FlyOnMelfisWall wrote:Viewed in this light, every bit of the profits from that house belonged to her, not Tony.

I've read your post again and thought about it some more. I've now completely changed my mind about saying Carmella didn't earn the money. She absolutely did negotiate a deal with Tony for that $600K. I had either forgotten about that or subconsciously overlooked it.

We don't know what was involved in Tony buying any materials but I feel that I just need to let go of it. Your position is much stronger than mine was. So, I now have to admit that whatever profit she made from the house absolutely, in fairness, belongs to her.

I just watched the episode again (3x) and I guess what strikes me most about this episode is the sense of urgency, caused in part by Tony's viciousness and the jittery camera. I just can't remember a Sopranos episode so suffused with tension and animosity on Tony's part. Last episode was tense but in my opinion this one took the cake. Honestly I feel a little emotionally manipulated because of how malicious Tony has gotten...I try and tell him his emotional outbursts aren't good for business but he doesn't listen. Anyways, this whole season has been like this for me, a steady crescendo of Tony's vindictiveness ("It's not like I won a plane ticket to Paris"; "We could have turned your bullshit into a million dollars!" - Poor Carm) and of how he's lonely at the top and alienating himself from everyone...except for Meadow. And Carm may still be on his side but it looks like the wick may be lit on that bridge as well. I will say, he's curbed his impulses with regards to his crew (Paulie is the biggest example there), but the bottled stress from that has boiled over into his personal life and with the gambling. And you have to think that Chrissy's movie hurt him bad. As he said, "This is the image of me portrayed to the world." He's in a whole world of self-absorbtion and self loathing right now and unfortunately all the people around have to suffer for it. Lately I've been picking up on a distinct Livian tone to his speech as well. I don't know what the hell is going on in that brain of his but the future looks grim. He needs to have another panic attack. It's the only thing that will save him.

Splishak wrote:I've read your post again and thought about it some more. I've now completely changed my mind about saying Carmella didn't earn the money. She absolutely did negotiate a deal with Tony for that $600K. I had either forgotten about that or subconsciously overlooked it.

We don't know what was involved in Tony buying any materials but I feel that I just need to let go of it.

Splish, you have the admirable quality of being able to change your mind about something and the even more admirable ability to admit it.

When Tony asked how much she cleared on the sale, she specifically mentioned "after" the building costs and the price of the land, so I assume she was planning all along on paying building costs back to Tony. You might even say that she was planning on paying him back for the cost of the land and keeping only the net profit for herself. In that case, it's REALLY clear that the money, the 600K she cleared, is hers.

ldrollins wrote:I don't know what the hell is going on in that brain of his but the future looks grim. He needs to have another panic attack. It's the only thing that will save him.

The irony of this cracks me up. Good one!

FlyOnMelfisWall wrote:Splish, you have the admirable quality of being able to change your mind about something and the even more admirable ability to admit it.

Well, I appreciate your kind words, but do you remember how you began your previous post? I mean the post where you told me that I was dead wrong about Carmella. You began it like this:

But let me offer another perspective on it ...

That is one of the most interesting ways I've ever seen to tell someone they're wrong. I wonder if you ever try that in court to opposing counsel. Do they ever realize that you've taken down their pants in front of the entire court? Or does it just go unnoticed (as I would suspect)?

In this episode, Hesh said something about the cost of Tony's boat. I think he said it was 3.2 million.

Does anyone know anything about power boats? Is that even close to possible? It seems crazy to me. I'm thinking a private jet plane might not even cost that much. Would Tony really spend $3.2 million on a boat? Especially if it has no resale value?

Splishak wrote:In this episode, Hesh said something about the cost of Tony's boat. I think he said it was 3.2 million.

Does anyone know anything about power boats? Is that even close to possible? It seems crazy to me. I'm thinking a private jet plane might not even cost that much. Would Tony really spend $3.2 million on a boat? Especially if it has no resale value?

Hey Splishak, Good point. I don't know anything about power boats, but this does seem high. But then again as someone who has lived in Jersey all my life the cost of living and everything else for that matter is very high. If boats are anywhere close to the ridiculous price for houses, it's not that inconsivable that Tony would spend 3.2 mil on his boat.

Splishak wrote:That is one of the most interesting ways I've ever seen to tell someone they're wrong. I wonder if you ever try that in court to opposing counsel. Do they ever realize that you've taken down their pants in front of the entire court? Or does it just go unnoticed (as I would suspect)?

Fortunately, my legal career lasted all of 4 months and ended about 17 years ago. I now limit myself to occasionally helping family and friends (letter-writing, contract-drafting, wills, etc.). No courtrooms for me.

billyp wrote:I think Tony explained it when he said Vito earned 3 times as much as Carlo. Vito was in fact, supporting Tony's gambling all along, and now that he's lost that vein, the problem has risen to the surface.

I just took that has Tony being frustrated that no one in his crew earns like Vito did and he is mad that everyone was pushing for him to take him out, but were not looking at the big picture. I think it will also help fuel the fires betwwen Tony and Phil in future episodes. I don't think it relates directly to the gambling.

I thought one of the most interesting scenes in this episode was when Tony was riding in the car being driven by that big bald guy, don't know his name. I guess he is one of the bodyguards, but he points out to Tony, "Isn't that those guys that used to hang around The Bing?" It was done very subtle, with Tony just staring out the window at them. I was just interested to know what everyone thought about this scene and where you think it could be heading?

After viewing chasing it, the episode follows the theme of season 6 part 2 so far - the end.
The end of, or coming to an end of friendships, the imminent end of the mob glory years,if you like, - the glamour of the mafia in reverse. No longer are the characters seen as reaping rewards, they are seen as sad figures - Paulie watching tv, lonely, laughing away to himself, resentful - Chris towards Tony, regretful - Phil the stand up guy and Tony, hateful - towards well, everyone and everything. Cant remember seeing T like this before, a disregard for his friends, family, a dont care attitude. I think this translates to him being scared - not sure what of - maybe he knows he's on borrowed time or he knows the family cant continue earning so little. The realisation that he's ''come in at the end'' maybe Tony is making so many enemies he will be ultimately killed and we will be left with an unresolved ''who dunnit'' at the end of it all. I wouldnt like this ending but just a thought.