Tony is shot by Junior at the end, but that comes out of nowhere. Matt: Yes. But at the same time it could mean a boost for an actors career, as it was for Vincent Pastore. Exactly 15 years ago, millions frantically yelled, thinking they lost their cable connection as HBO's "The Sopranos" ended its final season thanks to creator David Chase inventing one of the. And if, to quote Mad Men, the greatest predictor of what somebody is going to do is what they have done in the past, Tonys always going to basically be Tony, the loquacious gangster who puts himself first. Death is the only absolute truth for everyone, and if you read that ending simply as he died, you can wash your hands and walk away from it and not have to think about anything else that might be raised in that scene. Frankly, Im not even sure why were still debating this. Janice is raising a new daughter with Bobby Baccalieri, who has taken up model railroading as a hobby. and our This leads me to believe that a relative of Eugenes, The Man In The Members Only Jacket is the one who killed Tony out of an act of revenge for Eugenes suicide. While he is the only son of the Tony, it becomes obvious he lacks potential for a career in his father's organization, though . Matt: An important distinction. Its hard to imagine him putting together such a career without The Sopranos. Alan: Okay, so a hypothetical: Either way you lean, what happens after that cut to black? He, along with Vito Spatafore and Donny K., found Gigi Cestone dead on the toilet in the Aprile Crew hangout after suffering a constipation-induced heart attack. Vito instructs an overwrought Eugene to take the rest of the day off. RELATED: So absolutely, the show is putting us in a frame of mind to anticipate a death. I dont know why do you think he offed himself. More recently, I found myself swaying over to Team Tony Dies, not only because of the death imagery throughout the season including the way so many episodes open, as this one does, with Tony waking up from a deep slumber but because some of my initial, long-hardened impressions of the scene didnt hold up under further scrutiny. Excerpt from the new book The Sopranos Sessions by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall published by Abrams Press; 2019 Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall. And in the back of my mind, I said, Well, well see what happens.'. Eugene killed himself, after all. Privacy Policy. who is kenaz in the bible; how to connect universal remote to philips tv; who helped prospero and how Is the Daniel Baldwin script a huge hit at the start of AJs shocking career as a Hollywood tastemaker? Morrow ultimately ended his life at the ending of the film by committing suicide in a garbage incinerator. Why is this critical episode dominated by a character who hardly mattered before? The idea of presenting the ending as a thing that can be mastered and explained is philosophically the opposite of everything that led us to that point. I understand what the scene was about and, more importantly, I know how it made me feel the first time I watched it, every time since, and through all these conversations Ive had with you and the rest of the Sopranos-loving world about it over the last decade. The loved ones who lost people to witness protection or because they ran away suspect they were murdered but cant prove it, even though we viewers saw it happen. To have that storyline, I jumped on it and tried to ride it as best I could.. But the very fact that Chase devotes so much time to what seems like nothing makes the whole scene all the more nerve-racking. Crows are a symbol of death, and have appeared as such on the show, during the ceremony when Christopher and Eugene are made. He and his wife plan to take the money and retire to Florida, but Tony turns down his request because he's a made man and there's no retiring from that. La La Anthony, Chloe Fineman Will Play Fashion Correspondents at Met Gala 2023. Eugene is also an informant for the FBI, and has become more valuable to the Bureau since the death of Ray Curto; they, too, will not free him. At times a little too much, but Livia never did at all. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. You knew virtually everything important that was going on, not only with Tony, but with all his enemies and allies. The Austrian physicist Erwin Schrdinger famously theorized that if you place a cat into a box with some kind of hazardous material, the cat may live or die, but until you actually open the box to check, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive. I just mean that Schrdingers cat is useful if youre applying it to a story that could end either in a radical, art-house movie way, or in a traditional way, but with a fancy wrapping. The "traditional" season premiere sequence involving. Excerpt from The Sopranos Sessions by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall published by Abrams Press; 2019 Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall. Also because he was trapped in two powerful institutions in violent opposition. