This analysis explains a lot of season 6. It took a mysterious shift the last season. Before Tony was still treading water emotionally, so long as he was focused on his Mom, but went off the edge when he started to deal with reality of his father.
This analysis is indeed incredible. Normally I tend to think people overemphasize their own interpretations and wanna make things fit into their scheme, but here the mass of details that confirms this theory is overwhelming plus it explains some very important plots for which I was never satisfied with the usual explanations and did not have a clue of my own. Altghough there are some possible explalations why Tony killed Christopher and some factors are obvious, I never felt it somehow 100% convincing until I watched that video. While you could at least explain the murder of Christopher differently, I never had any idea and didnt buy any of the usual explanations why he had this murderous rage towards Paulie in that episode in Florida. Bc of his big mouth? Bc he talks too much? He, or somebody else would have killed him years ago then. And although I didnt have the clue, but was looking for one, we see throughout the whole episode how the rage against Paulie in Tony oftentimes come up when he brings up the topic of Tony's father (that was somrthing I noticed when I watched the episode again trying to look for an explanation). This analysis is the first that explains his murderous rage for Paulie flawlessly imo.
5:30 I think the main reason tony killed Chrissy was the same reason Livia tried to have tony killed. In the first episode of season 6B, Janice mentions that she learned in therapy that her mother started to resent her kids once they started to express opinions of their own and drift away from her. A few episodes later, Tony talks to Dr. Melfi about how close he and Chrissy were when Chrissy was a little kid, and is angry about the fact that Chrissy now hates him rather than being that happy little kid that looked up to him. The parallels between what Janice says about Livia, and how tony talks about Chrissy shortly after really stood out to me on a recent rewatch.
Tony kills Christopher because he's unreliable. Chris is a drug addict and he can't hold his liquor. He exposed Tony to a rat. Tony is a violent sociopath and has no problem killing anyone to further himself.
@crabluva the reason Tony killed Chris is because he became more of a burden than a benefit to him. It shows that their entire relationship was a facade and Tony only pretended to love him so long as he was beneficial to him. Once chris start going downhill and stopped putting money in his pocket, and started causing problems, he was taken out at the first opportunity. When Chris was at rock bottom and needed him the most Tony flushed him like a turd. There was never any love there and shows how the mob always spoke about the family but in reality it wasn't a family at all.
Something else to add to this is that, Chris through his sobriety and therapy was able to acknowledge who his father was and confronts Tony about it when he's grilling. I think this too adds to tonys anger towards chris on a subliminal level. Chris has the honesty to fault his dad whereas tony doesnt
Absolutely. Tony also resents the fact that Chris commits to and has success with abstention-based recovery (at least for a few prolonged periods). Tony forced Chris in the programme and then constantly undermined him about it, ostensibly because he isn't around enough, but mostly because Tony didn't commit to his own therapy and saw no results, so when Chris and Janice actually *did* have results, he dragged them down.
This was brilliant. This is why the Sopranos is the best show ever written. So many interpretations of what everything means and any number of them could be correct there will never be a show this great again
My thoughts exactly!!! I beat myself up every time I think back to when I was in middle school, walking home w/ my friends, and scenes would be filmed in front of us *on multiple occasions!* Walked past the “Tony and Ralph” convo outside Lodi Pizza, off Rt 46, along w/ the Feech Lamanna scene, where he got set-up by Chris and Benny. At the time, I “knew of” the show, but never watched it or paid it any mind until maybe a decade or so after!! Even did a book report on James Gandolfini!
I wouldn’t call it “the” best written show but it’s up there. But this show does have its flaws: AJ. He is the worst character played by an actually whinny crybaby. I literally have to fast forward over his parts cause he sucks
Yeah, that was my interpretation too. I think the revelation was tied to his gambling wins. He commits an unforgivable act against his nephew and the universe rewards him by turning his luck in gambling. There is no karmic retribution, and Tony realizes that the universe is just chaos and nothing he does means anything.
yep he kills chrissy and bangs his ex and then wins big he thinks the world dosent care and he can do whatever cause that’s who he is a monster. but life always catches up ;)
For a normal person a peyote trip might change you in a positive way but Tony being a sociopath he just used his insight to justify all his wrong doings
@@phantom.wreath Tony demonstrates way too many authentic, non sociopathic traits throughout the series for me to think he's a true sociopath. Its not such a black and white thing. The scary truth is people can commit horrible acts without the excuse of being a sociopath
I experienced ego death when I took acid at 20. I forgot who I was, forgot all language and experience, and was just floating in an ether feeling raw emotion without any way to process it. It was scary, but also very profound and liberating to be set free from who you are and what ties you to this realm, it was probably only a few minutes but it felt like an eternity and really did change my life
It was just some acid a buddy picked up, the first and only time we all did it. It was 15 years ago and we were just some dumb university kids who loved to party. If you are struggling with mental health or depression, idk if psychedelics are a solution. My cousin is a combat veteran though, and he said they helped him get over his PTSD, but I'm not qualified to really speak on it, sorry
@@Jakeyisdead You should try psilocybin mushrooms. 4, 5 grams at least. You will experience ego melting, you will completely lose your identity and realise that it was all a construct, your whole life experience, everything you ever saw, heard, smelled, felt, shaped you but once outside of this You heal and get wider perspective. Mushrooms are safe. LsD on large quantities for the first time might leave you with psychosis or something like that, but with psilocybin shrooms you are safe. The only thing that can happen that during the trip you will have to cope with your traumas and repressed emotions but once you do(and mushrooms will make you) you will realise it was silly, just a little dust on you, you will love it and be reborn from it, let it all go. Important! : take at least 4 grams. Anything less, you will not get the full experience and the best parts!
Wow. This is probably one of the most insightful Sopranos video I've seen. Every point makes so much sense. You've added another layer into this show for me to see. I have never even drawn any of these correlations. Well done!
That scene when he yells "I get it" made a big impact on me and i think it's probably the best psychedelic scene ever filmed because it captures the experience - the pure/real experience minus all the fractal patterns hoopala - so well. Most people have had that "i get it" experience on trips where all your questions simply drop off, everything makes sense and you are truly at peace. It never sticks with you but you get it, in that moment. That scene in The Sopranos captures in perfectly. Beautiful stuff.
And that moment is a block in the pyramid. Build enough of those blocks and you pit the capstone on and you are ascended into the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ Consciousness. God Consciousness.
Funny enough I was experimenting a lot with psychedelics the same time I started watching the sopranos, and I felt the exact same way as you when I saw this scene. I've seen plenty of depictions of psychedelic trips in movies/shows, but this was the first one that actually felt like it captured the true essence of a trip. When he had his "I get it" moment I couldn't help but laugh, smile, and say "yyyup" because even tho I didn't know what he meant, I understood exactly what he was feeling 😂 I think just seeing someone else have that first "I get it" moment strikes a chord with anyone who's had it before because it's a very special feeling. Even when it's coming from a mob boss who recently killed his nephew 😂
@AnneHathawayRules easy to remember: you are ascending to your Godself, the I AM that I am. The trip is a preview of what it's like to be enlightened. GOD in the flesh. The Kingdom of Heaven fulfilled on earth.
