I feel some sympathy for him because he was tired, tired of his crew, tired of eating the same damn gabagool everyday. He wish he never would have left the matrix.
He may not have lived enough to change, but at least Ralph, for all his degeneracy and excesses, recognized his own evil while Tony Christopher and Paulie, despite literally getting a warning from the other side, never strayed from the path of dammation.
Damn that's crazy, you are absolutely right, Tony, Chrissy, and Paulie all had a near death experience where they saw the other side and they continued doing the evil things they did. Ralphie, on the other hand seemed seriously remorseful of his way of life, rather than just scared in the moment. I felt bad when the detective killed himself in the beginning of the show and I even felt a little bad when Ralphie was killed by Tony, even though I hated Ralphie for beating that girl to death and burning the horse alive.
Paulie have a bit of self awareness though. But he used it to his advantage instead of being remorseful and have a redemption. The moment he get terminal ilness, the 3 am thing (hi didnt just shrug it off as nonsense), the ghoul ring leader mikey palmice and mother mary in the bing, the sacred and the propane. He is aware of it and still going through his evil motion. Cause he know he only serve 6000 years in the purgatory, and on eternity terms its like couple of days, he could do it standing on his head.
Let me tell you a couple of tree things about Ralphie. A) He hit her B) He was mommie’s little hoowah. C) The hitman sent after Ralphie drove a Rincoln.
Ralph's "come to Jesus" moment was very similar to Tony's after the hospital. I think many people, even those as amoral as Tony and Ralph, will have a brief epiphany after trauma. As we see in Tony, normal life will quickly resume. In Tony's case, his downward spiral just descended more and more as the tension with the Lupertazzis got higher and higher. I think Ralph would have gone back to being the POS he was, and would have gotten worse when the grief about his son turned into rage. Great analysis of Ralph's intelligence and Machiavellian maneuvering.
It’s all self-serving bullshit. They get scared a bit and shook by some event, and then want to make amends with God. Then they go back to their normal life and forget all about it.
Do you guys remember the scene when Tony asked Ralph about his mother and Ralph got all weird and said "she had her ways" and ended the conversation really fast?
I always thought it was important to Tony that he felt morally superior to Ralph. When Ralp was remorseful with the good deeds he was doing (a scholarship to rutgers every year) it was making Tony realise his inability to change, so when pie died in the fire and he thought Ralp did it, the anger was the combination of all the shit he did (killing Tracey), pie being killed and the thought that Ralph could change. Something Tony couldn't and eventually just accepted in the final series when he shouts "I get it" in the nevada desert. Great video has always.
@@stairwaytoheaven8 that’s actually what Tony Soprano would have said. And I agree with your response, I’m shocked at how long to get a response from that comment
Definitely one of the most fascinating characters in Sopranos. Would’ve liked to see Ralph make it to the final season. Ralph sharing some scenes with Phil Leotardo would’ve been awesome. Great video!
My interpretation is that murdering Ralph was the tipping point between the softer Tony of the early show and the darker "asshole" Tony of the later seasons. This watch through I immediately noticed how much more of a jerk Tony was at the start of Season 5.
@@caesarjergens It's sad to see the transition unfold, from being looked up to by the family in season 1 to being unable to inspire anyone at the end of season 5.
@@psirianni24 I don't really think anyone in the story did either, with the exception of Hugh. It's hard to believe how far Tony falls given how slow and natural it is.
I never realised the sympathy for the devil quotes with him another great video - this show is so damn layered you could watch it over and over without ever getting it all!
As many people have brought up, Tony hates people who are happier than him he's a better off than them who have more empathy than they would make them look bad so it does explain a lot
@@sinbad3892 My take on it is that Johnny always felt like Ginny was trying her best, and thus she shouldn't ever be made fun of. Then things became clear when she admitted that she felt insecure for little reason (thinking Johnny wanted her to lose weight). Knowing that she wasn't really trying made it way easier for Johnny to turn all the joking into water under the brdige, since then it wouldn't be equivalent to mocking a hard worker (it would still be bad but what are you gonna do).
Ralph was unbearable in season 3. Once they seemed to figure out his character he became one of the more captivating characters on the whole show. Killed him off at the perfect time imo for the best impact on me as a viewer
Your analysis of these already beautifully written and blooming characters is an absolute delight, I have come to really enjoy the notification of an upload by yourself knowing that I'm in for a thoughtful and provocative video and this one is a another jewel, many thanks again young man and have a peaceful weekend 👍.
Regarding Tony and the horse. I find it an interesting characteristic of some certain murderous psycopaths(they have too much control to be sociopaths) how they can kill someone with no compunction, but can be affectionate and even protective of animals. Typically when we hear of them and animals it's in the context of having tortured and killed them. I grew up around South Boston during my teens, twenties and early 30s. It was a pretty well known aspect of Whitney Bulger that he really liked pets, and took care of strays. When he was still on the lam, the FBI and Marshalls would always mention in their bulletins and contact various shelters that he might volunteer or server as a foster for cats and dogs. When they finally caught him in a condo complex in California (which he had been almost the whole time) the neighbors would all say that they didn't seem him often, and that he seemed grumpy and cold (if they only knew), but that he seemed to like people's cats and dogs and was always feeding the strays.
Maybe because from their point of view, all human beings, even themselves, are basically garbage, and therefore to quote another possible psychopath from Unforgiven "We all have it coming kid." Animals are innocent and dependent on our human restraint. Other humans are fair game. Then again, other psychos use animals for practice.
