Tony learns Gloria Trillo committed suicide.
Artie tries to kill himself.
Christopher continues using heroin.
AJ’s girlfriend Devin owns a mint condition,
first-pressing of The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, among other things.
Episode 45 – Originally aired Oct 20, 2002
Written by Michael Imperioli
Directed by Steve ‘Mister Pink’ Buscemi
___________________________________
The Sopranos has never been a sunny show, it has always been darkened by the pain and depression of many of its characters. Everybody hurts. This episode, like the R.E.M. song from which the title is (probably) drawn, is about suicidal depression. Suicide has been a component of this series throughout. Thus far on the show, there have been: an onscreen suicide (Vin Makazian in Season 1); an offscreen suicide (one of Melfi’s patients); references to celebrity suicides (Hemingway and George Sanders); suicidal thoughts and ideations (by Tony, Christopher, Irina, soccer star Ally, Davey Scatino and Bobby Bacala, who just in the previous episode wished for death in his despair over the loss of his wife.) Gloria and Artie can now be added to this list.
SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI
Tony is distraught to learn that his former goomar Gloria has departed from this world. He searches for answers, questioning one of her coworkers at Globe Motors. The salesman’s observation that Gloria always seemed unlucky with men puts a guilty load on Tony. In Dr. Melfi’s office, he is infuriated that the doctor did not inform him of Gloria’s fate. He gets in Melfi’s face, but she holds her own against the mob boss:
Tony wants to know what drove Gloria to such a dark act. But, as usual in SopranoWorld, certainty is impossible. Melfi tells him that “there is no one cause.” He probably doesn’t know about Gloria’s previous suicide attempt after an earlier failed relationship. (We heard Gloria and Melfi discuss this in 3.09 “The Telltale Moozadell.”) Tony is wracked with guilt. He pops Prozac and gets all liquored up throughout the episode, trying to alleviate his pain. Maurice Yacowar shrewdly notes that the episode title “Everybody Hurts” can be read in two ways: everybody feels hurt but everyone also causes hurt. Tony worries that he caused much of Gloria’s hurt.
Part of Tony’s anxiety comes out of his shaken sense of self. He knows that, on the one hand, he’s just a fat, fuckin’ crook from New Jersey, but at the same time, he believes himself to basically be a good guy. If he was the cause of Gloria’s suicide, then this delicately balanced self-image might crumble. Michael Imperioli, in his DVD commentary, says this hour is all about how Tony “exists within that conflict.”
So, in a real sense, Tony’s concern over Gloria is actually a selfish concern about his own happiness. This is not to say that his feelings of guilt are not genuine. Cynthia Burkhead argues in her essay, “Fishes and Football Coaches: The Narrative Necessity of Dreams in The Sopranos,” that Tony’s dream of Gloria here confirms that his worries are genuinely felt. It is a powerful dream sequence, employing arresting imagery and surreal sounds (creaking ceiling, roasting meat, buzzing white noise). The Aquatones’ 1958 doo-wop hit “You” purrs in the distant aural background, sounding like it’s flowing in from some other dimension. When dream-Gloria alludes to her suicide, Tony snaps awake and heads straight for the Prozac.
Moments after Tony exits his dream, cousin Brian appears—to Carmela’s surprise—with the insurance papers that she has been wanting Tony to sign. After resisting this trust policy for weeks, Tony changed his mind and called Brian last night. It is very reasonable to believe that Tony’s remorse over Gloria’s death played a role in his finally assenting to sign the insurance trust. Chase makes a couple of audio-visual links between Carmela and Gloria to strengthen the idea that Tony acquiesces to one of them because of his guilt over the suicide of the other:
In the video clip, both Gloria and Carmela are dressed in black. A scarf hides Gloria’s self-inflicted wound while Carmela’s choker is one of the many expensive objects she uses to mask her own pain. Tony is momentarily stunned to hear a bell ding in Carmela’s kitchen, just minutes after one rang in his dream. In his desperate desire to assure himself that he is not a toxic person, he gives Carmela what she most wants right now—the insurance policy. When Carm gets up to attend to her lava cookies, Tony fishes for reassurance from Brian. He directs Brian to Patsy for a new suit, prompting Brian to give him the compliment he craves: “You’re a great guy, Tony.”
Tony goes to good friend Arthur Bucco to get further confirmation of his goodness. He supplies his friend with a $50,000 loan (at “only” 1.5 points a week). Artie wants to be a venture capitalist—and simultaneously impress his beautiful new hostess Elodi—but he doesn’t have the capital. Before Tony came to him, Artie had gone to Ralphie for the loan. Despite the New Jersey NHL team’s logo behind him which underscored his devilish personality, Ralph passed on the opportunity to take advantage of Artie. Michael Imperioli says that it is “a rare moment of benevolence from Ralph Cifaretto.”
