The Sopranos 3x05 Reaction

"This wasn't a hard episode...I mean, it started with a guy getting his brain f**king smashed but... we didn't cry"

Calling out Carmela, love that

I like how this episode was subtle in displaying Carmela’s anti-black racism. She feels very similarly to Tony but she would never voice it the way he does. But that’s why she mentioned that the bike thief was black, completely unprovoked. She wanted Tony to go on a rant or say I told you so.

Tony not wanting to pay for the ticket is not about money but the sense of self-entitlement and power. I mean the money he was willing to give the cop at the end was more than the ticket. It was about control. It reminds me of the Enron executives who were earning millions but still charged their prostitutes to the business as an expense under something like "Corporate Entertainment". Of course they could afford to pay themselves, but their attitude was like "why the fuck should I".

"I hate being disappointed in people..." oh my sweet summer child. the series is long and full of terrors

Lola trying hard not to crack up at Ralphie in the emergency room is giving me life 😂

Jeez you guys were harsh on Artie 😅

“Great episode, we loved it. Now we’re going to play the next episode”.. Oh no, it’s already too late. I know what’s coming 😕

you girls are so right, Tony does like when someone does bad things, then him can justify his wrong acts. But is that really diffrent from the rest of us? :) we also are not 100% perfect and we like to thinks other have flaws as well.

Artie seems to both be seduced by the idea of being a mafia associate, but also resents them for how they've used him, torching Vesuvio and now losing Adriana. Hitting on her seems more like a way to recover some sort of lost dignity and assert himself rather than a genuine feeling He resents Charmaine because she's basically the angel on his shoulder telling him what he already knows. He just likes hanging with Tony and feeling like he's a part of it. It is sad to see him giving in to his insecurities when he has so much going for him.

The actor playing mustang sally was in gilmore girls and marvelous mrs maisel. Maybe that’s where you recognize him

In my experience, Carmella commenting about the cop wasting his time with them when he should be going after “dopesters” rings true. Mafia members are often staunch supporters of right wing law-and-order politicians who promise to “get tough on crime”. To them, that “getting tough on crime” means cracking down on black people. Crime has a very racial element to them and, as a result, they often don’t see themselves as criminals in the traditional sense. That’s why they can sell dope but not be “dopesters”. They can steal but not be thieves, kill and not be murderers. In their minds what they are, as tony said during that stop, is taxpayers. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Pretty sure creator David Chase was taken aback by how much of the audience was rooting for Tony and the rest the first two seasons, and season 3 was Chase saying “OK, this is who you’re rooting for, you asked for it” with the heightened violence and depravity.

"Another toothpick" usually refers to tossing things away as you would toss a toothpick after using it. We see that idea played out across multiple story-lines and take on different shades of meaning, similar to the "Fortunate Son" episode. - Tony's empathy here is discarded as soon as he gets into an argument with Meadow, leading into him discarding the cop's fate at the end (though I think the last scene is him trying to assuage his guilt, not bring the cop down) - Bobby's father is the obvious example. Used as a hitman regardless of his health and it doesn't really mean a thing for the organization as he was retired anyways. - Artie tosses his marriage out the window after years of built up frustration. - Junior's empathy, similar to Tony, seems to be diminished once he is able to confess his diagnosis. He seemed to care more about the superstition than anything. - Janice mentions Pussy. An obvious but deeper example. - Of course Livia being the one to say it, we all know how she regards other human beings. Her own kids are her toothpicks. It's an episode exploring the limitations of empathy. Since the next episode was watched right after I can mention it here, it basically explores the same thing but expands and deconstructs it. It's a more nuanced morality play than what we see here and the previous episode where there is a clear correct choice.

I like how in the scene where Adriana gives her notice it’s when Vesuvio just had such a good night that they want to drink to celebrate - puts into perspective how needless Artie going into business with Tony would be, they’re doing fine

Regarding the speeding ticket, I don't think it's the money that Tony's concerned about it's probably the points on his license. If you accumulate a certain amount of points your license gets suspended.

The FBI losing that lamp bug is hilarious, but exactly the kind of thing that messes up real-world surveillance all the time. I'm reminded of a major USA gun-smuggling investigation about 10-15 years ago where hundreds of guns were smuggled into Mexico with tracking devices, but the batteries for all of the trackers died a few days later and they were all lost. The whole thing became a huge scandal and embarrassment. You are correct that Carmela joining the therapy session is a concrete practicing mistake by Dr. Melfi. If one person is in therapy already and they want to branch into group or couples therapy, they are supposed to a get completely new therapist. This is not only meant to prevent bias on the part of the therapist, but even the APPEARANCE of bias. Melfi should have recommended another therapist, and maybe done an introduction, but definitely not been present for this session. What Tony tried to do when he was first pulled over was show his PBA card. This is a card that the Policeman's Benevolent Association (The police union) distributes to their members and also people who make donations. They don't -- technically -- have any legal standing (They're just cards that say this person is a friend of a cop), but they're commonly referred to as "Get Out of Jail Free Cards". If you're caught committing a minor crime like speeding, by showing the cop that you know some other cop they will let you off with a warning instead of giving you the ticket. Some cops refuse to follow this unwritten rule, and that gets them ostracized and pressured by the rest of the police force. The way the assemblyman talked about how even other cops don't like that guy means that he's probably refused to "go along" before, and he's tried to follow the written rules all the way. Artie and Charmaine....girls I am WITH you. Charmaine is the most level-headed person in the series and it's so disappointing when Artie throws it all away just because he looks in on the glamor and flash that Tony has.

I hope you react to the Penguin one day! It’s so good! My favorite show this year.

The relationship between Tony and the cop in this episode is so interesting. He's actually the kind of guy Tony admires: the strong, silent type. But because he refused to be dragged down to Tony's level, Tony went back and forth between hating him and thinking he got what he deserved, to feeling guilt and empathizing with him. His storyline with Meadow in this episode and this season led me to believe that he so badly wants for every stereotype about African-Americans to be true (which is not the case in this situation as we see a black man being more righteous than him), and the way he tries to revert his brief sympathy for the cop when he heard about his transfer might be another way to assuage his guilt (before he tries to bribe him, of course). This episode also further justifies Melfi's decision to not ask Tony for help in the previous episode, as we can see how much of a corrupting influence he has on everyone in his life. Speaking of, I think Lola meant to say "conscience" instead of "consciousness" haha. It's been going on for a few episodes now.

Yeah re-watching those Artie scenes with you girls reminded me how much I cringed while watching them for the first time. Ahh well.. his character is always been fascinated to me because I think he is one of the closer friends Tony has that is not really in the same line of business that he is. And again this episode reminded me why I sometimes feel The Sopranos could be categorized as a dark comedy.. btw I saw Lola wanted to laugh at that comment that Ralph made about that guy who was in a coma but she was holding back her laughter lol I wonder why. I know it’s a fucked up situation to be making jokes but again this show can make some situations that are not supposed to be funny , funny sometimes.

believe me, it gets worse

Poor Bobby :(

Just in time after I’m done eating turkey lol