Why didn't tony soprano ever hit Carmella?

Tony was supposed to have a softer side than the older goons. He wasn't meant to be a complete asshole to people he loved.

I think Tony was slightly afraid of Carmela. He also had a grudging respect for her. He was a monster, but he largely committed his monstrosities outside of the home.

(And to beat Carmela would have made him even more of a target in the goombah community.)

I would have hit her & I'm female. I hated that bitch!

He was afraid of her, with reason.

What did she do to him that he would hit her?

He almost hit her when she told him about Furio, he punched a wall instead.

She was the mother of his children, therefore a quasi-saint. All other women, his mother excepted, were whores.

I was never a fan of "The Sopranos." Tony Soprano was supposed to be a guy who wasn't that bad, even though he was a sociopath. That's right, a sympathetic sociopath. I never could buy into that.

and he gets in her face when they fight about Svetlana

R7 said what I was going to say, that sums it up perfectly, he respected the mother of his children.

(infidelity was not to be expected so Tony didn't consider his goomars to be disrespecting her)

[quote]Tony Soprano was supposed to be a guy who wasn't that bad,

Nope. Disagree with this 100%. He absolutely was not "supposed to be a guy who wasn't that bad."

R7 answered your question, OP.

That, in a nutshell, is a view into the mindset of a certain type of straight, Italian-American man whom I know all too well..

That's partly why the show was so interesting, it was supposed to be the updated mafia. These guys were suburban guys with kids and also murdering goons. Tony was kinder gentler murdering don.

And don't ever underestimate the temper of a scorned, angry Italian-American wife/mom.

They are truly the ones who run and control the household.

Hell hath no fury...

r12 I kind disagree, the exception being Carmella, the women in the show didn't seem to be controlling much even the household.

R13, I know you're talking about the Sopranos (which I won't disagree with), but I was referring to my own experience in general.

I more than kind of disagree with R12, with the exception of the overbearing Livia & Janice leading Bobby around by the balls, you're right about the women on the Sopranos not being controlling, R13.

"The Respect and Power" Pecking Order of Italian(-American) women:

1. Widows (with living sons)

2. Nuns (virgins only)

3. Grandmothers (of sons and grandsons)

4.. Wives with male children from one husband

5.. Wives with male children

6.. Married women who have only had daughters

7. Wives, no children

8. Single mothers, male children (divorced, or never married: no difference)

9. Single mothers, only female children

10. Unmarried women (except for #2), no children

I love R16!

r16 I would say that list isn't just for Italian americans.

When an Italian-American woman marries the same, and her Italian/Italian-American husband is a sociopath, it's almost always because her father was. We typically marry the familiar, we marry our father in a sense. Although that is starting to change it was still very true back then when they married. That said, a sociopath father, and mother who is his enabling/co-dependent wife, do not protect their child.

Sociopaths don't give a shit about anyone but themselves and the enabling mother isn't much better than the sociopath father. When their daughter is a married adult they care even less and don't care if she is being abused, especially if their son-in-law has money and does well financially. All they care about is money and image. Tony knew this before he married Carmella and would not have married a woman whose parents were close, caring and very supportive and who would have been all over him for cheating and for all of his other bad behaviors. But they weren't. He also knew that if Carmella ever complained to her parents they most likely would not have wanted to hear it. Or cared.

The point is that Tony knew she didn't have the backing and support of her parents. He knew they were more likely to take his side in a dispute so he could do whatever he wanted. But he didn't hit her because in Italian culture their mother, and the mother of his children are revered, even if they are bitches, assuming that was what he was taught. And he was. If he came from an Italian family where his father beat his mother than it doesn't apply and he'll likely do the same. Otherwise, nothing unusual about him never hitting Carmella as that's very typical.

Nevermind, "whores" are #31, after other categories such as "single women of marrying age" or "women who don't know how to cook!"

