What’s your favourite quote from Puss? Let me know down below 👇🏻 and be sure to share your comments on the infamous Bonpensiero betrayal. “We got any good tequila?”
The back problem was real, it was a physical manifestation of his guilt. Nothing was physically wrong with him but the guilt and stress made him believe his back was injured. Same thing happens when Adriana flips and she convinces herself she has IBS.
yep. the book "healing back pain" is about this, tons of people with chronic pain become miraculously healed when they recognize and resolve deeper unresolved emotional issues
I think it was in one of the bathrooms...nevertheless I did feel bad for him. You could tell it was eating him up snitching on his own friends, especially Tony.
I truly wish that Big Pussy had been in The Sopranos for at least one more season. He was a great character and his betrayal was something which I felt was done far too quickly.
@@rasheemthebestfirstone3274 If he did tell Tony, Tony would kill him regardless to stop any information being passed to police and to send a message to other potential informants.
I can see why they cut that interrogation scene. Without it you are with Tony, not really sure if Puss if a rat, not wanting him to be either. What I'm trying to say is that this scene never had the makings of a varsity plot device.
I agree.. I can see why they left that out. Fun fact: A great example of good editing on this show was the decision to edit out Chris going to Tony's to tell him about Adriana, which they showed in the next season as a flashback. It left the audience with as much information as Adriana knew about Christopher's supposed suicide attempt. According to Michael Imperoli, it was Drea Matteo's idea to actually hold that scene from the audience.
@@84blizzle I noticed it many times in the show that the information fed to audience or the character whose pov is given to us in any situation is extremely well thought
I was about to make the same comment It makes the plot less linear and leaves the viewer questioning the how, why, and when surrounding, his becoming an informant..
Id love to know which episode it was cut from. Because we're not told when that scene was originally intended to be shown and the scene itself doesn't make it obvious when its happening in the show's internal timeline, its hard to say how much info it would have given us as viewers. I feel like it would have been VERY unlike the Sopranos for it to have been shown to us before Tony knew Sal had flipped (maybe thats why they cut it but would it really have been written that way to begin with?). Or would it have been intended as a flashback after he was killed? Hard to say.
Paulie didn’t say that, it was Sil. Also, David chase definitely deserves praise, but there were other writers on the show and he only directed two episodes, neither of which were the episode in which this happened. But this comment is a year old who cares 8=============D
You didn't miss it as its pretty self explanatory but I always got a kick out of his involvement with the FBI. How he believed he was one of them or wanted to start teaching for law enforcement. I equated it to dreaming about winning the lottery. You know its probably not going to happen but some times that hope gets you through. Thats what he was doing, hoping that it would all turn out good in the end.
Yeah, the episode before Funhouse- Big Pussy almost becomes delusional and thinks he’s actually one of the police or federal authority members. He starts acting weird and pretends to be some sort of agent, following Christopher and even running into some random pedestrian guy in the process. He even gifts them a bottle of liquor. Big Pussy’s demise was sad but had to be done.
First of all - what a magnificent actor Vincent Pastore is. Secondly, there must be something about Sal living next door to a graveyard ? David Chase doesn't do happy coincidence.
Pastore was near perfect for the part.. Effortless . Graveyard yes of course.All coincidence is deadly in the Sopranos .David Chase may in fact be the evil one himself .He has all the best tunes and plots.
I always had a different interpretation of the calling card scheme explanation scene to Furio, I assumed he was wearing a wire at the time and that’s why he went into such specific detail about it andTony noticed
For me, this was always the most heartbreaking death. I was always hoping that Jimmy Altieri was the sole rat, or that maybe Tony would give Puss the chance to redeem himself by using the wire as a counter move to throw off the FBI. The loss of Big Puss from Tony's crew and Robert Pastore from the cast was hugely missed following the second season.
It was an early reason why the show was so excellent. They would sacrifice a great actor for the plot line, for the story. It had to be when it was for The Sopranos, even though it was tough for the cast & the audience.
@@SlayerPDX rewatch what? Of course he was a rat. They proved it the way he asked questions of Tony in the basement and went over settled business at his last sit down. When he is about to be shot he stops protesting and instead says, "Oh God." Of course he was a rat you stroonz.
Excellent post. I'd also say the elimination of Adriana LA Cerva was equally difficult to watch, just because her crimes were low-level compared to others, and how in the end she begged so convincingly to be spared. So sad.....
Maybe Big Puss was someone who helped Tony during his early days as a mobster, and Puss may have been the only person with a big heart and respect towards everyone in the family. Hell, he may have become a big part of Tony's life during Dickie's involvement with Tony and helped him somewhat heal after Dickie's death. But, only the movie can tell us his importance to everyone in the family.
09:42 Sal was crying at at his Predicament, crying at the life he would have to leave behind and crying at betrayal of his friends and Tony, not because he knew he would be killed.
Well done once again Sir and I feel that you placed the precise amount of emphasis on this tale along with its ripples taking in his one time brothers living nightmares afterwards.. Clearly if there ever was honour, or a trait akin to it, this vignette illustrates again the true horror and ruthless nature of these grown men's gangs..
3:43 The facts suggest that Tony's speculation about the Christmas party was incorrect as Pussy's FBI handler specifically mentions to him that he had been with them since 98 which is 3 years after the 1995 Christmas party.
That deleted season 100% IMO should of been included, I could of def seen it being placed in the season 2 finale when they’re questioning Puss in the boat before he’s killed. When Tony says “when did they flip you?” The camera closes up on Puss’s face and it could have faded at that moment into that deleted scene.
That deleted scene does not belong in the show. It would have broken one of the cardinal rules of drama, story telling. It would have destroyed the suspense of not knowing for sure he was a rat in various episodes.
