We meet Tracee for the first (and last) time.
Tony and Ralph get into a fight.
Meadow and Noah have a falling out.
Episode 32 – Originally Aired April 1, 2001
Story by David Chase, Todd Kessler, Robin Green & Mitch Burgess
Teleplay by Terence Winter and Salvatore Stabile
Directed by Allen Coulter
___________________________________
It is interesting that a series that lends itself so well to academic analysis and scholarship would have one episode named “College” (1.05) and another named “University.” Like “College” (and other stand-alone episodes), this hour is relentless in its story, barely giving a minute to other Season 3 concerns. This episode also shares a parallel structure to episode 1.05. There were basically two storylines in “College” which intertwined and played off one another. “University” also features two storylines, one of Meadow and the other of Tracee, which intertwine and play against each other. And Like “College,” this episode utilizes a variety of film and narrative techniques to make comparisons between its double storylines.
We first meet Tracee in the episode’s opening scene just as she is violating the boundary that has been set for the Bing girls. She is trying to befriend Tony and give him some date-nut bread that she has baked. We recognize immediately how young and vulnerable she is. This sweet and youthful girl is extinguished by Ralph later in the hour. Nut-job Ralph makes his first appearance of the hour very early in the episode, when we see him acting like a kid with AJ, excited over the movie Gladiator. As AJ describes a particularly violent scene from the film, Ralph mimics the scene in his enthusiasm:
Meadow, about the same age as Tracee, is in a relationship with a young man who seems far more mature and stable than Ralphie. Noah impresses Meadow with his sensitivity and thoughtfulness, particularly in his attitude towards seriously troubled Caitlin:
Meadow: Most guys wouldn’t give a shit.
Noah: I’m not most guys.
In the following scene, Tony suggests the best way to deal with Caitlin is with a straitjacket, prompting Meadow to sarcastically call him “Mr. Sensitivity.” Meadow has placed Noah and her father at opposing ends of the sensitivity spectrum, but she has done so prematurely. As the hour progresses, we see that Noah is actually not very different from “most guys.” This episode is quite single-minded in its depiction of men. All the male characters, at various times, treat women with insensitivity, incompetence, cruelty or brutality. While Gladiator is the film that is referenced here, it is a different Ridley Scott film that “University” calls to mind: Thelma & Louise. In this latter film, Scott focuses on the failures of all the male characters. Thelma and Louise are mocked, ignored, and brutalized by various men. They are treated as sexual objects. Louise can’t get a commitment from her boyfriend while Thelma is taught how to commit armed robbery by a smooth-talking Lothario. Their money is later stolen by the smooth-talker. And finally, the male police detective fails in his effort to protect the women and get them to turn themselves in. In spite of all this, I don’t believe that Thelma & Louise is simply a two-hour exercise in male-bashing. The one-dimensional portrayal of men was necessary to set up the powerful ending: when forced to make a choice between oblivion and a world of men in which they have little agency, the ladies understandably (given their experience) choose oblivion. One-dimensionality is not a usual trait of Sopranos characters but Chase uses it here somewhat as Ridley Scott did—the third act of “University” draws its power from the failures of its men. Ralph fails to treat Tracee like a human being. Tony fails to protect Tracee from Ralph’s rage and insecurity. Noah, too, fails in his dealings with women. He is far more concerned with one poor grade on an essay than he is with Caitlin’s worsening emotional problems (even allowing his father to file an absurd restraining order against the troubled girl.) And after he gets his fill of Meadow, Noah cites some laughable reason to break off their relationship.
CONNECTIVITY
Chase connects Tracee to Meadow and to Caitlin throughout the hour. Tracee and Caitlin are counterparts of one another. Caitlin is situated in a better environment than Tracee is, but, like the stripper, she has virtually no effective support system to help her through her difficulties. Tracee (who works at a famiglia establishment) is contrasted to Meadow (who is a member of Tony’s actual family). Chase connects them to each other in myriad ways, some subtle, and some more obvious. It is not necessary to list all the connections, but a small sample can reveal how Chase utilizes the techniques that he has at his disposal.
Chase cuts between scenes using graphic matches. One such example is Tracee walking toward a door → Cut to a matching shot of Meadow walking toward a door:
Chase uses sound editing to connect scenes. The sound of Ralph’s laughter bleeds from a famiglia-centered scene to a family-centered scene:
Chase juxtaposes scenes conscientiously. He cuts from the scene in which Meadow seeks comfort and advice regarding her man to the scene in which Tracee seeks advice regarding her man:
Chase cuts from one location to another with purpose. He cuts from the dark, dirty parking lot where an isolated Tracee is literally crushed by Ralph, to the manicured campus where a privileged Meadow is more metaphorically crushed by Noah:
Meadow and Tracee are also contrasted through dentistry. Meadow (who is still probably on her family’s insurance plan) is reminded by her mother to make a dental appointment. Tracee, on the other hand, relies on her boss Silvio to loan her money to fix her teeth—and he does so just so he can “juice” the loan. It is because of this debt to the Bing manager that Ralphie allows Silvio to come to his house and viciously beat the young woman. “Listen to me, you little pucchiach,” Silvio yells at his victim, “until you pay what you owe, that shaved twat of yours belongs to me!” Ralph’s laughter as Tracee gets beaten is despicable, and it is particularly egregious considering that he knows Silvio is roughing up a woman who is pregnant with his child.
DEMONIC RALPH
Up until now, Ralph could be classified simply as an insolent and irreverent asshole, his disrespect toward others largely a manifestation of his bitterness at being passed over for the position of Captain. But now it is becoming clearer that he is pathologically unstable. He says that he was supposed to be an architect, which is laughable given that his true nature is that of a destroyer, not a builder. (His professional aspiration almost sounds funnier and more surprising than when George Costanza said he wanted to be an architect on Seinfeld.) Ralph is progressing from being a devilishly cheeky character to one that is truly demonic. Such figures have existed in the real Mafia, and in mob-related movies as well. Real-life Philly boss Nicky Scarfo, for example, was a vicious and unpredictable man. Joe Pesci has famously played wild, maniacal characters in movies such as GoodFellas and Casino. Professor Franco Ricci believes that Ralph’s diabolical nature is emphasized through some art that appears in “University.” In his essay, “Aesthetics and Ammunition,” Ricci analyzes the artwork that characters are juxtaposed against throughout the series, and he notes that in this episode…
Confused visual patterns are reserved for a character where no love is lost: Ralph Cifaretto…We see him watching Spartacus on TV in his home, behind him a painting that is a splatter of color, a swirl of emotions and turbulence that reflects his demoniacal character.
Ralph is not as impressed by Spartacus as he is by Gladiator, perhaps in part because the former lacks the latter’s gore and violence. In the VIP room of the Bada Bing, he tries to relive the Gladiator scene which had so excited him and AJ earlier:
Ralph feels no regret for almost taking poor Georgie’s eye out with his vicious hijinks. Tracee is completely justified when she later mocks Ralph’s lack of manliness; he is an adolescent, perhaps even a demon, at heart—he certainly does not behave like a man. The guys (who are tired of Ralph’s misbehavior) enjoy Tracee’s ribbing, stinging Ralph’s ego even further. The ensuing scene contains what are arguably the most brutal moments of the entire series.