At dinner with Janice, Tony again spends money to garner reassurances, buying the expensive bottle of wine she asks for. Janice does not like the Armagnac that Artie recommends—and apparently, neither does anyone else. The Armagnac venture fails, and Artie has no choice but to try to collect the money from Elodi’s brother himself. He tries to channel Travis Bickle, but he can’t even sell it to himself in front of the mirror. His attempt to collect from Jean-Philippe ends in failure and a torn earlobe. Tony is in bed with Miss Reykjavik when he gets the phone call from a suicidal Artie.
By the time Tony arrives at the hospital, Artie has had his stomach pumped and is in stable condition. Tony explodes in a fit of anger when Artie suspects him of knowing all along that this is how events would play out (i.e. Tony would be able to have his hefty restaurant tab that Charmaine always complains about erased). In a sequence that echoes Tony’s earlier confrontation with Dr. Melfi, Tony gets right in Artie’s face:
Tony has spent the entire episode trying to convince himself of his own goodness, and he therefore gets outraged at Artie’s suggestion that he could be so coldhearted and calculating. He then—coldheartedly and calculatingly—figures out a way to disguise Artie’s suicide attempt; it is very important to Tony that others do not know that he was in any way connected to Arthur’s desperate act.
In his next session with Melfi, Tony admits that Artie’s assessment of him may be pretty accurate. He tells Melfi that he made a donation to the suicide hotline in Gloria Trillo’s name. (We’ve seen him similarly buy back his peace-of-mind in previous episodes, such as when he gave $50,000 to paraplegic Beansie Gaeta, and when he offered cash to demoted police officer Wilmore.) With the donation, Tony absolves himself of all guilt, and no longer needs to convince himself that he really is a fine person.
___________________________________
We can say that Christopher is committing suicide too, but of a slow sort—through substance abuse. In the hour’s opening scene, he is strung out on his couch—with the TV tuned to a program about the Egyptian pyramids—when he gets a phone call from his boss. Tony gives him good news: Chris will be getting more and more responsibility, on track to essentially become the underboss in the mob’s pyramidal organization. Chris is gladdened by the news. (Tony’s strategy to bind the young man to himself is working.) Chris promises Tony that he will not disappoint. But Chris cannot stop using. He later gets high with another junkie, and peers at the stoned stranger he sees in the mirror. Throughout the hour, we see characters come face-to-face with their own true natures—and not liking the reflection that gazes back at them:
Tony wants to help those in need around him but he’s no Mother Teresa; Artie isn’t the trendsetting, tough, debonair capital investor that he imagines himself to be; and Chris is more “Jesse Pinkman” from Breaking Bad than he is “Michael Corleone” from The Godfather.
As Tony tries to get a handle on the type of person he really is, AJ’s friends also try to make sense of him—not of Tony Soprano the man, but of Tony Soprano the gangster. Tony’s home and belongings don’t fit the “gangster” image imprinted on their young minds by all the movies they’ve watched. (And Tony’s stuff doesn’t come anywhere close to being as dazzling or valuable as the stuff owned by Devin Pillsbury’s family.) In the last sequence of the episode, AJ’s buddy wonders out loud why Tony doesn’t live up to his perception of a gangster. AJ can only answer “I don’t know.” Ultimately, perception is a big mystery. The impressions we make on other people, the perceptions we have of others, and of ourselves, and how and why these perceptions come to be—it is all finally one giant mystery.
___________________________________
Watching the series again now, I’m really becoming a fan of Michael Imperioli as a writer. I thought his “Christopher” (4.03) was a laugh-riot, and “Everybody Hurts” has some hilarious moments as well: certain beats between Artie and Charmaine, between Artie and Elodi, between Artie and the mirror had me almost on the floor. There were multiple laughs when AJ and Devin bugged Meadow at the South Bronx Law Center after their coitus interruptus by Carmela and her $3000 Lladro statuette. But I think the funniest moment is when AJ’s friend mistakes “Satriale’s Pork Store” for, of course, a gay strip club.
The Sopranos is increasingly playing with traditional TV forms. Season 4 deviates from the typical seasonal arc that one finds on most TV shows. The Imperioli-scripted episodes are particularly representative of this deviation. “Christopher” completely abandoned previous storylines to be a true stand-alone episode; “Everybody Hurts” is more complicated. Its major story, about the suicide and suicide-attempt of Gloria and Artie, doesn’t really go beyond this hour. The seemingly minor relationship between Tony and cousin Brian gets expanded in later episodes, while AJ and Devin’s story will flatline. A heavy-duty storyline of the season—Adriana’s relationship with the Feds—is only touched upon indirectly. The only story of this hour that remains truly consequential by the end of the season is Carmela’s continuing infatuation with Furio. (It is consequential despite being a storyline in which nothing really happens between Carm and Furio.) The atypical flow of Season 4 works only because David Chase is like a maestro, conducting his writing team like an orchestra: unifying the ensemble, setting tempos, shaping themes, cuing certain storylines while muting others… He is ever-mindful of the subtle effects that his decisions have on the dynamics of the work; he is the Leonard Bernstein of TV showrunners.