Great decision on going in on this specific part of the sopranos .. you could even say that this is the catalyst to the eventual downfall of the family’s empire and their ability to remain as a powerful force on the east coast… this may even be more important that the death of Jackie aprile.. the FBI having a direct line of information into the organization is tremendous..there’s a reason why the mob top brass says no drugs….this is a great example…well done thanks for sharing bro
On the Adriana Stomach vs Pussy back issue I’d just like to point out they are each very unique from the other in how stress affects them, and, to what level both physically and directly. Stress typically affects the stomach by causing too much or too little of a chemical or occasionally hormone which causes your stomach to also create improper biomes, acid levels, or other chemical levels required in healthy digestion. One surprisingly very common example with stress is cortisol, which, when released causes temporary lack of metabolic functions such as digestion quite specifically. And so you can get quite real physical cases of IBS that is out of Adriana’s control in how her being exposed to high stress situations causes the diarrhetic reaction she’s experiencing. Versus the back, which when injured as a result of stress, it is usually a result of one or, more typically, a multitude of the byproducts that are the symptoms of stress. Some examples would be poor sleep/restless sleep causing one to not properly rest or relax their back and possibly having strained it, depression/guilt; which can often result in a lack of exercise, which weakens the core muscles and other surrounding muscles that help support the back, and finally the simple fact that; like some people grind their teeth when angry, some people will strain/tighten or ‘flex’ their lower back or shoulder blades subconsciously when stressed, which can certainly be painful long term.
Can you do a theory video about Artie? I am rewatching the show and it is interesting how Artie is probably the only real friend that Tony has even with all their issues.
@Johnny Testinator yeah but how good of a friend can you be to your boss.... Artie does not need Tony for a career. So he's the only friend without any sort of mafia related coercion.
@johnnytestinator7131 he's loyal sure but like carmela said, he's just one of his guys who are scared to shit to offend him. His relationship with artie is actually mutual and he doesn't just behave like a pushover with Tony all the time
@@hgbugalou I was from Monmouth County NJ, same as Asbury. That was what it looked like before they did all of the revitalization in the area. That was the Convention Hall and Paramount Theater in the background.
I'm random commenting here about this but Tony doesn't see Pussy in the reflection of that door, only we saw him but i know Puss haunted Tony in his sleep and other hallucinations, anyway thx for the beachside info lol
this is why the sopranos and the wire are still my favorite shows they had characters that were multilayered and not one dimensional they showed pussy was conflicted he was angry with tony then even heart broken at times like at AJ's confirmation and tonys conflict he had to be absolutely sure he was in denial for awhile because I believe maybe with the exception of Christopher he was the closet to pussy when he paulie and Silvio finally took him out tony was almost in tears it was the only murder tony commited that haunted him
I truly don’t understand why these men think someone could ever be loyal or trusted. The way they lie to and kill one another is disloyal asf😩😂😂 the irony of it all
The absolute genius of turning something like a talking fish, which is almost always humurous, into something you can feel hurt from. The moment Tony sees that toy you see the look on his face and you feel that awful feeling he feels.
This betrayal along with his upbringing solidified the soulless, greedy mob boss who practically ended alone after most of his crew was wiped out at the end of the final Season.
its interesting to note that David Chase originally had written it so that Big Pussy never comes back after he disappears and it was going to be left open to interpretation whether or not he was a rat.
The tragedy of Puss' life--betraying his friend, killing Jimmy Bones with a hammer, putting a deliveryman in a coma--is made worse by domestic violence during his life and afterwards, as a desperate and then ambitious Angie begins to work with the DiMeo crime family and puts money on the street. That probably won't end well. When Carmela told Angie, "In the end, I know you're not going to leave him," it had a darker second meaning. Puss' activities cost his children their father and will likely take their mother from them, too.
@@joeyc8622 Thanks. Recall what Rosalie says about Angie, "It's like she used to be one of us, and now she's one of them." Many of "them" do get whacked. If she stays a partner, she still runs the risk of arrest and becoming an informant. Most informants in the Sopranos--think Jack Massarone--get whacked. Even if she survives, as she appears impressively competent in her new life when we last see her, she will have changed morally.
Yeah, I wondered about the whole "bad back" thing. The subplot was sad too where Pussy thinks he can become an FBI agent and the agent strings him along on that idea 'til near the end. I think it'd be good to give credit to the actors involved (besides just Gandolfini). In this case Vincent Pastore. He was great and also so good in the movie "Revolver." Good job, as usual.
I tell anyone THIS DEATH changed tv forever. And this is what makes The Sopranos the best TV Show ever. It was the first time we saw a truly main and beloved character was killed. This beget Ned Stark and other future tv deaths. Cast members across television would look in a new script and wonder
Oz kinda did it first with Dino Ortaloni but Big Puss was an established character for two full seasons when he was killed. It was like if the show Friends killed off Joey, not something you saw in TV back then. I actually remember being a kid when Season 2 had just aired and Big Puss was killed, it was a big deal in the television world and a revolutionary series even just after 2 seasons back then.
I just finished the sopranos a month ago and I've really been hung up on the break off between Melfie and Tony. It seemed so out of the blue and almost forced in some aspects, like her attitude had such a 180 it felt bizarre
As good as chase was he isn't the all and holy grail of tv writing that some tout him to be. Some very good arcs, phenomenal dialogs and great details that connect down the road..... however on the whole, the criminality and personal interactions of criminals is laughable at times. There were lots of unanswered questions, plot holes and creation of characters that were treated as familiar faces whenever the story spun in a new direction. Just my humble opinion
@@samhansen6320 I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole here but it was a newly published study which is why it was also being discussed at the dinner party with her colleagues. She was charmed by him and liked being close to the danger and her therapist went out of his way for years to dissuade her from treating him.
@@dmartig1 fair point sir. I stand corrected on the point about the timeliness of the study. My mistake. I agree with most of the rest of what you said and in a sense it fits what I had said about chase writing.
In Episode 1, when Tony, Pussy, Paulie, Sil and Chrissy are sitting around at the Bing talking, there's a show on where a 60-minutes type guy is interviewing a former Mob Capo turned informant about the state of the Mafia. One of the few actual parts of that conversation that they show is the former Mafioso being asked what is the biggest thing that's hurting the mob. His response is "once they started dealing in drugs it was all over. That's a minimum 35 to life sentence, this harsh punishment is getting a lot of guys to flip" Exactly what happened to Big Pussy.
