The Coma Dreams - Soprano Theories 

I like to think Kevin Finnerty was a representation of what Tony could've been, but I also think it shows that no matter who he became, he still would've been fundamentally him. In a sense, he didnt change, he was what he was.

how can anyone think of the dream sequences as boring?

I always thought Tony’s mom was faking the forgetfulness so she didn’t have to take responsibility for her actions

One reason I like the dream sequences is that they show us part of the real fears and feelings of the characters. Most of them put on an act so as to not appear weak, but the dreams illustrate their real feelings. The connection with the supernatural aspects of the show is also very interesting.

I've always considered the dream sequences among the most bizarrely accurate. There is a very loose sense of cohesion in my dreams where it makes sense until I wake up, when I realize how little sense (though not nonsense) it made. Then I forget most of it over the course of the next few minutes, as though my brain has activated a self destruct sequence.

What? People skip these scenes? To me, they're the best of the entire series.

The whole Kevin Finnerty (Kev Infinity) sequence is very Twilight Zone-ish. Chase is on record as a big Twilight Zone fan. The show is mentioned a time or two in the Sopranos and is all over the place in Not Fade Away, which is an underrated film btw.

These sequences make the show what it is

What makes these scenes so great is how much they really do feel like a dream. The sense of familiarity but with things changed. Objects,things and people that are out of place. Chase managed to capture that experience and it’s impressive considering the brain has a self destruct system for remembering dreams.

No, it’s not that he was born to be a gangster. Exactly the opposite. His innermost moral self knows that Finnerty’s life is the good life. To EARN your money, to NOT kill your friends, to NOT be able to cheat on your wife… these are the good things that Tony has always wanted but could never bring himself to admit it (hence the therapy).

How could anyone with half a brain think that was “Heaven” he was going into? Tony? Really?🤣🤣

Great analysis! The dreams are some of my favorite sequences in the show, can't believe people would think they are boring. The coma dreams in particular are so well done and deep with references and themes. You hit on a lot of great points!

The dream sequences were some of the best scenes - when Tony b tried to convince him to come in the house & meadow voice in the trees gave me shivers 👏👏

they way they wrote Tony’s dreams throughout the series is argubaly its most genius with the Sopranos. you literally feel like its your dream when watching. those feelings are so relateable from someone like me who dreams all the time.

I always though the coma dream was Tony slowly descending to hell. There were parts that were very ‘Shining-like’… we are never told what the lighthouse was. When Buscemi tries to usher him into the house and he tries to resist the people at the party in the house get louder with their fun. Something very creepy about it

Great analysis. That country house… I’ve always felt it was similar to the house in Godfather pt2 when Vito goes back to Sicily - T’s favourite scene. In that scene you hear crickets, as you do in his country house dreams, too.

The show runners leave so many little easter eggs throughout the show. Something I noticed: at the seminar on the display panel behind alternate reality Tony, is the lens company name JANOS. Janice looms over him even in dreams. I always thought this made things feel eerie and gave the sequence a dream like quality.

Honestly the dream sequences were the best part they were like really dreams

Honestly, I always thought it was a prelude to his Hell. Being a scared and indecisive nobody who's fearful and confused; similar to Uncle Junior. Someone at the mercy of others; powerless, and without a way of resolving things himself. The exact opposite of the life he'd led.

Fantastic analysis on the dream scenes, they're such an integral part of the series how can anyone skip them??

I actually think Kevin Finnerty is the man that Tony actually did become, the man we know from the beginning of the show. The Tony Soprano that we meet at the start of the coma dream is the person Tony could have become. In the final scene of Mayham he has a choice to move into the afterlife or grasp onto Kevin Finnerty's briefcase which represents his life in the mafia with Carmela and his children. He doesn't have access to the life that he could have had, it is too late now, the opportunity is gone. This is what the line "I lost my real briefcase means," and then "my whole life was in that briefcase," line refers to who he was before he joined the mafia and the person he should have become. When he looks into the doors of the Finnerty house, he can either pass into the afterlife, as the life that he should have lived is lost, or he could hold onto the briefcase and continue living the life he has. When Meadow finally calls out to him, he decides to hold on to the briefcase and decides to pull through and come out of the coma. This is how I interpret this and what I think makes sense. Kevin Finnerty isn't representing the stranger that he could have become, but represents the stranger to himself that he had become by joining the mafia and going down the path that will ultimately lead him to an unsatisfactory life and a premature death.