Some viewers apparently stopped watching The Sopranos and even cancelled their HBO subscriptions after seeing Ralph savagely kill Tracee. It is, without question, a horrific act that is difficult to watch. But I don’t think the scene is as explicitly violent as many viewers believe it is. I think Chase effectively uses the elements of film to create a heightened sense of violence so that he can reduce the actual display of violence. As in the scene of Melfi’s rape in 3.04, sound design and a dark color palette are used here to amplify our perception of menace and brutality. Ralph’s violent acts are, in some instances, visually obscured by either his body or by Tracee’s body, or by the darkness of the location, or by the distance between the camera and the actors:
I am not trying to downplay the barbarity of the scene. I am only trying to point out that intelligent control of filmic elements can suggest horrible acts of violence without gratuitously displaying them. That being said, there are moments here when the brutality is not obscured at all, when the camera holds to the unfolding cruelty without flinching. Vanity Fair reported that Bob Wright, who was president of NBC at the time, sent out videotapes of this scene to others in the television industry very soon after “University” aired. He wrote in an accompanying letter that the violence, language and nudity of HBO’s The Sopranos were having a “major impact” on the television business, and cited these characteristics as the reason why NBC could not air such a program. The magazine article continues…
It is unclear what precisely Wright was getting at, but to Chase, the general intent seemed evident. “It was an attack,” he says. “There was a lot of envy that we had freedom, while they were crippled by Standards and Practices. But it’s not like the whole reason the show was a success is that people could say ‘fuck’ and shoot somebody in the head. Everything has to be appropriate to some version of reality.”
The past three episodes, starting with “Employee of the Month,” have had moments of surprising brutality. I think the violence is part of Chase’s commitment to realism and verisimilitude. Life is filled with moments of commonplace banality but also contains moments of heart-rending drama, sometimes even violence. This episode’s parallel storylines (the Meadow-storyline and the Tracee-storyline) highlight both of these aspects of life. To unceremoniously dump someone (or be dumped, as Meadow was) is an extremely commonplace occurrence—many of us have sat on both sides of that table. Ralph’s vicious beating of Tracee is not exactly a commonplace event, but violence and murder do actually occur every hour in America. SopranoWorld reflects the ubiquity of violence in America, and as others have pointed out, we are primed to this fact by the very logo of the series: the “r” in the banner is actually a gun. Professor Yacowar says this signifies that what The Sopranos “are” is violent:
Ralph’s extreme violence reflects a brutal dimension of life, but it also serves another “purpose”—it turns Ralph into the arch-villain of the series. There are bad guys galore on The Sopranos, but Ralph sets a standard among Tony’s antagonists. Tracee is not the only youngster to be victimized by Ralphie. Later in the season, Jackie will suffer greatly from Ralph’s influence and actions.
These last three episodes emphatically complicate the viewer’s feelings toward Tony Soprano. In “Employee of the Month,” we half-hoped Melfi would use Tony to illegally avenge her brutal rape. In “Another Toothpick,” we sheepishly watched as Tony got revenge on Officer Wilmore in the most petty way. Now, in “University,” we do not hesitate to ally ourselves with Tony as he swings on Ralph after the murder of Tracee. Of course, Tony cannot admit that he is angered by the death of a mere dancer—he growls at Ralphie, “You disrespect this place,” as though not having respect for a dilapidated strip joint is the greater of the crimes he has just committed. I think most viewers sense that Tony’s callousness towards Tracee in this hour—like his racism in other hours—arises more from his conformity to mobster expectations and less from an innate heartlessness. This is confirmed when we see his profound sadness in Melfi’s office over the death of an “employee” (as he must describe her, especially since Carmela is also at the session). Chase orders and structures these episodes in such a way that our emotional investment in Tony Soprano can’t help but get deepened.
Cindy Donatelli and Sharon Alward write in their essay, “I Dread You,” that “Perhaps Tracee ends up dead because she makes the mistake of trying to create ‘family’ relations with Tony (the date-nut bread) and Ralphie (the baby).” Dana Polan presents a related possibility for why Tracee meets such an ignominious end:
…the episode says some resonant things about sexual exploitation: whereas in virtually all other episodes, the Bada Bing dancers tend to remain in the back of the image as they dance uninspiredly to bored customers, “University” brings one of the dancers into the foreground and grants her voice and identity (to have it then taken away by her brutal murder)…the episode could be taken to imply that women will inevitably be punished when they assume a voice and identity.
But Polan does not say that this is the definitive statement that the series makes about sexual politics or patriarchal power. Polan is one of the great defenders of the ambiguity of The Sopranos, and he argues against unequivocal interpretations of the series throughout his book. Nevertheless, the episode pretty clearly makes the point that Tracee, in the sick logic of SopranoWorld, would have been better off staying in her “place,” even though it is a place of humiliation and disadvantage. In the minds of the mobsters, the Bing dancers are less-than-human and don’t deserve even the most basic level of respect. As the episode ends, we see Georgie explaining the disgusting club rules to a new girl. It’s back to Business As Usual. One dancer disappears and another simply takes her place—and everyone knows to keep their mouth shut about the “disappeared” woman. The Kinks’ “Livin’ on a Thin Line” starts up for a third time, sounding like an elegy for the dead girl. The two times that we had heard the song earlier, it was accompanied by images of Tracee. The song now, deprived of those accompanying images of the lithe and lovely woman, only underscores her absence. There is nothing left of her. Perhaps her life, as Livia once said, was just “a big nothing.”
When I did the Sopranos bus tour in 2012, the final stop was at Satin Dolls a.k.a. the Bada Bing. Everyone felt drawn to the area behind the club where Tracee was killed. The exact spot where her corpse lay was now occupied by a garbage dumpster. Make of that what you will.
___________________________________
ADDITIONAL POINTS:
-
Actor Joe Pantoliano told Vanity Fair that after this episode aired, women approached him wanting to feel his arms. Some women were apparently turned on by Ralph’s physical domination of Tracee. (These women either lack any maternal instincts, or they’ve overlooked the fact that by killing Tracee, Ralphie also killed his unborn child.)
- There are several references to horses in this episode. In Ralph’s final episode (next season), Tony makes a strong mental association between Tracee and his horse Pie-O-My. I don’t know if this episode’s horse references were simply a coincidence or whether the writers were setting up Tony’s mental association a year before it occurred. I’ll explore these references in my write-up for “Whoever Did This” (4.09).
- Possible media critique: Noah says Caitlin overreacts when she sees “a homeless woman with the Daily News up her butt.” Perhaps David Chase is suggesting that a butt crack is the proper place for the New York newspaper.
- Meta-world connectivity: Len Tannenbaum (who is Noah’s father and also Tim Daly’s lawyer) says that he has come to NY to meet with real-life producer Dick Wolf. Actor Tim Daly makes his first appearance as JT Dolan in “In Camelot” (5.07), and in that episode JT Dolan mentions that he is trying to get on Dick Wolf’s staff.
