The Sopranos Explained | Why Did Carlo Flip? | The REAL Reason... 

*Why Did Butch Betray Phil? The Sopranos Explained:* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZyKWUKmNxTc.html

Vito isn't a homosexual. He never was. He can probably get a note from his doctor.

This is why The Sopranos is just so good even after 15 years. The show tells you why he flipped, it is not a secret, but if you pay more attention on rewatches you begin to peel back layers as to why his decision was made that much easier. This is also the case for a lot of things in the show.

Holy smokes, I never realized that Carlo was cousins with Burt. I started watching this as a high school kid in 99. Always learning new things about this show.

Plus when they were in the safehouse, some of the guys were going to visit Silvio in the hospital... a strong gesture to a fallen comrade, even though there's a war going on. Tony decided to just go upstairs to his room to think stuff. While Tony did eventually went to see Silvio, I don't think any of the guys knew that. A boss who doesn't have the back of his underlings, refusing to honour his debts, chastising his men in front of others, displaying his weakness by hiding instead of leading/being with his soldiers..... I'm surprised more people didn't jump ship.

I'm amazed at how many parallel plotlines David Chase, and the other writers, managed to put together, in so many subtle ways.

Carlo flipped because of the Vito situation and the fact that Tony wasn't old school and traditional mafia enough. A running theme through out the show is that Tony is basically a fat weak little kid who is trying to play the role of gangster in front of the type of men he looked up to as a kid - however he didn't really have the discipline for it.

You could make the argument that Tony was truly irredeemable from day 1 of the series. It didn't help that he had an enabler for a wife who was told *exactly* what part she was playing in all this.

I actually liked Carlo most of the time. His sons were fuckin awesome. They got AJ to man up a little bit and they were funny little pricks. It's funny tho, in the end, Tony was the biggest perpetrator of every violation he used to complain about. He convinced Junior to spread the wealth and treat his Capos as equals (To some degree). Then he turns into the greediest, coldest douche bag on the planet. I like the line Junior gave to Tony about how "You walk around high-handing everybody". It's true and it only got worse throughout the show. By the final season, Tony wasn't just unpleasant for the Capos to deal with, he was constantly condescending and dismissive. That outburst in the car, when Tony told Carlo "Maybe you should learn how to suck cock because Vito was bringing in twice as much money", seemed to be a harsh enough insult, to permanently lose Carlo's loyalty.

Thank you for this perspective, and I think it's spot-on. On Tony's reaction when the entire crew finds out about Vito: It isn't simply that Tony says "I wouldn't have the boat without (Vito's earnings)." Tony also challenges Paulie when Paulie says whack him, shouting "you gonna take care of his kids, after he's gone?" So, it isn't simply Tony hesitating to whack Vito because of Vito's earnings and Tony's greed. There is an appeal to loyalty and principles as well, and what makes Tony more interesting as a character is that he does have some principles, but he ends up violating them so often, for greed, expedience, or weakness. I wouldn't make as much as you do ofCarlo's own principles. In the end, all of these guys violate honor, codes, loyalty, principles in favor of self-serving greed. One thing to want to kill Vito as a perceived great security risk to everyone else, but these guys are so extremely homophobic that they fear that even performing oral sex on a woman could label them as homosexual, which is ridiculous. "Honor of the family" is mostly BS, especially given what goes on in prison "Guys get a pass for that.). It's about their own insecurities and selfish behavior. These are parasitic criminals in the end, and "parasitic" is a term Puzo himself uses multiple times in the original Godfather novel.

Great analysis. Great work

I remember Melfi telling her own pshyc "this isnt Omerto this is something else". I made a huge connection watching this vid today. Thanks

Dang, this was a good topic and video!

The Vito thing was ridiculous. My estimation of Patsi as a man skyrocketed. He didn’t give a damn.

The way Tony treated Bobby after he got shot and still got Tony his money I think made it easy for Carlo to flip once his son got busted.

I haven't even watched the video but I know why Carlo flipped. To cut a deal for his son who got pinched. Let's see if they say the same.