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. But its an enormous leap from how the series told stories in every scene, and episode, up until this one. Taking place in the aftermath of a brutal gang war as Tony Soprano sat down with his family in a diner to enjoy a meal as he had dozens of times before in the show, the scene seemingly built up toward Tony's execution at the hands of an assassin within the diner. On The Sopranos, they didn't know Vito Spatafore was gay when he was made, and when they found out, they killed him, which is the expected reaction when it comes to homosexuals in the mob. Eugene killed himself, after all. did coco die in sopranoswhat causes chills after knee replacement surgery 28th April 2023 / bill de blasio wife $850 million / in northwestern strength coach salary / by Basically, those fans wanted to definitively know if Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) died right there in Holstens. The episode's title comes from Eugene's tan Members Only jacket, which an expensively dressed Vito gently ribs him for wearing. I vote that theres something else happening. Alan: Its hard to play dumb about what we discussed with Chase, but the great thing or the maddening thing, depending on your point of view is that even with all he ultimately told us, theres still no definitive answer to the dead/alive question. what does flight departure mean shein; how much is paramount network; how to make maizena vanilla; how many black millionaires in africa. In the episode Eugene and his wife have an unexpected financial windfall when a beloved aunt, the wife of a successful Hollywood agent, leaves him $2 million in her will. Eugene Pontecorvo The Sopranos really is about mental illness and the inherent hardships of the human condition, and Eugene Pontecorvo ( Robert Funaro) embodied the intersection between duty. After taking turns reading with different female leads, Rispoli told Gandolfini to stop by his hotel when he finished his audition so they could have lunch. I suppose you could argue that somebody snuck in from the side, out of frame, and shot Tony. Meadow continues her relationship with Finn. Remember, too, that Tony is the Homer Simpson of crime bosses, miraculously avoiding death or prison even as it claims other characters. Deep down, he recognizes that Carmela is a good mother. Or him surviving three car wrecks, one of which fatally wounded Christopher. With Tony and the Feds both hindering Eugene's chance to escape the mafia life and his stress caused by his unstable home life, Eugene sees no way out and hangs himself in his basement. This accomplishment catapulted Aglieri s name to the top of the ranks. I ask this not to spoil the details of the many pieces of Sopranos fanfic I have saved to the cloud, but to consider the larger question: Which ending is more interesting? Its also easy to see that Chase is of two minds on the last scene. Whats more in character for The Sopranos, to kill a magically charmed character in the final scene, or to refuse to do so? Although mild-mannered, Eugene has a tendency to lose his temper, similar to Ralph Cifaretto. Eugene Pontecorvo, played by actor Robert Funaro, is a fictional character in the HBO television series The Sopranos. Why would he have Tony killed? As writer Terence Winter told Entertainment Weekly , "At the beginning of season 5, we realized it would happen at the end of the season. So maybe hed have a relatively fine old time drifting into old age. Having just rewatched "Members Only," I'm completely convinced. Except the longer you and I talked about it, both on our own and with Chase, the less substantial that idea felt, too, until by the end, I wasnt entirely sure that even Chase knows if the guys dead or alive. Vito is thinner and is now a spokesperson for a weight loss company; he is Tony's best earner and is ambitious. It's also been suggested that it was there for Eugene. Follow the Clonestar's Socials Follow Ashlei on Twitter and Insta Intro music courtesy of bensounds.com But I also think its fair to say that he lived beyond that moment, even to a ripe old age, because ultimately this scene is making us ask, What have we learned? or Where have we been? and Where is Tony, right now, as a person? These are reckoning questions, and they can occur at many different points in a persons life. Though the cut to black comes before any such execution occurs on screen, there . Eugene then walks out calmly. I made arguments like the one above, about how a secret assassin repping an enemy we never heard of before would clash with every narrative rule the show ever followed. He knew someone in his family would find him, but why would he want them to. Patsy himself almost took out Tony in the season 3 premiere, so you know his resentment ran deep. It's also a reference to the episode's title, "Unidentified Black Males". It could refer to the Mafia code of being a member-only and never a retiree, just what Eugene Pontecorvo attempted to become. But did he end up doing it to free his family? Alan: This is all-important, and well see what happens to the conversation now that the phrase death scene is out there. But now I'm getting into speculation, and Eugene's brother killing Tony isn't speculation. Obviously he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Members Only" is the first episode of the last season. Later Eugene is revealed (to the viewers, not to the mob) to be an informant for the FBI, who also prohibit him from leaving. Christopher Moltisanti assigns Eugene the task of taking out a guy named Teddy Spirodakis in Boston who owed Christopher money and failed to pay him. I think it would fit with the cycles of experience depicted in the series. Off the Back of a Truck includes: -New looks at everyone's favorite episodes, scenes, and characters. Alan: Other than maybe the revelation that Big Pussy was an FBI cooperator a plot idea conceived in the shows embryonic stages, without Chase expecting anyone would care about him resolving it The Sopranos tended to keep its plot cards face up. This is just a guy they found specifically because he looks like