___________________________________
ADDITONAL NOTES:
- On the DVD commentary, Imperioli says that his grandfather and David Chase’s dad were both employed at the same factory in Mt. Vernon at the same time. Some viewers have criticized the unlikely coincidences or connections that sometimes occur on the series as being unrealistic, but such coincidences do occur in real life.
- The Aquatones “You,” which scores Tony’s guilt-ridden dream of Gloria Trillo, also gave a spooky ambiance to Christopher’s guilt-ridden dream of Emil Kolar in “The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti” (1.08).
- In his essay “Aesthetics and Ammunition,” Franco Ricci makes note of the two windowsill statues of women in Melfi’s office: “…one reaches up to the heavens in a gesture of liberation; the other is of a woman cleaved in half, an allusion to Gloria’s suicide.” Ricci continues that the “cleaved” statue is a reference to Gloria’s question in Tony’s dream—which “cloven” part of her would he like to see, her neck or her vagina? The statuary on Melfi’s ledges continuously change and may very well comment upon the episodes, but I’ve generally avoided trying to interpret their meanings—I just don’t feel very comfortable reading sculpture.
Follow @SopranosAutopsy
Facebook.com/RonBernard
Instagram sopranos.autopsy
Email: Ron@SopranosAutopsy.com
If you’d like to help support the site, please visit Venmo or PayPal
© 2022 Ron Bernard
Sopranos Autopsy 
What a joy to take a break from work and find the latest piece from Ron online. You haven’t lost your analytic touch or perceptive eye, my friend.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Thanks Svengali, I’ve enjoyed your pieces on The Sopranos as well…
LikeLike
I noticed some time ago that the statues on Melfi’s windowsills seem to change from episode to episode. I’ve tried to derive some meaning or implications from that but haven’t come up with much, aside from a possible invocation of the sibylline oracles that were discussed in 2.04. That also leads me to interpret the statue whose legs framed Tony in the first scene in Pilot in a similar fashion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your analyses of the episodes!!! I check constantly for the next one! Thanks!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to see a new post! I’ve enjoyed these very much. One thought I had when watching the episode is that it seems the dream of Gloria also eludes to what is going to happen with Artie. Pieces of the ceiling where Gloria hung herself are falling into his drink, which I believe is a glass of cognac.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s a glass of the amangnac that Artie got scammed over
LikeLiked by 1 person
AJ and girlfriend Devin Pilsburry discussing poverty in the back of the cab was painfully condescending. You don’t see the cabby’s face, but you just have to believe he’s laughing. In the series finale, “Made in America”, we see a glimpse of what might have been a working class Soprano family when they’re huddled up in the safe house. Tony is yelling at AJ about parking the SUV in leaves, Meadow sticks up for AJ, Tony turns on Meadow, Meadow throws her magazine down and stomps off to her room…all set to a stuffy, cluttered living room with a staircase that looks as if it goes to an attic. The “little box”, perhaps, that AJ describes one of his friends living in during he and Lady de Pilsburry’s backseat poverty summit. For just a brief moment during the safe house scene in Made In America, it’s as if we’re watching an entirely different show. It almost looks like a scene in Rosanne where Dan Conner is arguing with Darlene or Becky. When Tony throws a fit in front of his kids, we’re used to it being set in a large, spacious kitchen of a beautiful house in suburban Jersey, with an outdoor pool in the background.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“backseat poverty summit” hahaha
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always wondered why Ralph acted so out of character when Artie asked him for the loan. Now reading your analaysis I think I get it. If Ralph is the devil as many suspect, then he knows that if he lends the cash to Artie he is gonna just end up murdering Artie himself as he already knows Artie will screw up and lose the money. Ralph knows he will then go to Tony once he turns him down and get the money from
him. Ralph knows Tony has a soft spot for Artie and won’t be able to murder him, but hes also aware how desperate Artie is and knows that his shame over not paying back his best friend will drive him over the edge, hence possibly leading Artie to suicide. Sucide is a sin that leads you to hell that’s what Ralph (devil) wants. If Artie is murdered by Ralph or someone else whom he took the loan from he’ll likely just go to heaven or even purgatory, which was mentioned on a previous episode. He never did anything truly horrible enough to go to hell in my opinion on the show, and Ralph is trying to change that.