@@JamesRDavenport Many killers apply the same "innocence" to children too, less but still a plurality apply that to women. They all have their own codes etc. on who they would and wouldn't kill. True, indiscriminate killers are very very rare. This is the same reason why pecking orders exist in prisons among criminals, the less "moral" your crime the more chance of you getting the shit kicked out of you on a daily basis.
Ralph was surprisingly dynamic. He was apologetic when he made mistakes. This is something Richie A. would never do. His apologetic tendency actually got him in trouble at times, especially with Johnny Sack. He seemed like a horrible sociopath, but over time he showed some depth and reflected on some of the things he had done. It was somewhat ambiguous how truly repentant he was at the end, but his sons accident triggered a crisis in him. He seemed to believe his son was suffering for his sins. He seemed fairly genuine when he spoke to the priest. The fact that he was changing made his death at the hands of Tony sort of horrible. Would he have had just gone back to his own life? Maybe. However Tony killing of Ralph aborted a process of change in Ralph. It seemed the atmosphere of the Sopranos got darker after Tony killed him. This wasn’t the case with Richie. Richie’s death just seems a case of something he had coming. Ralph’s death had a darkness about it that I didn’t really notice until I’d watched the show a few times. I think Ralph had a desire to change and was at the crossroads. I think something had changed about him and Tony interrupting Ralph’s potential path to redemption by killing was in retrospect one of his worst acts. There was also something epic about there final fight, where Tony killed Ralph, that went beyond there interpersonal conflict. It was gut wrenching at some level. Though it wasn’t apparent at first it seemed to lay the initial groundwork of Tony’s crew starting to question his leadership. Something that didn’t happen with Richie, even though he actually had nothing to do with it. I think even the reverberations of Ralph death suggests something wrong had happened and Ralph may have potentially been heading towards being a changed man.
@@johngriffiths118some do get out. Michael Franzese, John Gotti III and Sammy the Bull (can't remember how to spell his last name) come to mind. Doesn't happen much without them getting caught, testifying and going into witness protection. With the RICO laws and stiffer punishments, there seem to more today that get out. Michael Franzese talks about it on his channel. I think Sammy the bull does too.
What’s so fascinating is that Ralph actually shows more growth than and maturity tony ever did. As the comments and video shows Ralph ACCEPTED his evil and actually did something good because he wanted too. He apologies to Rosalia; actually empathizing with her grief over Jackie. Ralph cries to his priest and says he can’t confess to his crimes at this moment. There’s no doubt ralphie would not change, however, ralphie shows some positive traits here. Like a commentator said: he is prob compartalizing his feelings. Even the devil has loved ones or can feel something. Tony never really does any of this. His donation to a Suicide hotline was a one time thing, he never GETS what Carmela feels, he didn’t show a meaningful mature reflection on his son’s suicide. He yells at Dr MELFI when she questions him about AJ’s attempted suicide and says he blames his genes; blaming himself. Ralphie dosnt do that. While both men prob blame himself, ralphie dosnt try to deflect blame while Tony did and tony will complain about AJ again and the costs for medical treatment.
@@masamune2984 that’s fine what do you disagree about. I ain’t saying Ralph is a good person, far from it. But Ralph takes more responsibility for his actions than tony ever did. Let’s think back to sons. Ralphie’s reaction to his kid’s critical condition is more human and caring than Tony’s reaction his son trying to commit suicide as well as other events. 1. Ralphie apologizes to Roe, telling her that she was right about how hard it is to lose a child. Tony kept treating Carmela the same way as he has always done and actually got into an argument with her when he said to her “I’m depressed.” Now we can this carm didn’t react right, this could have been to y trying to express his true feelings, but look at how tony says it and when. It comes after his son almsot died, Tony didn’t seem to get how him proclaiming his depression looks not only An attention seeking move but also inconsiderate when carm and the others know Tony complains a lot. 2. Tony makes a one time donation to a Suicide hotline to ease his guilt. Rlaphie makes a foundation-that’s not only more money but more long term planning. And it’s unlikely ralphie Felt the guilt the way Tony did. Recall how rlaphie goes to priest and asks the father for help. I never got that rlaphie felt guilty for who he is, it’s that he felt god was punishing him through his son, a son who was innocent. Tony’s guilt is more personal but he never did anything to actual change. 3. Which leads me to this. Ralphie’s maturity is surpassingly larger than tony. The priest scene has rlaphie say “I’m not ready for repentance. Maybe one day.” He ends up praying for his son. That’s…shockingly…emotional. Rlaphie knows fully well he’s an evil man.l and that he is incapable of changing. But he didn’t want his son to suffer for him and he truly went seeking answers, like a normal parent. Tony on the other hand, never keeps his word on changing, he actually shows more care for animals than ppl. Even ralphie was shocked at how you cared more about a horse than how Ralphie’s own son was in the hospital. Tony of course, when pointed out of his own evil, kills the one man who told the truth-rlaphie. In short, since The Rolling Stones song sympathy’s for the devil is referenced in Ralphie’s death episode, David chase is telling us “have sympathy for the devil.”
I wondered about the possible loss of his son being punishment /karma for his murdering of Tracee and her unborn child. I’d be interested in others’ view of this. There’s a strong theme of sin/punishment in religious terms in the show.
That makes sense. He killed his unborn child and looses his son as punishment. How can he love one child so much and then not care about the other to the point of killing him. 😮
I like the angle of Ralph being punished by God, and having the injury of his son transferred to him. Another element of this is that his son was struck down by an arrow from above, as if coming directly from heaven, and though it was an accident, it was an accident caused by being extremely reckless (the boys playing at shooting arrows) which is one of Ralph's key traits. His son followed his ways of being reckless, and was promptly struck down by God.
