Kennedy and Heidi dream theory

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hi, i'm new. anyway...

I saw the the bigger discussion thread on this episode but there is a detail supporting the argument that I didn't see there. I didn't read all 13 pages, but come on.

When Tony is standing in the desert with Sonya and is exclaiming to the sun in what I believe was the last shot (it's been a few months since I've seen the episode) and the sun appears to flicker and a fluorescent hum can be heard, like the overhead light he was staring into when he threw up and the trip started. Did he spend most or all of his 'journey' in the bathroom. I suspect that the whole Sonya character might have been imagined by Tony, a la Isabella, but there are some inconsistencies. Eh?

Re: Kennedy and Heidi dream theory

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SilvioMancini wrote:IMO i think this was deliberately meant to feel like a dream while actually being real. Therefore correctly simulating the Peyote experience.
Very good point. I tend to agree.

I firmly believe Sonja existed, as Tony's first interaction with her was before the peyote. I always leaned heavily towards the interpretation that the peyote trip into the casino and desert was real, although, in the end, I don't think it matters much whether it was real or imagined. Rather the epiphany Tony had, or thought he had, was important.
Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

Re: Kennedy and Heidi dream theory

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SilvioMancini wrote:IMO i think this was deliberately meant to feel like a dream while actually being real. Therefore correctly simulating the Peyote experience.

As usual, you have an amazing way of boiling things down to succinct nuggets that clarify the point! Way back, Silvio had amazing posts on his take on the peyote aspect- worth re-reading or re-posting.

Re: Kennedy and Heidi dream theory

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I've always rather enjoyed Fly and Billymac's take on the Vegas trip, and the space/celestial symbolism throughout (connecting back to "Join the Club" as well). However, the peyote trip itself represents something much more simple to me, that Tony's trip to Las Vegas more than anything symbolized his descent into hell.

In "Chasing It", Carlo mentions the episode of "The Twilight Zone" entitled "A Nice Place to Visit". The episode tells the story of a man who dies and ends up in a place where he never loses: He gets every girl he wants and wins every bet he places. He eventually becomes bored, and assuming he is in heaven, asks to go to "the other place" instead - Only to be informed that he is in the other place.

Just two episodes of "The Sopranos" later, this image is conjured again when Tony stumbles through the casino, Sonya on his arm, experiencing an implausibly lucky streak at the roulette table. The connection is completed by the cartoon devil placed prominently upon one of the slot machine, which temporarily transfixes Tony. Without the slightest bit of remorse for his hand in Chris' death, Tony - truly "comfortably numb" - has solidified his position in hell.

And the moment of redemption many of us fans had hoped Tony would reach by the series' end never really came. His epiphany at the end of "Kennedy and Heidi" was one last tease for us, but didn't quite signify the profound change in Tony we had hoped to see. And if we do choose to see Tony's peyote experience as symbolic of hell (only in the wake of the Twilight Zone episode mentioned a couple episodes earlier), we can then come to expect the ultimate destiny Fly found in the series end: An "eternity of darkness, nothingness, and eternal isolation from his family".

I don't know. Just my $0.02. I was always intrigued by the cartoon devil in the casino that Tony is so fixed on, but it wasn't until I re-watched the series and was reminded of Carlo's mention of the Twilight Zone episode that I really felt there was a strong connection between that and "Kennedy and Heidi", and thus between the casino and hell also.

Re: Kennedy and Heidi dream theory

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Universal Polymath wrote:However, the peyote trip itself represents something much more simple to me, that Tony's trip to Las Vegas more than anything symbolized his descent into hell.

In "Chasing It", Carlo mentions the episode of "The Twilight Zone" entitled "A Nice Place to Visit". The episode tells the story of a man who dies and ends up in a place where he never loses: He gets every girl he wants and wins every bet he places. He eventually becomes bored, and assuming he is in heaven, asks to go to "the other place" instead - Only to be informed that he is in the other place.

Just two episodes of "The Sopranos" later, this image is conjured again when Tony stumbles through the casino, Sonya on his arm, experiencing an implausibly lucky streak at the roulette table. The connection is completed by the cartoon devil placed prominently upon one of the slot machine, which temporarily transfixes Tony. Without the slightest bit of remorse for his hand in Chris' death, Tony - truly "comfortably numb" - has solidified his position in hell.
Great post, UP. I had no idea about the Twilight Zone ep (and Chase has mentioned that series as one of a very few that he always admired). I think it adds strongly to the hell symbolism that you and others pointed out, most pointedly represented by the devil on the slot machine and the similarities to Chris' NDE.
Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"
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