Sidenote, the reason Chrissy called his movie Cleaver, I think, was because of the trauma surrounding his first kill. Before killing Emil, they did coke off a meat cleaver at Satriale's, and the logo for the movie is a white meat cleaver. We know the event had a deep effect on Chris because of his nightmares and even going as far as moving the body.
The Tony B segment of test dream was my favorite part of the series. The best part of your timing on this upload is I just finished the series last Saturday.
@@sporter527 I would always watch the show while I eat dinner. Since I finished the show and my dinner is usually a bag of frozen vegetables via the microwave I just pour it all on a plate and add a tablespoon of soy sauce and I eat standing up in the kitchen. And then I go on a 20 minute walk. I've been doing this for the past week and I really haven't felt any withdrawals. That's because I'm putting in serious effort to quit TV and go to bed at 9:00 if not a little bit before.
Great job. I'm glad the comments here are similarly praising. One of my favorite, most revealing Sopranos lines comes when Janice tells Bobby she'll see her therapist Sandy for her anger outburst. "Sandy, Sandy," Bobby scoffs. "What does she do? Tells you you were picked on by your father and asks you to read her screenplays." It's like the payoff of a years-long joke that is Tony's therapy sessions: Janice's therapist blames her father when the real culprit is clearly her mother, just as Melfi focuses on Livia instead of Johnny Boy. You capture well that Tony never improves because, for starters, he excuses one parent's evil and blames the other's. I love how this revelatory insight appears as a throwaway line between two side characters having a casual squabble. This is one of the show's great feats.
This is one of the most clear and concise deep dives of the show I’ve ever seen, in a third of the usual time. I haven’t seen nearly enough analyses of his relationship with his father since he was so absent leading up to his early death, but the picture is slowly being painted for us throughout each season. Once Tony meets Fran, we finally get a full scope of just how deep his denial was for how terrible of a person his father was. Livia was the obvious target for his issues with her blatant narcissism and problematic/abusive behaviors, but his father made a much deeper, more sinister impact on his life overall that I even failed to see before watching this video. The gambling thing his dad says flew right over my head, as well as the parallels between Chrissy and Johnny in Tony’s mind. You are spot on with this video, put EVERYTHING I was thinking into words. Great job.
This is really insightful. I never made that connection to Paulie and the boat ride. Also I could never figure out why Tony gambled so much when he of all people should know better.
My interpretation of what you describe is that Tony killed Christopher mostly because of the way Christopher revealed how he really despises Tony from what he depicted in his movie. "He wants to see me dead". Claiming to himself that he killed him because the car accident could have killed Chris' baby was just an excuse which Tony used to justify his action of killing Chris as a necessity and as being moral. That's why he kept seeking validation by bringing up how a branch destroyed the baby seat during the accident to everyone. You are right that he was annoyed and disgusted by how people morned Christopher, and that what he said about the baby seat didn't affect them, but you didn't include the scene where Kelli was breastfeeding the baby and Tony looked with a look of dissatisfaction and annoyance. Like he didn't care about the baby and that he made her an orphan. I think the creators included that scene to show that claiming that he killed Chris over the car seat was just an excuse because he didn't care for the baby. Christopher disliked Tony so much because he knew Tony wanted and would have had sex with Adrianna if they weren't in that accident. And what Tony did when Christopher died? First thing was to fly to Vegas and bang Chris' girlfriend. Like Christopher had sex with the real estate agent which rejected Tony and Christopher rubbed it on Tony's face. A form of a revenge. And you are right about his expression when he was choking Chris. That cold, psycho look which made him look like he was enjoying that he was ending Chris' life. The scene in the desert to me is connected with his comma dream. The way the sun beamed before Tony said "I get it" was in a very similar way with how the light beamed from the horizon in Tony's dream. And to me when he said "he's dead" it was about Christopher not his dad. Italians and Italian-Americans are super superstitious. Tony believed that Christopher was bringing him bad luck because he was envious of Tony and wanted him dead. It's the concept of evil eye or Malocchio. His bad luck at gambling was caused by Christophers negative energy and when he died Tony was winning nonstop. At least that's what Tony thought while tripping on mushrooms. And the meaning of the beaming light at the sunset was that the universe or God gave him another chance. Like when he saw the same thing in his dream with the beaming light. A signal that his bad luck is over. Or that the universe or God is supporting him. A sign from above. Another interpretation of a coincidence while being high.
In the dream sequence, the crowd turns on Tony, and the chase is on. Anonymous faces, angry and emotional. Those are the locals within the NJ community. Tony is frightened by the prospect that he will be exposed for his crimes, if he goes to trial. One of the characters in his dream, subconsciously, btw, slim, dark hair, in a wife beater top - does that remind anyone of Johnny Soprano? The man shoots at him through a second-floor window with a long gun. Sniper style. Reminiscent of the Kennedy assassination. Fran, Uncle Junior, Paulie, talk about this turbulent time in history. Tony buys at auction, John F. Kennedy's hat, Doctor Kennedy, Junior's cancer surgeon, Heidi and Kennedy the cause of more trauma for Tony. Each time Tony gets into another car accident, it adds to his PSTD. What was the connection with the Kennedy's and the TV series? The 1960s. The Cuban Missile Crisis ("That was real? I saw that movie, I thought it was bullshit."), the Kennedy assassination, the Newark race riots. But most of all, the formative years of Tony Soprano. The time when he almost lost an eye to his mother, wielding a carving fork. The first time Tony experiences real trauma. PTSD.
Using psychedelic experience as a plot point can make for incredibly dull viewing; I despise the scenes filmed through a lava lamp that are supposed to put us inside the tripping head. However, David Chase handled the challenge sublimely, even including the sad truth that psychedelic insight is tragically fleeting.
That scene has a profound effect on me. I look forward to it every rewatch. I interpret is as a kind of commentary on life, or our idea of life and living and the futility of it. It's like Tony glimpses the infinite, the scales fall off and what he thinks is important just melts away. He's finally free. And I think the beauty and majesty of the setting punctuates that and speaks to a sacred part of him. A part that wishes he'd been born someone else, far away.
This is a spectacular analysis. Human existence is terribly inefficient. We all get thrown into the world, try to make sense of it all as we are forming, a twenty year process, and choose paths driven by our unconscious mind. "The meaning of life" is a cliche. I think what people really want to understand is "how did I get here?". Brilliant insight. Incredible really.
really interesting perspective, im a huge sopranos fan and i thought i had read and watched every viewpoint from the show but there was some new stuff you presented that i had never though of, so sick video brother
This reminds me of that article "Tony's Vicarious Patricide" from The Chase Lounge. This is one of my favorite interpretations of the final stretch of the show, and it's wonderful hearing a video about it!