I always thought it was bs when he mentioned Carmela. He had Roselee & cancelled her in some of her darkest times. Also the scene looking @ the kid in the hospital in that demeaning way for accidentally shooting his son with the arrow was some what over the top. Knowing Ralph, his lack of empathy was tremendous. Who knows what he was capable of which is why him killing Pie-O-My wasnt so far fetched. With that being said, his character was one my favorites on the show
I had a semester and a half at Seton Hall so I'll weigh in, Tony could have been angry that it seemed like Ralph was changing, the same way he was angry when he saw Janice was happy.
There's a pattern in the show, almost every character is "humanized", before or after doing something horrific. The show is constantly dealing with morality concepts, and how difficult it is for the viewer to think black or white, and that's the beauty of the show in my opinion. There's never a definitive answer. Ultimately though, I think every character eventually ends up punished in some way, that's also another pattern in the show, no one really has a clean way out of mob life. The dilemma is to understand if they end up screwed because of their poor decisions in life, or if they were destined to it. There's even some sort of link established with many saints, the golden glamorized generation that preceded Tony's generation, was in fact, as fuck up, maybe even more cked up than the one we have on the show. It's impossible to know if Ralphie was changing or not, because we've seen him at his most vulnerable for 24hours and than he died.
Ralph changed some. But I think it would’ve wore off just like it did with Tony. Ralph would’ve fallen back into his old ways. Maybe even become worse than before. Like Tony, I don’t think Ralph could’ve ever really change for the better. They are both too greedy and crazy.
I wish David Chase didn't say Ralph killed the horse. It's much more interesting if he didn't. On the DVD commentary, even the two writers couldn't agree it's he did or of our was an accident.
If Ralph had truly changed and become a better man he would have taken full responsibility for Tracee´s murder. He does not even mention her again. Everytime he pretends to be emtional and empathetic in front of Tony, he must have been full of rage.
Im almost certain Ralph was abused by his mother. Look at his reaction when Tony asked about her. Ralph said she had her ways and ends it as Tony prys further.
Excuse me! Ralph can’t be blamed for “leading Jackie Jr. on the path of idiocy”! Jackie didn’t need “leading”, he was the founder and CEO of idiocy with AJ as vice-president!
it's fucked how Ralph is so loving and concerned towards his son Justin, but he flat out murders Tracy with his unborn child. I know Maury povich did not have the test results yet but just for the sake of argument the fact that she said it is his baby still fucks me up as to how easily he just beat her to death and lied that it was not his child to Johnny sack
These contrasting incidents show how dehumanization. He sees some people as truly human and worthy of love. Perhaps due to his issues about women and penetration and who-ahs as he would call them, he regards Tracy and her fetus as non human and can be disposed of like garbage
Chase has a nihilistic view on people. And he believes people don’t change, shown with Tony’s epiphany in the desert, where he accepts that he won’t change. No one changed in this series, no one had any developmental arc in this series. Long story short, Ralph did not change. His hardship just humanized him with the audience to make Ralph’s death a little cinematic
One of the underlying themes of The Sopranos is people wanting to change, but unable to change. Fantastic writing, directing, and acting. The end result? Simply the best show in the history of television. Groundbreaking in many ways.
Personally I think Tony was a rotten boss. His selfishness didn’t allow him to totally write of guys like Vito or Ritchie because they were good earners, but he didn’t work on getting these guys in his corner. Even if he had to fake it. In the end he alienated everyone around him.
I think Ralph was sincere about wanting to change right after his son was hurt but I don't think that would've lasted that was a pretty common theme of the show which is that people don't change at least the people in the sopranos don't tony wanted to be better briefly after he was shot Chris tried to give up drugs and alcohol tony b wanted to be a massage therapist initially and Vito left but came back because he missed the life
Ralph was one of the most compelling characters on that show. Ever notice he's the only one whose son isn't a Junior? He's also the only one to call Tony 'Anthony' outside of his blood family.
Pretty good video, you brought up some good points I've never read before about Ralph making Nucci panic by saying her son's in the hospital, and the comparison of he and his son's injuries. I think Ralph also suffered a lot of blunt trauma to the head the way Tracee did.
I think the idea that Ralph has some kind of redemptive change of heart is stretching things quite a bit. If Tony hadn't killed him and had the son fully recovered, Ralph is such a narcissist that he'd be back to his stripper killing, nasty prank call making ways pretty soon.
Hard to say one way or another if any of this is accurate. But it is interesting. All i know for sure is that he was right, the secret to scrambled eggs is Sour cream.
Ralph was portrayed as worst of the worst, sticking out even among sociopaths and murderers. But that last episode, when his son has that accident and ends up in a hospital, he goes through some catharsis and actually starts to change. He shows vulnerability, empathy,remorse, everything opposite of what he was until then and it seems really genuine, but we never know whether this would be just temporary or permanent because he is immediately killed by Tony. It's actually like a joke by the writers, he is a total violent lunatic the whole time in the show, the moment he starts to change and shows some humanity he's instantly punished by death, just irony like so many things in this show
There's a small time interview with Joey Pants where he talks about a scene that got cut (he forgot it was or didn't know) where Ralph breaks down and reveals some of the horrific abuse he faced at the hands of his mother. It was supposed to be a much more jarringly sympathetic character but it was cut for some reason. I actually don't think he's careless and self-centered cause things have been so good, I think it's actually the opposite. It's a pretty common coping mechanism for people who experience trauma or engage in harmful actions to survive (like those who extort, rob, cheat, kill, etc, to get by) to develop antisocial/sociopathic personality traits to get by. They're capable of feeling emotions, it's usually just very compartmentalized. Like they love their wife and kids but are able to brutalize a guy for being late with a payment, kill a snitch, rip off people with pump and dump schemes, etc,. Instead of them being born with it, it's a learned behavior. And it's entirely possible that Ralphie was MADE the way he is by his experiences. The butterfly thing could also just mean death. It's pretty telling that she asks if he's gone through a change and Tony says no because the change he underwent was T beating his head against the floor til he died.