Well I am half Italian and half Irish and R11, don't you think annoying women who work and (especially) widows who marry deserve a place way down on the list, even below DIVORCED women. My Italian Mother was widowed and she never re-married and I respect that so much and now 30+ years later she has my total loyalty and devotion.

The worst thing in Italian-American culture is for a woman to be a whore, and a man to be a fag.

They should have made Meadow a slut, and AJ gay!

[quote]They should have made Meadow a slut...

They weren't far off.

It' CarmeLa not CarmeLLa!!

[quote]Tony Soprano was supposed to be a guy who wasn't that bad, even though he was a sociopath. That's right, a sympathetic sociopath. I never could buy into that.

Wrong.

Very early on, Melfi's estranged psychologist husband hears from her that she is treating Soprano and tells her - you can't cure him, don't fall for the charm, walk away. She falls for his glib charm and his ability to playact that he's a victim, and his brutish charisma sexually excites her. Soon she has a breakdown because of the relationship. She is in cognitive dissonance, not wanting to admit she is attracted to a psychopath. She is damaged by him mentally and emotionally, like he damages everyone he comes into contact with, and she tries to get away but he keeps worming his way back in, because it's a power play for him - she's not allowed to reject him. Eventually - very near final episode - she reads a research paper. It says psychopaths learn nothing from therapy except how to hone their charm and learn the lingo of therapy which they use to convince judges and courts they are victims and want to change. So she finally walks away. Their whole relationship is an exploration of our attraction to violence, and our culture's fascination with evil creeps who cannot and don not want to change.

[quote]Tony was kinder gentler murdering don.

No, that is not the premise of the show and why it was an 'updated' take on the mob. The premise is that Tony is a mob boss feared by his peers who is secretly depressed, having panic attacks and seeing a shrink. That was the contemporary aspect of it. There was nothing genuinely kind or gentle about him. He was fond of his kids but drove AJ to attempt suicide. He spoilt Meadow and claimed to love her but had Sal kill her boyfriend Jackie Jr, and was openly racist to another of her boyfriends. He claimed to love Christopher like a son but drove him to near suicide and expected him to kill Adriana. His idea of 'kind' was that he did not force him to kill ad, he got Silvio to do it. Some psychopaths have a soft spot for animals and the writers built that into the script, showing Tony's attachment to the ducks that land in the pool and his sentimental bond with Pi-Oh-My, the racing horse (though he has the horse burned alive when it gets sick, so he can claim insurance).

I always thought Tony Soprano and family should have lived in Staten Island rather than wherever, NJ.

[quote]the exception being Carmella, the women in the show didn't seem to be controlling much even the household.

The women controlled nothing except what went on in the kitchen and most are shown to be made physically / emotionally ill about that. It's made clear again and again that they will eventually be left broke if the husband gets whacked or jailed. The only one of the mob wives and girlfriends who made a life of her own was Angie Bonpensiero (who gets cancer from the stress of mob life but beats it) because her husband Pussy is killed by Tony Paulie Christopher and Silvio for wearing a wire for the feds, so she takes over his bodyshop business and makes it a success. Carmela is very jealous of this and Angie's ability to buy her own cars and clothes.

r27 Tony was the north new jersey Don, he wouldn't be living on Staten Island.

R27, no. Jersey was perfect. At its heart, one of the underlying themes of the Sopranos was Italians escaping their gritty, grimy, blue-collar NYC roots to live big and comfortably in some anonymous suburb.

R26, it wasn't Tony who had the horse burned alive. It was Ralph Ciffaretto and Tony killed him for it.

Well, at least she didn't end up like Adriana.

[quote]He spoilt Meadow and claimed to love her but had Sal kill her boyfriend Jackie Jr, and was openly racist to another of her boyfriends.

Vito killed Jackie Jr.

