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Sopranos Final Season

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from: Timothy Noah
to: Jeffrey Goldberg, Brian Williams, and Terry Winter

Week 8: Bury My Heart at Flatbush Bikini Waxing

Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at 6:28 PM ET

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

Silvio and Tony

Paisani,

Loved your anecdote, Jeff, about John J. Gotti's passionate identification with American Indians. (You will let us know when you start making these stories up, right?) The belief that American Indians share a history of oppression with Italian-Americans—and also, as Terry points out, a preference for loud clothing and imaginative nicknames—is inconsistent with Silvio Dante's objection to Columbus Day revisionism, but I guess Terry would answer that

a) Silvio doesn't necessarily agree with John J. Gotti;
and
b) Intellectual consistency is not a major wiseguy concern. If anything, The Sopranos teaches us that mobsters spend a great deal of mental energy trying not to notice the fairly stark inconsistencies between Mafia-family values and family-family values (a theme also central to the two great Godfather films and the disappointing third one whose very existence Terry chooses, Soprano-style, to deny).

Brian, your powers of observation remain exceptional. Not in a million years could I have told you that Tony's blazer was camel hair, much less one designed by Ermenegildo Zegna. I failed to notice that the porch of Tony Soprano's safe house bore a corrugated aluminum roof, and before I read your entry I had never even heard of the Tendersticks. (I've since learned they're called the Tindersticks. Fess up: Did your college-age daughter feed you that one?) I'm going to guess that it was the gravitas befitting a network anchor and not inattention that kept you from mentioning the name of the shop where Phil Leotardo ordered the hit on Tony: "Flatbush Bikini Waxing." A really excellent dirty joke, one that escaped my notice until Slate's film critic, Dana Stevens, asked me whether I thought it was found or created art. There is, in fact, no such establishment. I am further going to guess that Terry's been trying to work that gag into a Sopranos episode for two or three years. Am I warm?

Terry, I stand corrected that the cleverly named Rhiannon lent her elusive presence to a couple of episodes from last year, and I congratulate you on naming Adriana's little dog Cosette. (Buon' anima to them both.) I swear I didn't know when I wrote that it was my favorite Sopranos name that I was flattering its author.

Jeff, I don't think you need fear that the death of the actual Mafia will kill off mob drama. If anything, it may cause the form to flourish. You will recall that John Wayne didn't stride onto the silver screen until long after the West was won (or lost, if you're John J. Gotti and you identify with Aboriginal Americans). All the best movies about World War II (Twelve O'Clock High, Mister Roberts, Saving Private Ryan) postdate the event itself, in the latter case by a half-century, and The Lives of Others is a very good movie about the Cold War that would have been impossible to film on location while the Cold War was still raging. The mob narrative is a great American form, and it's here to stay. Sadly, The Sopranos is not, and it's breaking my heart. See you next week for the post-mortem.

Mournfully,
Chiacchierone

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from: Timothy Noah
to: Jeffrey Goldberg, Brian Williams, and Terry Winter

Week 8: Bury My Heart at Flatbush Bikini Waxing

Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at 6:28 PM ET

DISCUSS

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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

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