- Fortunate son: Noah seems to have attended the famous Crossroads School in Santa Monica which many celebrities and celebrities’ kids have attended.
- The Sopranos’ greatest strength is the quality of its writing. It is an all-star team, including Green & Burgess (who were my favorites of the pre-Weiner era), that gets credit for writing this episode.
- I gotta give a shout-out to Ariel Kiley (who played Tracee) for sharing her thoughts about this episode on her blog: https://arielkiley.me/2017/10/23/playing-tracee-on-the-sopranos/
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© 2024 Ron Bernard
Sopranos Autopsy 
I watched this episode again last night, and just shut it off at the point when Ralphie walks out to the parking lot to talk to Tracee. I just can’t watch it again. I’ve seen it several times through the years, and honestly, if I ever saw that beating again it would be too soon. Tracee is discarded like a cockroach being stepped on, and it’s juxtaposed with a precluding story of a confused, innocent teenager, clearly an abuse victim, trying to find, as you pointed out, whatever support group she could. Yes, innocent is the term I’m using. Tracee being a nude dancer and a prostitute, and Chase’s rather futile attempt at hardening the audience to Tracee by giving her a line where she admits to abusing her first child, does absolutely nothing to remotely justify Ralph’s brutality in the eyes of any sane viewer with a shred of a conscience. If I were the age that I am now when this episode aired, I too might have cancelled my HBO subscription the following morning. I’m glad I didn’t. And I do understand where Chase was going with it, but you get to a point in life where you can only stomach so much. I really do think Chase went too far with University. The scene of Tony Soprano being shaken by Tracee’s death when talking to Melfi almost reeks of Chase trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube as he polished off the final script. When Tony talks about it to Melifii, he fictionally casts a young male mob apprentice as the fatally beaten woman, and retells it as being some sort of mob related incident, meaning Tracee’s demise was so brutal and so intolerable to the “civilian” world that Tony was willing to violate “Omerta” and throw his mafia affiliation under the bus to avoid a civilian like Melfi conflating his way of life to such a brutal circumstance. I think Chase’s idea was for us, the viewer, to digest Tracee’s death the way Tony would. By being appalled. But when you build a Frankenstien, you have to factor the risk of Frakenstein doing what Frankenstien want. You can read any reddit or IMDB forum about this episode to see what seems like half the male commenters believing that Tracee got what she deserved. Since 2001, the American male has sadly become more Ralphie than Tony in regards to the dynamic with Tracee. It’s both a depressing and frightening thought.
On somewhat of a lighter note, and speaking of art work being juxtaposed throughout the episode, how about the classic retouching of Einstein with his tongue acting as a voyeur to Meadow losing her virginity to Mr. Sensitive, Intellectual, Non-Tony? Maybe the Einstein poster sums it all up. Academia, relationships, trust, it’s all a fraud, man. Naa naa, naa, naa naa.
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We see Meadow, Noah & Caitlyn in the city celebrating Caitlyn’s birthday while on a building behind them the US National Debt Clock furiously counts it’s way upwards as they walk towards….a homeless woman. Is Chase commenting on the future America’s youth have to look forward to? Saddled with issues of ever burgeoning debt, unemployment & homelessness? Then cut to Paulie with a handful of cash praising Chris on a ‘not bad week’ while Chris complains about his work hours. It seems that any problems America’s youth may be facing are not issues the mob need worry about.
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I really love this show, but the comment sections on blogs/youtube always turn me away from engaging with other fans. I don’t know if this is controversial, but being racist and ignorant is not cool.
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I believe I read somewhere that Chase said the reason he did University was because he was getting concerned that viewers seemed to admire the gangsters on the show, and he wanted the viewers to realize just how heartless these people really were.
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To be honest the only people who would cancel HBO over this episode are just self-hating baby boomers and libcuck 80s kids. Thankfully both generations are getting increasingly irrelevant with every passing day and will no longer moan about good television just because their pleb reddit sensibilities get triggered.
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Ralphie! Is that you?
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No.. it’s just some sad person who desperately wants to interact but is not yet ready to step out from behind all the usual troll-lingo and open himself up for a real conversation…
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You’re clearly a self hating baby boomer or libcuck millennial /s
(I know no one is reading this cause I’m way late but.. This is my first time reading these and I’m only watching an episode per week cause I’m trying to absorb as much as possible. Fuck you for judging me libcucks)
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Lol no, a self hating libcuck Gen X-er
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Good one Ron! Hugs from a baby boomer! 😎
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Man oh man do the IMDb and AV Club and Reddit people all HATE Noah Tannenbaum–in fact, only Harry Crane from “Mad Men” seems to be a more hated character. I was stunned. I get that he’s a smug college brat and he speaks in a condescending voice, but Noah’s uglier aspects really seem to pale in comparison to people like Ralphie Cifaretto. And yet people seem to hate Noah more.
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I miss Harry Crane…
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Hmmm, an intelligent, articulate, young, college student with a bright future.
What’s not to like? Gee I don’t know. Let’s ask Tony how he feels about
Uncle Ben’s rice. Noah’s father didn’t want him dating a mob boss’ daughter
for obvious reasons.
Yes, lots of viewers seem to hate Noah more, but they were ok with Ralphie,
and they were ok when Jackie Aprille was Meadow’s lover.
The Soprano’s holds up a mirror once again.
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I don’t think it’s fair to villify those of the fanbase who hate Noah more than Ralph, as tempting as it might be to conclude as such. It’s safe to say that ~%100, if asked, would agree that Ralph is a million times more evil, deserving of punishment, etc than Noah. But my counterpoint: we ALL run into insufferable dickheads like Noah in our lives, but hopefully most of us aren’t crossing paths with any Ralph types at any point in our lives. So Noah evokes a much more visceral, ‘I know that guy, and I’ve always wanted ring his pissant neck!’ response, whereas Ralph is kind of unrelateable, his deeds being so far removed from our real lives. My anger toward Noah is fueled by anger I’ve experienced with comparable, real-life individuals, and so the emotional response is compounded as such. That doesn’t happen for me with Ralph, as I’ve (fortunately) never experienced someone bashing in an innocent’s skull to death. I objectively see his actions among the more vile ever portrayed, but can only relate through imagined emotions, and can’t fuel my response to him from any direct experience like I can with Noah.
All that to say that that’s why I think the hatred is so heavy on Noah, and not that we’re all blindly misdirecting our rage toward the wrong people.
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I think you make a really fair point, but I’m curious whether you are close in age to Noah.. I’ve noticed that the older I get, the more forgiving I am of dickheads like Noah because I feel like a lot of their insufferable dickheadedness (funny, Spellcheck didn’t have a problem with that word) is due to their youth…
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Hey, sorry for the delay in answering your question – the notification ended up in the spam folder that I happened to clean out today.