I’m a big Sopranos fan and generally fan of a “context and subtext” point of view. I’ve seen many Sopranos analysis but this is on another level. Have you studied psychology ? You definitely have big knowledge on that topic.
This is what the show's analysis was like while it was on. That was back when people wrote and read articles on the show and people expected to get a different perspective than what they already understood by watching. A lot of mental health care professionals published weekly reviews, including debates and panels. Others were beginning and seasoned media critics who actually studied film.and TV. Things are very different now.
This is SO good. So much better than every other Sopranos video that has surface-level analysis of an episode recap and thinks of itself as an "essay."
What will always make me give The Sopranos an edge over any other TV show is their use of comedy. It’s so funny you could make a legit argument it’s a comedy first and drama second and it doesn’t lose an ounce of quality. A show that morbid and nihilistic has no right to be as funny as it is.
Just realized this now, Christopher, back in the Pilot commits his first murder, spraying Email's brains all over ah....wait for it, CLEAVER! So Chase used it as symbolism as early as that First episode. A blade severs, like the split between his two families, the piano above reference, starts after the initial severing of Tony's innocence. And then repeated with Christopher. A vicious cycle of misery the life causes.
Really insightful, Renegade. Gave me a whole new perspective on the series, after all these years and reading whole booksful of interpretations. Well done.
This is why the sopranos will forever be one of the greatest shows ever made because we can all have different interpretations of scenes from the show and none of us are wrong yet none of us are right either
Great work bringing more awareness to psychedelics I experimented with them as a teenager and young adult and it is incredible to look back and recognize how they influenced my growth and mind. While there were both good and bad, fun and weird, periods Psychedelics helped me build new understandings and educated me to realize that I liked the way information flows through my brain. They opened my mind to new ideas, insights, and appreciations that i took with me for years that followed. While I don’t find myself experimenting with them as often anymore, I truly feel that society and the modern western world will benefit heavily by ending the stigma, and supporting their use. As time keeps flowing through these crazy times I am only more and more convinced that building understanding and working with psychedelic thought is one of the few real potentials that can help us build a path towards a better future. Lots of love to you all
It's a big disgrace that psychedelics are banned and you can go to jail for using them. I tried everything, i was using marijuana for years, now not often, i was sometimes using cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, heroin but all that is crap. Only psychedelics are worth taking, you can't get addicted to it because if you take for example lsd or mushroons, the next day if you use it again you won't feel anything, you have to make a pause for minimum 2 weeks. I was taking lsd, mushrooms, peyote, ketamine and DMT. DMT is the most powerful , the most intensive stuff, i had the most intensive 10 minutes of my life on DMT trip. Next month i go to ayahuasca treatment for the first time, i love that feeling on psychedelics when you understand all and all questions you had have totally natural answers.
Very good video and an excellent analysis of the Tony's experience with taking Payote my friend. Superb analysis in great detail and meticulously explained and presented. I subscribed to your channel my friend. Same or similar thing happened to me, although without any drugs involved. I went to Casino (I've been to Casino maybe 7-8 times before and don't even know how to play games there, only roulette because it's terribly easy) with this hot girl and started winning like there is no tomorrow. The whole time she was like little bit out but she was there. Anyways, the whole night was magnificent and after I got like an epiphany of some sort, acting the whole time like I was there but something else was happening at the same time, something I can't explain. Once again, I took no drugs whatsoever of any kind. I only had like 3 Coronas. It got me dizzy but that's all. Anyhow, the night went well and I won huge numbers, the girl was happy but sort of disinterested the whole time as if she was there for soemthing else and not happy about the money. What a great night
Well done. Great video. I'm a huge fan of the show and I pride myself in figuring out some of the great mysteries of this phenomenally deep show. Tony really broke bad in season 6B and you gave me an "I get it" moment with this breakdown. I had gone with the theory that being good was boring (6A) and that being bad was more fun(6B). But you are correct. He tried to kill all of his father figures.
Great analysis!! The Las Vegas episode was one of my most favorite episodes! I loved the dream sequences in the sopranos, that’s how they should Be done in media.
This is one of the best Soprano’s videos I ever saw! Explores areas I never thought about dealing with Tony and his father and that fact that he only would’ve came to this realization thru hallucination!
This review perfectly nails it. And makes me realize there’s much more to both my “breakthrough” psychedelic trips than I previously thought. Me and Tony are similar in regards to traumas, but definitely not lifestyle in the adult years.
Very cool analysis. Just a couple details I find a bit questionable. Christopher being a surrogate for his father is a bit of a stretch, since Chris has always been coded as his son throughout the show. For sure I think anger bottled up at his father played a role in his actions but I think his hatred of Chris was more reflective of his hatred of AJ as well, and his growing intolerance to the people he loved. Your analysis of the dream of his dad leading the car is spot on though, and the dream of his coach as well.
It’s rare that I discover new insights into The Sopranos, but this video is exceptional in that regard. Your analysis is novel and discerning. Great work!
I disagree with that tony thinking about killing Paulie on the boat was purely from unprocessed resentments about his father. Its partially that, but also the practical side of tony knowing that paulie is big mouthed, as was made obvious earlier in that episode.
This was an excellent analysis. It gives me food for thought the next time I view the episodes in the future. A new & different perspective which allows me to enjoy the series more completely. TNX!
I think his revelation also involves his newfound understanding that Chris’ downfall was also inevitable given how Tony treated him as his primary role model. He was acting out his same trauma upon Chris, and Chris has the same struggles with depression and resentment towards Tony that Tony had with his own father. Perhaps if he realized this sooner, he wouldn’t have murdered Chris in cold blood, having known how he was partially responsible for his self-destructive tendencies, and breaking a generational curse.
Now THIS is legit Sopranos analysis. I am also both a student of the show (watched every episode originally and rewatched a dozen times.) I never got where you have here regarding T's father. You're right. That's as far as I want to go, but I need to call my therapist now.
Very insightful and great work. However, a key figure was left out. Dickie Moltisanti. There must certainly be an imprint left on Tony by his mentor to be analyzed.
Wonderful review… connects a lot of the mysteries. The depth is over many viewer’s heads… and it seems many of the commenters still don’t get it after your explanation. Dabble on
I’ve never done peyote but shrooms and Ketamine have saved my life after traumatic events and severe depression. I attribute my continued survival to plant medicine.