Ralph killed that horse. As soon as Tony brings it up at his house, Ralph starts looking at the floor and going "Oh Jeez...uh you want some eggs?" He looks guilty as fuck.
BTW .. I am a pest control technician in Connecticut and I used to service and met. Pantaliano all the time.. he was always really nice to me great actor
As a Muslim I just want to say that this is one your best breakdowns. Just today I asked my son what would life be like if you never had any hardships. I'd love to hear you speak on faith in more detail.
Still no video about Billy Leotardo, 47 years old he was just a kid. You insulted him and me personally.
Alright but you gotta get over it
@@CineRanter
It's hard to forget, I don't forget.
@@phil-Leotardo.171 whatever happened there
47 year kid Phil
Still Sorry about your kid brother Billy, Philly.
I'll tell you one thing, I'm not ashamed to say it. My estimation of Ralph Cifarettoas as a live size Chunky doll just fvckin' plummeted.
Shah of The Shinebox
@@bigbrownrooster4167
Billy loved a fine Italian leather shinebox
@@phil-Leotardo.171 yea, it's sad when they go young like that
Go on Phil how many years in the can.
@@Dungeon_of_Rap When they go?!!!
I feel some sympathy for him because he was tired, tired of his crew, tired of eating the same damn gabagool everyday. He wish he never would have left the matrix.
Wait a minute! Didn't AJ give His mother The Matrix DVD on her birthday?
@@sebswede9005 yeah lmfao
Coulda lived out the rest of his life as a schnook
@@sebswede9005i never pondered that
Ignorance is bliss 😂
He may not have lived enough to change, but at least Ralph, for all his degeneracy and excesses, recognized his own evil while Tony Christopher and Paulie, despite literally getting a warning from the other side, never strayed from the path of dammation.
Damn that's crazy, you are absolutely right, Tony, Chrissy, and Paulie all had a near death experience where they saw the other side and they continued doing the evil things they did. Ralphie, on the other hand seemed seriously remorseful of his way of life, rather than just scared in the moment. I felt bad when the detective killed himself in the beginning of the show and I even felt a little bad when Ralphie was killed by Tony, even though I hated Ralphie for beating that girl to death and burning the horse alive.
Paulie have a bit of self awareness though. But he used it to his advantage instead of being remorseful and have a redemption. The moment he get terminal ilness, the 3 am thing (hi didnt just shrug it off as nonsense), the ghoul ring leader mikey palmice and mother mary in the bing, the sacred and the propane.
He is aware of it and still going through his evil motion. Cause he know he only serve 6000 years in the purgatory, and on eternity terms its like couple of days, he could do it standing on his head.
That’s a great point you’re making. Never even thought of it. But yeah, Ralph owns it.
Ralph was absolutely sick, he was perturbed and he embraced it. He was a different type of psycho
Let me tell you a couple of tree things about Ralphie.
A) He hit her
B) He was mommie’s little hoowah.
C) The hitman sent after Ralphie drove a Rincoln.
I get it. He drove a Lincoln.
Good one!
Really, a Rincoln? Grow the f*ck up already.
Holy shit an original comment.
Butiful.
Ralph is the guy you want to see get what he deserves so bad but then somehow immediately miss him after it happens.
I didn’t miss Ralph. He was gross.
@@attitudeproblem6462 You're watching the Sopranos
Facts
Funny prick, that Ralph.
He was hilarious tho
Ralph's "come to Jesus" moment was very similar to Tony's after the hospital. I think many people, even those as amoral as Tony and Ralph, will have a brief epiphany after trauma. As we see in Tony, normal life will quickly resume. In Tony's case, his downward spiral just descended more and more as the tension with the Lupertazzis got higher and higher. I think Ralph would have gone back to being the POS he was, and would have gotten worse when the grief about his son turned into rage. Great analysis of Ralph's intelligence and Machiavellian maneuvering.
Not amoral, immoral
It’s all self-serving bullshit. They get scared a bit and shook by some event, and then want to make amends with God. Then they go back to their normal life and forget all about it.
@@TheCoolestJose Duly noted, but in the spirit of Little Carmine, I'll stick with amoral.
Facts
@Aaron 😭😭😭😭
Do you guys remember the scene when Tony asked Ralph about his mother and Ralph got all weird and said "she had her ways" and ended the conversation really fast?
It would be terrifying to know what Ralph has gone through during his childhood😢
@@vastpiano5552 according to an interview from Joe Pantoliano, she sexually abused him
"she had her demanding ways" i think but either way, you're right
If Ralph had mother issues, it would explain his connection with Tony. They both had something in common.
Say what you want about Ralph, but he had balls. Only character to ever openly defy Tony and confront him.
Eh, he went carefully though
Richie did it too. holding a fork in his face
And Bobby whooped that ass
Ralph's a scumbag
Chrissy did also. At times
I always thought it was important to Tony that he felt morally superior to Ralph. When Ralp was remorseful with the good deeds he was doing (a scholarship to rutgers every year) it was making Tony realise his inability to change, so when pie died in the fire and he thought Ralp did it, the anger was the combination of all the shit he did (killing Tracey), pie being killed and the thought that Ralph could change. Something Tony couldn't and eventually just accepted in the final series when he shouts "I get it" in the nevada desert.