Of course Tony loved Meadow. While murder is obviously murder, having Jackie Jr. out of the picture was the best thing for her. Let's remember that Jackie Jr. was a drug dealer, he killed Sunshine at the poker game he tried to rob, and Meadow had already broken up with him after she discovered he was cheating on her.

[quote]He claimed to love Christopher like a son but drove him to near suicide and expected him to kill Adriana. His idea of 'kind' was that he did not force him to kill ad, he got Silvio to do it.

Tony loved Christopher like a son and wanted the world for him which is why Chris lived as long as he did. Looking at things from a Mafia perspective, Christopher was a liability, had he been anyone else, Tony would have gotten rid of him long before he did.

Tony didn't 'expect' Christopher to kill Adriana, Tony understood how difficult that would be, and Tony didn't cause Christopher's depression/addiction. From the beginning Christopher talks about how he always wanted to be a wiseguy like Tony and his father but deep down he just really didn't have it in him (example: he never got over killing "Email" & was forever haunted by him) - this internal struggle & not living up to his own expectations isn't Tony's fault. Tony offered him an opportunity to walk away from the life and Christoper chose not to take it. Then Tony offered him the 'family' and Christopher couldn't deal.

[quote]At its heart, one of the underlying themes of the Sopranos was Italians escaping their gritty, grimy, blue-collar NYC roots to live big and comfortably in some anonymous suburb.

Except it was actually gritty, grimy, blue-collar Newark, NJ and the 'anonymous suburb' was North Caldwell, NJ.

bump

r33 My God, how insightful. Are you an instructor at Harvard, Princeton, Yale?

What is your problem R35?

Why the cuntation at r35?

R35 = Trump supporter

Because David Chase is a coward. He couldn't even clearly kill off his main character when it was the obvious outcome. Oh, and he would've killed the stripper, not Ralph had it been realistic.

Breaking Bad suffered from the same bullshit.

R30 is 100% spot-on.

R33 is fine - what is r35's problem?

I agree with you @R39

I don't believe for one second that Tony NEVER hit Carmella. GFOH

"Tony was supposed to have a softer side than the older goons."

He was a..."soprano".

How do you know he didn't? Just because it wasn't shown? They didn't show everything he did. They didn't show him shitting, but he did that.

He should have slapped the psychiatrist. She was intensely annoying.

[quote]Tony loved Christopher like a son and wanted the world for him

No, he used and abused him.

In "For All Debts Public and Private" Tony has Christopher kill Barry Haydu, telling Christopher that Haydu is the man hired to kill his father Dickie Moltisanti. When Christopher is questioning Haydu before he kills him he's says he's never heard of Moltisanti or Ruffalo and that he's being lied to. Christopher at least thinks this is plausible, because he says 'it doesn't matter, Tony wants him dead either way'.

Chase makes clear as crystal that Tony is incapable of love if by 'love' we mean treating others with empathy, compassion and a lack of self-interest.

LOL R44

I never saw the show and what I'm reading here doesn't invite me. I knew an actress who was a standin for Nancy Marchand, though.

"Wrong."

Nope, not wrong. The fans of this show LIKED Tony Soprano. He was a sociopath, but not really THAT bad, so he garnered sympathy. He kills humans without a qualm, but he's heartbroken over the death of his horse. He was a sociopath, but he has a HEART too. That was considered one of the great things about this show, the ambivalence of the main character. He's evil but he's also GOOD, too; that was Tony Soprano.

It's still my third favorite show of all time. I only like "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "I'll Fly Away" more.

I can't imagine anyone familiar with organized crime or NJ thinking The Sopranos shouldn't be set in NJ. I suspect anyone from NJ has their stories about brushes with organized crime. Not violent stories. Just stories.

Does the series really let him off the hook by declaring him a sociopath? If so, that's a serious departure from reality.

I never bought it either but tv and movies are like that. You can't show violence against women and expect the audience to root for you.