I realized something. He resented furio that’s why he wanted him and furio to do the hit on Matt so he could inform skip that furio his replacement killed that kid and send him far far away
I don't think Puss's back issues were necessarily a lie. I feel like Tony asking Puss "did she even exist?" was only put there to represent Tony's distrust of him. They loved and trusted each other for their entire lives, and that moment was simply Tony's way of letting him know, I can't believe anything you say anymore.
Not sure his best quote, but I think the scene where he was crying, the episode where he was AJ's sponsor, was one of the best acted scenes in the entire series. 09:42 I also (respectfully) disagree that that was when he knew Tony was going to kill him, I think he was crying because he realized he was F'ing over people he loves. If he thought that, why wouldn't he just leave, again?
I take issue with saying "he had no choice but to flip." He absolutely had a choice. He chose to be a career criminal and knowingly commit crimes that could get him a life sentence. He could have taken his time like a man just like every other mobster doing 30+ years in prison. Those guys have children and family too and they *chose* to not rat.
His fault is moving heroin. Way to much heat. Once he got pitched, he probably rationalized it and thought "fine I will keep earning for a few years to get my son into college, then I'll just bolt or go in"
You can call him a rat or a snitch which he was, but he had an impossible choice between that and his children. He knew he couldn't just take himself out because his family was already struggling financially at the time.
See, that has always been confusing... In episode 310 they imply that Pussy got flipped back in 1995, or at least that Tony thinks that, but in season 2 in a conversation between Skip and Pussy, Skip says "You've been on our tit since 98..." Could this be a rare continuity error? Or were they telling us that Tony and the crew were wrong about when they thought he flipped, wanting to think the betrayal was even worse than it actually was so as to justify it to themselves?
While we may have wanted Chase to include the deleted scene, we have the luxury of being able to look back upon the series as a completed work of art. But, I believe we can understand why Chase cut the scene of Big Pussy being flipped by the Feds because, at the time, Tony's story arc was still in its infancy and slowly evolving. Most important I think was that the story was always from the perspective of Tony and giving any type of empathy to the predicament of an informant against Tony would have diluted the finished masterpiece.
The moment he flipped he knew his life was forfeit. He just tried to stretch it out. But had he gone to Tony and informed him he probably would have saved his own life.
I don't think Tony's dream sequences were any revelations to Tony. He always knew that Puss was an informant but didn't want to face it. The dreams were just the final straw that broke the camels back that he had to deal with it once and for all. Dreams are basically the thoughts and feelings that we hold subconsciously purging themselves.
I also think it was Puss that had the Madams place busted in the 1st place. He knew the cop had probably been giving Tony the info that he was a rat. Which he stated in his return in season 2. That bust was also I think, was the beginning of Ray becoming a rat as well
I didn't realize he was gone for a year. I thought it was a month.I really think the emotional journey was captured beatfully him drinking at the Christmas party, the crying at the Conformation, pleading to keep his eyes, all of it. Absolutely amazing show. On the streets that's the biggest betrayl their isnao it mak3s sense he would be emotional selling out his friends
In real life the biggest flaw of omerta has to be no way out when marked for death Joe Valachi and Sammy Gravano and many more had no choice when felt betrayed because of the archaic rules . .
Sammy was a rat...... Sammy and John were both in federal custody. Nothing was going to happen to Sammy. Sammy felt betrayed when he heard the tapes of John talking about him. But there was so much evidence against John Gotti that he was going to fall anyway.
funny how the FBI or police don't seven bother investigating his disappearance. His wife knew they were going on a boat and they sprayed blood all over the thing.
Yeah, that kind of thing happens a lot throughout the show. Ritchie Aprile, Ralph, and Adriana - no one really even bothers to investigate those disappearances, either. When Jackie Jr. robs the poker game, it's a freaking bloodbath...would've made national news. But, it's TV. And it's hilarious how incompetent law enforcement is. I love that show so much
Every informant the fbi had died except Carlo and that’s only cause we found out at the end of the show. Not a single informant ended with a arrest just death. FBI didn’t even care either
Its not the story David Chase wanted to tell, so why bother? The show is not about cops so dont include them. He could have written in hours about investigations to make it more realistic but imo he went the right way. We all know cops arent stupid. There are hours and hours of tv programming that detail that.
@@Night_Owl_Noah Also, Christopher's spontaneous killing of his friend, J.T.Dolan in his own apartment. Christopher must have been a frequent visitor, and known there, and could easily have been seeing going in or out. And wasn't J.T's girlfriend also there? Hard to believe he wouldn't be at least questioned about the killing. And people at AA and NA would have known of their association, which would have been uncovered in any serious investigation.
Melfi: "You've never mentioned any of your associates by name... except for that one fellow... Booty?" Tony: "Pussyyy!... Pussyyyyyy!" Melfi: "Pussy... Booty, I don't know his last name."
In the card game scene, I wondered if Sal set Jimmy up for the raid. Did he inform about the guns? There's a scene where he looks at the door prior to the knock. Did he hear them out there, was the force with him or did he know the FBI was coming.
I always thought that Pussy hadn't been flipped in the flashback. It was about a bunch of sociopaths who miss their friend and are having mixed feelings of how it went down. If they were to reminisce when he was 10 years old they would see signs he was wired up.
it took me 15 years to track down a 4K version The Sopranos. My Absolute Favorite show of all time. Finally can say im one of the few people who has the 4k version
Normally I know this is completely outta the question in La Cosa Nostra, but due to Tony, Syl, and Paulie’s closeness to Puss, they could’ve agreed to give him a pass if he agreed not to give the feds another word and do his time for H. Another I wondered is why didn’t Puss just go all in and go witness protection? That was the only way to save his life and be done with the stress.
No running? Thats silly, I remember Junior running away from a funeral with Bobby, Johnny Sack and Tony too, both run away, Jhonny fells on the snow while Tony escapes
What’s your favourite quote from Puss? Let me know down below 👇🏻 and be sure to share your comments on the infamous Bonpensiero betrayal.
“We got any good tequila?”
"I've eaten more queens than Lancelot"
You wanna pat this down too?