Also Ralph looks like Chucky the doll from child’s play haha.
LikeLike
I didn’t mean that he’s literally the devil… but Chucky, yeah I see the resemblance hahaha
LikeLike
I don’t think it was out of character at all. Ralph knows that Tony will protect Artie. I can’t see it as such an elaborate scheme. Nor do I see Ralph as a super perceptive guy regarding Artie’s likelihood to commit suicide.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, it may be Tony’s protection more than anything else that keeps Ralph from pouncing on Artie. And Ralph knows that even though Artie doesn’t have the protections of a made-man, Artie is much closer to T than he himself has ever been…
LikeLiked by 1 person
“This is a rare pleasure… or is it medium-well? Little restaurant humor” Sometimes you gotta love Ralph. But I believe in this same scene he says something like “if you don’t pay me back I won’t be able to hurt you”. Not that his conscience would stop him from doing it, but Tony might
LikeLiked by 3 people
Worth pointing out the difference in Tony’s reaction to Artie’s losing 50K and David Scatino losing 40K in season 2. Though in his defense, Artie isn’t a degenerate gambler.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Artie’s also closer to Tony than Davey was and Tony is guilt ridden and so he’s trying hard to be the ‘good guy’ and not ‘toxic’. Tony might’ve had a different reaction if he hadn’t just heard about Gloria’s suicide.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I was the one to post that comment, but since it was 5 years ago I really can’t be sure. If I was, I meant to say that Tony might stop Ralphie from hurting Artie – not Tony hurting him himself.
I’ve been doing another rewatch (2015 was my 2nd, this might be the 5th) and again I come back to this blog, it really is amazing.
Ron, what do you make of Devin’s character? I found her kinda down to earth for being so rich, the conversation she has with AJ while being chauffeured around in the limo could almost pass as class consciousness
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like Devin, she does seem pretty down to earth. She seems to have little interest in flaunting her wealth and privilege. AJ gets upset at her for not letting him know how rich her family is—he, of course, would almost certainly be flaunting his great wealth if he had it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Tony might stop Ralphie from hurting Artie – not Tony hurting him himself.”
Absolutely. It takes a couple rewatches for a simpleton like me to realize what a monster Tony truly is instead of rooting for him. In my opinion, if Tony didn’t feel guilty over Gloria killing her self in the same episode Tony would’ve definitely leaned on Artie. I don’t think he would’ve busted him out cause he was closer to Artie and he enjoys Vesuvius too much but he definitely wouldn’t forget the debt the way he did.
As for devin (I know you asked Ron and not me), she is insanely down to earth for a pretty and rich teenage white girl. I know rich 40 year olds with less self awareness. That girl is gonna go on to do good things. Same as meadow in my opinion despite the hate for her by some fans
LikeLiked by 2 people
jfigs – You really think that Meadow’s going to go on to do good things? Puleez! She’s gonna defend white collar criminals – you know, the men and women who scam the public (people like you and me), lie, cheat and steal … and on and on. I don’t think anyone ‘hates’ her – some of us just disrespect (and certainly don’t trust) her.
LikeLike
I’ve always assumed the joke behind AJ’s line at the end, “I don’t know” (why his dad can’t afford all of the Corleone spoils), was that we, the audience, knew that it was because Tony was blowing money trying to save troubled friends like Artie, who Michael Corleone would have cut off from day one. It’s a nice juxtaposition between Joe Bonanno’s old world, frugal mob and Gotti’s late 20th century decadent mob. Scorsese’s Mean Streets goes into this as well. Neighborhood boss Giovanni warning Charlie (Harvey Keitel) to stop carrying his deadbeat friend Johnny Boy (DeNiro). “Honorable men go with honorable men”. (title of Bonanno’s book: A Man of Honor). Maybe it wasn’t drugs and the dismantling of institutions the mob used for rackets, like unions and the old casinos, that took down the mob. Maybe it was just the carelessness of the late 20th century mobsters with their wallets. After all, America has never stopped being for sale.
