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Sopranos Final Season

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from: Timothy Noah
to: Jeffrey Goldberg and Brian Williams

Week 7: A.J. Slouches Towards Bethlehem

Posted Monday, May 21, 2007, at 3:38 PM ET

Timothy Noah chatted with readers about The Sopranos on June 7. Read the transcript here.

Dear Jeff and Brian,

After reading Jeff's entry this morning, I came downstairs to breakfast, cleared my throat, and addressed my son, Will.

"I just learned what it is that Tony Soprano did to Coco. He curbed him."

"It's curb stomped, Dad."

"Or curbed, for short," I said a bit defensively. "I'd never heard of it before. How do you know about curb stomping?"

Pause. Will has never seen American History X.

"I have a video game that lets you curb stomp a guy," he said.

"You have a—what's that game rated?"

"M."

"And how did you acquire an M-rated video game that lets you curb stomp a guy?"

"You gave it to me, Dad. For my birthday. Gears of War."

Whoops.

"You got him what?"

This was the voice of my late wife, Marjorie, with whom I quarrel on a regular basis, usually on matters related to child-rearing. You'd be surprised how many of these arguments she wins. This time I fought her to a draw by reassuring her that I'd recently told Will he couldn't see a certain movie because it was too violent.

"This is a wild guess," I concluded, "but I don't think our 14-year-old son is going to end up a sociopath."

"No thanks to you."

Later I went online and discovered that Gears of War also lets you chainsaw your enemy to death. I decided that Marjorie didn't need to know that (you can do that when the argument takes place entirely in your head) and resolved to be more vigilant in the future. For the record, Marjorie is OK with my letting Will watch The Sopranos.

The question before the house is whether Tony Soprano is a sociopath, as the annoying Dr. Eliot Kupferberg (Peter Bogdanovich) tells Dr. Jennifer Melfi. If he is, then research suggests Tony's psychotherapy does society more harm than good, because (at least according to Kupferberg) sociopaths use psychotherapy to polish their con. Sociopaths in psychotherapy, Kupferberg says, have a higher rate of recidivism than sociopaths who aren't in psychotherapy. Ergo, Melfi should stop treating Tony.

Yes, Tony is a sociopath. I quote that unimpeachable source, Psychology Today, which defines Antisocial Personality Disorder (i.e., sociopath-ness) thusly:

The disorder involves a history of chronic antisocial behavior that begins before the age of 15 and continues into adulthood. The disorder is manifested by a pattern of irresponsible and antisocial behavior as indicated by academic failure, poor job performance, illegal activities, recklessness, and impulsive behavior. Symptoms may include dysphoria, an inability to tolerate boredom, feeling victimized, and a diminished capacity for intimacy.

Except for "poor job performance," which is irrelevant in Tony's line of work, this fits Tony like a glove. Note especially "diminished capacity for intimacy." According to this definition, you can be a sociopath and have some limited capacity for love, and I think that well describes a man whose first impulse, when he discovers that his son tried to kill himself, is to yell at him. (Only afterward does Tony cradle his son and call him "my little boy.") Psychology Today would appear to disagree with Dr. Kupferberg's pessimism about the efficacy of psychotherapy; it "may" be helpful to a sociopath, though admittedly the prognosis is poor. Has Tony benefited from his psychotherapy? (Or "terapy," as he calls it.) It seems to have helped with the anxiety attacks, and he's a shade more self-aware. On the other hand, the terapy hasn't exactly curbed his destructive behavior. Even among wiseguys, Tony is a little on the impulsive side. Hence last night's curbing. How great was it, incidentally, when Tony, during terapy with A.J. and Carmela, looked down and saw one of Coco's bloody molars lodged inside his pants cuff?

I agree that Yeats' "The Second Coming" was a boldly obvious choice to send A.J. (who otherwise finds English class dull) to the bottom of the swimming pool with a plastic bag over his head. For rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem, I nominate A.J. himself. At the very least, the choice is geographically appropriate.

The boy's obsession with the Middle East is growing, and when he showed Meadow that it was Al Jazeera he was looking at online (and not Internet porn), I think Terry Winter was hinting that A.J. will find his way to the two Arab gangsters, who, we learned last night, are indeed connected to terrorist activities. But I'm not inclined to go deep on "The Second Coming." I think the main reason the poem was used is because it provided a brilliant setup for Carmela's punch line, which gave me the biggest belly laugh I'd had in a long time. "What kind of poem is that to teach a college student?" she asked A.J.'s therapist indignantly. Her clueless riposte echoed that hilarious scene in Annie Hall when little Alvy Singer (who will grow up to be Woody Allen) is taken to the doctor by his mother:

Doctor: Why are you depressed, Alvy?
Mom: Tell Dr. Flicker.
Alvy is silent.
Mom: It's something he read.
Doctor: Something he read, huh?
Alvy (head down): The universe is expanding.
Doctor: The universe is expanding?
Alvy: Well, the universe is everything, and if it's expanding, someday it will break apart and that would be the end of everything.
Mom: What is that your business?