But at this point what can I say
I realize it's from T's dream, but "Anyway, $5 dollars a pound"
@@Night_Owl_Noah $4!
The biggest betrayal through the entire Sopranos series was, when my mind tricked me into believing that Joey Diaz played Puss.
Fucking same
How?
I can’t unsee it now
Vinny Pastore and Joey Diaz are brothers separated at bird
Joey was up to play Pussy brother at the body shop, but it didn't pan out unfortunately
The back problem was real, it was a physical manifestation of his guilt. Nothing was physically wrong with him but the guilt and stress made him believe his back was injured. Same thing happens when Adriana flips and she convinces herself she has IBS.
Damn. That is a good point
Yeah and Paulie had a doctor from the jets give him the woyks. Cat scans, dog scans, etcetera.
@@shytguy Yeah and I played shortstop for the Mets.
@@shytguy I heard he had to get an ultra sound on his groin and balls!
yep. the book "healing back pain" is about this, tons of people with chronic pain become miraculously healed when they recognize and resolve deeper unresolved emotional issues
I felt sorry for Paulie, after all, how much more betrayal could he take? I'm sure he felt like he was stabbed in the heart.
I don’t know…fuckin slander ask me 🤘🏻
It's okay, Carmine thinks the world of Paulie or at least that's what John said 😏🤭
...he beat cancer too
He made it through the 70s and the Colombo wars by the skin of his balls
Non stop constant assrape!
He had everything. MRI’s, cat scans, dog scans.
He refused to take his clothes off tho...
“Did he get the silver bird scan?”
PET scans... etc
He even turned into a fish 🐟
Doctor said there's nothing wrong with his back. But, we really don't know nothing when it comes to backs.
The scene where sal is crying alone in AJ’s room is one of my all time favorite scenes.
That whole moment with him and aj is an amazing scene
Toilet.
I think it was in one of the bathrooms...nevertheless I did feel bad for him. You could tell it was eating him up snitching on his own friends, especially Tony.
My estimation of big puss as a man just fucking plummeted
@@faisalkamal4319 give him a break, will ya? It was an emotional day
I truly wish that Big Pussy had been in The Sopranos for at least one more season. He was a great character and his betrayal was something which I felt was done far too quickly.
I agree with you 100%, a more detailed look at his betrayal would have been a excellent story line arc for season 3.
He’s dumb he should’ve told tony everything thing and tony would say just do your sentence I’ll take care of your family
@Johnny Testinator Anyway... four dollars a pound.
@@rasheemthebestfirstone3274 I agree and always wondered why he didn’t “take it to trial”. He was Tony’s best friend.
@@rasheemthebestfirstone3274
If he did tell Tony, Tony would kill him regardless to stop any information being passed to police and to send a message to other potential informants.
I can see why they cut that interrogation scene. Without it you are with Tony, not really sure if Puss if a rat, not wanting him to be either. What I'm trying to say is that this scene never had the makings of a varsity plot device.
They should really allow us to give you two likes: one for your insight and two for working Uncle Junior into the comment...
Small interrogation room, that's the Feds' problem.
@@mahmoudibnemir8704 facts
Lol
Yeah, the pussy was a rat who sleeps with the fishes. Too confusing.
Its strangly heartwarming how all of the guys had Nightmares about Pus
Goes to show that, despite the betrayal, theyll never truly stop loving him
The world don’t run on love
"And life went on without pussy..." Truest statement I've ever heard in my life😆😂🤣
Me realizing I'm gay in a nutshell lmao
@@slasherlovingay2488bruh 💀
@@slasherlovingay2488 AIDS
There is NO life without Pussy.
@@slasherlovingay2488Vito moment
In the most heart breaking scene of the series, Tony felt betrayed, causing him to ask : "Hey Puss ... Did Santa Claus even exist ?"
I like it lol
"Push" lol
That's not what was said! T was questioning if the 26 year-old girl he was bragging about giving oral to was real. "Did she even exist?"
@@queenmary9455 thank you. 5:19
Haha
This is what truly changed Tony
Yup he never was the same
Nothing changed Tony.
That's why Melfie dumps him as a client, and he's eating onion rings in the diner
No it was DAVID SCATINO what you think I’m still the kid on the school bus ?
@@rustyshackleford3160 lmfao your name
This and his mom trying to get him whacked turned him into a truly hateful person
I’m glad they didn’t show Puss’s arrest and questioning. It left ambiguity on whether he was working for the FBI in the earlier episodes
I agree.. I can see why they left that out. Fun fact: A great example of good editing on this show was the decision to edit out Chris going to Tony's to tell him about Adriana, which they showed in the next season as a flashback. It left the audience with as much information as Adriana knew about Christopher's supposed suicide attempt. According to Michael Imperoli, it was Drea Matteo's idea to actually hold that scene from the audience.
@@84blizzle
I noticed it many times in the show that the information fed to audience or the character whose pov is given to us in any situation is extremely well thought
I was about to make the same comment It makes the plot less linear and leaves the viewer questioning the how, why, and when surrounding, his becoming an informant..
Id love to know which episode it was cut from. Because we're not told when that scene was originally intended to be shown and the scene itself doesn't make it obvious when its happening in the show's internal timeline, its hard to say how much info it would have given us as viewers. I feel like it would have been VERY unlike the Sopranos for it to have been shown to us before Tony knew Sal had flipped (maybe thats why they cut it but would it really have been written that way to begin with?). Or would it have been intended as a flashback after he was killed? Hard to say.
They also never showed Jimmy working with the feds, it is only implied. They never confirmed he was wearing a wire, they assumed he was.
david chase was such a genius. when paulie “it was you fredo, you broke my heart,” it zooms right in on pussy’s face. incredible foreshadowing
Paulie didn’t say that, it was Sil. Also, David chase definitely deserves praise, but there were other writers on the show and he only directed two episodes, neither of which were the episode in which this happened. But this comment is a year old who cares 8=============D
Silvio not Paulie lmaoo
@@portugal5698 naw paulie def said it lol
@@portugal5698 Paulie said "You broke my heart."
@@mrd3016poor Paulie, how much more betrayal can he take?