Great video has always.
A million ppl take the show a million different ways
It’s been confirmed by David Chase that Ralph killed the horse for the insurance to use for his son’s medical bills, sociopaths are evil like that
@@AvenueD417 He murdered a horse for the sake of his dying kid, and you call that evil...Please seek help.
Interesting take. I think that is similar to when he talks about Janice abandoning Harpo during Sunday dinner.
@@stairwaytoheaven8 that’s actually what Tony Soprano would have said. And I agree with your response, I’m shocked at how long to get a response from that comment
Definitely one of the most fascinating characters in Sopranos. Would’ve liked to see Ralph make it to the final season. Ralph sharing some scenes with Phil Leotardo would’ve been awesome. Great video!
One of my favorite characters, and Joe Pantoliano is such an underrated actor.
Thanks for the video👌👌
He really is a great actor
My interpretation is that murdering Ralph was the tipping point between the softer Tony of the early show and the darker "asshole" Tony of the later seasons. This watch through I immediately noticed how much more of a jerk Tony was at the start of Season 5.
You might be on to something.
Tony was always an asshole, he just is more and more open about it as the series progresses as no-one calls him out on it and lives.
@@caesarjergens It's sad to see the transition unfold, from being looked up to by the family in season 1 to being unable to inspire anyone at the end of season 5.
By season 5 I didn’t like Tony at all
@@psirianni24 I don't really think anyone in the story did either, with the exception of Hugh. It's hard to believe how far Tony falls given how slow and natural it is.
A. Ralphie was misunderstood.
B. She was a Who-Ah!
C She hit him
@@civotamuaz5781i heard she fell
I never realised the sympathy for the devil quotes with him another great video - this show is so damn layered you could watch it over and over without ever getting it all!
As many people have brought up, Tony hates people who are happier than him he's a better off than them who have more empathy than they would make them look bad so it does explain a lot
What?
You're less coherent than Little Carmine! Bring it back when it's more full and less mellifluous.
@@willmercury I *think* Aaron is saying that Tony hates people who are happy because he’s jealous that he can never be happy
@@willmercury I don't know if I'm ever going to be as coherent but if I do find out then I will know
@@willmercury but I’m not completely sure
Jenny’s secret junk food stash and Jonny Sac discovering it saved Ralph from getting killed earlier
How
@@sinbad3892 My take on it is that Johnny always felt like Ginny was trying her best, and thus she shouldn't ever be made fun of. Then things became clear when she admitted that she felt insecure for little reason (thinking Johnny wanted her to lose weight). Knowing that she wasn't really trying made it way easier for Johnny to turn all the joking into water under the brdige, since then it wouldn't be equivalent to mocking a hard worker (it would still be bad but what are you gonna do).
Ralph was unbearable in season 3. Once they seemed to figure out his character he became one of the more captivating characters on the whole show. Killed him off at the perfect time imo for the best impact on me as a viewer
I love how you incorporate Sopranos lines into your videos. Rather skilfully done.
That man was a saint just like Johnny Boy Soprano.
Ralph and his bedroom proclivities was just character detail perfection.
Your analysis of these already beautifully written and blooming characters is an absolute delight, I have come to really enjoy the notification of an upload by yourself knowing that I'm in for a thoughtful and provocative video and this one is a another jewel, many thanks again young man and have a peaceful weekend 👍.
Regarding Tony and the horse. I find it an interesting characteristic of some certain murderous psycopaths(they have too much control to be sociopaths) how they can kill someone with no compunction, but can be affectionate and even protective of animals. Typically when we hear of them and animals it's in the context of having tortured and killed them.
I grew up around South Boston during my teens, twenties and early 30s. It was a pretty well known aspect of Whitney Bulger that he really liked pets, and took care of strays. When he was still on the lam, the FBI and Marshalls would always mention in their bulletins and contact various shelters that he might volunteer or server as a foster for cats and dogs.
When they finally caught him in a condo complex in California (which he had been almost the whole time) the neighbors would all say that they didn't seem him often, and that he seemed grumpy and cold (if they only knew), but that he seemed to like people's cats and dogs and was always feeding the strays.
Whitey was caught in California, Not Florida
@@kemperboyd1209 California then.
Maybe because from their point of view, all human beings, even themselves, are basically garbage, and therefore to quote another possible psychopath from Unforgiven "We all have it coming kid." Animals are innocent and dependent on our human restraint. Other humans are fair game. Then again, other psychos use animals for practice.
@@JamesRDavenport I mean there’s no arguing that MOST people are garbage but definitely not all.
@@JamesRDavenport Many killers apply the same "innocence" to children too, less but still a plurality apply that to women. They all have their own codes etc. on who they would and wouldn't kill. True, indiscriminate killers are very very rare.
This is the same reason why pecking orders exist in prisons among criminals, the less "moral" your crime the more chance of you getting the shit kicked out of you on a daily basis.
Ralph was surprisingly dynamic. He was apologetic when he made mistakes. This is something Richie A. would never do. His apologetic tendency actually got him in trouble at times, especially with Johnny Sack. He seemed like a horrible sociopath, but over time he showed some depth and reflected on some of the things he had done. It was somewhat ambiguous how truly repentant he was at the end, but his sons accident triggered a crisis in him. He seemed to believe his son was suffering for his sins. He seemed fairly genuine when he spoke to the priest. The fact that he was changing made his death at the hands of Tony sort of horrible. Would he have had just gone back to his own life? Maybe. However Tony killing of Ralph aborted a process of change in Ralph. It seemed the atmosphere of the Sopranos got darker after Tony killed him. This wasn’t the case with Richie. Richie’s death just seems a case of something he had coming. Ralph’s death had a darkness about it that I didn’t really notice until I’d watched the show a few times. I think Ralph had a desire to change and was at the crossroads. I think something had changed about him and Tony interrupting Ralph’s potential path to redemption by killing was in retrospect one of his worst acts. There was also something epic about there final fight, where Tony killed Ralph, that went beyond there interpersonal conflict. It was gut wrenching at some level. Though it wasn’t apparent at first it seemed to lay the initial groundwork of Tony’s crew starting to question his leadership. Something that didn’t happen with Richie, even though he actually had nothing to do with it. I think even the reverberations of Ralph death suggests something wrong had happened and Ralph may have potentially been heading towards being a changed man.