I thought that the dream was calling him to seek a life of salvation, the monks represented a spiritually pure life style. The lighthouse over the horizon was a symbol of salvation itself. I felt that the Alzheimer’s diagnosis showed him that he could forget his past and cleanse himself of his sins. I absolutely agree with all the analysis on the briefcase imagery and the Finnerty family reunion. I just watched the episode this morning so what great time for me to find this video :)

I love the analysis! In my eyes I always thought of these dreams in particular to hell. Especially with the scene with blundetto where he gets told to leave his briefcase. I took it as him telling him that the salesman life is not who he is and that giving it up will allow him to enter heaven/hell as the soprano he is. The part that that helps with it as well is referencing Chris’s near death experience and how he was at the door ready to go, even meeting his dead relatives. It shows the resentment that both Chris and tony have ln the inside for the life they chose. Chris wanted out at some points with his acting and writing career. Tony always makes innuendos towards others with patio furniture and being too stupid to not follow his father’s footsteps.

0:32 I really like how he learned within his dreams. He knew in his mind deeply it was true, but repressed it, and the dream forced him to change that

man, you're gonna make me wanna watch the whole thing again.

the dream sequences offer further insight into Tonys psyche

I think the coma dream was super natural. I think the monks were telling us DIRECTLY what is going on his dream. "When you die there will be no you, there will be no me" Tony in his purgatory/ coma state had lost his sense of self in any real way but yet he was still innately himself despite not having the same people on the phone at home or the same job or the same aggression, this is a good representation of the soul. Tony fall to temptation was still true. The monks are a uncaring force that come to hold tony accountable, regardless if he should be or not. They ridicule his attempts to dodge responsibility. This show tony when confronted with a wrong is more interested in dodging accountability than showing consideration or concern - just like how he was with almost anything he both did, or didn't do when confronted with it. Tony losing his identity, his past and the "gravity" of the mob life pulling him back in when ever he tries to distance himself from it renders him powerless. Truly powerless in every conceivable way. He no longer has anyone else to blame, no circumstance, no grand threat of death or toppling. Tony is given a family at home, a reliable job with some prestige - he did well as a precision optics salesman apparently - in this sense. Tony was having his truest essence and sins laid bare. The light house in the distance has duo meaning: one is the symbolic value it has at a light in the distance, calling to tony to keep hope and reflect but it can also represent the great unknown/ better world - aka heaven - Tony ignores the light house. He turns away from it. There is NOTHING stopping tony from getting out of the hotel and chasing that light. He meets monks and even o nthe tv is a christain show. He had the chance to pay attention and reach out in multiple ways. To listen to the TV and consider his spiritual affairs, to make peace with the monks and ask them to help him make peace with himself and spiritually grow...or to simply chase that light. To find his own path but Tony instead spent his time: Drinking Saying he loves his wife as he goes to cheat on her. Dodging responsibility. In the end: the coma dream was a reveal of tonys true character...and it's not his sins that would of damned him. It's not his sins that have him moping around the hotels, doing jack and nill ultimately but his own direct decision to focus on these things. In a way: this is a reflection of his own depression which he partially blames for his mentality and life. He merely waits to go home. And that what happens. Tony, at the end of the dream goes to his rightful home: hell. He dosen't remember the other people and it dosen't matter. Would tony remember who he is truly after giving the brief case?...maybe. The idea it represents his life and potential does work. I think there's a special irony that it won't be the grudges that tony has with people like blotto that meet him in hell. But the simple fact these are bad people who choose to harm others and induge in vice when all other options are open. So, they make hell wih their presence. Their home becomes inescapable not because of gats and flame but because they'll never let him go once he's i nthere. Ironically...this is basically what they do to Aj when he tries to escape the family tide. Most of the sopranos is tied to the qoute "When I think I got out. They pull me back in" the forces, vices, personal greed and dramas pull everyone back in. How apt that Tony's personal hell be that without any pretense of importance or power.