You didn't miss it as its pretty self explanatory but I always got a kick out of his involvement with the FBI. How he believed he was one of them or wanted to start teaching for law enforcement. I equated it to dreaming about winning the lottery. You know its probably not going to happen but some times that hope gets you through. Thats what he was doing, hoping that it would all turn out good in the end.
He was just trying to put a positive special ops twist on being a rat.
Runs over a cyclist trying to win the lottery 😂
This disinformation shit its a fucking amazing technique 🤣
@@Pacinomela it’s an ace!!
Yeah, the episode before Funhouse- Big Pussy almost becomes delusional and thinks he’s actually one of the police or federal authority members. He starts acting weird and pretends to be some sort of agent, following Christopher and even running into some random pedestrian guy in the process.
He even gifts them a bottle of liquor. Big Pussy’s demise was sad but had to be done.
First of all - what a magnificent actor Vincent Pastore is.
Secondly, there must be something about Sal living next door to a graveyard ? David Chase doesn't do happy coincidence.
Pastore was near perfect for the part..
Effortless .
Graveyard yes of course.All coincidence is deadly in the Sopranos .David Chase may in fact be the evil one himself .He has all the best tunes and plots.
I always had a different interpretation of the calling card scheme explanation scene to Furio, I assumed he was wearing a wire at the time and that’s why he went into such specific detail about it andTony noticed
Agreed.
That's correct
Puss also purposely never gave the feds anything of true value. Calling card scheme is just an attempt to tow the line with his handlers
@@mrtomas0990 he gave the the multi-million dollar stock scam, that was where they put the millions from the whacking of the Spanish dope guys.
Same
There was a small clue Dr. Melfi gave him during a session where Tony asks what could cause back pain and Melfi says stress could easily be the issue.
I think Dr. Melfi straight up told him it could be a manifestation of guilt.
For me, this was always the most heartbreaking death. I was always hoping that Jimmy Altieri was the sole rat, or that maybe Tony would give Puss the chance to redeem himself by using the wire as a counter move to throw off the FBI. The loss of Big Puss from Tony's crew and Robert Pastore from the cast was hugely missed following the second season.
Yes! I loved and felt so bad for Pussy. Poor guy! 😔
Jimmy was never a rat tho. Re watch it
@@SlayerPDXHe didn't rat out Tony, but he did rat out Junior.
It was an early reason why the show was so excellent. They would sacrifice a great actor for the plot line, for the story. It had to be when it was for The Sopranos, even though it was tough for the cast & the audience.
@@SlayerPDX rewatch what? Of course he was a rat. They proved it the way he asked questions of Tony in the basement and went over settled business at his last sit down. When he is about to be shot he stops protesting and instead says, "Oh God." Of course he was a rat you stroonz.
Only thing I know is that if gangsters calls you on the boat to check the mahogany, DONT GO !
Makazian was my favorite character; I wish his arc had lasted longer.
“Frankly I don’t give a shit if you take it up the ass! Now whatdaya got for me?”-Tony 🤣
I know!
I loved him like a brother in law
The scene of Puss in tears on the toilet crying is brilliant. Superb acting.
Excellent post. I'd also say the elimination of Adriana LA Cerva was equally difficult to watch, just because her crimes were low-level compared to others, and how in the end she begged so convincingly to be spared. So sad.....
Maybe Big Puss was someone who helped Tony during his early days as a mobster, and Puss may have been the only person with a big heart and respect towards everyone in the family. Hell, he may have become a big part of Tony's life during Dickie's involvement with Tony and helped him somewhat heal after Dickie's death. But, only the movie can tell us his importance to everyone in the family.
The film Is a bullshit racial thing 🤮
His kid(s) went to Villanova, a second tier private school outside Philly, not the Ivy League.
Private University* but yes not Ivy League. It is as you said a top tier school though.
09:42 Sal was crying at at his Predicament, crying at the life he would have to leave behind and crying at betrayal of his friends and Tony, not because he knew he would be killed.
You don't know that. That's just your opinion. It's open to interpretation.
@@kcbh24
Yeah really.. that guy is full of shit
@@kcbh24 seriously? A fictional TV show characters motivation is open to interpretation
Even if Sal told Tony that he was wearing a wire and started crying over it, he still would have been killed. It really was a no win situation.
Oh 💯. Also the FBI wasn't even gonna hook him up with witness protection either. He was a walking dead man the entire time
@@ChrisSuswal-de9tjYea lol in real life or on television nobody ever survives in witness “protection” 😂
@@Theblueman14183 Henry Hill did. He even got kicked out of it, and never got killed when people knew where he was at.
I came here as soon as I could outta respect for my father
Don’t you know who my father was?
The golfer?
Jackie “the chemo-sabe” Aprile
@@gfunkmadness Brendan’s dead, message job, through the eyes...through the glasses you mean
@@gfunkmadness oh you are talking about the boss of this glorified crew
Your father got run over by a trolley
Well done once again Sir and I feel that you placed the precise amount of emphasis on this tale along with its ripples taking in his one time brothers living nightmares afterwards.. Clearly if there ever was honour, or a trait akin to it, this vignette illustrates again the true horror and ruthless nature of these grown men's gangs..
3:43 The facts suggest that Tony's speculation about the Christmas party was incorrect as Pussy's FBI handler specifically mentions to him that he had been with them since 98 which is 3 years after the 1995 Christmas party.
Could have had a different handler back then.
That deleted season 100% IMO should of been included, I could of def seen it being placed in the season 2 finale when they’re questioning Puss in the boat before he’s killed. When Tony says “when did they flip you?” The camera closes up on Puss’s face and it could have faded at that moment into that deleted scene.
Have you seen the deleted scene where Puss gets busted by the FBI.
@@joeyc8622 That’s literally what I was talking about in the comment
would've taken all the tension out of the scene and ruin the pacing if they showed the deleted scene in the middle of it
@@yea9725yeah. Would have been stylistically fucking trash dropping that hard cut into the flowing tapestry that is a Sopranos episode.
Correction: that’s not the Atlantic City docks in the season 2 finale in Tony’s food poisoning nightmare, it’s Asbury Park
And Atlantic city doesn't have docks either. That was the Asbury Park boardwalk.