You put that more eloquently than I ever could have but I feel the same way.
Hey man, we watched the video and the show, no need to re explain cineranters video frfr
How can a guy in this business change ? Do they allow resigning or retirement ?
@@johngriffiths118some do get out. Michael Franzese, John Gotti III and Sammy the Bull (can't remember how to spell his last name) come to mind. Doesn't happen much without them getting caught, testifying and going into witness protection. With the RICO laws and stiffer punishments, there seem to more today that get out. Michael Franzese talks about it on his channel. I think Sammy the bull does too.
.....Charles Schwab ova here.
Ralphie gave me an idea about catchin not pitchin
Fucking nauseating
What’s so fascinating is that Ralph actually shows more growth than and maturity tony ever did. As the comments and video shows Ralph ACCEPTED his evil and actually did something good because he wanted too. He apologies to Rosalia; actually empathizing with her grief over Jackie. Ralph cries to his priest and says he can’t confess to his crimes at this moment. There’s no doubt ralphie would not change, however, ralphie shows some positive traits here. Like a commentator said: he is prob compartalizing his feelings. Even the devil has loved ones or can feel something. Tony never really does any of this. His donation to a Suicide hotline was a one time thing, he never GETS what Carmela feels, he didn’t show a meaningful mature reflection on his son’s suicide. He yells at Dr MELFI when she questions him about AJ’s attempted suicide and says he blames his genes; blaming himself. Ralphie dosnt do that. While both men prob blame himself, ralphie dosnt try to deflect blame while Tony did and tony will complain about AJ again and the costs for medical treatment.
Could NOT disagree more with the absolutely every single thing you said. Kind of floored about that opinion, but mean no disrespect.
@@masamune2984 that’s fine what do you disagree about. I ain’t saying Ralph is a good person, far from it. But Ralph takes more responsibility for his actions than tony ever did. Let’s think back to sons. Ralphie’s reaction to his kid’s critical condition is more human and caring than Tony’s reaction his son trying to commit suicide as well as other events.
1. Ralphie apologizes to Roe, telling her that she was right about how hard it is to lose a child. Tony kept treating Carmela the same way as he has always done and actually got into an argument with her when he said to her “I’m depressed.” Now we can this carm didn’t react right, this could have been to y trying to express his true feelings, but look at how tony says it and when. It comes after his son almsot died, Tony didn’t seem to get how him proclaiming his depression looks not only An attention seeking move but also inconsiderate when carm and the others know Tony complains a lot.
2. Tony makes a one time donation to a Suicide hotline to ease his guilt. Rlaphie makes a foundation-that’s not only more money but more long term planning. And it’s unlikely ralphie Felt the guilt the way Tony did. Recall how rlaphie goes to priest and asks the father for help. I never got that rlaphie felt guilty for who he is, it’s that he felt god was punishing him through his son, a son who was innocent. Tony’s guilt is more personal but he never did anything to actual change.
3. Which leads me to this. Ralphie’s maturity is surpassingly larger than tony. The priest scene has rlaphie say “I’m not ready for repentance. Maybe one day.” He ends up praying for his son. That’s…shockingly…emotional. Rlaphie knows fully well he’s an evil man.l and that he is incapable of changing. But he didn’t want his son to suffer for him and he truly went seeking answers, like a normal parent. Tony on the other hand, never keeps his word on changing, he actually shows more care for animals than ppl. Even ralphie was shocked at how you cared more about a horse than how Ralphie’s own son was in the hospital. Tony of course, when pointed out of his own evil, kills the one man who told the truth-rlaphie.
In short, since The Rolling Stones song sympathy’s for the devil is referenced in Ralphie’s death episode, David chase is telling us “have sympathy for the devil.”
I am a theology student and I really enjoy this video. Good job man
Lifelong Sopes fanatic & unsuccessful uploader here… you’re the best Sopranos analyst YT has to offer. Thanks for this.
Thank you!
CineRanter, another brilliant analysis about a character that I thought I understood well. And now I understand him a little better.
Tony telling Ralph to go see Pie after Ralph stared at that kid with a murderous look..
that moment kills me on every rewatch.
At 2:20 Ralph is watching Sylvio drag Tracy out of his house lol
The loss of oxygen allusion is so brilliant. Great work.
I could only imagine if Ralph, Richie and Feech had been in the same seasons together. Haha
I wondered about the possible loss of his son being punishment /karma for his murdering of Tracee and her unborn child. I’d be interested in others’ view of this. There’s a strong theme of sin/punishment in religious terms in the show.
That makes sense. He killed his unborn child and looses his son as punishment. How can he love one child so much and then not care about the other to the point of killing him. 😮
@@Yolduranduran Cuz she was a hoowah!
@@Stoigniew666 poor thing she was
@@Yolduranduran A girl gives her a$$ to a psychotic killer and then she gets treated like $hit... well, who could see that coming?