Robert Funaro, who plays Eugene. In fact, its the most obvious interpretation, given that Tonys pissed a lot of people off over the years, and in the overwhelming majority of gangster stories, the main guy dies at the end. Or it could be, as I wrote in my original recap hours after the finale aired, that the character who died there was us, the spectator. walker hayes daughter. Alan: Theres no way around that, and even David Chase says as much in the sixth interview later in this book. Blow-Up is one of his favorite films, and it has a famously non-definitive ending that invites the viewer to project their own meanings. While DiMeo crime family capo Paulie Walnuts had the highest kill count (9), Tony Soprano came in at a close second with 8 kills. Hey Bobby, do you know youre getting a wife? This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. Eugene is also an informant for the FBI, and has become more valuable to the Bureau since the death of Ray Curto; they, too, will not free him. I know now, and I dont have to worry about this anymore.. Does he sweat and strain rebuilding the Family after the damage Phil inflicted upon it? Paulie, long the most useless captain on the payroll, is the only major ally he has left. Maybe the ending is moralistic, but not in the way that some of the people who need Tony to be dead might frame it. He resents AJ because AJ got the mother he wish he had. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. The Sopranos Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. Tony helps him look for some money he thinks he buried in his backyard thirty years ago, but they find nothing. Silvio informs Gene that Tony denied his request to retire from the DiMeo crime family. I think Tony died at that moment is a valid interpretation. But here's what really clinched it for me, what made me switch from "this is probably what happened" to "this is definitely what happened." What does that leave us with, if that cut to black means somebody somewhere shot Tony? One afternoon, Junior is particularly agitated, and Tony goes to his house because no one else is free to look after him. Eugene Pontecorvo (1959-2006) was a DiMeo crime family soldier and FBI informant. Youre going out this way, but its gonna be good. It seems so obvious now. Maybe the ending is saying, This guy never got it. He loved his family, the only way they could get the inheritance money and go to Florida is if he was dead, he ended his life for their benefit. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! By 20 March 2023 benjamin moore to behr paint conversion. Eugene Pontecorvo also appears in a flashback to 1995 in the episode "To Save Us All From Satan's Power" as a bodyguard of Junior Soprano's, along with Gigi Cestone. Dont stop believin you know exactly what happened at the end of, This password will be used to sign into all, when Chase wrote that article about the scene, a journalist reported that Chase told her Tony lived, Roy Wood Jr.s Best Jokes at the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, Julia Fox Is the Only Celeb Taking White House Correspondents Fashion Seriously, The 11 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend, The Rivalry Between the Knicks and the Heat From the Guys Who Were There, The Knicks Vs. Heat Rivalry From the Guys Who Were There, Long Live the White House Correspondents Dinner. In a resurfaced. Think about the randomness of him seeing the FBI agents coming over the hill and escaping even as they arrest Johnny. He was never interested in the Russian, the rapist, the stable fire, or any of the other characters and threads that he left dangling over the life of the series, except as forces that test the main characters and reveal their essence. As far as who had the most to lose with Tony remaining boss, again the answer has to be New York. Matt: I think its more interesting if he lives. Where am I going?" informs Eugene they also reject his notion to move to Florida, as they need him in New Jersey to help build a case against Tony in the wake of Curto's death. ". There are other clues in "Members Only" that Eugene will be responsible for Tony's death. Like Vito Spatafore and Benny Fazio, he is initially introduced as a small character, whose role slowly increases throughout the series. And it throws all the other things weve been discussing, here and throughout this book, into sharper relief. I've also seen it suggested that Eugene's wife ordered Tony's murder. He knew someone in his family would find him, but why would he want them to. That is not to say that he would not get back at her in other ways, but he would never physically harm her. Yeah, I was thinking that, too that despite the hours weve spent talking to Chase about the ending, I dont think its necessarily been explained in any meaningful sense, in terms of what happened next, and I get the impression that Chase cant really explain it either. Carmela repeatedly asks Tony to see if he can get the stop order lifted, but he keeps putting it off. Roy Wood Jr. Talks Scandals at White House Correspondents Dinner, Watching Frank Oceans Coachella Set Online Wont Be Easy. But at the. (2019) and the 12th installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Eugene killed himself because of the FBI, more so than because of Tony, right? Do the Feds show up a week later to arrest him, Carlo having finally given them the missing piece of their RICO prosecution? Alan: I dont know the answer to that hypothetical, because either one seems like the kind of thing The Sopranos might do. Fuckin internet. But what he said, specifically and