Thank you for such a profound video and giving me new layers on how to experience the show. You made so many insightful connections. I have fallen in love with this show again and again over time
'Tuning in, turning off and dropping out'? I think you mean 'turning on, tuning in and dropping out.' 'TURN ON, TUNE IN, DROP OUT.' Get it right if you are going to quote Leary. You turn on with the act of taking the psychedelic. You tune into the energies that are released. In Leary's case in the sixties, he used the Tibetan book of the dead as a guide for tuning in. A manual traditionally used to aid people in death, he viewed the psychedelic experience as a death of the ego, and used the manual to help steer your way into a higher awakened state of consciousness with the help of it. You could also use other religious texts as an aid too. The thing you have to remember about psychedelics are, they open up tremendous suggestibility possibilities, at the same time as suspending your normal state of ego. You can utilise this aspect to it's fullest. That means you sort of engage in a programming type endeavour. Using meditation techniques that don't particularly use the verbal mind and suggestion, whilst under the influence, like Vipassana for instance, are not as effective, in my experience. Conscious Centering with affirmation techniques taken from ancient religious sources declaring your real true nature, like say the Upanishads, or Raja Yoga, work best. With the use of such methods, under the influence, you can have an absolutely full blown spiritually awakened encounter with your true self, your true nature, which will make your previous identity look just like a dream that you woke up out of. This is obviously only a temporary experience which will diminish probably even before the effect of the drug has worn off. But still a tremendously valuable experience to have. Drop out just implies, drop out of the mad collective consumerist unconscious society and find ways to express what you have uncovered. Become a conscious individual being, not a part of the mechanical collective.
i always loved this part of the Sopranos more than anything. I remember I had a very profound experience with Magic Mushrooms, and when I saw this on TV, it really hit me. I knew that someone who had a profound experience had written this into the story
But in Many Saints, it was really Tony's uncle Dickie's influence that seemed dominant. And it was Silvio who steered Dickie into bringing Tony into "their thing." Johnny Boy didn't seem to have much at all to do with it.
A fascinating and suggestive analysis! However, it's odd that you don't mention Tony's best articulation of his psychedelic experience to Melfi. He says both that there is some greater reality than the one we experience and that our mothers are buses that drop us off and we keep chasing them. The spinning roulette wheel is meant to remind us of the scientist in the hospital that thinks that everything is connected. As Tony says, "It's the same principle as the universe." Unfortunately, already debased Tony misunderstands the upshot as that Chris's death is responsible for his turn in luck. The scene at the end when he looks at the sun is when he realizes the mother thing. He realizes that his whole life is driven by vain attempts to address his abandonment issues (via mostly narcissism, but he doesn't realize that part). These things fit nicely with the general theme of the show, which is narcissism vs. love/connection. Tony's descent into more complete narcissism is a result of his inability to translate these insights into personal change.
I've watched this show maybe a dozen times but never put together the connection to Cleaver the movie and Johnny Boy's finger chopping. All of it makes sense. Man this show is incredible
People in the Amazon taking psychedelics have sharmins which help them through any rough patches of the effects of the drug. Psychedelics are no party drugs . Things can turn south very soon if you aren't in the right mindset. Psychedelics magnify what you're feeling on taking the drug.
I think the baby seat thing is a way for Tony to express his outrage at how he could have died without making it all about him and damaging his image as a hard man
Believe it or not, today I quoted your video to my psychotherapist as an example of the antagonistic relationship my father established towards me since.. forever. And how my self sabotage in other aspects of my life is similar to Tony's gambling problem as a self destructive revolution against his father.
This analysis explains a lot of season 6. It took a mysterious shift the last season. Before Tony was still treading water emotionally, so long as he was focused on his Mom, but went off the edge when he started to deal with reality of his father.
Wow so well said.
This analysis is indeed incredible. Normally I tend to think people overemphasize their own interpretations and wanna make things fit into their scheme, but here the mass of details that confirms this theory is overwhelming plus it explains some very important plots for which I was never satisfied with the usual explanations and did not have a clue of my own.
Altghough there are some possible explalations why Tony killed Christopher and some factors are obvious, I never felt it somehow 100% convincing until I watched that video. While you could at least explain the murder of Christopher differently, I never had any idea and didnt buy any of the usual explanations why he had this murderous rage towards Paulie in that episode in Florida. Bc of his big mouth? Bc he talks too much? He, or somebody else would have killed him years ago then. And although I didnt have the clue, but was looking for one, we see throughout the whole episode how the rage against Paulie in Tony oftentimes come up when he brings up the topic of Tony's father (that was somrthing I noticed when I watched the episode again trying to look for an explanation).
This analysis is the first that explains his murderous rage for Paulie flawlessly imo.
5:30 I think the main reason tony killed Chrissy was the same reason Livia tried to have tony killed. In the first episode of season 6B, Janice mentions that she learned in therapy that her mother started to resent her kids once they started to express opinions of their own and drift away from her. A few episodes later, Tony talks to Dr. Melfi about how close he and Chrissy were when Chrissy was a little kid, and is angry about the fact that Chrissy now hates him rather than being that happy little kid that looked up to him. The parallels between what Janice says about Livia, and how tony talks about Chrissy shortly after really stood out to me on a recent rewatch.
The song they listen to also states just before the crash "The child is grown the dream is gone"
Tony kills Christopher because he's unreliable. Chris is a drug addict and he can't hold his liquor. He exposed Tony to a rat. Tony is a violent sociopath and has no problem killing anyone to further himself.
@@crabluvathat too, layers
and now just remember the ducks
@crabluva the reason Tony killed Chris is because he became more of a burden than a benefit to him. It shows that their entire relationship was a facade and Tony only pretended to love him so long as he was beneficial to him. Once chris start going downhill and stopped putting money in his pocket, and started causing problems, he was taken out at the first opportunity. When Chris was at rock bottom and needed him the most Tony flushed him like a turd. There was never any love there and shows how the mob always spoke about the family but in reality it wasn't a family at all.
Tony: I GET IT!
The Courier: Who the hell is that?
bro
Bro
“I won the motherfucking lottery!”
“Are you in the mafia?”
“Mafia? Yeah I guess, but mafia is small time now.”
The cult following of that game never ceases to amaze me.
@@Selfloathingmisanthrope you and me both but i love that game
Something else to add to this is that, Chris through his sobriety and therapy was able to acknowledge who his father was and confronts Tony about it when he's grilling. I think this too adds to tonys anger towards chris on a subliminal level. Chris has the honesty to fault his dad whereas tony doesnt
Absolutely. Tony also resents the fact that Chris commits to and has success with abstention-based recovery (at least for a few prolonged periods).
Tony forced Chris in the programme and then constantly undermined him about it, ostensibly because he isn't around enough, but mostly because Tony didn't commit to his own therapy and saw no results, so when Chris and Janice actually *did* have results, he dragged them down.
Easy: he was warned . Tony kills him with no remorse. There was no other option
@@vtapvtap3925 lol, what are you trying to say
@@defragsbin Yes well said I agree.
This was brilliant. This is why the Sopranos is the best show ever written. So many interpretations of what everything means and any number of them could be correct there will never be a show this great again
I’ve watched the season 4 times and I still can watch it again. BEST SHOW EVER MADE!