Anyhow, to answer your question, I’m older than Noah today, but was pretty much his age when I first saw the episode (in ~2005 or so – I only caught on to the series after season 5 had aired, and played catch-up in time for season 6). I think I agree with you to some extent. He bothered me at the time more, because when you’re in university it’s common to run into blowhards like this, who see knowledge as some form of competition. Smartest-guy-in-the-room types. I’m 35 now, and I can also attribute some of his assholery (spellcheck got that one 😉 to immaturity and insecurity. A lot of it probably came from the pressure of trying to live up to the image of his rich/successful father.
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I don’t know if Noah’s insufferable dickheadedness (lol) is due to his youth though. His father appears to be afflicted with the same strain of IDS ( insufferable dickheadedness syndrome ). It’s the Father who needlessly makes that cringey statement about being ‘forced’ to watch his clients shows and movies ( no you don’t you jerk ) and it’s he who files a restraining order against Caitlyn ( which can’t really be necessary right? ). Chase does such an amazing job in the series of nailing the subtle character-defining attributes of the upper-class white-collar douchebag. He kills it here with both Noah and his father and then really knocks it out of the park with Alan Sapinsly in ‘Whitecaps’.
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I think his father influenced him about Meadow. He’s another powerful man like Tony Soprano who can throw around money and influence to help his daughter succeed. meadow is not in Noah’s fathers plans for him. The 2 fathers are 2 sides of the same coin, only one is a gangster and one a lawyer.
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Oh that’s interesting, considering Tony’s line towards Noah, “I don’t want them dating my daughter, and they don’t want us dating their daughters.”
Tony’s point is disgustingly racist here but it’s an interesting parallel between the two fathers and their attitudes towards who their child dates
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I agreed with Noah about the grade but ultimately it’s his fault for not figuring a way out of the situation. I figured the relationship was doomed because the Hollywood lawyer would not want his son mixed up with the Soprano family and that would have been an ironic twist. A father who would try to get a restraining order in that absurd situation might also go to extreme lengths to get his kid to stay away from Soprano’s daughter. But I’m guessing by the essay and comments that that isn’t what was really behind it and so we’re meant to take Noah’s ridiculous claim as just him getting tired of the relationship.
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Bill – Noah blamed his C- grade on Caitlin, and had his father put a restraining order against her. Now, does Noah seem like the type of guy who would put aside his ‘book-learning’ in order to listen to Caitlin’s neurotic whining? Not likely. Maybe the reason his grade was so bad is because they were screwing each other’s brains out. Dear old dad’s price for getting rid of Caitlin was that baby boy get rid of the mafia princess. So Noah’s only recourse was to end it with Meadow. He couldn’t really tell her why, so he made up an excuse about her being ‘negative ‘. We hate him because he’s a schmuck. We don’t hate Ralph as much because we expect him to be bad.
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I honestly didn’t care for this episode. I was more invested in the Noah-Meadow story than the random Tracee story. She is, imo, the laziest piece of writing the Soprano’s ever did. She just happened to be everywhere Tony was and.. really? He sums it up in one when she says she has braces; What you want a fucking parade? Really? Why does he even care about her? Random and lazy imo.
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Catlin is lazy.
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Tracee only meets Tony at the Bada Bing which is where he spends a lot of his time. It is hardly inconceivable that they would bump into each other. Noah makes me want to hurt myself and others. Although I enjoy the thorough examination of the Sopranos offered by autopsy sometimes there is pleasure to be taken from the simple things. Tracee was a worthwhile character if only to hear Ralphie say ‘Whore’.
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Hooer!
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I don’t think Tony’s racism derives from pressure to conform with mob attitudes. I think, as a man of working class background, those are his beliefs. I grew up working class and have similar beliefs. Definitely wouldn’t want my daughter dating a moolie
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So you’re blaming your working class background for your ignorance without even digging into the fact that having prejudice on a large group of people is very stupid. I guess you’re comfortable in you’re own blindness.
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You intoned your own judgment to what I said – I don’t lay blame, there’s no wrongness of action here.
I used to be like you until I realized the Enlightenment was mostly wrong. Will you call all the denizens of the third world, including developed countries like Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Qatar etc ignorant for still possessing a tribal backbone with respect to their race?
I shouldn’t think so: it’s in vogue to condemn white people who do, though. Usually by calling them ignorant or stupid, or blind. Yes, if only I could aspire to the heights of your high mindness. Unfortunately I’m left out in the dark of my own ignorance.
Where is the prejudice in not wanting your children to marry another race? That doesn’t require prejudice of another race, merely privileging your own. How is that wrong, and how is your position – ambivalence – any better? As Burke said, equal neglect is not impartial kindness.
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I didn’t assume you were white. I would’ve said that if you were any kind of race. The wrong is pretty clear. You have no say on the choice of husband your daughter makes when she’s adult enough to get married. For your information, cross breeding humans makes humans with better genetics. Whatever prejudice you’re trying to hide with the excuse ”I just think they should stay in the same race because [insert traditional bullshit]” is stupid and that is what I was saying in my previous comment. ”Privileging your own”. You’re just privileging and justifying your own ignorance. Have a real conversation with ”moolies”, you’ll how values do not differ because of race.
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As a guy who also has a working class background and is working class himself, I apologize for this shit stain. We’re not all like this, at least where I’m from (Northeast NJ aka SopranoLand holla)
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sir this is a wendys
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😆
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LOL!
Dude, you are so funny with your wannabe trolling self.
Good luck getting anyone to date your pucchiach daughter.
LOL!
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Hi Noah,
Keep your racist nonsense to yourself instead of using it
to distract yourself from the obvious point here.
Noah’s DAD doesn’t want HIS son to date a mob boss’ daughter.
Do you understand why, or don’t you catch the show?
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based!
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“For your information, cross breeding humans makes humans with better genetics.”
Is this tacit support for eugenics? Because a child between an Asian and an African will have a noticeably lower IQ than between an Asian and an Asian. I’ve read this “hybrid vigor” hypothesis is pseudo science based on assumptions that since mutts have “better” genes than purebreds we can extend this thinking to humans.
“I just think they should stay in the same race because [insert traditional bullshit]”
Very lazy summation of the views I’ve stated. You seem to think that the word prejudice can be used any which way; any argument I raise is just some bullshit, by virtue of it being contrary to yours, and I only have this view because I’m prejudiced. The logical fallacies abound here.
“You’re just privileging and justifying your own ignorance.”
You really like these buzzwords don’t you?
“Have a real conversation with ”moolies”, you’ll how values do not differ because of race.”
Indeed, as Tony remarked in this episode, his black business associates don’t want their children intermingling any more than Tony does with his.
Its always fun to argue with people whose best arguments against you are that you’re prejudiced, dumb and ignorant, only to show through the course of the argument that they themselves are the dumb, prejudiced and ignorant ones.
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First of all, I use those words because english is not my native language and I live in Canada, Quebec where people speak french. I do not have the same variety in vocabulary in english as I do in French.