This isn’t even up for debate. It was clearly the moment Carlo realized Tony was right when he said “we all know Vito isn’t the first”, and he wanted no part of a place like that. Sadly, in witness protection Carlo joined a local theater troupe, and the issue he has a problem with was no better there

These discussions add So MUCH More color and flavor to the show! I can't wait to watch it again!

If that last scene didn't happen we wouldn't know that Tony could die. As far as we knew Tony and Butchie made peace and Phil Leotardo was gone. So there were no enemies that we knew about. However, jail was a definite possibility because of Carlo giving grand jury testimony

Honestly I think that the show would’ve been real cool if they had Chris flip instead of die . It would make a lot of sense and would make Chris maybe survive by going into the witness protection . Chris could maybe the reason that Tony goes to prison instead of dying in made in America . The ending should’ve been Tony getting arrested and persecuted at the diner with Carlo also testifying. Ton’ dying would’ve been way too cliche .

Tony was such a piece of crap to everyone by the end of season 6. Truth is, anyone and everyone in his glorified crew had motive to see him dead.

Carlo is like Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs.

"Fuck that honor and loyalty bullshit" *Carlo fucks that honor and loyalty bullshit* "But not like that!"

Cause Carlos’s what they called the “ Flipper “ ! Easy ! Right ?

Tony didn't care about anyone not blood related when New York was gunning for Tony B and Chrissy too, which many of the then capos were perturbed by. Hell, everybody that commented on that situation ended up flipping. Albert Barese, Ray Curto & Carlo, all flipped.

You should do a video on Tony and Gloria's affair. I know he had other affairs behind Carmella's back, but the one with her always stuck out to me.

I'm watching your videos back to back. Really enjoying them thanks for entertaining me

2:40 Pussy literally committed a murder with Tony, and was one of his oldest/best friends. I think that Carlo flipping, wouldn't be a 100% death blow to Tony.

Who told Phil about Vito blowing the security guard? Phil, right? Tony instructed them that this info wasn't to leave the room.

Quite simply, Tony wasn't on his A game, the last season, and that's putting it lightly. Even with Chrissy... I know he struggled with drugs, but like I always say, he was loyal to Tony. Toward the end, he just made too many selfish mistakes, it came back to bite him. Carlo wasn't the only one, working with the feds. If it wasn't Carlo, it would have been someone else, to flip eventually anyhow

Carlo did good on the ports but was shit on construction. He knew that Tony would have to "replace" him eventually...

We can’t have him here at the social club no more. Social Club!?? He’s gotta go!!

Tony would have never went to jail imo. He said in season 3 about the Don that lived until 81. That said Don had his son do all the work (like Tony had Chris) therefore most charges wouldn’t stick, especially the murders.

Incredibly good post.

Your timeline is skewed. Dom helped whack Vito, the talk were he teased Carlo and Silvio was after theywhacked him. Dom was one of the two muscle that did it.

Carlo should’ve been boss, it’s certainly not all talk with him and the dude was jacked for being as old as he was. He would’ve taken care of business.

Lmao 'fuck that honor and loyalty shit'

Excellent video.

Tony brought all this on him self he couldnt control his self once he got the top spot tbh I think sil would have done a better boss ralph as consilary as the 2 where very different giving a wider range of ideas n underboss chritofaaa I no people will disagree but he'd been groomed 4 the top spot 4 years uderboss would have straightened him out responsibility wise n money wise xxx

Carlo was quick to tell Tony “Sil hit him first” after they killed fat Dom

I love when they’re all at Ray Curto’s funeral and Rusty Millio says “stand up guys like that - they’re a dying breed” 😂🐀

The actor who played Carlo in real life is a retired cop. He knew a thing or two about mobsters which probably came in handy for these types of roles.

The Moltisanti Kid said it best: Tone, when he was always talking about greasing the union who knew that's what he meant.

Tony treated Carlo like garbage. Once Carlo's son got pinched for selling drugs, it wasn't a hard decision for Carlo to Flip, and turn witness. No mystery here.

Bobby: "Vito can't come to the social club no more!" Carlo: "Social club? He's gotta go!"