As a person who LOVES David Lynch's work, I absolutely enjoy the dream episodes!

Tony "didn't grab the wrong briefcase." It wasn't an accident. He was on his death bed, he's moving ever closer to the light. In the final moment, Meadow saves him from death. Kevin Finnerty is merely an honest businessman that Tony wishes he was. He got to hide inside of a life that wasn't him for some time before it was time to either come back to reality, or die.

Tony's coma dreams were no where as exciting as Silvio's coma dreams, Silvio had twins, became a local mob boss and respected member of Lilyhammer Norway society.

And we see that Tony B even though he’s not called that in the dream sequence was really trying to take his briefcase/his life really badly as his way of dragging him to hell with him as revenge for killing him

I know that Moby - When It's Cold I'd Like To Die is the song played in this episode, but I don't remember where, I saw a video that said that Moby - Dead Sun is the song that plays in that last scene. The two songs are similar, and both are beautiful.

it always astonishes me that some people say they hate the dream stuff in Soprannos and some even skip through them. i find the dream stuff not only interesting but also entertaining and all part of the great stew that is the Soprannos.

Very thought provoking, thank you!!!

Dream sequences are always so good! David Lynch vibes

The people that think the dream sequences are 'boring' are the same people that think Tony is a role model and he is the epitome of what a boss and a man should be.

The dream episodes are absolutely my favorite episodes! As far as Tony dying. The song choice at the end tells you all you need to know about what happened to Tony. It’s literally in front of you. The cut to black is DAVID Chase yelling cut! And that’s it. The song tells you……”Whoa, the movie never ends It goes on and on and on and on….Don’t Stop Believing.” We can choose to perceive what happens individually. Not enough proof he died. No blood, no,pain, yea….there’s the whole Bobby you don’t hear it but Silvio got some drops of blood in a brief millisecond. If we saw something…anything like that. Maybe a pan up from Tony perspective then a cut to black. Definite death. It doesn’t need to be a hugging family in arms walking outside the restaurant and it fades out. Our glimpse into the Soprano universe ended. When David Chase said so. No more season 7. End of story. It’s a timeline in David’s mind. We hopped back 40 some years and got a small glimpse of the Soprano universe in 1960’s. David left it open ended. It’s only now hind sight we know James Galdofini dies. So perhaps another crack opens into young High school Tony’s timeline of his young rise to capo over a 10 - 15 year span down the line? Or something even crazier….maybe one day Robert Iler decides he wants to act again….perhaps then Chase gives us a sequel since James really did die. Lots of possibilities. Only one man holds the dice.

YES!!! This one’s gonna be GREAT! 🤗 3:14 this guy really does look like James Gandolfini from an alternate universe lol

After all these years, someone takes the time to analyze the dream sequences. Thanks for this. I've also surmised that the psychiatry visits, were written in so that the main character could fill in the background story, leading up to the present, as a means to draw stories from the past. Developing the story of Hesch, Johnny Boy and Uncle June. The Sopranos series have entertainment value 20 years on and continues to pique our curiosity, much like the classic 'film noir' talkies of the 30s.

Kevin Finnerty is the guy Toney wishes he was Deep Down inside

How they added the shoulin monks makes it very deep, the slap he gets and how he reacts... Basically all the dream sequences have so much to tell... Most still don't get them deeper meanings. So many rabbit holes that can be taken.

it can also be said that one of the things Tony offers in his line of work, is protection .So maybe he instinctually knows, that Kevin F is a person he does "business" with and its his job to protect his identity. So in essence, he's putting Kevin F before his own safety, which is a selfless act.

Another interesting bit is that Ron Leibman, who plays Tony's doctor in Season 6, plays Rachel's father in Friends, based in New York, also a doctor. He also plays a doctor in Garden State, obviously based in New Jersey. So I think its pretty clear that The Sopranos, Friends, and Garden State, all exist in the same universe.