Secondly, I did some research and you’re kind of right. Let me explain. For the IQ part, I’ve read analysis from blogs to articles(with scientific examples) and I’ve come with the conclusion that there’s too many variables to even make a real study on the vertue or the bad consequences of mix-race children. That is the page I spent most of my time on(and don’t forget the comments) : http://human-stupidity.com/stupid-dogma/racial-differences-intelligence/race-differences-in-intelligence-how-i-changed-my-mind So I’m sorry that I stated that as factual. Maybe you have studies that could present your views on bi-racial breeding. Side note : Maybe some studies express that Blacks have lower IQs than other races, but it doesn’t mean that EVERY black person is less smart than EVERY white person and this is factual.
Finally, it is all about having an open mind. Let’s say your daughter shows up at your house to present her boyfriend. Simply because of the colour is skin, you will neglect every word coming out of his mouth and still judge him as a treath to your lineage? Even though he would fit every expectation you have of a good husband and a good man? Do you see how ridiculous it sounds? I want to know what are your reasons for you to not want a black man in your lineage. Make a list without any stereotypes in. Try. I open my mind to your argument.
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I wouldn’t reply to him anymore. He wants attention
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You’re a racist troll.
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You’re right he (or she) may certainly be racist, but trolls are first and foremost attention-seekers…all the racism/bigotry/bullshit could just be part of their act.
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Yes, Judas Priest, I came here for commentary on the episode. I can see that other crap discussion on Reddit if I want to. Keep the comments on the topic please.
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Another Goodfellas callback for me: Tracee ribbing Ralphie(and the rest of the mobsters encouraging it) is reminiscent of Spider telling Tommy Devito to “go fuck yourself”. Of course, both Tracee and Spider suffered similar fates.
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Tracee
Such big drama viewers find about Tracee’s death seems to me quite strange. What they expect from the most realistic show about gangsters? Despite talent of creators which can make us feel real empathy for the girl we know for about 15 minutes summary screen time, she is a fictional character. Real world give us every minute much more horrible stories. One of them even mentioned in this episode – Lindbergh kidnapping.
Fathers
I think this episode also shows us how gangster Tony could be a better father then lawyer Len Tannenbaum in view of controlling lives of his children. Tony’s impulsivity makes him give Noah a racist lecture and have couple of arguments with Meadow but he never forces her to leave the guy or have a real ‘mafia style’ conversation with Noah which he easily could organize. And he become a father-like figure to Tracee giving advice about abortion.
I believe that Len forced Noah to break up with Meadow because of he don’t want him to be distracted from studying. Because we see that he is filing restraining order from Caitlin and it never comes up that he knows who Meadow’s father is.
Georgie
Why every time this character appears in series he gets beaten? (Three or four times by Tony, one by Ralphie and I think there is a couple of others)
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All good points… Many of the complaints about Tracee’s death surely came out of how grimly realistic it was, and violence against women is a grim reality that many of us don’t want to think about. I’m guessing that fewer people would have rejected this episode if it aired for the first time right now, in the midst of a #MeToo movement in which there is more of an effort to expose all the shit that women have to deal with. It’s inexcusable to turn away from it now.
I’m going to add a link to Ariel Kiley’s thoughts on this episode and on #MeToo in the Additional Points…
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I didn’t like Tracee’s death obviously, but I think it was important to the show. It highlight’s very obviously, both during the episode and in the “everyone hates Ralph” sort of aftermath the difference between how strict patriarchal structures treats women who are within the structure (Meadow, Carmela) and outside of it. Tony is reminded several times he has no right to avenge Tracee’s pointless, brutal death because she is no one’s daughter, no one’s wife. She is literally a no one in their world, worth as much as the horse that is killed later – a less than human financial asset only. Meanwhile, a mere insult against a wife in the mob family is treated with extreme seriousness.
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Yes.. the mobsters obviously take part in a hierarchal structure, with the Mafia being modeled on a military-type of hierarchy. But the men also want to force women into a kind of hierarchy as well… and Tracee was all the way down at the bottom of it.
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I’m guessing that fewer people would have rejected this episode if it aired for the first time right now, in the midst of a #MeToo movement in which there is more of an effort to expose all the shit that women have to deal with. It’s inexcusable to turn away from it now.
Jesus this show was so ahead of it’s time..
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Yes, but she was a hoo-er Tony…
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as someone who just watched this episode in 2020 and had no idea of any soprano controversies of yesteryear, my reaction to Tracee’s death was no different to anyone else who got whacked for no good reason on the show. Perhaps people were more sensitive to what aired on TV 20 years ago, but i don’t get the big hooplah over the violence of this death vs cutting ralphie’s head, hands and feet off in the bathtub. I mean, to the point of cancelling your subscription. I would guess more women are realistically beaten to death in real life than mob hits are carried out.
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I loved the way Ralphie said that. Not even hoo-er, I heard it “hoo-ah”!
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When I rewatch this episode, it makes me think about choices. Tracee was a very sad character, and Ralph is horrible. But what I really see besides the 2 types of lives that are represented, is that Meadow’s choices for a mate are seriously problematic. She likes Noah…(I don’t see it) possibly because he is in direct conflict with her fathers values and ideas. She leaves Noah alone with Tony to go get a CD…did she think he wouldn’t say something? I think it was a test for Noah. Of course Noah’s father didn’t want him dating her…who would really? Then she goes with idiot Jackie, who I don’t think Ralph is responsible for..he wanted to be in the mob, like his sister says at the funeral. He’s too stupid for her and too much like her father. Even Finn later on asks her to marry him out of fear for his life. They break up after the shooting. She finally settles and I mean settles on the Parisi son, because he is educated, and yet understands the mob side of the family. No judgement. In his educated way, he will be representing her fathers world. They tried to pull her out of that life, but it was no use. I find it fascinating that David Chase put that all together.
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I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Meadow. There’s plenty to find fault with in her but she eventually becomes one of the more decent people of SopranoWorld. (Yes, I know that’s not saying much.) I completely give her a pass for dating asshole Noah and idiot Jackie because that’s what we do when we’re young – we date the wrong people. But I’m also not very critical of her eventual engagement to Patrick Parisi the way that most viewers are. Most viewers see that relationship as proof that Meadow isn’t distancing herself from the mob (and I believe Chase has even said something along those lines) but I think that if we had the opportunity to continue following Meadow’s story, there is a real possibility we would be pleasantly surprised at how well she turns out…
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Hard for me to see why you think Meadow would have surprised us with how well she’d have turned out ( morally speaking, which is the sense I’m assuming you’re thinking of here). In the final episode, she tells Tony that she’s becoming a lawyer in large part because of how ‘unfairly’ the FBI treated him when she was growing up. We know that’s a bunch of bullshit. The government always did things by the book in their attempts to build a case against Tony. The Government certainly can steam-roll vulnerable people and communities but the mafia ain’t one of them. We also get the sense that the law firm she’s being recruited by is defending career criminals. Patrick Parisi mentions payoffs and bagmen as if it’s all so exciting. I think Chase wants us to know that Meadow and A.J. are both ethically compromised by the end of the show. A.J. trades in his delusions of patriotism and environmentalism for a BMW M3 and a job with Little Carmine and Meadow marries within the “Family” and works to defend crooks.