Too many snitches. Who'd want to be a gangster these days? Even the most badass gangster will flip if the cops got enough on them.

The answer is simple, Carlo Flipped because he was dragging Vito at the back of his car

Carlo was one of my favorites. Old school, stand up guy. Quiet but strong. I mean the dude was in his 60’s but was still built like a brick shithouse.

It was a miracle Tony lived as long as he did. But when things started falling apart on him, things fell apart very quickly. And that’s the most realistic thing on the entire show. That, and Chrissy’s addiction. The more I watch this series, the final handful of episodes in particular, I’m really wondering on top of everything else going on, Pauley and Parisi set Tony and possibly the other two up for a laundry list of grievances and resentment. That had been just below the surface for years. It wasn’t betrayal to those two. It was retribution for years, decades of being shit on. EDIT: grammar

Silvio didn't die. His death was faked when he went into the Witness Protection Program and ended up in Norway. :)

Well, we can’t have Tony in our social club anymore. That much I do know.

Stringing all of those events of Carlo's disappointment together in one video makes a lot of sense for his flipping.

I’d love to see a video on who is left in the New Jersey family after the series finale and who would fill in positions of boss, capos, consigliere etc as most of the top guys are gone

“F**k that honor & loyalty sh**t.” The most realistic sentiment about Cosa nostra.

Imagine waking up from a coma...and one week later you're in jail 😂

It's easy to see that in the end Carlo probably was just done with Mob-life in general and when the offer came, he just thought he might as well cut his losses: save his son from getting sent down and then go to witness protection to live what remains of his life in peace isn't really that bad deal. It's much better what most in that life get.

“These are rat turds, we got it call the exterminator “ then Carlo changes the subject , then the way Dom intimates and looks suspiciously at Carlo and needles him too far, that’s the scene that shows Carlo is a rat . You think chase just put “ these are rat turds” for a joke ?

Carlo opened a pizza joint and is quite successful

The thing is , you need more then one guy saying “ Tony did X” to take him down . You need multiple witness’s and wire taps , not to mention a paper trail of his assets and evidence of a ongoing criminal operation. Any good lawyer will also point out the narrative that Carlo is only trying to save his drug dealing son . It’s established Tony is pretty smart with bugs , taxes , and hiding income . The only SINGLE guy who could single handed take down the soprano family is Sil .

“It’s Carlo… he’s gonna testify” … see, even if Tony wasn’t killed in the final scene (I believe he was) he’s still most likely going away for life

Tony was definitely killed in the final diner scene. There's so many fans in denial about this because they love the character. Even if he wasn't, there's no way he was gonna go on living a peachy life. I love The Sopranos, but the ending finale really annoys me. They should've shown Tony getting brutally blown away. It would've added alot more weight to the show. And I know David Chase hated giving fans exactly what they wanted to see, but we loyally watched the whole series, and he shoulda hooked us up with a satisfying ending.

Carlo did the right thing especially how Tony was saying fuck loyalty. Tony pretty much made his decision much easier.

I think we all loved Tony as the boss the previous seasons, but Season 6B really showed how spiteful he was. In All Due Respect, he said he would give annoying the same protection as Tony B but by the end he became a greedy asshole. Turned his back on Hesh.

I think another reason for the crew and carlo being suspect of Tony's leadership was after Tony killed Ralph Ciefertto. They all knew Tony killed Ralph over the race horse despite Tony denying it. They all knew deep down Tony did it.

He flipped because honor among thieves was never meant to be taken seriously. It's just a phrase they use to try to justify some of their actions. In the end none of them, even the old schoolers, were willing to do hard time. There was that one guy, I think his name was Bill or something, he did a few years or so I heard. He didn't talk much about it. Then there was Mr. Ground Beef, I mean Richie, but he ended up going into the witness protection program, or so they said. Carlo didn't agree that this thing comes before your muddah, and your faddah, and your wife and kids and mistresses and concubines and school teachers and newspaper boys.

Tony mad disrespected that man, time and time again.

Was Carlo aware that his cousin was murdered by Silvio? Tony could have blamed NY as he did with Ralph.