My thoughts exactly!!! I beat myself up every time I think back to when I was in middle school, walking home w/ my friends, and scenes would be filmed in front of us *on multiple occasions!* Walked past the “Tony and Ralph” convo outside Lodi Pizza, off Rt 46, along w/ the Feech Lamanna scene, where he got set-up by Chris and Benny. At the time, I “knew of” the show, but never watched it or paid it any mind until maybe a decade or so after!! Even did a book report on James Gandolfini!
@@portugal5698 that’s crazy!! If you took pictures you probably could have sold those for a decent amount!!
F^#$%
I wouldn’t call it “the” best written show but it’s up there. But this show does have its flaws: AJ. He is the worst character played by an actually whinny crybaby. I literally have to fast forward over his parts cause he sucks
I think the understanding he comes to are that there are no consequences for his actions and he’s gonna embrace his evil side
That was my take away too. He gets it, hes a gangster, always will be, and might as well just be the best gangster he can be.
@@BrianMusic12 until, of course, he loses everything
You don't wanna thsee hith darker thide sthal.
Yeah, that was my interpretation too. I think the revelation was tied to his gambling wins. He commits an unforgivable act against his nephew and the universe rewards him by turning his luck in gambling. There is no karmic retribution, and Tony realizes that the universe is just chaos and nothing he does means anything.
yep he kills chrissy and bangs his ex and then wins big he thinks the world dosent care and he can do whatever cause that’s who he is a monster. but life always catches up ;)
For a normal person a peyote trip might change you in a positive way but Tony being a sociopath he just used his insight to justify all his wrong doings
If Tony was a moral/political nihilist then he wouldn’t nearly face so many internal conflicts and psychedelics wouldn’t have a profound impact on
He's not a sociopath though
@@johnclay2716 he literally kills his nephew. Tony is a textbook sociopath. He only had sympathy for animals.
@@phantom.wreath Tony demonstrates way too many authentic, non sociopathic traits throughout the series for me to think he's a true sociopath. Its not such a black and white thing. The scary truth is people can commit horrible acts without the excuse of being a sociopath
@@momoneyho666 he literally kills his nephew
I experienced ego death when I took acid at 20. I forgot who I was, forgot all language and experience, and was just floating in an ether feeling raw emotion without any way to process it. It was scary, but also very profound and liberating to be set free from who you are and what ties you to this realm, it was probably only a few minutes but it felt like an eternity and really did change my life
May I ask what you took? I really need an experience like that if im honest.
It was just some acid a buddy picked up, the first and only time we all did it. It was 15 years ago and we were just some dumb university kids who loved to party. If you are struggling with mental health or depression, idk if psychedelics are a solution. My cousin is a combat veteran though, and he said they helped him get over his PTSD, but I'm not qualified to really speak on it, sorry
its a drug fucking with your mind, that's it. Stop the fucking drug philosofy crap.
He SAID acid...... Reading comprehension dude. Smh damn it man has Americans gotten THIS DUMBED DOWN? What happened?@@Jakeyisdead
@@Jakeyisdead You should try psilocybin mushrooms. 4, 5 grams at least. You will experience ego melting, you will completely lose your identity and realise that it was all a construct, your whole life experience, everything you ever saw, heard, smelled, felt, shaped you but once outside of this You heal and get wider perspective. Mushrooms are safe. LsD on large quantities for the first time might leave you with psychosis or something like that, but with psilocybin shrooms you are safe. The only thing that can happen that during the trip you will have to cope with your traumas and repressed emotions but once you do(and mushrooms will make you) you will realise it was silly, just a little dust on you, you will love it and be reborn from it, let it all go.
Important! : take at least 4 grams. Anything less, you will not get the full experience and the best parts!
Wow.
This is probably one of the most insightful Sopranos video I've seen. Every point makes so much sense. You've added another layer into this show for me to see. I have never even drawn any of these correlations. Well done!
That scene when he yells "I get it" made a big impact on me and i think it's probably the best psychedelic scene ever filmed because it captures the experience - the pure/real experience minus all the fractal patterns hoopala - so well. Most people have had that "i get it" experience on trips where all your questions simply drop off, everything makes sense and you are truly at peace. It never sticks with you but you get it, in that moment. That scene in The Sopranos captures in perfectly. Beautiful stuff.
And that moment is a block in the pyramid. Build enough of those blocks and you pit the capstone on and you are ascended into the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ Consciousness. God Consciousness.
"It never sticks with you but you get it in that moment"
so true.
Funny enough I was experimenting a lot with psychedelics the same time I started watching the sopranos, and I felt the exact same way as you when I saw this scene. I've seen plenty of depictions of psychedelic trips in movies/shows, but this was the first one that actually felt like it captured the true essence of a trip. When he had his "I get it" moment I couldn't help but laugh, smile, and say "yyyup" because even tho I didn't know what he meant, I understood exactly what he was feeling 😂 I think just seeing someone else have that first "I get it" moment strikes a chord with anyone who's had it before because it's a very special feeling. Even when it's coming from a mob boss who recently killed his nephew 😂
Acid always gives you the meaning of life but you forget to write it down 😂
@AnneHathawayRules easy to remember: you are ascending to your Godself, the I AM that I am. The trip is a preview of what it's like to be enlightened. GOD in the flesh. The Kingdom of Heaven fulfilled on earth.
This is an excellent bit of writing. Congratulations, Friend
I agree, a great analysis.
Bobby ate mushrooms once. Stuffed mushrooms, a whole platter.
I wouldn't mind sitting on my ass, smoking mushrooms, collecting checks.
He said once that he wished he could sit around and smoke mushrooms. So out of touch but hilarious
Sidenote, the reason Chrissy called his movie Cleaver, I think, was because of the trauma surrounding his first kill. Before killing Emil, they did coke off a meat cleaver at Satriale's, and the logo for the movie is a white meat cleaver. We know the event had a deep effect on Chris because of his nightmares and even going as far as moving the body.
they did dent. Chris used the coke cleaver to line his shot up on Emil.
The Tony B segment of test dream was my favorite part of the series. The best part of your timing on this upload is I just finished the series last Saturday.
I just finished the series last Saturday.
Congratulations
@@chasehedges6775 but you already have a sopranos analysis video from a year ago on your channel. How?
I never watched the show, tbh. I was saying congratulations on you for finishing it.
imma about to finish it very soon, the withdrawal is gonna suck lmao
@@sporter527 I would always watch the show while I eat dinner. Since I finished the show and my dinner is usually a bag of frozen vegetables via the microwave I just pour it all on a plate and add a tablespoon of soy sauce and I eat standing up in the kitchen. And then I go on a 20 minute walk. I've been doing this for the past week and I really haven't felt any withdrawals. That's because I'm putting in serious effort to quit TV and go to bed at 9:00 if not a little bit before.
This video will probably remain the best Sopranos analysis of the year. Outstanding work my friend. You caused me to view the show in a new light.