LikeLiked by 5 people
No way. 50k here, 50k there – still chump change compared to the Pillsbury fortune. Whatever the resonance of AJ’s final statement, it’s not that Tony’s a bleeding heart.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Godfather was a movie. Did any of the real life mafia/gangsters have that kind of transcendent money? Maybe they lived like kings in the old country but in America they were basically upper-middle class, no?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think its more likely that Devin’s family has legitimate money, and are really rich, but that the Sopranos are working class at core. They can’t live too extravagantly because they can’t claim all the money and also, they do live well for where they come from. Also, AJ is so protected from the reality of the mob life, and this plays into things later when he has to live up to his fathers looming shadow. He is smart enough to realize that they have peanuts compared to Devin, and she is smart enough not to rub his face in it. A lot of powerful men have sons that feel they are in the shadow of their fathers. In this case, AJ doesn’t live up to his potential and no one really calls him on it. Remember before he realized what his family business was, he wasn’t afraid to get in a fight, and was just a dopey kid.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Definitely, the Sopranos are basically a working class family, at least in 2002 when this episode aired, before the Escalade and the spec-house and the Stugots II. But they don’t have those traditional working class values like honesty and industriousness. And AJ, he doesn’t seem to have very many values at all…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I still wouldn’t exactly describe them as ‘working class’ even in season 1, living in that Mcmansion of theirs. Never noticed those small acquisition details, I’ve never noticed whether Tony’s spending and tastes increased through the seasons, other than in “Chasing It”, mainly because it comes completely out of nowhere..
One of the few real criticisms I have the Sopranos is the viewer never senses any real difference as Tony rises from Capo to Boss in S1. It seems I’m actually one of the few viewers who considers S1 to be one of the lesser seasons of the Series.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t see them as rich — they’re certainly doing well, but they’re not generally living extravagantly (Meadow would have been given a new car for her 17th birthday, for sure, and not been begging for one as a college freshman, as just one example; their kitchen is also remarkably “normal,” and not the sort of thing you’d expect in a much more extravagant house). Their neighbors are doctors, not CEOs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Research – I think that the capos did a great job of downplaying their (probable) ‘real’ wealth. Their homes were very nice, and not at all ostentatious. Why attract even more unwanted attention from the FBI? However, they were all known to carry (and hide) a heck of a lot of money!
LikeLiked by 1 person
An episode that makes a person think. This one really drove home a few points that got the wheels spinning. It was funny to watch the scenes with AJ and his friends. They were definitely perplexed as to why Tony wasn’t more Corleone. This is a show about the mafia in the early 2000s, many years past it’s “golden era.” The boss of NY, at least one of them is Carmine, and he definitely isn’t as dapper as Gotti. Johnny Sac, possibly. Even they don’t seem to have the resources and things that Michael Corleone seemed to have. Just another point of how far and multi-generational the Godfather films have transcended. To think Artie was trying to get with Elodie was just ridiculous. Haha. Jean-Phillipe sure fucked him up didn’t he? I love the Artie scenes, he is funny to watch, especially the mirror scene. I don’t think Ralph thought too much into the Artie thing. He knows Tony loves the guy and he would be powerless to deal with Artie in the event he doesn’t pay him back. Its been said time and time again how savvy of a businessman Ralph can be, this is just another example. He would end up loosing out and he declined.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It was funny to see how Artie hyped himself up a-la Robert DiNiro in taxi driver. Then Artie dressed himself up in a dark leather jacket to get his money. It was nice to see him actually try and fight for what he was cheated out of
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, what an amazing apt analysis! Thank you for writing this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really pleased that Artie survived that (relatively) unscathed and that his crazy, stupid attempt at making some easy money coincided with Tony’s Gloria-suicide-induced guilt-trip.
Artie, the character, and John Ventimiglia, the actor portraying him, are firm favourites here.
In terms of the show’s soundtrack, Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” was just perfect for that final scene, (and could have provided an alternative title for this episode).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Artie is the funniest character on the series but also may be the most soulful… of course, that may not be saying much because so many of the other characters are pretty soulless..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Little Carmine has very nice personality, he’s my favourite person there especially when he realized he doesn’t want to be the boss, he just wants and in finale I think he’s the only really happy person there with lovely and supporting wife and kids.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Everybody else knew how it was going to play out Charmine knew even though he tried to keep it secret. It was also funny to see how Jean Phillpe got all subdueded when Charmine came to the table when he was drinking wine with Artie.
Artie is never comfortable with his role. Hi uniform says he is the chef but he comes out talks to the customers blurs lines, drinks with them and that comes up to bite him in the ass.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In his quest to be relevant, or to impress his hostess, Artie reveals his true ignorance of lending money or loan snarking. He agrees to a $7500 vig from Jean-Philippe, which is a point and a half on 50k. Ralph originally offers him the loan at 2 points…. a money losing proposition, until he backs out due to his friendship with Bucco. Tony subsequently offers Artie the loan at a point and a half…:.break even. While laying in the hospital after his unsuccessful suicide attempt, Tony tells Artie that he technically owes him 51 and a half, for missing a payment. Great portrayal of a character out of his league trying to be a part of something bigger, and Tony’s always keen sense of business agreements.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Loan sharing.
LikeLike
Sharking. Damn auto correct. Lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’cha hate it when that happens
LikeLike
‘Smart’phones were a mistake. They have pretty much destroyed the old internet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
a point and a half from 50K is 750, not 7500.