I'm surprised there's no mention here of the sun blinking at Tony in Vegas after he's killed Christopher and how it relates back to these coma dreams.

Join the Club is my fav sopranos episode by far. I can’t imagine being bored by it.

Another brilliant upload young man, great stuff. 👍

For me, the dream sequences and that occasional underlying hint of the paranormal, are what takes The Sopranos to the next level.

The depth of this show never ceases to amaze me

Kevin Finnerty contains 'infinity' in the American pronunciation of his name. This is intentional, according to David Chase, as far as I've heard.

Kev(measurement of energy/heat) inFinity(never ending)

I've always figured this... In dreams you are usually doing something that is completely opposite or something you'll never know. So a hard core gangster like Tony would dream he was a legit human.

The most appropriate part of the whole dream was that the one solid link from his dream life to his actual waking one was the sound of Paulie's continuous bitching and moaning from the next room, and Tony beating on the wall telling him to shut the f'ck up. 😅

If you understand the dream episodes, you understand this most elegant series. Anyway, four dollars a pound...

Kevin Finnerty never had the making of a Varsity Salesman

The voice of Kevin’s wife in the dream is the same actress that played Adrianna’s friend Tina

Waited long time for this one.

I always find it creepy that Steve Buscemi isn’t credited as playing Tony Blundetto but instead just ‘man’ in the episode mayham. Creepy

The dream sequences were amongst the most thought provoking aspects of the show.

The dream sequences were shot really well.

I loved the dream sequences personally because of how bizarre they get

I'll never understand the common hate the occasional dream sequence we experienced, the entire series is symbolic, the opening frame shows that..

i can't believe that a human being could write such a storyline , it's crazy.

The voices of his "family" on the answering machine always creeped me the Hell out.

Great breakdown!!. I belive this dream is Tony knowing he's facing death from outside forces as well as fearing that his soul was going to hell. ("Who am i? Where am i going?") While facing death in the ER, Tony Dreams he's Kevin Finirty. The word Kev in Hebrew means 'Crutch.' . Tony's crutch in life was his mob identity. Tony used this crutch/identity to lean on for help; explaining his suffering as the "sad clown, having to put on a brave face for the guys and his family ." Claiming all he has both in money and status to his upbringing and bragging to those close, ("You've seen my house). Tony's depressed , cuz he was raised by and became a gamgster. Tony's very successful proud and boasts because he was raised by and became a gangster. The whole dream is connected with Tony's waking life as a man consumed and driven by his attachment to being his identity. But, unlike Junior, being humbled, beaten and robbed of his identity, and is reminded by Tony, how he used to run all of east Jersey. Junior forgot. And, when reminded, replies "that's nice." Junior had let go of his identity even before he forgot it. Tony is faced with the option of letting go of his pride and maybe finding faith in Christ and even salvation from hell; into the Kingdom of God for all eternity. But first, he'd have to admit, he's simply "A fat crook from New Jersey," along with all his other sins, and truly seek forgiveness.

The dark spots in is brain, snd I just realized this now, could be where the "3 o'clock" bullet or bullet(s) would've entered killing him in the infamous last scene and cut to black.

One of the voices of Carmella lost everything was definitely 100% Gloria

He wasn’t in San Diego. He was in Costa Mesa in Orange County.

Huge fan of the show, I follow a few sopranos fan groups on Facebook, and it always makes me cringe when I see some “fans” say on these pages shit on the dream scenes and even say that they fast forward all of them. Blows my mind. Makes me realize unfortunately some “fans” only watch this show as a monster show.

Thats true. He got all 3 woman on the phone. Carmela (without jersey accent) charmaine and gloria. Carmelas voice represented the woman he had Charmaines voice was the one he couldn’t have And glorias voice was the one who wanted him but he shouldn’t have.

I think the flashing light in the city was a lighthouse, which symbolizes guidance, and in this case tonys path back.