My favourite mf doom femboy, hell yeah
Great job. I'm glad the comments here are similarly praising.
One of my favorite, most revealing Sopranos lines comes when Janice tells Bobby she'll see her therapist Sandy for her anger outburst. "Sandy, Sandy," Bobby scoffs. "What does she do? Tells you you were picked on by your father and asks you to read her screenplays." It's like the payoff of a years-long joke that is Tony's therapy sessions: Janice's therapist blames her father when the real culprit is clearly her mother, just as Melfi focuses on Livia instead of Johnny Boy. You capture well that Tony never improves because, for starters, he excuses one parent's evil and blames the other's.
I love how this revelatory insight appears as a throwaway line between two side characters having a casual squabble. This is one of the show's great feats.
this is one of the best video essays on the sopranos I have ever seen and I'm only halfway through. very insightful, thank you
Very allegorical. The sacred and the propane
A pint of blood is worth more than a pound of gold, that is the supreme truth he *GETS*
This is one of the most clear and concise deep dives of the show I’ve ever seen, in a third of the usual time. I haven’t seen nearly enough analyses of his relationship with his father since he was so absent leading up to his early death, but the picture is slowly being painted for us throughout each season. Once Tony meets Fran, we finally get a full scope of just how deep his denial was for how terrible of a person his father was. Livia was the obvious target for his issues with her blatant narcissism and problematic/abusive behaviors, but his father made a much deeper, more sinister impact on his life overall that I even failed to see before watching this video. The gambling thing his dad says flew right over my head, as well as the parallels between Chrissy and Johnny in Tony’s mind. You are spot on with this video, put EVERYTHING I was thinking into words. Great job.
It’s both sad and relieving to say, many of these psycho-analytical videos can often put certain aspects of one’s own life into clarity.
Spot on! I have always been obsessed with this show! It just clicked with this video. trying to understand why i am effed up🤣👍👏
Probably the best synopsis of The Sopranos I’ve ever seen. And I thought I saw them all. Well done and thank you.
This is really insightful. I never made that connection to Paulie and the boat ride. Also I could never figure out why Tony gambled so much when he of all people should know better.
True. He ran a casino on Bloomfield. He has insider knowledge.
My interpretation of what you describe is that Tony killed Christopher mostly because of the way Christopher revealed how he really despises Tony from what he depicted in his movie. "He wants to see me dead". Claiming to himself that he killed him because the car accident could have killed Chris' baby was just an excuse which Tony used to justify his action of killing Chris as a necessity and as being moral. That's why he kept seeking validation by bringing up how a branch destroyed the baby seat during the accident to everyone. You are right that he was annoyed and disgusted by how people morned Christopher, and that what he said about the baby seat didn't affect them, but you didn't include the scene where Kelli was breastfeeding the baby and Tony looked with a look of dissatisfaction and annoyance. Like he didn't care about the baby and that he made her an orphan. I think the creators included that scene to show that claiming that he killed Chris over the car seat was just an excuse because he didn't care for the baby. Christopher disliked Tony so much because he knew Tony wanted and would have had sex with Adrianna if they weren't in that accident. And what Tony did when Christopher died? First thing was to fly to Vegas and bang Chris' girlfriend. Like Christopher had sex with the real estate agent which rejected Tony and Christopher rubbed it on Tony's face. A form of a revenge. And you are right about his expression when he was choking Chris. That cold, psycho look which made him look like he was enjoying that he was ending Chris' life.
The scene in the desert to me is connected with his comma dream. The way the sun beamed before Tony said "I get it" was in a very similar way with how the light beamed from the horizon in Tony's dream. And to me when he said "he's dead" it was about Christopher not his dad. Italians and Italian-Americans are super superstitious. Tony believed that Christopher was bringing him bad luck because he was envious of Tony and wanted him dead. It's the concept of evil eye or Malocchio. His bad luck at gambling was caused by Christophers negative energy and when he died Tony was winning nonstop. At least that's what Tony thought while tripping on mushrooms. And the meaning of the beaming light at the sunset was that the universe or God gave him another chance. Like when he saw the same thing in his dream with the beaming light. A signal that his bad luck is over. Or that the universe or God is supporting him. A sign from above. Another interpretation of a coincidence while being high.
In the dream sequence, the crowd turns on Tony, and the chase is on. Anonymous faces, angry and emotional. Those are the locals within the NJ community. Tony is frightened by the prospect that he will be exposed for his crimes, if he goes to trial. One of the characters in his dream, subconsciously, btw, slim, dark hair, in a wife beater top - does that remind anyone of Johnny Soprano? The man shoots at him through a second-floor window with a long gun. Sniper style. Reminiscent of the Kennedy assassination. Fran, Uncle Junior, Paulie, talk about this turbulent time in history. Tony buys at auction, John F. Kennedy's hat, Doctor Kennedy, Junior's cancer surgeon, Heidi and Kennedy the cause of more trauma for Tony. Each time Tony gets into another car accident, it adds to his PSTD. What was the connection with the Kennedy's and the TV series?
The 1960s.
The Cuban Missile Crisis ("That was real? I saw that movie, I thought it was bullshit."), the Kennedy assassination, the Newark race riots.
But most of all, the formative years of Tony Soprano. The time when he almost lost an eye to his mother, wielding a carving fork. The first time Tony experiences real trauma. PTSD.
Using psychedelic experience as a plot point can make for incredibly dull viewing; I despise the scenes filmed through a lava lamp that are supposed to put us inside the tripping head. However, David Chase handled the challenge sublimely, even including the sad truth that psychedelic insight is tragically fleeting.
As a lifelong fan of the Sopranos, this was a great breakdown and analysis. Instant like and subscribe!
That scene has a profound effect on me. I look forward to it every rewatch. I interpret is as a kind of commentary on life, or our idea of life and living and the futility of it. It's like Tony glimpses the infinite, the scales fall off and what he thinks is important just melts away. He's finally free. And I think the beauty and majesty of the setting punctuates that and speaks to a sacred part of him. A part that wishes he'd been born someone else, far away.
This is a spectacular analysis. Human existence is terribly inefficient. We all get thrown into the world, try to make sense of it all as we are forming, a twenty year process, and choose paths driven by our unconscious mind. "The meaning of life" is a cliche. I think what people really want to understand is "how did I get here?". Brilliant insight. Incredible really.
really interesting perspective, im a huge sopranos fan and i thought i had read and watched every viewpoint from the show but there was some new stuff you presented that i had never though of, so sick video brother
This reminds me of that article "Tony's Vicarious Patricide" from The Chase Lounge. This is one of my favorite interpretations of the final stretch of the show, and it's wonderful hearing a video about it!
I’m a big Sopranos fan and generally fan of a “context and subtext” point of view. I’ve seen many Sopranos analysis but this is on another level. Have you studied psychology ? You definitely have big knowledge on that topic.