Ralphie was the best character on the show by far. Loved him
I like the angle of Ralph being punished by God, and having the injury of his son transferred to him. Another element of this is that his son was struck down by an arrow from above, as if coming directly from heaven, and though it was an accident, it was an accident caused by being extremely reckless (the boys playing at shooting arrows) which is one of Ralph's key traits. His son followed his ways of being reckless, and was promptly struck down by God.
I always thought it was bs when he mentioned Carmela. He had Roselee & cancelled her in some of her darkest times. Also the scene looking @ the kid in the hospital in that demeaning way for accidentally shooting his son with the arrow was some what over the top. Knowing Ralph, his lack of empathy was tremendous. Who knows what he was capable of which is why him killing Pie-O-My wasnt so far fetched. With that being said, his character was one my favorites on the show
It was also confirmed by David Chase that Ralph did kill Pie-O-My.
Being in the Mafia and having to answer to bosses is the only thing that kept him from being a serial killer with a high body count.
People like Ralph never change
This is unbelievable good! Most wouldn’t go this deep. “I understand Freud…….as a concept!”
I had a semester and a half at Seton Hall so I'll weigh in, Tony could have been angry that it seemed like Ralph was changing, the same way he was angry when he saw Janice was happy.
>>I had a semester and a half at Seton Hall
Are you seven feet tall?
What did you learn about the Potsdam Conference?
he was one of my favorite characters in the show but he was pure evil and got what he deserved in the end
Joey Pants is one hell of an actor
There's a pattern in the show, almost every character is "humanized", before or after doing something horrific.
The show is constantly dealing with morality concepts, and how difficult it is for the viewer to think black or white, and that's the beauty of the show in my opinion. There's never a definitive answer.
Ultimately though, I think every character eventually ends up punished in some way, that's also another pattern in the show, no one really has a clean way out of mob life.
The dilemma is to understand if they end up screwed because of their poor decisions in life, or if they were destined to it.
There's even some sort of link established with many saints, the golden glamorized generation that preceded Tony's generation, was in fact, as fuck up, maybe even more cked up than the one we have on the show.
It's impossible to know if Ralphie was changing or not, because we've seen him at his most vulnerable for 24hours and than he died.
What's weird is I hated Ralph when I first saw him, when his episodes were first aired..
But, now I totally love him.
Ralph changed some.
But I think it would’ve wore off just like it did with Tony.
Ralph would’ve fallen back into his old ways. Maybe even become worse than before.
Like Tony, I don’t think Ralph could’ve ever really change for the better.
They are both too greedy and crazy.
Ralph's last episode should've been named Sympathy For The Devil but nah Ralph got what he put out into the world
I wish David Chase didn't say Ralph killed the horse. It's much more interesting if he didn't. On the DVD commentary, even the two writers couldn't agree it's he did or of our was an accident.
At least he had the makings of a Varsity Athelete
Shah of Iran @ 0:24 🤣
Sopranos writing was unparalleled.
“Mohamad Reza Pahlavi” 😂😂😂
I see what you did there
If Ralph had truly changed and become a better man he would have taken full responsibility for Tracee´s murder. He does not even mention her again. Everytime he pretends to be emtional and empathetic in front of Tony, he must have been full of rage.
Waiting on the inevitable causing " dysentry in the ranks" remark 😂
Im almost certain Ralph was abused by his mother.
Look at his reaction when Tony asked about her. Ralph said she had her ways and ends it as Tony prys further.
Excuse me! Ralph can’t be blamed for “leading Jackie Jr. on the path of idiocy”! Jackie didn’t need “leading”, he was the founder and CEO of idiocy with AJ as vice-president!
it's fucked how Ralph is so loving and concerned towards his son Justin, but he flat out murders Tracy with his unborn child. I know Maury povich did not have the test results yet but just for the sake of argument the fact that she said it is his baby still fucks me up as to how easily he just beat her to death and lied that it was not his child to Johnny sack
admittingly, even with all the bullshit that Ralph has done I still really like them as a character in the show and hoped he lasted longer than he did
It’s bad enough he murdered an innocent woman - doesn’t matter if it was his kid or not.
@@KittySnicker Ralph was psychotic I feel - not a sociopath , but a functional psychotic. he talked to her worse than he did Pie-o-my !!
These contrasting incidents show how dehumanization. He sees some people as truly human and worthy of love. Perhaps due to his issues about women and penetration and who-ahs as he would call them, he regards Tracy and her fetus as non human and can be disposed of like garbage
I love how you slip in little Carmine Jr. sayings such as "Very allegorical" and "at the precipice of a major crossroads". Very good video :)
Chase has a nihilistic view on people. And he believes people don’t change, shown with Tony’s epiphany in the desert, where he accepts that he won’t change. No one changed in this series, no one had any developmental arc in this series. Long story short, Ralph did not change. His hardship just humanized him with the audience to make Ralph’s death a little cinematic
Tony also came to Ralph's dressed in black - like the reaper.
One of the underlying themes of The Sopranos is people wanting to change, but unable to change. Fantastic writing, directing, and acting. The end result? Simply the best show in the history of television. Groundbreaking in many ways.
My favourite character wish he wasn’t killed offf 💔😂😂
How tf was he your favorite character? Lol!
@@mikimiyazaki He played his character really well! He was one of my favorites too.
@@mikimiyazaki Well I’m not saying the part of me that relates to Ralph is a good part of me…
He’s probably the worst lol.
Him and richie tony would take over nyc
Personally I think Tony was a rotten boss. His selfishness didn’t allow him to totally write of guys like Vito or Ritchie because they were good earners, but he didn’t work on getting these guys in his corner. Even if he had to fake it. In the end he alienated everyone around him.