R46’s interpretation of Christopher & Tony’s relationship is the opposite of everything I’ve ever read on other boards. Here’s an example:

[quote]Though they had major differences, they truly loved each other deeply. Tony trusted C.M. more than anyone. This is clear, when he's the main one Tony calls whenever there is a life & death problem. Richie & Ralph's deaths. Asking him to put together a Plan to take down a NY Five Families Boss. Bringing him on the italy trip with himself & Paulie tho he wasn't even made. Eventually making Chris when he's only like 30 years old.. Etc. If CM would've never succumbed to drugs, and Bobby still gets killed, Tony would've made Chris Underboss. Easily. I also think if Chris was given the job of getting rid of Phil, whether through his own hands or hiring Zips, Chris would've made it happen. As we see, throughout the series, CM is like Sonny Corleone when it comes to action. He just doesn't miss. His only botched job was the Russian and that was all Paulies fault. Chris would've went very high up if not for the drugs. He would've flat out inherited Jersey.

Tony didn’t have spouse abuse in his family life to pattern his own behavior on. Johnny Boy didn’t hit Livia.

I agree that we don't know if he ever hit her. Additionally, we met them after they had been married a dozen or more years already. I bet those early years of their marriage were no picnic, he may have calmed down in the marriage temper wise by the time the kids were teenagers.

Carmella was an annoying, hypocritical bitch

Simple answer to OP's query is that Sopranos was made in politically correct 2000's, not the 1970's like The Godfather.

If Tony had hit Carm even once, there would have been a furor in media and elsewhere.

If anyone deserved a beating it was Tony's sister Janice, who did get whacked across the face by her husband, but unlike Sonny's sister Janice fought back.

Mind you Carmella really did push Tony's buttons at times, especially when she wanted a divorce. Stealing his stash from garage was a ballsy move that would have likely prompted a harsh reaction from any real life Italian-American mafia type.

Another thing, again 2000's aren't the 1970's in that had Tony abused his wife Carmella could have easily call LE who now (unlike past) must act upon domestic violence calls. A local DA would have a field day prosecuting Tony S. for domestic abuse with or without Carm's cooperation.

Why didn't tony soprano ever hit Carmella?

Because it wasn't in the script.

How ON EARTH do you watch 6 seasons of The Sopranos and come away thinking "Tony Soprano wasn't even that bad." How.

Some women deserve domestic violence.

He choked her up against a wall. Not good enough?

A real Tony would have hit her.

R56, well, yes. Carmela is deeply corrupt and won't recognize it. We're told that directly during her one visit to a psychiatrist (one of the best episodes in the show, imho), in which the psychiatrist disdainfully (if unrealistically!) refuses to accept any money from her.

Tony never hit Carmela because he was afraid she would walk out and leave him with that lump of a useless son A.J.

After she tells him about her infatuation with Furio, he was almost about to hit her. He held himself back and put a hole through the wall instead.

Ya touch the hair Tony, and you’re fish food

Did he hit Dr. Melfi in an episode?

R63

People tend to forget Carmella wasn't some innocent babe in the woods who just happened to marry into the Mafia; her father and other male family members were in "the mob".

Carmella knew very well and early on her husband just wasn't a "garbage man".... Like the time when Tony expects LE to search his house and they start stashing things in ceiling. Tony looks at Carm she looks at her wedding rings, he gives her the eye, and the wedding rings go into hiding as well.

In real life things aren't that much different, the wives/mistresses know what they want to know, but clearly have no illusions. But long as they are living very well (in homes or apartments where nearly every stick of furniture or whatever fell off a truck), they don't ask any questions.

This scene where Tony tells Carm that Ritchie Aprile "gone", sums things up nicely. Not only does Tony S. discuss business with the missus, she turns around and informs him she's going on a vacation to Europe. Why? Because Carm is so stressed out she "just might have to kill herself"... Which was her way of telling Tony she knew all about his Russian whoa...