This is what the show's analysis was like while it was on. That was back when people wrote and read articles on the show and people expected to get a different perspective than what they already understood by watching. A lot of mental health care professionals published weekly reviews, including debates and panels. Others were beginning and seasoned media critics who actually studied film.and TV. Things are very different now.
@@LPno.9 the analysis of Tony killing his father (or the image of him) by killing Christopher is top.
@@jakubwrona2040 You should check out the old articles. I would be surprised if that analysis isn't in a few of those reviews.
@@jakubwrona2040 This video is based on a long essay which you can find online, it's called something like vicarious patricide in The Sopranos.
This is SO good. So much better than every other Sopranos video that has surface-level analysis of an episode recap and thinks of itself as an "essay."
Whoa what a great analysis. Made me watch aspects of the show in a whole different way and I’ve already rewatched and analyzed it myself.
What will always make me give The Sopranos an edge over any other TV show is their use of comedy. It’s so funny you could make a legit argument it’s a comedy first and drama second and it doesn’t lose an ounce of quality. A show that morbid and nihilistic has no right to be as funny as it is.
How could you say that? So many parts of the show had me prostate with grief.
@@SamP-by7ivbecause that's how good it is, but most of the time the show is cranking jokes or hilarious situations.
I never picked up on any humor back while it was still running. It took all these youtube crowds to show me the funny side👍👏🤣😂
Just realized this now, Christopher, back in the Pilot commits his first murder, spraying Email's brains all over ah....wait for it, CLEAVER! So Chase used it as symbolism as early as that First episode. A blade severs, like the split between his two families, the piano above reference, starts after the initial severing of Tony's innocence. And then repeated with Christopher. A vicious cycle of misery the life causes.
never made that connection! jesus this show is just too layered hahahah
Gay
@@smartyjonez5470 How's that bot troll???
@@smartyjonez5470 You must've thought long and hard to come up with such a big insight, yay!!!!!
@@smartyjonez5470 Not Gay
If the Gabagool sees only darkly, the way I do, then I’m cursed, and cursed again.
Really insightful, Renegade. Gave me a whole new perspective on the series, after all these years and reading whole booksful of interpretations. Well done.
The Thumbnail: Better Call Tony
Fear and Gabagool in Las Vegas
@@IAmNumber4000 lmfaoo 🤣 💀
This is why the sopranos will forever be one of the greatest shows ever made because we can all have different interpretations of scenes from the show and none of us are wrong yet none of us are right either
Great work bringing more awareness to psychedelics
I experimented with them as a teenager and young adult and it is incredible to look back and recognize how they influenced my growth and mind.
While there were both good and bad, fun and weird, periods
Psychedelics helped me build new understandings and educated me to realize that I liked the way information flows through my brain. They opened my mind to new ideas, insights, and appreciations that i took with me for years that followed.
While I don’t find myself experimenting with them as often anymore,
I truly feel that society and the modern western world will benefit heavily by ending the stigma, and supporting their use. As time keeps flowing through these crazy times I am only more and more convinced that building understanding and working with psychedelic thought is one of the few real potentials that can help us build a path towards a better future.
Lots of love to you all
It's a big disgrace that psychedelics are banned and you can go to jail for using them. I tried everything, i was using marijuana for years, now not often, i was sometimes using cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, heroin but all that is crap. Only psychedelics are worth taking, you can't get addicted to it because if you take for example lsd or mushroons, the next day if you use it again you won't feel anything, you have to make a pause for minimum 2 weeks. I was taking lsd, mushrooms, peyote, ketamine and DMT. DMT is the most powerful , the most intensive stuff, i had the most intensive 10 minutes of my life on DMT trip. Next month i go to ayahuasca treatment for the first time, i love that feeling on psychedelics when you understand all and all questions you had have totally natural answers.
Hate the AI thumbnail
You’re trippin
Looks like it’s related to Better Call Saul.
@@arborsamuraifr I like it
@@ACACAC771
Yep!
I didn't like it much until I figured out that it's AI generated
unironically incredible study on his character during this moment. i clicked on this video kinda laughing to myself but im shook
Out here in the perimeter, there are no stars
Out here we is stoned, immaculate
~ Jim Morrison
Very good video and an excellent analysis of the Tony's experience with taking Payote my friend. Superb analysis in great detail and meticulously explained and presented. I subscribed to your channel my friend. Same or similar thing happened to me, although without any drugs involved. I went to Casino (I've been to Casino maybe 7-8 times before and don't even know how to play games there, only roulette because it's terribly easy) with this hot girl and started winning like there is no tomorrow. The whole time she was like little bit out but she was there. Anyways, the whole night was magnificent and after I got like an epiphany of some sort, acting the whole time like I was there but something else was happening at the same time, something I can't explain. Once again, I took no drugs whatsoever of any kind. I only had like 3 Coronas. It got me dizzy but that's all. Anyhow, the night went well and I won huge numbers, the girl was happy but sort of disinterested the whole time as if she was there for soemthing else and not happy about the money. What a great night
This was unusually relaxing to watch in a stressful time during my life. Thank you so much. I've not even watched the Sopranos before.
Most realistic dream sequences I’ve ever seen.
I thought Tony said “I did it”, referring to killing Christopher, as a way to get it off his chest
I DID IT LOL
Well done. Great video. I'm a huge fan of the show and I pride myself in figuring out some of the great mysteries of this phenomenally deep show. Tony really broke bad in season 6B and you gave me an "I get it" moment with this breakdown. I had gone with the theory that being good was boring (6A) and that being bad was more fun(6B). But you are correct. He tried to kill all of his father figures.
Outstanding analysis. I've watched the show countless times and never made a lot of these connections.
Great analysis!! The Las Vegas episode was one of my most favorite episodes! I loved the dream sequences in the sopranos, that’s how they should
Be done in media.
This is one of the best Soprano’s videos I ever saw!
Explores areas I never thought about dealing with Tony and his father and that fact that he only would’ve came to this realization thru hallucination!
This is a huge analysis. Congratulations man, you really have amazing insight and a gift for explanation. I love the sopranos and I loved this.
I Thought He Said I Did It And It Was Him Just Confessing To The Universe
What an excellent video description.
This review perfectly nails it. And makes me realize there’s much more to both my “breakthrough” psychedelic trips than I previously thought. Me and Tony are similar in regards to traumas, but definitely not lifestyle in the adult years.
Very cool analysis. Just a couple details I find a bit questionable. Christopher being a surrogate for his father is a bit of a stretch, since Chris has always been coded as his son throughout the show. For sure I think anger bottled up at his father played a role in his actions but I think his hatred of Chris was more reflective of his hatred of AJ as well, and his growing intolerance to the people he loved.
Your analysis of the dream of his dad leading the car is spot on though, and the dream of his coach as well.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT IM HIGH AS FUCK WATCHING THIS AND ITS JUST AWESOME WHAT THE FUCK
😂
It’s rare that I discover new insights into The Sopranos, but this video is exceptional in that regard. Your analysis is novel and discerning. Great work!