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AJ is a hypocrite for sure, but I don’t think Meadow is, at least not to the same degree. I don’t have such a cynical view of her like many people do, I really don’t think its all that problematic for her to be with Patrick Parisi or to choose a career in law. I’m gonna get more into this in one of the final write-ups…
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Meadow, because of Jamie Lynn-Zigler’s lack of talent, had zero chemistry with any of the boyfriends the show forced on us.
Maybe they should have made her a lesbian. There was heat between her and Hunter Skank – A – Rella.
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This episode is really bringing out the best comments..
You might be right though, The Sopranos generated a lot of extremely memorable and naturalistic performances from people who likely aren’t by any stretch great actors (Drea De Matteo, Gus Van Sant). But they were just so well-cast it’s not noticeable.
The only real exception might be Tony Blundetto, whose character’s writing I never found very believable, but didn’t notice that until much later, as Buscemi is such an expressive actor. Incidentally it was the first time I saw Buscemi onscreen too.
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First time in Sopranos???? You didn’t watch Reservoir Dogs, Fargo or Con Air before it???
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I heartily disagree with your estimation of Gus Van Sant’s performance in the Sopranos as being non-great. Gussy v. Sizzle smoked that role
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lol
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Anon – Meadow may lack real talent as an actress, but she IS an accomplished singer! I do agree with your comment that she had little chemistry with her boyfriends. I would blame casting personnel for their choice in her potential beaus. Finn was a mealy-mouthed wuss. Noah was an arrogant, pompous jerk. Jackie Jr. was a cheater and all-around ‘bad boy’. Carmela knows that Patrick did something bad in the past, and doesn’t seem pleased that he and Meadow will get married. However, everything bad gets overlooked because Meadow will make a ton of money as a lawyer working in Patrick’s firm. Let’s face it – the princess will marry a frog.
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Meadow continued to see Noah, even though her father didn’t like him. Noah was swayed by his father because deep down he felt she was beneath him. I can understand Noah’s father, he is all about the son’s success, and having a mobsters daughter for a daughter in law doesn’t fit in with what they want for him. Plus, he got tired of her…because like all of the men in this episode, they treat women badly.
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I think Meadow found a way to have the life she wants..husband, family, career etc. without too much angst. Its the best of both worlds. Someone who knows the life, yet has more to offer intellectually. I also think she was going into Holsteins to tell them she was pregnant. Especially after Carmela’s remark about new birth control. I don’t know why, but that’s the feeling I got. Hence, the frantic parallel parking.
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Hmm that’s a really interesting thought. But it’s hard for me to imagine that she would tell her parents about being pregnant at that precise time, when they’ve barely even had the chance to digest her engagement… Anyway, she has always shown a talent for finding a way to thrive, as you suggest…
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Oh, now I thought that it was pretty much accepted canon that Meadow was going to tell her parents she was pregnant at the restaurant, thus perpetuating the Soprano dynasty for good or ill ?
Which…hmmm…might panic Tony….he DOES see it coming…
And blacks out ?I
Oh my..
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Haha I’ve seen a dozen explanations of that cut-to-black but that’s a new one…
But I don’t think it’s canon that Meadow was going to reveal a pregnancy. To be honest, I don’t even see her keeping a baby at this point in her life, much less revealing it..
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I disagree with that. They have enough money in the family for her to pursue her law degree and have a baby. Or maybe not…she might pick it up later. Don’t forget grandma Carmela and grandma Donna Pescow. They would pick up the slack. She could have both because she has “Choices” unlike Tracee. She actually Meadow backwards. Poor, uneducated, needy and victimized.
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That’s true, but I just don’t see Meadow wanting to be tied down with a baby at her age. I think she’s too interested in European vacations, skiing in Aspen, clerking for a judge…
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Need you talk about having a baby like it’s contracting for a vacation timeshare
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To everyone who thinks that Meadow’s pregnant – If you llisten to her many conversations with Carmela about her future, Meadow always, always says she is NOT going to have any children. Also, there have been multiple mentions about her birth control pills between Carmela and Tony. Meadow is far too narcissistic/self-serving to allow any thing (kids) to interfere with her future plans, including crusading for Italian-American rights and white collar crime.
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Ralph, the character most definitely went too far here. Perhaps Chase did as well as some commenters had suggested. However, Joey Pants played an excellent part. We really see the multi-sided son of a bitch this guy really is. This is a very sad episode in many ways. The most obvious being that Tracee really needed help and was looking for someone to turn to, but nobody listened. It also seemed that they guys (Sil and Paulie) were more upset about Ralph’s behavior rather than his actions. In the end it’s Ralph’s fault, obviously. But nobody can really keep this guy in line, not even Tony. For as bad ass as Tony is, we have seen guys like Richie and Ralphie come and do what they want, people get hurt and nothing happens (quickly anyway). There is so much to say about this episode I’ll just shut up. I was glad to learn we wouldn’t have to endure any more scenes with dick-bag Noah. The part was played and written well, but wow what a goof. Building off what another commenter said about Noah, I think people hated the character because of his arrogant better-than-you personality. If any reasonable person has met someone like this they will find they are hard to tolerate and take too seriously. Let be honest, in real life I think people would hate most of these characters due to their sick nature, maybe besides Artie, Charmaine and Meadow.
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You are showing very well the parallel between Meadow and Tracy with the dentist appointment.
The parallel between Meadow and Caitlin is told through framing. At the middle of the episode when they are both in the room, Meadow is framed on the bed and also Caitlin. The Meadow blanket is blue with with cloud and Meadow is in the light. Caitlin has a blue blanket but with red spot and she is in the dark.
On the Ralph side, the Sunday meal is always interesting.
Ralph is always framed either alone or only with AJ.. Neither with Rosalie.
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I think Chase does something brilliant here. He shows how self destructive Tony is to himself, he knew Tracee needed help, she asked him a few times, and I’m not saying he had to get close with her, but he could have helped her (knowing Ralphy is a ahole). No one reined Ralphy in when he caused a scene at the bing before, now he kills Tracee and Tony feels guilty/remorse for not helping her for the rest of the episode. He skips therapy when hes upset and Chase is showing us how self destructive he can be to himself.
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Noah perfectly personifies coastal elitism. When speaking to Meadow, he mentions that they are both from the mean streets of LA and NJ while Caitlin is from insignificant (in his mind) Oklahoma, so NY would of course be overwhelming for her. Also, is it possible that something more than just a study session occurred in Noah’s room between Mr. “I’m not most guys” and “at least you have a boyfriend“ Caitlin? The slow zooming in camera shot when she shows up and asks to come in at least suggest the possibility.
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I remember wondering about Noah + Caitlin too..
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Her disposition has certainly changed when we next see her. Though clearly the restraining order has not yet been served.
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To me the Restraining Order is evidence that something did happen between Noah and Caitlin. It makes little sense if she was just hanging around too much.
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Melanzon is only Moolie in Gigilian.