Masterful symbolism

Nice job on this

His dreams are what actually happened to his soul after he got shot. Everything that happened after the coma is his subconscious resisting the idea that he's already dead. His brain conjured up everything after his "awakening" and the last half of the season is basically Tony's last 7 minutes of consciousness. When that scene goes to black immediately in "Made in America" it's because his brain finally just shut off.

Kevin Finity Kev Infinity The briefcase is luggage, what is carried around from his life, “It contains my whole life” While going towards a home, as kev infinity, he is encouraged by, someone we know to be dead, to put down his burden, the luggage of life and which contains a whole life, as he won’t need it anymore after accepting his place in the light… That’s the symbolism I got from it. From when Tony was in the coma you also get to see what happens after the end of the show, how things would play out after Tony’s death. So from this episode it is why we didn’t need the catharsis of a big victory or defeat moment at the finale where the guy we followed either continues to get away with it still with the sword of Damocles above him every moment, or gets his just desserts. Instead because the show was about Tony the show ends the the moment he exits the show, we didn’t need the Arnie style shootout or the whacking, which would also lack impact because of the number we’d already seen in the show up to that point. So there was no perfect way to end the show, so Chase went with the one that fit with the entire show up to that point.

dreams r the best most revealing part of the show

I think you nailed it 💯

10:44 that briefcase represented Tony’s weight

8:22...Tony takes a fall on a flight of stairs. PTSD. Each time he gets into a car accident, he's shot at, or passes out (he smacks his head on the kitchen table, as a 13 year old kid), the night he was supposed to jack that truck with Tony B he cracked his head open. These events are all mob related. It is, in effect, the cause of his mental disorder. Most notable of all, the scenes where he's being berated by his mother. The main source of his angst. The root of hi PTSD.

I don’t think Kevin Finnerty’s wife’s voice sounds like any of those women.

the whole series is a dream of kevin finerty who deep down wishes to be a charismatic guy like tony

I'm sure Tony said in a therapy session that he'd hate to be one of those guys with his life in a suitcase... When melfi asked him what he'd be if he wasn't a gangster...

The dream episodes were my fav tho.

Nah Bru I LOVE the Dream Sequences

I didn’t hear Charmane or Carmela at all on the phone, maybe Charmane

Please do a video bout the symbolism of vomiting in sopranos There are numerous instances of it in show In last episode even I think it refers to how people spew back up what they hear In books or on tv or from someone else

so someone took his briefcase=life huh? during a coma... foreshadowing at its finest

The family reunion is 100% “walking into the light” dying, going to heaven, whatever . That’s pretty obvious

The trees in the background of the windy day, street attempt aren’t moving.

Love dream sequences, so realistic of type of dreams I've experienced

The Tony in the coma is lost. He has a doppelgänger.

SO DEEP. Wow

"means almost nothing". Anybody who thinks the dream sequence is mean almost nothing should not be watching The sopranos It's far too intelligent for you. Go and watch something easier like The Simpsons or 2 broke girls or something more on your competence level. If you can't understand or you don't want to understand the dream sequences the sopranos are not for you. And I don't think I've ever said that to someone before that they shouldn't really watch something but if you are skipping through the dream sequences seriously you won't understand the sopranos, or breaking bad, mad men, etc. Many of them have the same riders even like Matt Weiner -- I think that's the spelling I always forget how he spells his name, But yeah just go and try to watch something more on your level, don't "push yourself" into watching smarter stuff, bc clearly, you're unable to handle that, if you didn't realize the dream sequences are basically, the deepest and smartest part of the entire show, that give you HUGE insight to characters, and their meaning within the narrative. I know they say ignorance is blessed but my God I just don't see how...

Interesting 👌

Stress free? I'm sure finnerty had sales quotas.

I think Kevin Finnerity is the real individual & the Entire Sopranos show is just a little day dream he likes to entertain so he doesn't have to bear with the white collar grind

One of the funniest moments in Tony's coma dream was when his heart rate explosion while Paulie was kvetching

Some dysentery in the ranks again!

I wished there was another dream prior to the last two/three episodes.

Oh! This is a made man you are talking about @sopranotheories

He could have been Kevin finnerty But alas he never had the makings of a varsity salesman