Most of these mob wives come from the same lower or middle class background as their husbands. High school and maybe some local college, but few if any have the brains or whatever to make anything of themselves. Few could ever earn the sort of money that would allow them to live like they do as mob wives. Carmella realizes this when after trying to launch her RE career (and divorce Tony), she sees a mob wife she knows (whose husband got whacked) working as a check out girl in local supermarket. At that moment Carmella finally knew who she was and went back to Tony, who as we all know ended up getting whacked.

Are you sure about that r68, I mean the part about her father being in the mob? I thought she admits to Dr. Melfi that she always knew what Tony was and she felt flattered that a guy like that wanted her.

R26

There are tons of Italian American men (husbands and fathers) all over NJ, Brooklyn, Staten Island and elsewhere that would have reacted same way to finding some random black kid in their house, and worse he was dating or even possibly doing his daughter. For the record you can throw in Irish, Albanian and some other Europeans as well.

Meadow always the one to stir the pot knew very well what she was doing. She liked being a don's daughter when it suited her purposes. Otherwise she as always throwing Tony's "career" in his face. Don't think Meadow ever knew it was Vito who whacked her bf, but spilling the beans on him being gay (which in turn would lead to Vito's death) was right up her alley.

AJ was useless as a don's son; Meadow OTOH would have made an excellent choice to follow in her father's footsteps.

[quote]after trying to launch her RE career

Sorry, what does "RE" mean? I'm not American and not familiar with this abbreviation.

Real Estate

Because he was written as an antihero; everyone is informed that he is bad (which evokes a kind of admiration), and in order not to hinder the type of admiration he receives, his evil is never really that evil; it's quite petty-bourgeois, actually.

In real life, Tony would have hit Carmela and would have been mean to his kids when he wasn't in a good mood.

It didn’t make sense for tony to choke dr melfi but not Carmela

[quote]but had Sal kill her boyfriend Jackie Jr,

That was Vito. There was no Sal in Tony's crew.

Tony didn’t choke me. But he loomed, threw my tissue box, destroyed my glass coffee table, and called me a cunt.

We don't know if Johnny beat Livia. However, once when drunk he DID shoot at her--the bullet went through her beehive hairdo. When Janice brings that up 30 years later, Tony flies into a rage, suggesting that kind of overt violence among his parents was either very common or very uncommon.

We do know Johnny Boy beat up Tony. Tony complains later that if Carmela had let him smack AJ around like HIS father smacked HIM around, AJ wouldn't have grown up to be such a useless pussy. Melfi shoots back that Carmela's protection of her son is exactly the kind of treatment Tony would have liked from his own mother and never got. This implies that Tony married Carmela precisely because he knew she'd be a good, protective mother--the opposite of Livia. That's also why he never turned his violence on her.

R27

Am from Staten Island and respectfully you don't know what you're talking about.

New Jersey has and always had their own large Italian American presence and all that goes with it including Mafia.

That being said given Staten Island's proximity to New Jersey there has always been some overlap. More so it seems today as for a few decades now tons of Italian-Americans from Staten Island have moved to NJ, especially areas of Monmouth County such as Manalapan, Colt's Neck, Old Bridge, Matawan, Middletown, Marlboro....

Staten Island "bridge and tunnel" Italians have more in common with New Jersey than say Long Island.

Common thread is that South Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey were heavily settled by waves of Italians from south Italy (Sicily, Naples, etc...) which explains quite a lot.

First of all being a modern television show, there was no way the Sopranos was going to condone, much less show wife beating. Violence towards women in terms of actual physical abuse in series was rather limited when you consider real life comparisons.

Ralph Cifaretto hauls off and whacks his pregnant girlfriend killing her.

Richie Aprile hauls off and smacks Janice Soprano Baccalieri, and gets what's coming to him when she in turn kills him.

Other than that while there was lots of name calling, yelling and derogatory language the men in Sopranos showed remarkable restraint when it came to women in their lives.

I hit my mom sometimes to relieve the anger.