@@kenangerstein3561 yes indeed lol I used to ride my bike on that boardwalk right in front of Convention Hall🙌🏾
the Stone Pony🎶🎶
That deleted scene does not belong in the show. It would have broken one of the cardinal rules of drama, story telling. It would have destroyed the suspense of not knowing for sure he was a rat in various episodes.
Great decision on going in on this specific part of the sopranos .. you could even say that this is the catalyst to the eventual downfall of the family’s empire and their ability to remain as a powerful force on the east coast… this may even be more important that the death of Jackie aprile.. the FBI having a direct line of information into the organization is tremendous..there’s a reason why the mob top brass says no drugs….this is a great example…well done thanks for sharing bro
On the Adriana Stomach vs Pussy back issue I’d just like to point out they are each very unique from the other in how stress affects them, and, to what level both physically and directly. Stress typically affects the stomach by causing too much or too little of a chemical or occasionally hormone which causes your stomach to also create improper biomes, acid levels, or other chemical levels required in healthy digestion. One surprisingly very common example with stress is cortisol, which, when released causes temporary lack of metabolic functions such as digestion quite specifically. And so you can get quite real physical cases of IBS that is out of Adriana’s control in how her being exposed to high stress situations causes the diarrhetic reaction she’s experiencing.
Versus the back, which when injured as a result of stress, it is usually a result of one or, more typically, a multitude of the byproducts that are the symptoms of stress. Some examples would be poor sleep/restless sleep causing one to not properly rest or relax their back and possibly having strained it, depression/guilt; which can often result in a lack of exercise, which weakens the core muscles and other surrounding muscles that help support the back, and finally the simple fact that; like some people grind their teeth when angry, some people will strain/tighten or ‘flex’ their lower back or shoulder blades subconsciously when stressed, which can certainly be painful long term.
Hahah, I love that you called him "E-mail Kolar"
you have no idea how happy I am that this channel exists !
This is when Tony became heisenberg
Can you do a theory video about Artie? I am rewatching the show and it is interesting how Artie is probably the only real friend that Tony has even with all their issues.
@Johnny Testinator yeah but how good of a friend can you be to your boss.... Artie does not need Tony for a career. So he's the only friend without any sort of mafia related coercion.
@johnnytestinator7131 he's loyal sure but like carmela said, he's just one of his guys who are scared to shit to offend him. His relationship with artie is actually mutual and he doesn't just behave like a pushover with Tony all the time
@@noedits1222I mean hell, Artie threatened Tonys life with a gun. Probably the only man on earth who could do that and get away with it.
That was not Atlantic City, it was Asbury Park NJ Boardwalk
Came here to say this! Unacceptable mistake!
Many people do not realize there are boardwalks up and down the coasts and its not just an AC thing.
@@hgbugalou I was from Monmouth County NJ, same as Asbury. That was what it looked like before they did all of the revitalization in the area. That was the Convention Hall and Paramount Theater in the background.
Love new New Jersey your blessed to live there!
I'm random commenting here about this but Tony doesn't see Pussy in the reflection of that door, only we saw him but i know Puss haunted Tony in his sleep and other hallucinations, anyway thx for the beachside info lol
this is why the sopranos and the wire are still my favorite shows they had characters that were multilayered and not one dimensional they showed pussy was conflicted he was angry with tony then even heart broken at times like at AJ's confirmation and tonys conflict he had to be absolutely sure he was in denial for awhile because I believe maybe with the exception of Christopher he was the closet to pussy when he paulie and Silvio finally took him out tony was almost in tears it was the only murder tony commited that haunted him
I truly don’t understand why these men think someone could ever be loyal or trusted. The way they lie to and kill one another is disloyal asf😩😂😂 the irony of it all
The Tequila scene before he's executed was heartbreaking.
I always thought the episode Nobody Knows Anything was so underrated by the fan base
The absolute genius of turning something like a talking fish, which is almost always humurous, into something you can feel hurt from. The moment Tony sees that toy you see the look on his face and you feel that awful feeling he feels.
This betrayal along with his upbringing solidified the soulless, greedy mob boss who practically ended alone after most of his crew was wiped out at the end of the final Season.
its interesting to note that David Chase originally had written it so that Big Pussy never comes back after he disappears and it was going to be left open to interpretation whether or not he was a rat.
He's got an annoying habit of leaving things open-ended, so I'm glad he decided against that just this once.
@@banner100 Yeah I’m so glad the series ending was so clear cut and not misleading at all…
@@hawk66100 I think it was a good move a little ambiguity keeps the series alive in our minds
@@Mebble Canon for me is that Tony got shot and killed right as it cut to black.
@@hawk66100 chase came out and said Tony died
I love how you say " Puss"
Not talking shit just saying
my memory always tricks me into thinking Pus got killed in late Season 4. Thats how much of an impact his character had on the show.
The tragedy of Puss' life--betraying his friend, killing Jimmy Bones with a hammer, putting a deliveryman in a coma--is made worse by domestic violence during his life and afterwards, as a desperate and then ambitious Angie begins to work with the DiMeo crime family and puts money on the street. That probably won't end well. When Carmela told Angie, "In the end, I know you're not going to leave him," it had a darker second meaning. Puss' activities cost his children their father and will likely take their mother from them, too.
why would they whack Angie ? She buys air bags and parts off them and kicks p a few $$$. The mob have 100’s of partners like her.
@@joeyc8622 Thanks. Recall what Rosalie says about Angie, "It's like she used to be one of us, and now she's one of them." Many of "them" do get whacked. If she stays a partner, she still runs the risk of arrest and becoming an informant. Most informants in the Sopranos--think Jack Massarone--get whacked. Even if she survives, as she appears impressively competent in her new life when we last see her, she will have changed morally.
With out Tony's protection, I think Angie is in for a rough ride.
It's crazy how many years later I uncover new insights that gives the show a new light. David Chase was touched by God
Yeah, I wondered about the whole "bad back" thing. The subplot was sad too where Pussy thinks he can become an FBI agent and the agent strings him along on that idea 'til near the end.
