That's exactly what my wife and I said to each other. At the very least, if he felt the need to do it himself, a boss still would have taken two goons with him...just in case.

Like when Gotti, then an already high profile capo, went after Romual Piecyk, smacked him around, and stole a measly $300 from him because he was beeping his horn ?

Yeah, real life mob guys are way to smart for stuff like that.

Tony Soprano playing both sides? ie. THE "Soprano"


LOL
I dont believe it... just threw it out there...hmmm

Good episode. Was that Italian or Arab music being played at the end? I dont know, since I am not either. Did anyone else get the sense that AJ might consider becoming an Al Quada or something of the sort? That might set Tony up for choosing between ratting on his son or going to jail.

Phil is being totally rediculous. Tony had a legit beef to beat the hell out of that guy. Phil might try to make Tony suffer (as he has said before) by killing one of his relatives. With Chrissy dead, it would be either Bobby or a member of his immediate family. If Phil hits Meadow, Tony is left with AJ, who has more than the average college kid's problems.

Tony should just whack Phil and instill Carmine as boss.....


AHHH A 2 WEEK BREAK!!!

Point taken PB. However, the Gotti situation was a spur of the moment reaction. You and I both know that if a boss felt that he had to handle something, like Tony had to handle, himself, he would have 2 or 3 of his men standing around to just make sure that no one else would interfere.

Maybe even Patsy, now that his son and Meadow have a serious relationship. I don't think AJ will turn Al-Queda, I think the class he is taking on the Middle Eastern fued is a metaphor for Phil and Tony's relationship.

This season the best acting job will have to go to Robert Ller. He has really surprised me, all his scenes are great. I remember when he was younger. I didnt think he could act, but now my opinion has changed.

Tony wouldn't have much say in who became a boss in New York. However, I think he is going to go after Phil, in a suicidal, "I don't give a fuck" kind of way.

Tony nearly kills the guy who insults Meadow and in a previous episode is laughing after paulie makes a crack about Chris's daughter working at the bing when she grows up into an adult.

"Senator, we're both part of the same hypocrisy, but don't ever think it applies to my family."

THE MAIN QUESTION EVERYONE HAS ON THEIR MINDS BUT ARE AFRAID TO ASK:

---will Tony give that guy back his stolen $300.00?

The guy who got the crap beat out of him for giving bad news to Phil's crew.

***
"Oh, Poor You!" Tony is becoming his mother. He quotes her most famous line many, many times in an episode.

Followed by... "My offer is this Senator... Nothing" (Phil to Tony)

Actually, I thought Tony was holding a box-cutter, and use that to stab Coco's face with. Then whipped out a gun from his holster to belay that other freak sitting at the booth.

solid episode jus watched it on ondemand. just more groundwork for the rest of the show. best part was tony beating the snot out of coco, i wouldve done the same. little carmine has to be the one playing both sides with both relationships with tony and phil.

will there be a ny/nj war which eliminates tonys men?

ive seen sil but where does he really stand in this whole ny situatiaon. hes there but not really involved. and always cleaning.

phil is going to whack someone but would he actually kill one of tonys kids? i dont think so

cant wait for the final episode

That would very interesting... if "dumb" Carmine comes off as the master planner and is using Leoretardo as a pawn. That whole bit about not wanting to be TOP DOG in the family a few weeks back at the golf resort. Then last night he comes away looking like a victim and fool. Good setup if that is in fact the case.

Maybe not one of Tony's kids. BUT, he could take out one of Tony's family members.

Which one of Tony's family members have we not seen really that much of, except for one episode this year? Janice. She's been pretty much kept out of the story lines, kept in the background.

Phil lost his brother, his sibling. Maybe he wants Tony to know what it really feels like.

What if he kills the rarely seen Barbara. It would be a blow to Tony losing his sister. But the show really wouldn't be affected.

Hmmmm. That would be more devastating to Tony than losing Janice! Barbara, the innocent sister that really never had anything to do with the family or it's buisness. I like that Beth.

I speculated that little Carmine may be behind all this over in one of the earlier topics about a Sopranos episode. I felt that way right after he met with Tony at the Country Club.

For someone who told Tony that he doesn't want anything to do with the family business anymore, he sure seems to pop up at the most opportune times during a conflict.

Tried posting this earlier but the damn computer crashed.