Vito Spatafore was the beginning of the end for Tony. He paid the price for the one time he tried to be a little progressive and understanding and not immediately resort to violence.

This just shows how everyone in the mob is just plain terrible

All I know is he can't be in our social club no more

Wait a minute... Carlo flipped? 😳 He's got to go!!!!

Maybe it’s because they found a hankie. With Carlo’s lipstick in Vito’s pocket.

Tony became unhinged as time went on. He wasn't following the rules and traditions. Carlo's son is a good point and also the fact that Carlo is old. If they had a viable charge on him he probably would die in prison. He is going to do that for Tony? He is older than these other guys. These aren't people he admired. These are people who got moved up over him even though he had been doing it longer and they are his junior but they treat him like they are better at least Tony does. Of course Carlos will chose his son over people like that

That's hilarious, fuck that honor and loyalty shit...um, ok. Oh yeah, Tony got one in the old melon in the diner scene. Once NY found out Carlo flipped NY had no choice but to whack Tony for fear of Tony flipping too.

Greatest show of all time

Bobby wasn’t shot by a gang. More like a group of young kids lol

Carlo also didn't like being shit on in Caddy by T when along with Bobby they went to see Hesh. Like you said he also was turned off by Ts hissy fits. Carlo also disagreed with way Vito situation went. T did make Carlo a captain but FEDS threatening your kid with 8yrs and either having case ready for you or someone flipping on you would change you. I also forgot about Bert

Tony was being selfish, greedy, and callous. That said, Carlo failed to realize that when he got reassigned to take over Vito’s rackets, he would be expected to kick up similar amounts of cash to Tony. While Tony’s desire to keep Vito on the roster was strictly about the money, Carlo’s homophobia blinded him to the fact that he had big shoes to fill. Even if Tony wasn’t being so toxic and unreasonable, Carlo would still be resentful after being reminded of the high benchmark his predecessor left behind.

All your Soprano analysis that i’ve watched so far have been amazing, love your perspectives & I love this show for being so well written that it allows such in-depth analysis like this to exist.

I got the feeling that Carlo just wanted a way out the moment he got an excuse to do so. Ultimately, I think it was Tony's greed that got to Carlo and he realized at some point Tony was just going to cut him loose - no matter how much Carlo followed the rules or how loyal he was - simply because Tony would replace him with someone he felt would earn more money for him.

""Sil hit em first!".........Said it like he was a little kid to a parent.

What I thought was going to happen is: Tony was going to flip on everyone. All his personal friends were gone. Hesh and Paulie didn’t trust him anymore. I think Tony and his lawyer worked out a plan. That’s why he was so resigned. He knew, Paulie knew, Carlo knew and New York knew he wasn’t cut out to do time. He was selfish, lacked impulse control, and basically was a weak man. Didn’t respect the principles of the business. He would have definitely flipped on everyone. That would have got Carlo’s deal thrown out. After all the feds would rather have a boss as a key witness than a capo. Tell I’m wrong.

You sir, are an excellent literary (tv drama series) analyst. Love how you use "the glorified crew's" own words to neatly dissect and gift wrap every assertion that you make. You do a great job differentiating all of the varying degrees of direct and circumstantial evidence. Which of course, is necessary to build accurate psychological profiles for each character and explicate their motives and actions in this beloved TV drama series.

Carlo is one of those middle manager types who has seen the company grow and rises alongside it in a nice stable organized manner without so much infighting and misdirection. He saw the rule of the Old Man Ecklie DiMeo and then the popular acting boss rule of Jackie where everything evened out in the end. He isn't even in the discussion where Tony,Jimmy, Raymond and Larry discuss who would take over from Jackie. Carlo works at the ports and is a good earner and is rewarded with Vito's share of the business, effectively making him a captain. He is indeed seen more with the known leaders like Paulie, Sil and Tony himself usually at the pool table. Tony is with him practically every day so he gets a good idea of what this boss is like. Tony's impulsiveness and lack of order infuriates Carlo as he can't be sure where the family is going with Tony in charge. Chris and Paulie aren't really good examples of leadership either, and Tony keeps them wearing captain badges out of loyalty and not ability. While Tony is always talking about how he needs to be an example of a leader, he isn't quite a good one on the whole. Carlo, like Larry probably got a very good deal with the Feds- free his son from the drug charges, put Tony away (if he is still alive) and maybe even get an amnesty from any charges they might have on him (presuming they never found out about Fat Dom). Carlo and Larry aren't exactly out of the game by the end, so if Tony lives, those two might finally remove him from the equation.