I think it'd be good to give credit to the actors involved (besides just Gandolfini). In this case Vincent Pastore. He was great and also so good in the movie "Revolver."
Good job, as usual.
I tell anyone THIS DEATH changed tv forever. And this is what makes The Sopranos the best TV Show ever. It was the first time we saw a truly main and beloved character was killed. This beget Ned Stark and other future tv deaths. Cast members across television would look in a new script and wonder
Oz kinda did it first with Dino Ortaloni but Big Puss was an established character for two full seasons when he was killed. It was like if the show Friends killed off Joey, not something you saw in TV back then. I actually remember being a kid when Season 2 had just aired and Big Puss was killed, it was a big deal in the television world and a revolutionary series even just after 2 seasons back then.
Ned stark was killed in the books, which came out in the mid 90s, way before Sopranos.
Col Blake was a central to M.A.S.H. as Big Pussy was to the Sopranos and his death preceded the Sopranos by more than 2 decades.
Tony ran from the fbi, when Johnny Sac was getting arrested.
Johnny did the same
How quickly those antiquated rules can become disregarded.
I just finished the sopranos a month ago and I've really been hung up on the break off between Melfie and Tony. It seemed so out of the blue and almost forced in some aspects, like her attitude had such a 180 it felt bizarre
As good as chase was he isn't the all and holy grail of tv writing that some tout him to be. Some very good arcs, phenomenal dialogs and great details that connect down the road..... however on the whole, the criminality and personal interactions of criminals is laughable at times.
There were lots of unanswered questions, plot holes and creation of characters that were treated as familiar faces whenever the story spun in a new direction.
Just my humble opinion
She read the study that showed her that she was just being played by Tony. She took it personally didn't want to be part of it
@@dmartig1 right.... but like she wouldn't have heard of or read that study prior? Seems unlikely.
@@samhansen6320 I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole here but it was a newly published study which is why it was also being discussed at the dinner party with her colleagues. She was charmed by him and liked being close to the danger and her therapist went out of his way for years to dissuade her from treating him.
@@dmartig1 fair point sir.
I stand corrected on the point about the timeliness of the study.
My mistake.
I agree with most of the rest of what you said and in a sense it fits what I had said about chase writing.
In Episode 1, when Tony, Pussy, Paulie, Sil and Chrissy are sitting around at the Bing talking, there's a show on where a 60-minutes type guy is interviewing a former Mob Capo turned informant about the state of the Mafia. One of the few actual parts of that conversation that they show is the former Mafioso being asked what is the biggest thing that's hurting the mob. His response is "once they started dealing in drugs it was all over. That's a minimum 35 to life sentence, this harsh punishment is getting a lot of guys to flip"
Exactly what happened to Big Pussy.
The flash back is of the Asbury Park boardwalk in NJ, not Atlantic City.
Been there a hundred times and when he said that I was like “OHHH!” * Italian hands”
Yes it is Asbury
Bruce Springsteen land...
I realized something. He resented furio that’s why he wanted him and furio to do the hit on Matt so he could inform skip that furio his replacement killed that kid and send him far far away
I don't think Puss's back issues were necessarily a lie.
I feel like Tony asking Puss "did she even exist?" was only put there to represent Tony's distrust of him.
They loved and trusted each other for their entire lives, and that moment was simply Tony's way of letting him know, I can't believe anything you say anymore.
Not to bust balls, but the part where you say "The docks of Atlantic City." The docks where Tony is walking on is at Asbury Park. 😉
Was about to comment this myself, glad someone beat me to it lol
Same. Small but important detail
Not sure his best quote, but I think the scene where he was crying, the episode where he was AJ's sponsor, was one of the best acted scenes in the entire series. 09:42
I also (respectfully) disagree that that was when he knew Tony was going to kill him, I think he was crying because he realized he was F'ing over people he loves. If he thought that, why wouldn't he just leave, again?
I take issue with saying "he had no choice but to flip." He absolutely had a choice. He chose to be a career criminal and knowingly commit crimes that could get him a life sentence. He could have taken his time like a man just like every other mobster doing 30+ years in prison. Those guys have children and family too and they *chose* to not rat.
Yeah, I don't know if you've heard about his guy, Phil Leotardo. He did 20 years in the can apparently.
@@kamruddintayabali9070 Nah, I don’t think so. He never mentioned anything about that.
His fault is moving heroin. Way to much heat. Once he got pitched, he probably rationalized it and thought "fine I will keep earning for a few years to get my son into college, then I'll just bolt or go in"
Tony has the amazing ability to sum up a man's whole life in one sentence, lol I liked vin
You can call him a rat or a snitch which he was, but he had an impossible choice between that and his children. He knew he couldn't just take himself out because his family was already struggling financially at the time.
He thought he couldn’t but his wife got a job after and the family did fine financially Angie was driving a better car then Carmela eventually...
Was pretty bummed out by Big Puss turning fink, but it made the series more compelling.
I would say Puss turned on his wife. She would try her hardest to talk to him and communicate but he was tripping.
Where Tony asks "Did she even really exist?" it was in reference to Puss' goumard down in "Puerto Rico", not his Doctor.
yeah, but she was supposed to be his physical therapist as well, if i'm not mistaken.
@@jbard9892 You may be right but it'll be a year before Sopranos comes around the algo again lol.
See, that has always been confusing... In episode 310 they imply that Pussy got flipped back in 1995, or at least that Tony thinks that, but in season 2 in a conversation between Skip and Pussy, Skip says "You've been on our tit since 98..." Could this be a rare continuity error? Or were they telling us that Tony and the crew were wrong about when they thought he flipped, wanting to think the betrayal was even worse than it actually was so as to justify it to themselves?
He may have had a different handler before 1998. It was probably a retcon, though.
While we may have wanted Chase to include the deleted scene, we have the luxury of being able to look back upon the series as a completed work of art. But, I believe we can understand why Chase cut the scene of Big Pussy being flipped by the Feds because, at the time, Tony's story arc was still in its infancy and slowly evolving. Most important I think was that the story was always from the perspective of Tony and giving any type of empathy to the predicament of an informant against Tony would have diluted the finished masterpiece.