Melfi's violent rape was one of the worst moments on the show.

"First of all being a modern television show, there was no way the Sopranos was going to condone, much less show wife beating."

Really?

[quote] Ralph Cifaretto hauls off and whacks his pregnant girlfriend killing her.

There was backlash for that episode. On Talking Sopranos, they attempt to rewrite history and even had the actress (who played Ralph’s) GF on. If there had been no backlash, no way they would have dissected that episode the way they did. (As if it were a statement about women haves and have-nots; Meadow being a have.)

Yes, Tony would have hit Carmela, esp. for stealing money (birdseed storage) from him & admitting she was attracted to Furio, who was younger and not fat like Tony.

Did Tony ever spank A.J. his son?

[quote] These guys were suburban guys with kids

Not all of them, just the bosses and captains. Not even all the captains.

R85

Hitting your children is up there with beating the wife, it's just not PC. AJ really didn't do anything that warranted an ass whopping until the broke into that high school with friends.

AJ's main issue was for son of a boss he was soft. Meadow had more balls than AJ, and she in a way knew it.

Saving grace for AJ was he wouldn't be expected to follow into the family business. Like his sister both Tony and Carm wanted their kids to live outside that life of theirs. AJ sadly had all the markings of being another Fredo Corleone, and I presume we all know how that worked out....

Can think of one good reason why Tony never laid a hand on Carm.

Domestic violence investigations in NJ like many other states long no longer require assistance from victim (though it does help). Tony could keep Carm locked up the house until her black eye or whatever signs of abuse healed, but if some way or how local LE found out, they'd at very least make some sort of investigation. Knowing who Tony S. was depending upon who has an axe to grind in local LE or district attorney's office it could become messy. At very least shine unwanted attention on Tony and his "family".

Just like when Janice went off and beat down that suburban socker mom. Tony S. didn't really care that Janice might have harmed the woman, but that his name and connections were being broadcast in news media.

R84

If any real life mafia wife touched her husband's stash, much less took all of it as her due; well that would have been end of things one way or another.

Back on topic; Tony never hit Carm because he had other ways to get at her, and she in turn knew how to get her own back from him. The two of them were trapped in that marriage and managed to make it work because neither could live without the other.

Carm realized her dreams of leaving Tony and becoming successful in RE were just that. Once she saw that widowed mob wife packing groceries in a supermarket she knew the score. Carm wasn't very bright, nor hand the drive and talent to become a successful real estate person. Worse Tony could mess with her career ten thousand ways from Sunday without ever being in area. As we say all he had to do was "make a phone call....".

After Tony tells Carm that Richie Apirile is "gone", she tells him she's going off on a shopping trip to Italy. Tony as a don realizes he cannot let his wife just go off like that, what are people going to think or say? Carm basically tells him to fuck off ".....If I have to do it I just might kill myself"

How many gangsters did you know who mostly consistently visited their shrink over several years?

He was a sensitive guy!

Italian women are scarier than Italian men.

Tony did hit AJ onscreen. The first time was in "Army of One," in season 3, and the second time was in "The Blue Comet," in season 6B.

Early in the series when Tony gets wind of Pussy's widow Angie complaining about money, he goes to see her, baseball bat in hand. He tells her he's been "working on his anger" as he busts out all the windows in her Cadillac. When her dog jumps out of her arms, you're almost sure that the dog's going to get it too. It's a very menacing scene. Angie gets her shit together FAST after this encounter.

I don't think Tony ever hit actually hit a woman. One time he got right in Melfi's face for saying something about his mother, and he pushed Gloria against a wall and warned her to stay away from him, but I think that was it. He probably didn't believe in hitting women, unless he was really pushed. Adriana he had whacked only because she was helping the FBI.

R93 No, Tony would do anything not to hurt an animal. Animals were his big weak spot.