Some observations on AJ:

AJ's attempted suicide was, for me, a gut-wrenching scene to watch. But one avenue left unexplored (so far) is that his medication(s) contributed to his problems.

AJ was on Lexapro. I know Wellbutrin was also mentioned in a previous episode, but I can't recall if AJ was given this or not. It's well-known that people taking anti-depressants like these should carefully watch for any sign of suicidal feelings. In some cases, they have an effect opposite from that which they are prescribed for. Often several drugs are tried before the "right" one is found.

I wonder if AJ's anti-depressants were exacerbating his emotional problems rather than helping. I'm curious as to why his psychiatrist didn't see red flags. (Remind me never to end up on his couch.)

Also, in real life, these drugs (like Lexapro) take at least four weeks for any real effects to be felt (with the majority of people). I wonder how long AJ had been on the medication; sometimes time-frames are a little unclear on the show.

Finally, since he is now hospitalized, I wonder what drugs (if any) they are giving him?

Signor V.

I posted somewhere else: why is Barbara in the show anyway? She's had two lines the entire series.

I never really understood the purpose of Barbara either. And, if they plan to do anything with her character, they'd better get the lead out because we only have two more shows to go. I tend to think that nothing really important will happen with her.

What disturbs me: Have we really seen the last of Uncle Junior? I don't recall seeing him in the promos for the next episode. It would be a pity to leave him the way we last saw him. I hope Chase has something better in mind for Junior.

Things seem to be snowballing quite a bit toward the series' conclusion. I think that with all the plot elements going on, they might have been better able to tell the story if the season had been lengthened by a couple of episodes.

We might even see Chris and Ade in a dream sequence!

Signor V.

Hey All,
I don't have any cousins or uncles who work for the show... I'm not psychic, but after reading through a few spoilers and watching the last 7 episodes pretty closely, here is what I think happens in the last 2 eps... I predict a bloodbath... Steven Van Zsant eluded to this in an article... (http://blog.nj.com/sopranos/2007/05/a_sopranos_bloodbath.html)

The following are in no particular order, simply numbered to make life easier!

1) Bobby gets whacked at the start of the next episode outside a hobby store. This has been reported on many spoiler sites, and although Bobby can't be verified as the target for certain, logically who else could this be? NJ will respond by killing Butch... That guy has to go!

2)Wedding bells will not be in the the air between Patrick Parisi and Meadow! I think Chase threw this in there as a lead up during Tony and Patsy's talk last episode; to make it seem as thought things were finally patched up between the two for good. Meadow will be shot but not killed while driving Tony's car in NY while she's visiting her old law firm where she was a clerk for a reference... It will be an accident, as the new york guys will simply assume it was Tony. Meadow's new boyfriend Patrick Parisi will be killed in the attack, further aggravating Patsy, who will blame Tony for it, after what happened with his Bro... Patsy will turn coat and be the guy playing both sides... This will be the slow start to the war which will go into overdrive at the end of the next episode...

3) After Bobby's killing and Meadow's shooting, not to mention AJs having been commited after attempting suicide, Carm is going to have had enough and will finally realize Tony will get them all killed, she will then take the family away using the "rainy day" funds she and Tony discussed earlier this season... Tony will not know this until after they are gone... AJ may or may not go with Carm and meadow, he may just follow in Uncle Junior's footsteps and stay commited. AJ is the only story I can't seem to track... he's a tough one, but I know he ain't killing Tony... the only person I can see him killing is Jason Parisi in revenge of his father's betrayal... if this happens it will be Ajs introduction into a life of crime which we will never see. He has developping the same "numbness" or "what's the point" attitude Tony has struggled with and may very well follow in his fathers footsteps too... We'll see! Janice will probably go back to Seattle after Bobby dies after a long speech or something...

4) Dr. melfie will stop treating Tony, and Tony may or may not kill her... she's been dancing with devil for too long and something's gotta happen to her, my bet is that after all that has happened to Tony and is going to happen to him, he won't be able to handle this last bit of support being pulled out from under him and will pull a Christopher (when he killed the writer of "Cleaver") This will probably go down in the last episode, and Melfi's therapist's warnings will end up being prophetic... Either that, or Tony will almost kill her, but spare her at the last moment.