The greatest part of this was seeing Sil absolutely shaken to the bone. And you see he nor Paulie really isn't over it during the Christmas episode.
The moment he flipped he knew his life was forfeit. He just tried to stretch it out. But had he gone to Tony and informed him he probably would have saved his own life.
I don't think Tony's dream sequences were any revelations to Tony. He always knew that Puss was an informant but didn't want to face it. The dreams were just the final straw that broke the camels back that he had to deal with it once and for all. Dreams are basically the thoughts and feelings that we hold subconsciously purging themselves.
I also think it was Puss that had the Madams place busted in the 1st place. He knew the cop had probably been giving Tony the info that he was a rat. Which he stated in his return in season 2. That bust was also I think, was the beginning of Ray becoming a rat as well
“ Things are happening Tony ”...
I didn't realize he was gone for a year. I thought it was a month.I really think the emotional journey was captured beatfully him drinking at the Christmas party, the crying at the Conformation, pleading to keep his eyes, all of it. Absolutely amazing show. On the streets that's the biggest betrayl their isnao it mak3s sense he would be emotional selling out his friends
Your channel made me fall in love with this show again
In real life the biggest flaw of omerta has to be no way out when marked for death Joe Valachi and Sammy Gravano and many more had no choice when felt betrayed because of the archaic rules .
.
Sammy was a rat...... Sammy and John were both in federal custody. Nothing was going to happen to Sammy. Sammy felt betrayed when he heard the tapes of John talking about him. But there was so much evidence against John Gotti that he was going to fall anyway.
Joseph Bonano was marked for death because of a pointless ongoing mob war yet he was allowed to retired to Arizona.
@@wraynephew6838 John said in the tapes that Sammy would take all the heat for the killings and he would walk
Watch Our Godfather about tomasso buscetta.... Think it's still on Netflix 👍
@@lozzaheath815 thanks 👍
funny how the FBI or police don't seven bother investigating his disappearance. His wife knew they were going on a boat and they sprayed blood all over the thing.
Yeah, that kind of thing happens a lot throughout the show. Ritchie Aprile, Ralph, and Adriana - no one really even bothers to investigate those disappearances, either. When Jackie Jr. robs the poker game, it's a freaking bloodbath...would've made national news.
But, it's TV. And it's hilarious how incompetent law enforcement is.
I love that show so much
Every informant the fbi had died except Carlo and that’s only cause we found out at the end of the show. Not a single informant ended with a arrest just death. FBI didn’t even care either
Its not the story David Chase wanted to tell, so why bother? The show is not about cops so dont include them. He could have written in hours about investigations to make it more realistic but imo he went the right way. We all know cops arent stupid. There are hours and hours of tv programming that detail that.
@@Night_Owl_Noah Also, Christopher's spontaneous killing of his friend, J.T.Dolan in his own apartment. Christopher must have been a frequent visitor, and known there, and could easily have been seeing going in or out. And wasn't J.T's girlfriend also there? Hard to believe he wouldn't be at least questioned about the killing. And people at AA and NA would have known of their association, which would have been uncovered in any serious investigation.
Thankfully Big Puss made it on G Units mixtape before his untimely demise. Giving the streets one last memory of him.
"That's why I was poppin percocets like fuckin Juju beans"
He knows damn well Tony wasn’t going to take care of his kids
Most important lesson of the show: Never tell a high stakes lie to someone smarter than you
Mafia code of not running from the cops.... We see them all run from the cops. Paulie, Tony even Junior..
"The code is more like guidelines than what you would call actual rules" Hector Barbossa.
@@randomcenturion7264 exactly....
Melfi: "You've never mentioned any of your associates by name... except for that one fellow... Booty?"
Tony: "Pussyyy!... Pussyyyyyy!"
Melfi: "Pussy... Booty, I don't know his last name."
Such a funny exchange. 😂
In the card game scene, I wondered if Sal set Jimmy up for the raid. Did he inform about the guns? There's a scene where he looks at the door prior to the knock. Did he hear them out there, was the force with him or did he know the FBI was coming.
Perhaps the best drama ever made. Everyone of the actors played their characters to perfection. All of them deserved multiple Emmy’s.
1:52 flashback to the beginning of season 1 when they watch a show about the end of the mob era and drug trafficking being of the reasons it ended
Great video man I really enjoyed it got me engaged all video
The dream of Puss being a fish demonstrates what our intuitions portray to us as well as Tony having a rancid smell around him and Puss being rotten.
Why does UA-cam force me to watch an Advertisement every single video
I always thought that Pussy hadn't been flipped in the flashback. It was about a bunch of sociopaths who miss their friend and are having mixed feelings of how it went down. If they were to reminisce when he was 10 years old they would see signs he was wired up.
Another great video! FYI. The "docks" (Boardwalk) shown on the show are in Asbury Park, not Atlantic City. 🙂
The mafia has a code against running from the cops?
Is that in section 3 of the mafia user manual: "How to handle being arrested"?
I've looked at the code of Omerta or however you spell it I don't see anything mentioning that
No although Junior lectured him and said "we don't run."
@@carterisgod22 we'll have to get the lawyers on it. They can get through all that fine print.
Vinny was the only one who got killed off before the big money came rolling in.
I always interpreted the hurt back from the stress he was dealing with.
it took me 15 years to track down a 4K version The Sopranos. My Absolute Favorite show of all time. Finally can say im one of the few people who has the 4k version
Normally I know this is completely outta the question in La Cosa Nostra, but due to Tony, Syl, and Paulie’s closeness to Puss, they could’ve agreed to give him a pass if he agreed not to give the feds another word and do his time for H. Another I wondered is why didn’t Puss just go all in and go witness protection? That was the only way to save his life and be done with the stress.
I think he was too reluctant to go all in at first, then later unable to when he tried, due to all the self-censoring and code talk.
This was the betrayal that made Tony realise that anyone could be flipped. A piece of him died when he took him out.
No running? Thats silly, I remember Junior running away from a funeral with Bobby, Johnny Sack and Tony too, both run away, Jhonny fells on the snow while Tony escapes