Gotta love the defense of Carlo as an 'honorable' gangster against Tony when Carlo was 100% behind killing Vito while Tony was defending Vito's earning power and thinking his being gay wasn't reason enough to kill him, given that. Kind of a tenuous argument that Carlo is ok and Tony's a dick.

Tony is a great character, but he is also a real POS human being and there are many examples to support this.

“”You Gotta Answer for Santino, Carlo””

Great analysis! I wish we got to see the whole Carlo flipping process! Actually I wish we got to see a lot more of some of the other main crew members

Given the vague ending, it could be asked "Who didn't kill Tony Soprano?"

Carlo was always one of the more intimidating guys in the crew. Quiet, sullen, and vicious when needed to be.

In the life of crime there are only three ways it ends - jail,rat,or dead-i think the black out screen definitely ends Tony as a mobster but in which way it happens for Tony is for the audience to decide for themselves - genius move by Chase

Carlo wasnt a rat, he was just calling out his P.O.S. boss who always displayed himself to be a garbage human being

Everyone flipped in the Sopranos family, it was a leaky faucet over in Jersey.

In retrospect, Tony just had Uncle Philly, the high ranking boss of an nyc family killed. Yeah he had a deal with butchie but you’d think he’d lay low for a few more weeks in a safe house to make sure Phil didn’t have any loyal soldiers looking for him. You’d think at the very least he wouldn’t go out in public without some bodyguards.

Whether your theory is right or not is irrelevant. I don't know if Chase had all this in mind, but I will never be able to watch Carlo in the same way again. Amazing take and great observations.

Carlo couldn’t do 20 years.

It’s the same thing with Nicky Scarfo, he had his people around him at the beginning but Nicky’s same greed and murderous streak drove all his allies away.

Carlo’s flip is completely understandable and his mini arc pretty much just shows how Tony is not a good person or mob boss for that matter

Tony ruined everything in the final season or so. He didn't stand behind his people. He lost his humanity. Tony in season 1 or even 2 would've turned the world upside down for Silvio, Paulie, Pussy, or Christopher. I think the real moment that shows Tony is doomed, is the moment he tells Furio to stop crying and get over his dad's death (not what he's crying about obviously), and in the next scene, Tony is crying like a baby about his horse. That's the moment that shows Tony has become a hypocrite. He was always evil. He was always selfish, but his hypocrisy has reached its zenith, and his judgment of others, his inability to manage his own emotions on any level. He considered not paying his debts to his oldest acquaintance in hesh He neither supported nor sought payback for Bobby when a gang of kids literally tried to murder him. He stole Bobby's soul by forcing him to murder out of petty vindictiveness, and for a small amount of extra money. He gambled away all of his earnings, publicly and in front of the people kicking up to him, so they have to watch him throw their earnings away. He left his entire family in the firing line of New York when his cousin broke a cardinal rule, not out of love for his cousin, but out of pride and arrogance. He disrespected Phil, and Johnny sack, both men with way more power than Tony in CN He made Paulie feel he was going to whack him (regardless of if Paulie deserved it, he was the only real heavyweight still in Tony's corner) He talked to the FBI, and in that life, even giving info on terrorists is considered ratting He murdered Christopher in cold blood because he was incensed that Christopher could possibly dislike him He rated out feech Lamana and got him sent back to prison He committed so many murders on and off the record I mean, seriously, season 5 and 6 Tony was just such a terrible boss, where seasons 1-4 Tony had good instincts, was decisive, supportive, protective even when he didn't want to be.

Tony was finished, And Carlos now has to wait in line for egg noodles and ketchup like a regular schnuk