5) At some point Patsy will help the NY crew stage an attack, possibly at the Bada Bing or maybe arrange something at Artie's restaurant while some of the NJ crew dines and a few people are gonna die.. I think Patsy, Sil and Carlo are the best bets as far as main characters go in that shootout, maybe Artie too. Artie hasn't been around this season and I can see him going out with a "bang", so to speak, with one final appearence. Tony may or may not be there, but he will survive this either way...

7) In the last episode I think NJ will hit back and a slew of others will probably get killed here... I'm guessing a few of the NY guys, including Little Carmine, Tony's last ally in NY... and I'm thinking maybe Paulie gets it here too... he'll be loyal to the bitter end.

8)At this point I think Tony is going to realize he is running out of soldiers and Phil is gonna realize that taking down Jersey is gonna be a bit harder than he thought, and starts to second guess himself; this will be his downfall... Phil didn't want to become Boss originally, I think he knew he wasn't gonna be very good at it... Tony being tougher and much better thug will kill him... I have yet to see Phil get his hands dirty very much... he didn't even take part in Vito's killing, he just watched, and that was VERY personal... Tony will decide to take care of Phil himself and he'll bring his last remaining guys with him to do the job... Everyone but Tony dies in this last shootout... In a one on one fight, Tony's gonna smoke Phil... it'll be a good one, but Tony will smoke him... I think it will come down to those two at the end... everyone else will be dead, locked up, or have already left...

9) Tony then goes to his last sanctuary, the duck pond, only to find that the aspestos he was responsible for, has chased the ducks away... accept one...who is dead and floating by where he stands by the lake... This will be the last straw and with no place to go anymore, having been responsible for the destruction of his last sanctuary, the departure of his family and the deaths of all his friends... with no one left to turn to he will kill himself, taking the cowards way out. He said he'd never do that but it's ultimately how so many depressed people end their lives after all other support mechanisms fail. I think he will meet his end at the hands of his own demons... The same thing he critisized AJ for trying to do last episode. He will not be an idiot like his Son and will succeed where AJ failed... Followed by a montage of some kind, a sort of life flashing before Tony's eyes kind of thing thing, where we see flashbacks of different characters and events... I think he'll drown himself in the Duck lake in much the same way AJ tried to kill himself, or he'll blow his brains out. The show will end with a nice tranquil shot of the lake... A boatload of chaos, murder and evil followed by a moment of tranquility and beauty now that all is finally said and done...

As for Junior, I think Junior is done, he won't die, he's just gonna fade away and become a washed up mobster in a mental institution. He made his own bed and now will sleep in it for the rest of his days... I think his story is already wrapped up.

Also, The feds are just a distraction in my opinion and I think they really are too occupied with terrorists to really pay much attention to Tony at this point. The arrest to start off the season was also to throw everyone off the trail of what's gonna happen... I think everyone is gonna die or leave... But mostly die.

People who will NOT re-appear in my opinion are Furio and Adriana... they are done...

Like I said at the beggining this is all just my own speculation... What do you guys think?

Cheers,
G.

I think I'm tired of trying to figure out what will happen... I'll just watch and see.

Welcome to the boards.

I think its a fit ending to his character (seeing him sitting with the cat on his lap).

Thanks for the welcome SC! I'll be watching too, but part of the appeal of this show for me is trying to figure out what will happen; cause it's kinda hard to do!! Chase is a gifted writer.

I agree about Junior I think what we have already seen was a great ending for his character... I don't think Junior will be back either, I think his story is pretty much wrapped up, and I'd be fine with the way things have been left too.

Cheers,
G.

No doubt about that.... I've been trying to figure out what will happen since I've watched this show and I'm almost always wrong... this season is no different!

You may be right, SC. Interesting point. We had his confinement, his loss of bodily control, finally - what we last saw.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this was a sly nod to GF1 (Vito and the cat). The contrast in the two "Godfathers" does give one paws....er, pause.

Signor V.
(The Artie Bucco of the GangsterBB)

FYI: As I'm getting ready for work I'm watching this "Jim Kramer Show" (took Imus' place I guess). Anyway, coming up next Steve Schirripa from the Sopranos. Anyone interested tune in. Don't know if I'll be able to see the entire interview.



(The Artie Bucco of the GangsterBB) That's great SV!

TIS

Did Bobby, I mean Steve say anything interesting? I doubt he revealed anything...