The initial deal was solid, it’s just that Artie gets played by everyone because he’s out of his league, trying to be a big boy, like Tony.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We may need your guidance here, Ron.
Tony’s loan to Artie is at one-and-a-half points. At the hospital Tony says that, technically, Artie now owes $51,500.
$1,500 is three per cent of $50,000.
Therefore we can deduce that 1 point = 2%.
I know it wouldn’t happen, but let’s assume for illustration that someone takes out a loan for a year (360 days) at that rate, and pays the interest regularly every ten days. In a year he would pay interest of $54,000, representing an interest rate of 108% per annum.
That is usury.
‘Usury’ is a word used in the Bible, not often these days, but in this episode Dr Melfi uses the word and pronounces it correctly.
Artie’s doomed loan to Jean-Philippe is super-usury, having an interest rate equivalent to 540% per annum.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I figured it was $1500 = 1.5 points x 2 weeks. (I guess Tony isn’t charging interest on the interest.) But I don’t know, I was never good at math, much less mobster math…
LikeLike
Thank you very much for your swift reply.
I was going to add a postscript. I was assuming that Jean-Philippe had missed just one payment, which I think is probable. However, if he had missed two, as you suggest, it means that 1 point = 1%, and my figures have to be halved. It’s shrewd of you to mention the matter of charging interest on the interest, but I’m sure your guess is wrong: usurers (like banks) do so – and the compound interest can become enormous.
That’s enough . . . a good phrase: mobster math!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think a point and a half = $750 a week. If Artie already missed a payment then he’d owe not only the current week’s $750 interest, but also last week’s. Hence $1500.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The Aquatones song that plays in the dream sequence is also in the background in a scene from season 1 of Mad Men where Don has lunch with his half brother Adam, who later hangs himself because of Don’s turning him away. I wondered if there was a possible connection given that Matthew Weiner worked on both series… two characters whose guilt over another person’s suicide ends up hanging over them. Both Adam and Gloria were spurned because of the way they threatened Don and Tony’s family facade—Adam simply wanting to be a part of Don’s family (which would expose Don’s lies) and Gloria threatening to call Carmela.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm interesting, I was never aware of this connection… all the parallels… it feels like Weiner had to have done it conscientiously…
LikeLike
In earlier episodes, our mobsters often mentioned some variation of the thought that “the corporations are the real mob, and make the real money.” The storyline between Devin and AJ puts some ironic perspective on the relative wealth on the mob. The “don corleone” money and gated estate with armed guards the Sopranos lack can very literally be found at Devin’s. Carmella’s hilarious attempt to brag about a 3000 dollar statue is humbled by original Picasso’s (not to compare to the kitschy music note art featured so prominently in the Soprano house). Earlier in the episode, AJ is given some perspective about poverty. Likewise, I think Chase is giving us some perspective as well. The Italian mob has acquired some wealth, but they have to hide it in birdseed and blow it on RICO trials. It is nothing compared to the wealth that can be found in the palatial estates of old money wasps and corporate magnates; the Pilsbury family has the real dough.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Haha (good one). The issue of “immigrant anxieties/immigrant striving” is a subtle part of the whole series, maybe particularly in this season. In 4.10 we see that immigrant Svetlana is more like Gary Cooper than Tony is. In 4.11 Tony dreams of himself as a blue-collar immigrant (perhaps his grandfather). In 4.13 Tony is contrasted to Alan Sapinsly who has been more successful at living the American Dream. AJ’s parents are able to buy him a bmw later in the series, but they can never bequeath him a Picasso. They are just too New Money, and it will be generations—if ever—before the Soprano descendants can be considered Old Money.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Re: the so-called “rare moment of benevolence from Ralph Cifaretto.” Maybe this was said tongue-in-cheek in the first place. But doesn’t Ralph’s stated reservation stand on its own self-interested merits? Interestingly, Artie’s assessment of Tony – that he saw the failure coming a mile away – aptly applies to Ralph. Maybe it was Ralph’s more pedestrian foresight that eventually cued Artie to Tony’s – presumably much greater – powers of prognostication?