Great insights, I never fully understood Sopranos but now…I get it….I finally get it!!!!
I disagree with that tony thinking about killing Paulie on the boat was purely from unprocessed resentments about his father. Its partially that, but also the practical side of tony knowing that paulie is big mouthed, as was made obvious earlier in that episode.
This was an excellent analysis. It gives me food for thought the next time I view the episodes in the future. A new & different perspective which allows me to enjoy the series more completely. TNX!
I think his revelation also involves his newfound understanding that Chris’ downfall was also inevitable given how Tony treated him as his primary role model. He was acting out his same trauma upon Chris, and Chris has the same struggles with depression and resentment towards Tony that Tony had with his own father. Perhaps if he realized this sooner, he wouldn’t have murdered Chris in cold blood, having known how he was partially responsible for his self-destructive tendencies, and breaking a generational curse.
Now THIS is legit Sopranos analysis. I am also both a student of the show (watched every episode originally and rewatched a dozen times.)
I never got where you have here regarding T's father. You're right. That's as far as I want to go, but I need to call my therapist now.
Very insightful and great work. However, a key figure was left out. Dickie Moltisanti. There must certainly be an imprint left on Tony by his mentor to be analyzed.
Wonderful review… connects a lot of the mysteries. The depth is over many viewer’s heads… and it seems many of the commenters still don’t get it after your explanation. Dabble on
This is incredibly well put together as an argument, you really built this video well. Very observant, the sacred and the propane
Great video man
This is great analysis, this and Soprano Autopsy website have the best analyses, the guy who examined all episodes there, Ron, is really a genius
I’ve never done peyote but shrooms and Ketamine have saved my life after traumatic events and severe depression. I attribute my continued survival to plant medicine.
good stuff
Well written, well analyzed. made me think about my own shit. keep on keeping on!
Amazing breakdown. I felt the theory of tony finally realizing he’ll never truly change was the strongest theory.
Thank you for such a profound video and giving me new layers on how to experience the show. You made so many insightful connections. I have fallen in love with this show again and again over time
Absolutely breathtaking analysis. One of the best ive seen.
This is one of the best sopranos breakdown I’ve seen fantastic job
Hands down best sopranos take
After over a decade of rewatching the series this unveiled much for me
'Tuning in, turning off and dropping out'? I think you mean 'turning on, tuning in and dropping out.' 'TURN ON, TUNE IN, DROP OUT.' Get it right if you are going to quote Leary. You turn on with the act of taking the psychedelic. You tune into the energies that are released. In Leary's case in the sixties, he used the Tibetan book of the dead as a guide for tuning in. A manual traditionally used to aid people in death, he viewed the psychedelic experience as a death of the ego, and used the manual to help steer your way into a higher awakened state of consciousness with the help of it. You could also use other religious texts as an aid too.
The thing you have to remember about psychedelics are, they open up tremendous suggestibility possibilities, at the same time as suspending your normal state of ego. You can utilise this aspect to it's fullest. That means you sort of engage in a programming type endeavour. Using meditation techniques that don't particularly use the verbal mind and suggestion, whilst under the influence, like Vipassana for instance, are not as effective, in my experience. Conscious Centering with affirmation techniques taken from ancient religious sources declaring your real true nature, like say the Upanishads, or Raja Yoga, work best. With the use of such methods, under the influence, you can have an absolutely full blown spiritually awakened encounter with your true self, your true nature, which will make your previous identity look just like a dream that you woke up out of. This is obviously only a temporary experience which will diminish probably even before the effect of the drug has worn off. But still a tremendously valuable experience to have.
Drop out just implies, drop out of the mad collective consumerist unconscious society and find ways to express what you have uncovered. Become a conscious individual being, not a part of the mechanical collective.
Originally, I thought Tony said "I did it". Over the years I realized differently. Great analysis of a lot of things. I really enjoyed this.
YOU GET IT! Excellent writing sir, great job!
Love Sopranos and summed it up well with this video
i always loved this part of the Sopranos more than anything. I remember I had a very profound experience with Magic Mushrooms, and when I saw this on TV, it really hit me. I knew that someone who had a profound experience had written this into the story
But in Many Saints, it was really Tony's uncle Dickie's influence that seemed dominant. And it was Silvio who steered Dickie into bringing Tony into "their thing." Johnny Boy didn't seem to have much at all to do with it.
Love this content.
A fascinating and suggestive analysis! However, it's odd that you don't mention Tony's best articulation of his psychedelic experience to Melfi. He says both that there is some greater reality than the one we experience and that our mothers are buses that drop us off and we keep chasing them. The spinning roulette wheel is meant to remind us of the scientist in the hospital that thinks that everything is connected. As Tony says, "It's the same principle as the universe." Unfortunately, already debased Tony misunderstands the upshot as that Chris's death is responsible for his turn in luck. The scene at the end when he looks at the sun is when he realizes the mother thing. He realizes that his whole life is driven by vain attempts to address his abandonment issues (via mostly narcissism, but he doesn't realize that part). These things fit nicely with the general theme of the show, which is narcissism vs. love/connection. Tony's descent into more complete narcissism is a result of his inability to translate these insights into personal change.
Are you not going to give credit to the essay you stole this from? Vicarious Patricide
I've watched this show maybe a dozen times but never put together the connection to Cleaver the movie and Johnny Boy's finger chopping. All of it makes sense. Man this show is incredible
This whole time I thought he said "I DID IT!" in reference to Christopher. Damn lol
Man, the analysis is fantastic, right on spot! Thank you so much!
One of my favorite Sopranos analyses, of so many on YT
You get the beauty of life. Life feels new and crisp. Thank God for psychedelics. I would be dead without them.
Brilliant analysis. You caused me to analyze myself lol
People in the Amazon taking psychedelics have sharmins which help them through any rough patches of the effects of the drug. Psychedelics are no party drugs . Things can turn south very soon if you aren't in the right mindset.
Psychedelics magnify what you're feeling on taking the drug.
Wow this was a great video
This is one of the greatest, if not the greatest Soprano's video I've ever watched.
Spot on. This analyzis was made in the Chase lounge years ago
I think the baby seat thing is a way for Tony to express his outrage at how he could have died without making it all about him and damaging his image as a hard man
I always felt that the Sopranos is ultimately a show about lost souls
What a masterpiece analysis. Kudos.
Thumbnail looks like a fat balding Saul Goodman 🤣
Believe it or not, today I quoted your video to my psychotherapist as an example of the antagonistic relationship my father established towards me since.. forever. And how my self sabotage in other aspects of my life is similar to Tony's gambling problem as a self destructive revolution against his father.
When Tony was trying to pick up the bullets I thought they turned into literal shit in his hands? Very allegorical, the sacred and the propane.
You are speaking shit to me