Paternally,
Tim

tv club
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from: Timothy Noah
to: Jeffrey Goldberg and Brian Williams

Week 7: A.J. Slouches Towards Bethlehem

Posted Monday, May 21, 2007, at 3:38 PM ET
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Jeffrey Goldberg is a national correspondent for the Atlantic and the author of Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror. Stephen Metcalf is Slate's critic at large. He is working on a book about the 1980s. Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate. Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Terence Winter is a writer and an executive producer of The Sopranos. His teleplay "Pine Barrens," written with Tim Van Patten, won the 2001 Writers Guild Award and the Edgar Award.
Slate home page cover, June 11, 2007: Still of James Gandolfini in The Sopranos by Craig Blankenhorn © HBO. All rights reserved. Still from The Sopranos of James Gandolfini on Slate's home page; still of: James Gandolfini; Edie Falco and James Gandolfini; Steven Van Zandt, James Gandolfini, and Tony Sirico; James Gandolfini and Edie Falco; and Robert Iler all by Craig Blankenhorn/courtesy HBO. All rights reserved. Entry 9: Still of Tony with a tomato, and Entry 10: Tony's dad and young Uncle June © HBO. Entry 21: Still of Tony Sirico as Paulie "Walnuts" by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 27: Still of Robert Iler and James Gandolfini by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 30: Still of James Gandolfini and Sarah Shahi by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 38: Still of Steven Van Zandt and James Gandolfini by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 40: Still of James Gandolfini and Edie Falco by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 45: Still of James Gandolfini and Steven Van Zandt by Craig Blankenhorn. Entry 48: Still of Dominic Chianese and James Gandolfini by Craig Blankenhorn.
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Remarks from the Fray Editor:

As a basic cable slum-dweller, the Fray Editor has been following the discussion of The Sopranos with admiration and envy. The passion, erudition, and insight of the show's fans—Slate's commentators and Fraysters alike—proves the case that this series is not to be missed. Below, Fray poster lucabrasi considers how the 6.5 season story arc has led the show inevitably to the present moment.

May this weekend's finale exceed your wildest expectations. My prediction? Paulie Walnuts in the Bing with a shoe buffer.—G.A.

Remarks from the Fray:

I must salute the excellent close of the mob wars arc that started way back in Season One.

Looking back from today, with Tony's Jersey crime family indeed looking like a "glorified crew" in the eyes of New York, one can see it, almost clearly:

Season One: Tony's issues were of ascension in that smallish Jersey family. Jackie Sr. was dying; Uncle Junior was the designated "front don," and yet bitter enough about Tony's power to use Livia's ambiguous directives to hit Tony. Didn't work. Junior was exiled and took on Federal heat; Tony had the others killed.

Season Two: Richie Aprile gets out of prison. A theme begins: guys out of prison resent Tony, who never served. But Richie, too, is "local Jersey trouble." His escalating conflict with Tony is going to be dealt with rather easily -- Tony wants Richie hit, but Janice delivers a dose of even MORE "local" justice.

Meanwhile, I think NYC underboss Johnny Sack turns up living in Jersey, but promising Tony "I don't want to wet my beak."

The main NYC Don is Carmine Sr, an old school guy. Tony can deal with Carmine Sr, but Sack starts getting that lean and hungry look...

Seasons Three and Four: Other issues are on the table (Jackie Jr., Tony and Carm's marriage), but Tony's adversaries are manageable: made guy Ralphie and the ever-more-ambitious and angry Sack. Ralphie is eliminated, quietly (if NYC ever finds out...). Sack wants Tony to hit Old Man Carmine; Tony pulls out at the last moment. Sack looks to be vengeful.

Season Five: The big trouble all starts here, with the release of the "Class of '84". It's like four Richie Apriles. Tony has a lotta plates to spin: an old-timer named Feech who wants it all, locally, Tony's cousin Tony B, the "Rockford Guy" (Joe Santos) who Tony B idolizes as a father, and a real hothead named Phil Leotardo.

Carmine Sr. croaks. Phil joins with Sack against Little Carmine, Tony B joins with the Rockford Guy and Rusty in backing Little Carmine's play. Tony elects to back off and see how Jersey can benefit from the ensuing bloodshed, of which there is a lot.

During all this, two little matters occur: Seeking owed cash, Tony subjects Phil Leotardo to a body-breaking car crash and beats up Phil at the accident site as a "throw-in." Tony B kills Phil's brother Billy Leotardo.

In retrospect, these last two actions were perhaps...unfortunate.

Sack and Phil kill more guys than Little Carmine's team. Little caves ("It's a stagmire.") Sack ascends to Donhood. Tony can deal with Sack (having killed Tony B as a burnt offering), and Sack will stave off the still vengeful Phil Leotardo.

But right at the end of Season Five, the Feds nab Sack. Go directly to jail.

Season 6A: Sack's in prison, but the putative boss, with Phil fronting him on the outside. Tony's shot for a few episodes. The "gay Vito issue" gives Phil new reason for putting the pressure on Tony's Jersey boys. With Sack losing power by the day, Phil contemplates his rages against Tony: getting beaten up by Tony, paying money to Tony, brother killed by the cousin of Tony, gay Vito protected by Tony. Phil has a heart attack to match Tony's gutshot. Things seem peaceful between these two wounded warriors. But this guy Butch turns up, taunting Tony.

Season 6B. Tony's luck with New York runs out, via a series of crap outs: Sack dies of cancer; Doc kills Gerry; Phil kills Doc.. Phil is "the big boss man," finally, and the worst possible New York Don Tony Soprano could face. Filled with jailhouse vengeance and itching to consolidate power, Phil pushes Tony too far (with the sexual insult of Coco towards Meadow, ultimately). Tony retaliates (curbing); Phil says "there's nothing left to talk about," and here we are.

Now, I' m not sure how much of that was plotted early on by Chase and Company, but looking back on it, you see how this final, fatal gang war was literally years in the making. Tony Soprano fended off Jersey threats (Junior, Richie), kept the peace with Carmine Sr, dangerously dueled with Sack (the longest of Tony's strategic encounters), sat out the gang war to replace Carmine Sr...and ended up on the wrong end of Phil's bloody ascension to the throne of the New York Family.

Where things are now is where they HAVE to be. Inevitability.

--lucabrasi

(To reply, click here.)

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