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Have you noticed that many of the ill-gotten possessions acquired throughout this series end up, at the very least, disappointing to their owners. Below is an off-the-top-of-the-head list that I have created, but feel free to add. It really seems like this is yet another detail weaved into the Sopranos web:
Tracee’s teeth and the fact that this makes her an indentured servant (the entendre here is mind-blowing) to Silvio, and ultimately she herself becomes a poor “investment” for Silvio anyway, in the most tragic way possible.
Tony’s Escalade, after years of driving a Suburban, becomes the setting for an escapade with Adriana that ends up being a major rift with Chris
Stugots II – the boat on which Pussy was murdered and must harbor that ghost every time Tony uses it.
Maserati – Johnny Sac buys it only to sell it off, then Chris “owns” it after buying it with likely dirty cash at a cut rate, only to relapse into heroin within it and then have it repossessed.
Johnny Sac’s New Jersey McMansion, which then is sold off (much to his chagrin, as he did not want Ginny to lose the house of all things) to Janice, who then ultimately has to deal with the ghost of Bobby and very likely will have to end up selling it after his death.
Pie-O-My – need I say more. Tragedy for all involved.
Whitecaps – then end of Tony’s marriage and ultimately a loss (or at least a wash).
Carmella’s spec house – a constant source of frustration for Tony and ongoing stress for Carmella.
Chris’s house – landscaping trashed by Paulie, then likely sold off by his new wife after his death.
Every single one of Chris’s new cars experience their share of malady
To this end, Chris is noted repeatedly to be indulging in the excesses of “the life” and thus hurling ever toward his own undoing. Perhaps in this, he is serving as the poster child for the consequences of ill-gotten excesses.
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I’m not sure I see your point here. I mean, technically yes, their possessions remind them, or in some cases, lead to sadness of some kind…but so do their lives. So why specify the connection to the possessions? This implies that another line of things or people or experiences end in happiness. That is not the case for anyone in the show. You could easily point to each meal they ate as leading to sadness or death. Or every personal relationship ended in sadness or death. Or every trip they took leading to sadness or death. Granted, all lives end in death; so, I am not trying to point to the Sopranos outlook of everything being a big nothing. I disagree with that; I believe good people can find happiness during their lives. But, the lives of THESE people are all built on crime and sin and fooling themselves into thinking they’re good people. I know as viewers we take the ride with them–seeing the cops and FBI as the nuisances, for example. But to continue this charade through subsequent review seems silly, no? Perhaps I’m missing your point though.
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Great list.
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This is only my second viewing of The Sopranos and I had to look away during most of the Ralph/Tracee scene. Not because I resent it, but it’s just too much. Once he hits her in the stomach I’m done. Mind you, I have no problem with the scene being there. It does it’s job very well.
I do wonder if Ralph would have met his end in that parking lot if it had been only he and Tony out there.
It’s hard to fault Meadow for her romantic choices. It’s not like we don’t see young people make poor choices in real life. Heck, forget just young people.
Can’t stand Noah. And no, he’s not a worse person than Ralph, that’s ridiculous. But he is a jackass in so many ways.
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Yes, Patrick Tully had a pretty thankless job playing ‘Noah’ but he did a phenomenal job making the character so unlikable..
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One thing I noticed this time through the episode: Tracee is incredibly awkward the first time we see her in the VIP suite, wearing that sexy red dress but walking like she ‘s made of wood. I took that to be the expression of how uncomfortable she is with that aspect of her job, or maybe it’s because Ralph is there and his presence inhibits her from being relaxed with the other guys. Her earlier scene with Tony and the date-nut bread shows her as very young and naive, even innocent. In any case, she doesn’t move like the other girls who are in the VIP room. Maybe it’s her first time there? By contrast, onstage out in the main room, she’s more sensual in her movements than any of the other Bing girls, who seem to be going through the motions without putting any juice into their performances (“uninspiredly,” as Dana Polan says in the quote above). Tracee is shown as more fluid in her movements as she dances and more seductive, maybe because she hasn’t had time to get jaded as the other girls have. I thought the contrast in how she moves physically in the two situations was interesting. Maybe it was because of her superior talent as a dancer that Tony and Silvio thought of her as a “thoroughbred” (with the unfortunate resonance of another thoroughbred in Ralphie’s future).
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I think Patrick Tully did a great job playing Noah. He turned out to be a jerk, but in a very believable college-age way, and it was easy to see why Meadow fell for him in the first place. I sure would have done at her age, given the chance. That cute smile (which to me now, decades older, is a dead giveaway that he knows all too well that he’s cute, but I wouldn’t have seen that at 18), the sensitivity to Caitlin, which was real enough until it interfered with his schoolwork–and I personally think Noah is afraid of his father’s disapproval. I mean if Noah is a jerk, he didn’t fall far from the tree. A restraining order? Really?? I had some sympathy for Noah, even if he dumped Meadow in a really lame way. But that was realistic, I thought. I remember college as a time when people did breakups really badly, being that both people in the relationship were young and fairly immature. I think the actor did well at showing some complexity in a role that I think was created mostly as a setup: Noah was someone outside her world for Meadow to fall in love with so that when he dumps her, she retreats to what she knows and starts going out with Jackie, Jr., which is what the plot calls for. Jackie is twice the jerk Noah is and stupid besides, whereas whatever you think of Meadow, she’s intelligent and culturally curious. But again, Meadow is young and not as mature as she wants to think she is, and I can see how she might rebound to a meathead who comes from her own social circle. I think Noah was played with enough positive traits that the irony was clear: Noah was in some ways a good match for Meadow (until he dumped her), but because he was part black and clearly not from the world they’re comfortable in, her parents, especially Tony, automatically rejected him because he was half black and clearly not from their world, but they approved of her dating Jackie, who was suitable mainly because he was Italian American and from their “family” but who turned out to be more of a disaster for her than Noah.
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I noticed something in this episode about the clothing and costuming of these characters. At one point Noah is wearing one of those ‘Evolution of Man’ graphic T-shirts, sort of underscoring how he may see himself as more ‘evolved’ than other men. But it turns out he’s not quite as mature or evolved as we or Meadow first thought. Regarding your earlier comment about Tracee, she seems most natural and comfortable when she is either fully dressed (like when she’s in her street clothes offering T her date nut bread) or when she’s completely undressed (dancing on stage like she’s in her own little world). She seems stiff and awkward when she’s in an in-between state of undress, wearing that little red dress and the CFM shoes…
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Good catch on Noah’s T-shirt! About Tracee, she seems very natural and comfortable also when shei s at Ralphie’s, hanging out and watching a movie in a tank top and gym shorts. The red dress/CFM heels scene was so different from her body language in her other scenes that her awkwardness was very noticeable, even other times I’d watched this episode. Maybe she was thinking about having to give Georgie a BJ later …
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I’m always amazed that Meadow even brought Noah home KNOWING how Tony is. It’s was just to get under his skin. Could she really believe that he would like the idea of an interracial romance? Also, she blames Tony for Noah leaving her and that’s true, but not because of the racist comments. It was because his father must have done some research on her family and didn’t like what he heard. And even then he didn’t come clean with her about it. He said she was too negative, when it was his father who had a restraining order put on Meadows roommate! He might be intelligent, but not much there. He’s so different from her family that I can see the attraction, but when she heard about the restraining order…I think she would have dropped him if he hadn’t done it first. Plus, he was boring.
