. He didn't whack another made guy, he didn't mouth off to the wrong asshole, no. He was seen in leathers and having a good old time with the good ol boys, and they killed him for it.

The mob guys will cheat on their wives with 100 women (at one time, if they could manage it), yet you can't be with another man. They need to catch up to the 21st century. I'm surprised they use cell phones and computers. Barbarians.

I'm not sure if your screenname adds anything to your argument but the Mob sure as hell isn't PC.

Butt Munker!!

(That's a quote within a quote, by the way.)

But I agree with it completely. It annoyed me in the same way Tony suddenly has a cocaine addiction in season 5 when he and Ade almost screw each other - and it also from nowhere begins the same episode with Tony having some sort of tumor scare.

It's the result of a) Chase wanting each episode to be like a self-contained mini movie (he's said this from early on, its basis can be found in season 1's fifth episode, "College", and each season has become more and more fragmented and episodic), and b) having different writers and directors working on the same characters.

So, what, now we're supposed to see that Tony is a gambling addict, and believe that it's been there all along? I think it's verrrrrry cheap writing, at best. Though the scene in which Carmela throws the furniture at him (because he says some really nasty things) brought, as ever, the best out of Edie Falco.