Artie’s assessment is his way of showing that he perceives Tony to be at the top of his craft – it’s a compliment. But Tony resists this crude rendering of his psyche, which is akin to that imagined by AJ’s friends – a two-dimensional mobster superhero. It’s a perception that Tony well knows only looks good from the outside. No one wants to exists as a truly toxic being.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great take…
LikeLike
When Tony confronted Melfi about Gloria, he asked her, “How’s Gloria? Is she still hanging around?” Talk about gallows humor.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great write up Ron. And watching the episode again it is very much about perceptions. As Tony asks himself a few times, “am I a toxic person or something?” , on the basis of this episode and pretty much the whole series, you’d have to say “yes”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
On my third watch through I really started to dislike Tony. He’s still a very funny character and has great charisma but when you see his poisonous personality laid bare (such as the dinner scene with Janice and Bobby when he brings up Harpo or the Sopranos Home Movies episode) you realise he really is a toxic person, someone who not only can’t be happy but can’t stand to see others happy either and does anything he can to destroy that. They’re not all happy wanderers, they’re mostly just people struggling to find their own joy in the world yet he can’t stand it least of all when he sees it in his immediate family and friends.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great write up, Ron. Just wanted to add re: AJ and not being gangster enough… when his friends ask him about having a guard dog and he says, “we did, but she got hit by a car.” Haha. (Not that the dog died, but that it was obviously just a pet and not a canine weapon)
LikeLiked by 2 people
😆
LikeLike
This episode had some great pitch-black humour, mainly from Tony’s guilt about Gloria competing with his natural ‘assholeishness’, such as when he was drilling the car salesman about his suicided colleague and his “still hanging around?” comment to Melfi. That inner conflict, and the ways it manifests itself, have solidified this episode as one of my favourites.
On the lighter side, there’s a lot of Dumb Idiot Teens Being Stupid, and a cute little connection between father and son when AJ does the classic “hide-the-stalk-on hobble” after being caught *pre flagrante*, and later Anthony the Elder gets caught with his pants down by Artie, and his half-buckled belt sticks out, implying his own soldier, er, standing to attention with no-one to salute. My favourite comedy moment, though, has to be Carm’s “everything-is-going-according-to-plan-and-I-can’t-stand-it” face at the dinner party – great!
Did anyone else think that Artie was getting scammed at the beginning? The combination of a Nigerian prince-style set-up and the attractive woman making the introduction had me suspicious. However, Elodie being an employee of Vesuvio’s and thematic considerations make me think it was a genuine failure to break through.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t know why I randomly decided to watch this one last night, on what (coincidentally) happened to be the same date as it aired back in 2002. Anyway, wondering what ever happened between AJ and ‘Lady de Pilsburry’ (as RTF hilariously refers to her above).
Not that it’s remotely important, but when you’ve seen the series through a dozen times, you focus on weird stuff.
They were still together through Season Five, but by Season Six he was single again. My guess is that, once high school was over, she went on to a good school, and AJ became… the AJ we see in the opening sequence of Season Six. She probably ended it. AJ really blew it there.
Also, couldn’t stop laughing at the bit where AJ is referring to his classmates house as a ‘little box,’ with Devin likely thinking the same about his (parent’s) place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A) A major theme of this episode is the contrast between the Soprano and Pillsbury families – archetypes for “illegitimate” and “legitimate”. Whereas in the past, the “illegitimate” (Corleone lifestyle) would have been far more lucrative, the legitimate crime-free lifestyle has paid off for the Pillsburys – highlighted by the fact that their house is literally a model of the Corleone compound! And the Picassos, Beatles record, etc… these are mentioned to be worth millions. So the paradigm has shifted since Godfather days to favour the “legit”. Tony doesn’t have that money, and even if he did, he doesn’t have the class/awareness to be into fine arts. And then coupled with AJ’s friends’ references to why they don’t have Corleone money – the hardly-hidden implication being that the Pillsbury’s do have that money – and the “class” that the Corleone-era Mob had. It’s also in direct line with the theme of the decline of the mob, the golden days are over, etc.
B) One of my favourite lines is in this episode, and unless I missed it, it’ll be my honour to reference it… “But T… we’re already in the 21st century?”
LikeLiked by 2 people
At 2:36 we see a heroin dazed Chris slap himself try and slap himself awake as he gets up the camera cuts to a young man lighting a joint. In the background we see teenagers hanging out. The colors and lighting are very similar to Chris’ sparsely lit, shadowy apartment with dark furniture that seems just a step above 20 year old frat boy’s version of cool. I’ve noticed Chris dresses very much like an adult, he picks good colors and comfortable looking fabrics for his clothes. They are very understated compared to the older gangsters. Chris dress sense matches the modern night club scene. His apartment is like the VIP lounge of a dance club.
Unlike everyone else in his family AJ does not hide what his father does. He does not bring it up but he is confortable talking about it because it does not seem very real to him. AJ getting lost and mistaking the Satriale’s butcher shop for the strip club shows how clueless and child like he really is. The impact of all his father does does not sit heavily on AJ
LikeLiked by 2 people
It does not register with Anthony and his friends that she is one of those Pillsburys Once I hear the name I was like whaat. That says a lot about how low key and what her priorities are. I did think it was funy how she did not want to ride on a bus because of the smell then she ends up sitting in a legal aid place that smells like a bus.