In season 3's "Amour Fou," Tony slammed Gloria Trillo, Globe Mercedes, to the ground and choked her after she threw the beef roast at him.

R91- Just like BLACK WOMEN are FAR SCARIER than black men.

R96 Oh, now I remember. But she was being crazy and threatening to tell Carmela about their affair. He managed to control himself and not choke her to death. Despite being a gangster who killed people, Tony seemed to have his own set of morals and I think not hitting women was one of them. Of course he would lose control of himself at times but I think he saw himself as a real man who doesn't stoop to hitting women much smaller than him. Unless they really, really pushed him. Carmela never quite did but she came close when she admitted to falling in love with Furio.

R96 - it was a LONDON BROIL!!

That scene where big fat Tony throws Gloria down and strangles her probably brought back traumatic memories of Weinstein for Annabella Sciorra.

Gandolfini said later that he did NOT want to do that scene. He had to be talked into it.

[quote] I don't think Tony ever hit actually hit a woman.

Tony admitted to Gloria that he hit Irina (the Russian GF) when Irina slashed his tires. He's not a Disney fantasy character. There are shades of gray to people.

Tony loved animals (Pie O My) when they were *his* animals.

Carmela was a fierce woman. Tony knew this. She didn't even allow Tony to smack around her their son, AJ, much less herself. Carmela could attack him but never the other way around.

[quote] I was never a fan of "The Sopranos." Tony Soprano was supposed to be a guy who wasn't that bad, even though he was a sociopath.

Nope, Tony Soprano was written as an evil man. Just because he had normal problems with his weight, anxiety, juggling mistresses and ungrateful children, he was never let off the hook for the evil acts he committed every episode

This scene when Carmela Soprano sees her psychiatrist lays it all out.

[quote] He probably didn't believe in hitting women, unless he was really pushed

They never do, until the bitch MAKES THEM DO IT

Mothers are very highly regarded amongst Italians. He seemed ok hitting his mistresses cuz they were "whores" rather than Madonna.

Alright let's just fight it out.

Did Tony get whacked in the last episode or not?

R56 that was what was so great about Carmela. She twisted herself up into knots trying to convince herself that she was a good wife and mother when she knew she was a dirty as her husband. She cemented an easy college life for Meadow with her donation and strong arms a letter of recommendation for her as well. She hated and loved her life at the same time. Edie Falco was truly masterful playing Carm. You loved, hated, were disgusted by, and felt genuinely sorry for Carm in her extremely dangerous gilded cage.

Carmela also treated Charmaine Bucco like "the help" when Charmaine & Artie cooked (catered) one of the Sopranos house parties.

R107, during an interview, David Chase slipped up and referred to the final episode as the "death scene."

[quote] Alan Sepinwall, “The Sopranos Sessions” co-author, asked Chase, “When you said there was an end point, you don’t mean Tony at Holsten’s [diner], you just meant, ‘I think I have two more years’ worth of stories left in me.'”

[quote] Chase slipped up with his reply, which sounds like a confirmation of Tony’s death. “Yes, I think I had that death scene around two years before the end,” he said.

At the end of the great "Pine Barrens" episode, we never learn if the Russian has actually been killed--he might have escaped, he might not have. One of the writers of the show said afterwards that Chase had written a scene in which Chris and Paulie discover that the Russian is still alive, and then kill him. Chase, according to the writer, cut the scene because he didn't want to give the audience a resolution: "He wanted the audience just to suffer."

I think that's an insight into what Chase was doing with the last scene of the show. He just didn't want to give us the satisfaction of seeing Tony dead.

[quote]There was no Sal in Tony's crew.

Yes there was, Sal Bonpensiero, also known as Pussy.

I read a theory that the black was meant to symbolize the audience being whacked. It was over for us. There was no more.

The end of the Sopranos wasn't black, IIRC, it was snow screen. IMO, whether intentional or not, it was a nod to HBO (HBO uses snow screen as well).

He was killed. Next question.