If I remember correctly, Phil’s eyes well up immediately after Tony tells him that he experienced some dreadful thing in his coma, and that Phil might have experienced something similar during his heart attack, something awesome and awful. Does Phil have to surrender his mob boss suitcase, as Tony/Finnerty does?
The Sopranos is a great American tragedy in the mode of “Death of Salesman.” In the play, Willy Loman ends up running his car off the road without ever discovering “who he was.” Will Anthony Soprano/Kevin Finnerty the salesman ever find out who he is? I doubt it. The man in the French beret is “too old and fat,” as Gandolfini recently described himself, for the harrowing descent into Hell.
To admit that he is an inveterate killer, scam artist, and thief; to turn himself in to the gods for casually crushing lives—the psychological damage of such self-disclosure would trigger the madness of King Lear. This fate is worse than the death or life sentence that Tony prophesies for himself.
Channel surfing on Christmas Eve, Bobby Jr. clicks on Casablanca. Revellers raise a toast, “Here’s to America!” What is the best that America can offer Willy Loman and Kevin Finnerty? Redemption. Redemption is one of the great American leitmotifs. It is the stuff of Frank Capra movies and the cult of heroism that raises generals to presidents.
What other motif fuels the American dream? Liberty. But the pursuit of freedom, as David Chase portrays it, is pretence for psychological narcissism and crass materialism. Chase’s vision of the American dream echoes that of Willy’s son Biff, who challenges his father to “take that phoney dream and burn it before something happens.”
On this eerily Silent Night, Blanca (white/pure) compliments Carmela on her “nice” house (casa/clan): Casablanca. The Casa Soprano is as rotten as the floorboards of Carmella’s spec house.
One last clip: in it a character rues, “In Casablanca life is cheap.” The scene fades to black. The chorus has spoken.
</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p098.ezboard.com/bthechaselounge ... vellino</A> at: 6/9/06 3:54 pm
Return to “Episode 6.12: Kaisha”
- Featured Discussions
- - The Many Saints of Newark
- - James Gandolfini Remembered
- - Sopranos Symbolism and Subtext
- - Sopranos in the News
- - Sopranos Individual Episode Forums
- - - Season 1
- - - - Episode 1.01: The Sopranos
- - - - Episode 1.02: 46 Long
- - - - Episode 1.03: Denial, Anger, Acceptance
- - - - Episode 1.04: Meadowlands
- - - - Episode 1.05: College
- - - - Episode 1.06: Pax Soprana
- - - - Episode 1.07: Down Neck
- - - - Episode 1.08: The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti
- - - - Episode 1.09: Boca
- - - - Episode 1.10: A Hit Is a Hit
- - - - Episode 1.11: Nobody Knows Anything
- - - - Episode 1.12: Isabella
- - - - Episode 1.13: I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano
- - - Season 2
- - - - Episode 2.01: Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office
- - - - Episode 2.02: Do Not Resuscitate
- - - - Episode 2.03: Toodle-Fucking-Oo
- - - - Episode 2.04: Commendatori
- - - - Episode 2.05: Big Girls Don't Cry
- - - - Episode 2.06: The Happy Wanderer
- - - - Episode 2.07: D-Girl
- - - - Episode 2.08: Full Leather Jacket
- - - - Episode 2.09: From Where to Eternity
- - - - Episode 2.10: Bust Out
- - - - Episode 2.11: House Arrest
- - - - Episode 2.12: The Knight in White Satin Armor
- - - - Episode 2.13: Funhouse
- - - Season 3
- - - - Episode 3.01: Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood
- - - - Episode 3.02: Proshai, Livushka
- - - - Episode 3.03: Fortunate Son
- - - - Episode 3.04: Employee of the Month
- - - - Episode 3.05: Another Toothpick
- - - - Episode 3.06: University
- - - - Episode 3.07: Second Opinion
- - - - Episode 3.08: He Is Risen
- - - - Episode 3.09: The Telltale Moozadell
- - - - Episode 3.10: To Save Us All from Satan's Power
- - - - Episode 3.11: Pine Barrens
- - - - Episode 3.12: Amour Fou
- - - - Episode 3.13: Army of One
- - - Season 4
- - - - Episode 4.01: For All Debts Public and Private
- - - - Episode 4.02: No Show
- - - - Episode 4.03: Christopher
- - - - Episode 4.04: The Weight
- - - - Episode 4.05: Pie-O-My
- - - - Episode 4.06: Everbody Hurts
- - - - Episode 4.07: Watching Too Much Television
- - - - Episode 4.08: Mergers and Acquisitions
- - - - Episode 4.09: Whoever Did This
- - - - Episode 4.10: The Strong, Silent Type
- - - - Episode 4.11: Calling All Cars
- - - - Episode 4.12: Eloise
- - - - Episode 4.13: Whitecaps
- - - Season 5
- - - - Episode 5.01: Two Tonys
- - - - Episode 5.02: Rat Pack
- - - - Episode 5.03: Where's Johnny?
- - - - Episode 5.04: All Happy Families
- - - - Episode 5.05: Irregular Around the Margins
- - - - Episode 5.06: Sentimental Education
- - - - Episode 5.07: In Camelot
- - - - Episode 5.08: Marco Polo
- - - - Episode 5.09: Unidentified Black Males
- - - - Episode 5.10: Cold Cuts
- - - - Episode 5.11: The Test Dream
- - - - Episode 5.12: Long Term Parking
- - - - Episode 5.13: All Due Respect
- - - Season 6, Part 1
- - - - Episode 6.01: Members Only
- - - - Episode 6.02: Join the Club
- - - - Episode 6.03: Mayham
- - - - Episode 6.04: The Fleshy Part of the Thigh
- - - - Episode 6.05: Mr. and Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request
- - - - Episode 6.06: Live Free or Die
- - - - Episode 6.07: Luxury Lounge
- - - - Episode 6.08: Johnny Cakes
- - - - Episode 6.09: The Ride
- - - - Episode 6.10: Moe N' Joe
- - - - Episode 6.11: Cold Stones
- - - - Episode 6.12: Kaisha
- - - Season 6, Part 2
- - - - Episode 6.13: Soprano Home Movies
- - - - Episode 6.14: Stage 5
- - - - Episode 6.15: Remember When
- - - - Episode 6.16: Chasing It
- - - - Episode 6.17: Walk Like a Man
- - - - Episode 6.18: Kennedy and Heidi
- - - - Episode 6.19: The Second Coming
- - - - Episode 6.20: The Blue Comet
- - - - Episode 6.21: Made in America
- Other Sopranos Discussions
- - Sopranos Voting Booth
- - Music on The Sopranos
- - The Kitchen Sink
- - - Sopranos FAQ
- - The Movie Never Ends
- - Chase Lounge Archives
- - - Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall
- - - "Proshai, Sopranos: A Final Toast from The Chase Lounge"
- - - Season 6, Parts 1 and 2, Spoilers/Spoiler-Based Speculation
- - - Season 6, Part 2, Non Spoiler-Based Speculation/Discussion
- - - Request a Sitdown (Pre-2016)
- Other Forums
- - David Chase B.S. ('Besides Sopranos' of Course!)
- - Literature and Film
- - Television
- - - Mad Men
- - - Boardwalk Empire
- - Satriale's Meet Market
- This Thing of Ours: Matters Relating to The Chase Lounge and Its Members
- - Posting Policies
- - Request a Sitdown