The Vito thing would of definitely alienated him
By the end, so many ppl have probable cause to kill him that it's not even funny anymore lol
I think Ralph was sincere about wanting to change right after his son was hurt but I don't think that would've lasted that was a pretty common theme of the show which is that people don't change at least the people in the sopranos don't tony wanted to be better briefly after he was shot Chris tried to give up drugs and alcohol tony b wanted to be a massage therapist initially and Vito left but came back because he missed the life
killed it again with the script ! Hilarious/ informative
Offhand, I cannot think of a single time Ralph acted out of anything but self-interest.
Honestly when the stable was burned down my suspicions were with Paulie rather than Ralph and still are.
That man was pure self-obsessiveness and greed.
I don't think Paulie had the guts to do something he knew would anger Tony as much as it did. Ralph did, though.
What motive would Paulie have to do that? Ralph kept complaining about the vet bills!
Ralph was one of the most compelling characters on that show. Ever notice he's the only one whose son isn't a Junior? He's also the only one to call Tony 'Anthony' outside of his blood family.
Didn't Hesh call him Anthony at least once?
@Wayne Petralia
I think so. But Hesh has known Tony since he was kid, so in a way he's closer to him than his crew.
i always call people by their full first name when i don't like them. it's like they're being scolded lol
Whoop de do
I could only dream of a show about Ralphie when he was in miami
Pretty good video, you brought up some good points I've never read before about Ralph making Nucci panic by saying her son's in the hospital, and the comparison of he and his son's injuries. I think Ralph also suffered a lot of blunt trauma to the head the way Tracee did.
Another excellent theory. You almost make me wanna watch series 3 n 4 again.
Sopranos fans really are Quick to try to redeem characters who kill and murder.
I think the idea that Ralph has some kind of redemptive change of heart is stretching things quite a bit. If Tony hadn't killed him and had the son fully recovered, Ralph is such a narcissist that he'd be back to his stripper killing, nasty prank call making ways pretty soon.
4:33 change your batteries bro
I heard Justin is getting a 95 pound arrow taken out of his chest
Love the videos, always interesting content
Hard to say one way or another if any of this is accurate. But it is interesting. All i know for sure is that he was right, the secret to scrambled eggs is Sour cream.
Great video. Replace the battery in your smoke alarm.
Having a fetish isn't dicked up, what's dicked up is him wanting to use a CHEESE GRATER on his no no zone! 😰
Amazing analysis. Amazing video. For what it’s worth I always thought that Ralph did not kill the horse.
TL; DR: No. No, he was not a changed man. In-depth character breakdown videos are great but don’t change the obvious.
It was a hundred kids with arrows in their heads in the ICU that brought out Ralph's good side.
Ralph was portrayed as worst of the worst, sticking out even among sociopaths and murderers. But that last episode, when his son has that accident and ends up in a hospital, he goes through some catharsis and actually starts to change. He shows vulnerability, empathy,remorse, everything opposite of what he was until then and it seems really genuine, but we never know whether this would be just temporary or permanent because he is immediately killed by Tony. It's actually like a joke by the writers, he is a total violent lunatic the whole time in the show, the moment he starts to change and shows some humanity he's instantly punished by death, just irony like so many things in this show
Everybody hates Ralph but he was such a realistic character it made his portrayal hard to hate
Poor Ralphie was so excited too see his new girlfriend Janice, and she pushed him down the steps
STELLLAAAAA!
Joey Pants is the highest caliber actor in any generation...
Ralph might have survived to maybe change for the better… if only had he not offered eggs to Tony
I can't help to think if Ralph were in New Jersey after Richie Aprile were released from prison, they would have come to blows far worse than Gigi.
Yo that shah of Iran reference at the beginning was goat status
There's a small time interview with Joey Pants where he talks about a scene that got cut (he forgot it was or didn't know) where Ralph breaks down and reveals some of the horrific abuse he faced at the hands of his mother. It was supposed to be a much more jarringly sympathetic character but it was cut for some reason.
I actually don't think he's careless and self-centered cause things have been so good, I think it's actually the opposite. It's a pretty common coping mechanism for people who experience trauma or engage in harmful actions to survive (like those who extort, rob, cheat, kill, etc, to get by) to develop antisocial/sociopathic personality traits to get by. They're capable of feeling emotions, it's usually just very compartmentalized. Like they love their wife and kids but are able to brutalize a guy for being late with a payment, kill a snitch, rip off people with pump and dump schemes, etc,. Instead of them being born with it, it's a learned behavior. And it's entirely possible that Ralphie was MADE the way he is by his experiences.
The butterfly thing could also just mean death. It's pretty telling that she asks if he's gone through a change and Tony says no because the change he underwent was T beating his head against the floor til he died.
I agree with you on that.
LOL @ Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Well played, sir.
Ralph is justified in killing Tracey. She hit him first. He’s a made guy.
Ralph killed that horse. As soon as Tony brings it up at his house, Ralph starts looking at the floor and going "Oh Jeez...uh you want some eggs?" He looks guilty as fuck.
Say what you like about Ralph but at least he was who he was and he knew it. I can tolerate evil more than i can tolerate evil pretending to be good
BTW .. I am a pest control technician in Connecticut and I used to service and met. Pantaliano all the time.. he was always really nice to me great actor
Ralph had a mellifluous hair piece.
your commentary is hilarious. love your videos. thank you
As a Muslim I just want to say that this is one your best breakdowns. Just today I asked my son what would life be like if you never had any hardships. I'd love to hear you speak on faith in more detail.
the best channel that breaks down the show
Agreed 🎉🎉