...

2
You could tell that Carm had no interest in him. He mentioned that book to her, and she couldn't even understand the title well enough to write it down.

I doubt we hear from him again, except for further AJ scenes, or perhaps Carmela rejecting him.

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Re: ...

3
Odd that you'd think Carmela had no interest in Wegler. To me she seemed to be girlishly excited with him, and she was nervously trying to cover up her ignorance of Flaubert so that he wouldn't think she was uneducated (recalling the Billy Budd argument with Meadow last season).

We've had some spoiler info suggesting Wegler will be around a little longer.



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Re: ...

4
I think that she WAS interested in him, because he's everything that Tony wasn't - cultured, educated.

Why would she write down the title of the book that he recommended, and say she would pick it up at Barnes and Noble later, if she wasn't interested in him?



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Re: ...

5
She actually said she'd stop by "Borders" later, not Barnes and Noble, as I remember it.

Anyway, while I think there is a possibility that Carmela may have become somewhat infatuated with this counselor guy, I must confess to a certain personal disappointment with any such hookup. I'd like to see Carmela try and strike it out on her own as an independent woman, and make her own way in the world in some fashion. Enough of her developing prepubescent schoolgirl crushes on any men who come her way (Victor Mustow, the wallpaper man from Season 2, then Furio Giunta, and now possibly this counselor); I'd like to see her make something of herself without any man to serve as a crutch.

Because the fact is, she's a brilliant woman who could make much of herself. (Remember that she dropped out of a business program at Montclair State University to marry Tony?) And I think her devotion to her family, though absolutely commendable and righteous, has afforded her little true spiritual happiness, especially now that she has basically lost her family. Tony cheated on her and lied to her in a most disgusting fashion throughout all of their 20-year marriage, and neglected her emotionally and intellectually to boot. And her kids have never showed her any gratitude for the sacrifices she's made for them throughout the years; indeed, they have both always treated her very disrespectfully and have rarely, if ever, actually showed her any affection. Now she's given up AJ to Tony (the right move, if you ask me), and, on the face of it at least, Meadow doesn't seem much more interested in maintaining a particularly close personal relationship with her mother, judging from her response to Carmela's question in the last episode ("So how are you, honey?" -- "I'm in the middle of a movie, Mom.").

So enough of her busting her ass, sacrificing herself for three ungrateful brats already! Remember in the Season 1 episode "A Hit is A Hit", when Christopher asked Adriana "Why do you want to work anyway? Don't you wanna just be with me?" Adriana replied, "What, and be one of those wives like Carmela Soprano? Spend half you life breast-feeding a bunch of rugrats, then spend all the rest of your time at the gym, just you and your stretch marks!" Christopher replied, "You've got a point there . . . My cousin's got a great brain, but what does she use it for?"

The answer: She's used it to devote herself entirely to her family for a generation already. And what has she gotten for it? A husband who continually betrayed her in the most degenerate--and unapologetic!--fashion; two bratty, disrespectful kids who've never showed her any particular amount of love or appreciation and who, especially now , seem to want to have as little to do with her as possible; and a biting loneliness. One way or another, I'd like to see Carmela gain some reasonable degree of independence and happiness before this series ends.

(Isn't that some sh-t? Remember how TONY was afraid he'd lose his family, and now it's really CARMELA who's lost it?)







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Viability: Carmela and the guidance counselor

6
There seems to be some controversy brewing in regard to a possible courtship for these two characters. Some want Carmela to autonomously seek her own self-actualized potential as a single and contemporary woman. Some seem to think that this romance may be indicated if not restorative. At the same time, there are those among us who advocate for her to remain steadfastly the matrimonial property of Tony.

I do not feel that there exists much viability in the actuality of such a union. Why? Lack of what AJ refers to as "common ground." While Wegler is attractive in an academic sort of way, and Carmela is also appealing in her own sort of authenticity, there is still a cultural gap. The GC is cultivated, learned; Carmela is not. When she grapples with erudite issues (Meadow's dinner party/Madame Bovary for examples), she is in a pitiable position...sadly over her head. Now, this is not for one moment to imply that Carmela is unintelligent...she is not. She is intrinsically insightful as evidenced by her wonderful confrontation of Father Phil many seasons ago. She perceptively realized that he was a lurker in the realm of sensuality, and had the articulation to call him on it with her wonderfully stated implication of his merely only being willing to risk the "whiff of sexuality..." This statement alone exemplifies her insight as well as her ability to give voice to these sorts of realizations.

Essentially, these two come from different worlds. Or more likely, have taken different paths. They are more, in my opinion, in love with the idea of love, rather than the reality of the other. Style-wise, Carmela is just too processed for the GC. At a libidinal level the GC is too cerebral, as opposed to primal (especially after Tony), for Carm. In the short run opposites may attract; in the long run it is mutuals who endure.

Can you imagine the six pack of whoop-a__ that Wegler would catch from Tony if this relationship were to develop? The Zellman belt-whipping would pale in comparison...

</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub132.ezboard.com/bsopranolandf ... vingEgo</A> at: 4/4/04 12:33 pm

Wegler

7
All I can say about Wegler is that he'll have more signifigant role than Vic Musto or someone like that. They got David Strathairn to play him. I don't think that he would've join the cast if the role would've been a cameo, the guy has enough work in movies.

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wuss

9
This is only coming from my limited knowledge of women (meaning, wife, sisters, and mother), but Carm can't possibly see anything in the counselor except the exact opposite of Tony.

What I mean by that is that Tony is a very dominating type-A personality sort of male where this Wegler guy isn't exactly that. He seems to me to be the kind of guy who wears panties.

Like I say, from my limited knowlege of women, women don't normally find themselves attractive to big, strong, powerful men and then think to themselves, "oh my! I got it all wrong. I really do want a guy who is the biggest pansy out there."

I think that was the problem with Father Phil or the wallpaper guy and eventually with this counselor.

Carm may want to be with him for a very short time just because it's somebody different, but in the long run, she'll realize what a dope he is and dump him, or not really feel affected by what happens to him, when Tony gets ahold of him.

I mean, to keep this show realistic, what can Carm go to after being married to a guy like Tony Soprano for 20+ years? I mean, is she going to start dating the President?

I'm convinced that nothing good is EVER going to come to Carmella and her lot in life is to be with Tony and all that comes with it. She's a tragic figure, plain and simple.

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