Devin is partly attracted to AJ because he is a gangster but when they get to a poorer neighborhood they both feel unsafe and freaked out because there are “gangsters” here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
After he fills out the paperwork for a trust Tony smoothly wins Carmella’s cousin (Brian Cammaratta) over by free suits. This is Tony being multiple steps ahead unconsciously. Just when Carmella thinks she has got Tony he compromomises the loyalty of her ally with something stolen. like Janice compromising Booby with a dish stolen from Carmella. In the future because he owes Tony a watch and a suit Brian will never stop owing.
Think of how Carmella refused to take no for an answer when she offered a US attorney a dish and transcripts in exchange for a letter of reccomendation. Recall how Carmella did not understand how that lady was not interested in the exchange and felt she must Tony never lets someone refuse his offer.
If you read about empires frequently the conquerors will impose exchanges that were not ever desired that the less powerful partenrs were not even interested in and have this very childish view that you must say yes to all proposed exchanges. There is a lot of scholarship about that pattern in the historical record and treating free trade as very one sided exchange.
In the exchange with Brian Tony also wants to see himself as a good guy because he is feeling sad about Gina dying. He could not even let himself cry in bed when Carmella told him about her suicide.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s a lot of Godfather comps throughout the series (reality v movies?) and especially so in this episode between AJ and his friends. It’s interesting they ask why AJ’s house isn’t like Michel Corleone’s, but then Devin’s is very similar similar to Michael Corleone’s compound from GF2.
LikeLiked by 2 people
First comment here; am just arriving at this amazing site, so having a great time catching up on the illuminating insights and comments by Ron (great job!) and the other folks here.
Just two small comments – re a remark that was made earlier, my perception from the outset was that Jean Philippe’s plan to market Armagnac in the U.S. wasn’t a real deal, but just a scam to steal $50k from Artie. Artie is one of my favorite and most sympathetic characters on the show. However, he does gives off a vibe, apparent to folks who deal with him closely, of someone is very naive, but who’s trying to have an air of sophistication and a desire to achieve bigger things. Although she has been at the restaurant only a short time, Elodi is quick to pick up on this and inform her brother of her impression of him as an easy mark, particularly since (I assume) she perceives Artie as being meek and therefore powerless to be able to do anything about the situation when it turns against him. She apparently is not aware of the fact that Artie has friends that can well do something about it if they become involved.
Which leads me to one of my favorite scenes in the episode – Jean Philippe opens his door to face Furio standing there mute but intimidating. Although he presumably doesn’t know who Furio is, he seems to quickly come to some realization as a look of resignation comes over his face. We know who Furio is and what’s about to happen, so I think Chase structures this scene perfectly by having it end there rather than letting it play out. However, I admit that my darker side would have been satisfied to watch Furio proceed to administer justice in the same manner as during his first assignment of dealing with the proprietor of the massage parlor/whore house when he first arrives in the U.S.
Again, many thanks for the enjoyment I’m getting out of this website.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Dave, I think that’s a good take on how the whole thing played out
LikeLike
Pingback: The Soprano Onceover: #49. “Everybody Hurts” (S4E6) | janiojala
Funny how we are introduced to Miss Reykjavik (and all the Icelandic Air flight attendants) shortly after Hugh tells his “diverticulitis in Iceland during the war” story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dr. Melfi keeps reminding Tony that he continues to choose women who remind him of his mother – dark-haired, narcissistic, borderline personality, ‘dark’, etc. While that may have some validity, there’s one thing about all of them that Livia did not evidence; suicidal thoughts, threats, and/or behaviors. Every single goomar (with the exception of Svetlana) called him at his home, crying hysterically, and threatened to kill herself (with one actually following through with the threat). ^Livia was more of the filicidal type.^ So, why did Tony choose to marry Carmela – the exact opposite of his mother? I dunno.
LikeLike
I love how the series deals with suicide as it is usually a taboo topic.
The question of guilt is much more complex even though the suicidal person often blames a particular person for it.
Thanks for your great analysis and blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
One nitpick, I believe the trust Tony signs is a ‘living’ trust aka the alternative suggested by Ginsberg
LikeLiked by 2 people
The mirror that Artie rehearses into is segmented and faceted. Artie is segmented or divided here but not faceted enough to pull off this powerful thug persona. “Not remotely.”
This is my favorite Artie episode and where “Little Finch” comes from. Big ears(and eyes) always with this show.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do you know who plays the french guy, Jean Philippe. He’s one of the most famous french actors Jean Hugues Anglade, he’s famous for his roles in Nikita, Betty Blue but the most vicious role whe played was in Killing Zoe, there he was a scary, psychotic gangster, bank robber , who shoots heroin every 5 minutes and kills bank hostages and employes mercilesly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah ok
LikeLike