he was directing it toward everybody was, Whether Tony Soprano is alive or dead is not the point. Chase provides glimpses of all the other customers a scout troop, two unidentified black males at the jukebox, a man in a Members Only jacket like Eugene Pontecorvos at the counter because he wants us to wonder if one of them might be there to take out Tony. Butchie gave Tony permission to kill Phil. Matt: There was a moment a few years ago when a journalist reported that Chase told her Tony lived, and he got mad at that as mad as hes gotten at all the people who keep saying Tony died. Problem here is Little Carmine had always got on well with Tony and had no reason to kill him, in fact Tony was one of the . In the episode Unidentified Black Males, while he and Little Paulie Germani are engaging in what initially began as a harmless banter at the Esplanade construction site, Little Paulie goes too far in Eugene's mind when he conveys through an innuendo that Eugene is a homosexual. Personally, hes on good enough terms with his immediate family that theyd all happily join him for onion rings and more at their favorite ice cream place. Between that, his sketchy upbringing, his junkie son who hates him, and the Florida letdown, Gene was under a bunch a heavy shit. 1) Carmine Lupretazzi, Sr. Carmine Lupretazzi, Sr. ( Tony Lip) is the best boss on the show by a country mile. Getting killed off on the hit mob show meant losing a well-paying job with unbeatable exposure. The head of the Barese crew helps the FBI locating the body of a murder victim who was killed by Tony over 25 years ago. 86 Related Topics The Sopranos Drama series Television 55 comments Best Add a Comment [deleted] 1 yr. ago Alan: Tonys situation as he enters Holstens is complex however you look at it. Things you buy through our links may earnVox Mediaa commission. This guy lives a charmed life. I couldn't find much of anything. And if it helps to move the discussion beyond the question of whether hes dead or alive, Ill just say, Fine, hes dead. And now what? Spending long hours trying to prove Tony was shot at the diner becomes a substitute for meaningful engagement with the shows themes, which are disturbing not just because of their implications, but because Chase and the writers present them in an open-ended, mysterious, or deliberately opaque way, like a brutal reminder to us that we cant absolutely know certain things, and its delusional to insist we can. As the boss, Tony also ordered the deaths of 11 other people during the events of the series. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. Tony said, This is good. Eugene then tells the juror not to bother paying, as he then pays for the man's small purchase. Or it could be like the decision in Long Term Parking to not only provide a glimpse of Adrianas daydream where she just gets in her car and heads south on I-95, but to deliberately stage her death scene so that shes off-camera when Silvio fires the fatal shot. Its not an insult to say that he doesnt really know why he did what he did, because all through our interviews with him, we kept trying to get him to explain the reasoning behind certain choices, only to discover that there wasnt any, and he and the writers and directors were just doing what felt correct. We can assume he's boss because Phil is dead, so he benefited from Tony's actions. He and his traveling companions Abraham Ford and Rosita Espinosa were en route to Washington, D.C., before Eugene revealed that he had been lying about being a scientist due to being scared of surviving on his own. Chase replayed the Bacala death line and laid down so much death imagery throughout the season and this episode, so we will understand that when the scene jarringly cuts to black, its because Tony has just died, either via a bullet from Members Only Guy or a coronary from one onion ring too many. To put it another way: Chase was saying that Tony didnt reform and die peacefully in bed decades later. When that didnt work out, creator David Chase and his writing team came up with the Gene Pontecorvo character for him to play. Sirico reportedly racked up a total of 28 arrests in his younger life, even if he was only . His wife was already miserable, his son was struggling with drugs and his daughter was still young, any of them seeing his dead body would be traumatized. Does Tonys death alter the career plans of either kid? But I dont think he has to be dead for us to think about all that related stuff, and I dont think thats the only possible interpretation. The major clues indicating Tony's death in the final scene from this episode include: (a) Tony is shot in this episode. Chris assures Eugene he will put in a good word for him to Tony as a favor for doing the hit. I'm sure you can conjure up some reason, but what's more likely: Butchie had Tony killed for some undefined reason by a guy who looks like Eugene Pontecorvo wearing Eugene Pontecorvo's jacket, or Eugene Pontecorvo's brother killed Tony in retaliation for his brother's death? His taking control of the reins of power capped an unusually fast climb to the top of Italian organized crime. Maybe, after spending a decade telling stories about this man and having spent a whole lifetime thinking many of the same thoughts as Tony, particularly where their mothers were concerned Chase just couldnt bring himself to direct a scene explicitly killing him, or even one where he asked James Gandolfinis face to point us more blatantly in that direction. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. Alan: I spent many years after the finale as a card-carrying, vocal member of Team Tony Lives. Because it wouldve meant that he did the most obvious thing and then tried to hide it by making it seem as if he was creating an ambiguous or art-house type of ending. And, other than a couple of ugly fights, he has been getting along much better with Carmela since she took him back than he ever did during the first six seasons of the show. His jobs include running a low stakes poker game, a sports betting agency and a 'No Work' job at the Esplanade construction site. While Tony "thinks on it," Chris has Eugene kill a man, implying it will give him a better chance of having Tony let him go. This show - that had so honestly and meticulously . Scan this QR code to download the app now. He would never kill her, or even beat her up. Maybe the wiseguy who has turned into a cat Schrdingers cat, to be precise isnt Christopher, but Tony? Its fun for me. Maybe he left a note warning the wife about what he did, I hope so. The explanations arent entirely satisfying. This ending puts us in their shoes. Richie was previously married and fathered a son, Richie Aprile Jr. Richie returned from prison to a very different family, with Tony Soprano as the boss, whom Richie . Little Carmine was the rightful boss of the Lupertazzi family but was outstead by Johnny Sacromoni and then Phil Leotardo. This was Christopher's scene. Why is this night different from all other nights? And the matter of whether Ralphie was responsible for the fire. Theodore Spirodakis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a family of Greek descent, and he became an untidy and obese person and a compulsive gambler. It has also been suggested that Tony himself got whacked in those polarizing last minutes in the series finale. Im reminded of that moment in D-Girl where Dr. Melfi summarizes existentialism for Tony. He is either an enormous success or a pitiful failure. While Junior cowers in a closet upstairs, Tony manages to dial 911 before passing out. And by that, I dont mean he handed us the answer, because The Sopranos was never the sort of show that made you hunt for answers in that way. "I said 'Look, if it ain't me, it . He states to his friends that, "The only thing I ever found in the street was my first wife," showing that he hasn't had much good luck in his life (and at least one failed marriage). Coachellas parent company AEG is removing any and all videos related to Oceans only performance. Phils murder ends the war, which had been disastrous for mob business in New York and New Jersey. So maybe it was the genetic legacy of depression and mental illness that Tony called "the Soprano curse." In a family therapy session after the suicide attempt, AJ cited Grandma Livia's assertion. Now? Gianluigi ''Gigi'' Cestone portrayed by John Fiore is a member of the DiMeo crime family and former soldier in Junior's Crew, until his defection to the Soprano Crew in 1999. If Meadow just walks in and the family enjoys the rest of their onion rings, a nice meal, and some ice cream, what happens to Tony Soprano after? But Meadow is marrying into the extended Family by getting engaged to Patrick Parisi and becoming a lawyer two things Tony never wanted for her and AJ recently survived a suicide and is so lacking in direction that this low-level job working for Little Carmine feels like a salvation. While Tony is cooking dinner, Junior, thinking he is a long-dead mobster, shoots him in the gut. We only have this one life, and precious little control over how long it lasts. Eugene doesn't respond. By 2000, he is made captain of the Aprile Crew. But still, it's implied she isn't very well connected herself -- she only assumes that Eugene has killed people, meaning she's out of the loop -- and I can't get over the jacket and the family resemblance. I've been fascinated lately with the meaning of names in The Sopranos. Thats one more reason why this scene feels dreamlike, along with all those incidental characters, like Members Only Guy and the uniformed Boy Scouts, who feel like people youd meet in an 80s music video. Hes just looking up at the sound of a bell ringing, and if classical continuity editing is to be our guide here, the person entering is Meadow, last seen in the third-to-final shot of the scene, walking toward the diner. But all that stuff exists outside the text, not in it. Eugene killed himself, after all. Tonys personal disputes halted major construction projects on several occasions. Alan: What I mean is, maybe that cat is Christopher reincarnated, or maybe its just a cat that wont stop hanging around Satriales and staring at a photo of Christopher. It is revealed Eugene has been an informant for the F.B.I., though it is unclear for how long. Explore the world of Jaguar cars and learn more about models A celebration of life will be held in Redwood City on Wednesday for Pete Liebengood, a longtime Bay Area sportscaster, anchor and author who died in Redwood City on Dec. 22. It wasnt like these staccato scenes. Despite the episode's focus on his character. I think were supposed to be thinking about death, or the finiteness of life, during that last scene, but not necessarily that Tony died right then and there, and thats the end of the story. What is this ending saying? I thought I saw a couple of blacks running that way." And, as I said, it proceeds from the speakers need to have Tony die at that moment, not from any evidence in the scene itself. Eugene has a talk with Tony about him and his family moving to Florida permanently. It wouldn't be the Enterprise.without a LaForge at the helm!
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