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There’s another interesting cut Chase makes. Tracee is being shared by Ralph and a cop, and the cop winces at the sensation of her braces. (I’m trying to keep this family-friendly, lol.) The next cut is to Caitlin in the dorm room, rearing her head from a leaning forward position as she relates a sob story to Meadow and Noah. It’s a clever move, for a second I thought we were still with Tracee, and I’ve seen this episode a few times.
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I found it interesting that Caitlin goes to Vermont to visit family friends who own a horse farm given the later connections.
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Absolutely, I did note that connection in the 4.09 write-up…
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Two things ought to be mentioned in defence of Noah.
In the Sopranos’ house, confronted by Tony. The thin boy says, “Fuck you!” to his girlfriend’s burly father. For this, he deserves admiration.
Secondly. He is gentle when he takes her virginity.
– – – –
Meadow goes into the kitchen, opens some cupboard doors and slams them shut, opens the fridge door and slams it shut, and says, “God! Is there nothing to eat in this house?” This is the most outrageous, unjust accusation in the entire series.
– – – –
There are two brilliant moments in the dialogue in this episode. First, Caitlin: “I think I miss my ferrets.” A comical little sentence – seldom, perhaps never, spoken before in the history of the English language – but the character is being sincere. (I imagine the actress had to control her giggles before recording it.)
When the authors wrote that sentence they were showing off, they knew they were being smart. The other brilliant moment is quiet and natural. Tony and Paulie are in the carpark. Tracee’s body is on the ground, but Paulie is only thinking about Ralphie and his violation of Mafia rules.
Paulie : Cocksucker was way out of line.
Tony : Twenty years old, this girl.
Paulie : That, too.
He is so inured to murder that he is not even thinking about it. It’s not even an afterthought – he only thinks of the dead girl because he is prompted by Tony. All that is implied by two little words. Very good indeed.
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the other hilarious little sentence that Caitlin gets is the “……now if I only don’t get freaked out by the sound of the pine trees at night”. Super-quick cut to Meadow slamming her book closed and saying ” I’m going to Noah’s”. HAAAAAAA….it makes me laugh every time.
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Hilarious little sequence..
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Honestly, this episode turned me off the show for months. Just two episodes after the rape of Dr Melfi, and now this? I am sick and tired of seeing this violence against women on TV.
Also, Noah is the Go-Bots version of Eagle Eye Cherry and can also go to Hell.
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Sophie, that’s the whole point of the episode.How they can go home and have a nice family dinner, give the kids dental care, compliment their wives and girlfriends , raise privileged children who really don’t have to worry and lead rarefied lives, kids who can go to a horse farm to “talk out issues.” then lead another life where Tracee, not having those privileges is COMPARED to a throughbred horse! They can Beat a young girl to death because she answered back, call her demeaning names and also treat her in a demeaning way sexually, pay for her braces and take her money for payment. Like property. The episode is an indictment on the way men treat women in all walks of life. Rich or Poor. Noah’s father is not a gangster, but that was a gangster move to get a restraining order. This is a gangsters are not glamorous episode no matter how many funny lines they say, and also that women are not treated well in our society. Yes, it was upsetting, but also very informative.
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my mom said the same thing about the lady mobster in season 5, said “this show is bad because of how it treats the women.” i said mom, have you seen how they treat the men?
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Tracee can’t give Tony a loaf of bread, but it’s okay for Tony to bring Melfi coffee and fix the starter on her car.
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I think a reason for Ralph’s Gladiator fixation is he’s thinking that he’s Maximus and he should be the emperor as Ralph should be the captain and not Gigi.
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Did someone say that Noah was somewhat sensitive to Caitlin by taking her to a movie? In a way, that was cruelly clueless. He takes her to a depressing movie, despite her mental state. And he and Meadow play up their couple-ness in front of her, emphasizing her aloneness.
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I wonder if Caitlin and Noah went away together that weekend. After all, it happens right after C & N’s night in the same room. And it is unclear if N really told Meadow in advance about his going out of town, or if he told her and she forgot, or if maybe he just made it up on the spot. And all of a sudden Caitlin is also going out of town for the weekend.
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Ohh interesting! Meadow was really suspicious of Noah’s story.
Noah really doesn’t seem to like Catelyn though… but this is interesting nonetheless!
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>Actor Joe Pantoliano told Vanity Fair that after this episode aired, women approached him wanting to feel his arms. Some women were apparently turned on by Ralph’s physical domination of Tracee. (These women either lack any maternal instincts, or they’ve overlooked the fact that by killing Tracee, Ralphie also killed his unborn child.)
judgy, judgy, ron.
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Haha
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Again I am struck by which young women they decide to protect and which they decide to exploit. Alll these terrible gangsters keep giving each other a pass and saying people more terrible han them will goto hell. like the people who murder for fun. Well it turns out they all murder for fun. I keep thinking of the young girl the coach took advantage of. I can imagine Tracee being like her. I never cold understand why some people liked any of these gangsters. But then I also cannot really why people liked to watch Donald Trump when he was on the apprentice. People have different tastes. There are really people like Janice in the world. Their sense of justice is incredbly perverted that’s what Melfi knows and Charmaine and a few other people
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One thing I noticed was Meadow tells Noah’s father he’s in waste management, “environmental cleanup”. Then later in the episode after Tracee has been killed and Tony’s guys have been told to deal with it, there’s a shot in the parking lot which shows a pipe discharging waste and Tracee’s body lying on top of the bank. A different sort of environmental clean up!
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Pingback: The Soprano Onceover: #72. “University” (S3E6) [featuring questionnaire w/ David Parker] | janiojala
I had a nice long little thing about how Caitlin is the inverse of most Sopranos characters, where the average Sopranite is inured beyond belief to horrible stuff, but Caitlin can’t function in the real world due to her inability to compartmentalize.
Then wordpress decided I needed to reset my password, and it lost the whole thing. Mother fuckin got damn wordpress! Radio shack hired me to be a product tester. That computer wasn’t up to snuff. You want some pizza?
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Haha
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Tony makes a strong connection to Tracee and Pie-o-mine in the later season because on this episode Silvio outright calls her a thoroughbred. Plus the other horse references throughout this episode helps in the connection.
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I’ve never liked Gladiator. I like to think that Chase doesn’t like it either, given that the most despicable character in his show is a fanboy of that movie.
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This is probably the only episode where Tony and Janice conversate not only in a peaceful manner, but also as true friends and non-confrontational siblings. After Tony tells her about the toothpick theory, she mentions the holy trinity. It was also a funny scene – two overweight people sinking down into the largest, most squishy sofa I’ve ever seen on the show. What was once a normal-sized loveseat somehow evolved to become a huge womb.
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To sum up this episode:
~
“Men are afraid women will laugh at them, women are afraid men will kill them”.
• Margaret Atwood
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That’s pretty perfect for this episode
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