it's about his ego. He cannot accept the fact that Tony is the real boss and he's only boss by name because the capos decided to make him the fall guy in case thing like this happen. In all reality though, Tony is the one running things Junior is just the face of the operation.
That’s the thing about it though-Jr wouldn’t have ratted, he would’ve held omertà, but his staying quiet didn’t have anything to do w refusing to rat-Jr. would’ve rather gone to jail as a boss than have to eat and admit someone else was in charge. It was about his pride, not protecting Tony
@@odeleon24 pshhh junior might not have been the best born natural leader. But he still gained all the knowledge over the years. Not everyone cares about having loved ones in their life. Junior had plenty of fast woman, money etc. and he outlived everyone from his generation and almost two generation after him. For what 10 years he got to sit back and chill.
No - in fact he's not a rat. He's just someone who is PATHOLOGICALLY INSECURE and would rather fucking DIE than admit that his own nephew was the real boss - a position he waited for all his life! lol! He'd rather get a life sentence than let him taken away his "5 minutes of fame & glory"! :D ...you remember when the attorney asks him: (more or less) "If you admit, that you were just a "front" for Tony Soprano and the NY mob, we'll cut you a deal" - and he responds: "...THAT STRUNZ' RUNNING THINGS?? NEVER!"... That's the only reason why he's so "stand up"! :D :D
That little smirk Tony gives when the agent on TV says it’s the most crippling blow to mob activities is gold, while he knows full well he’s been the one running things in Jersey all along
@@ScarFeissHonestly, the biggest blow? I don’t think so. Booking him and the others didn’t slow things down, it was inconvenient but not really harmful for the longterm survival of the operation because Junior didn’t betray T and the others. Arguably, what ended up hurting this specific part of mob the most was the oftentimes simply unnecessary bloody infighting and the general decline of the best aspects of their criminal codex while simultaneously ensuring that they clipped good earners for stupid reasons, such as eliminating a highly capable earner just because he was gay.
Just because he was gay ? Gay individuals have reprobate minds, Homosexuality is a Sin in The Eyes of GOD El Shaddai, Jehovah, Yahweh. So is Murder, Fornication, Lying, Stealing And Cheating...😢
all mafia have legitimate businesses. This way they can launder their money and keep the IRS off their backs. Tony Soprano was a executive with barone sanitation. Paulie was a union representitive as was Ralph and Patsey. Sil owned a strip club and a Meat market. The Aprile brothers owned a carpet and flooring company. Yes, they control the protection rackets, gambling, unions and loan sharking and prostitution but at the same time were legit business operators ass well. That was just being smart.
husker hammer - That's like a bottle of olive oil that says "Made with genuine Italian olive oil," where they mix 1 gallon of Italian olive oil in with 100 gallons of oil from other countries. Sure, they have legitimate businesses, but their business is hardly legitimate.
@Jason Voorheese Same over at this end. He looked rather unwell in a Sopranos cast reunion video I watched, but I couldn't find anything about his health on Wikipedia, either.
@@justbreakingballs He was. This was toward the end of the S1 finale. About half way through was when Mikey got killed. Chris & Pauli did it but obviously Tony knew
Kozzie Vercetti Come on man, he got old, got dementia. That's not "going insane", let's be respectful to our elders. He DID try and kill Tony though, but he was trying to do that when he HAD his wits about him so I wasn't surprised.
Amazingly subtle. The last thing Junior wants to do here is help Tony because he knows what he's just heard about the real power structure is true but Junior's pride saves Tony
Jr knew he never had the respect tony had even tonys dad his kid brother was more respected then jr ever was or will be that is why jr low key hated tony he knew he would never be like his brother and nephew
The way the US Attorney delivers his speach to Junior about not being the boss was excellent and Junior just staring ahead as if he was being told something deep down he already knew.
Yeah, I'm sure his primary motivation for not being a rat was his pride and Omerta, but there's something about his smile at the end that conveys that he is also happy to realize that this is a chance to do right by his nephew, whom he felt really guilty about trying to kill
He did love Tony but when he found out what was going on... He really had no choice but to save face. He never denied it or acted like it was anything else when confronted by Tony later which I respected. A lot of people would try to duck under something but Junior for all his pride was sharp and straight.
I always felt like he was more upset that Livia more or less duped him into trying to kill Tony. Yes, Junior had his reasons, but Livia is really the one that manipulated him to go through with it.
What? He was livid because he wasn't aware he was a puppet. Listen to his breathing, look at his eyes, that response was out of his own ego not pride in Tony.
"They represent the most crippling blow to all the New Jersey mob activities.." love how Tony walks over the screen when they say this.. so symbolic, displaying what the real power in NJ mob is. Nothing on Sopranos is ever random. Very clever show.
True. Ppl think it's his ego preventing him frm admitting that Tony was the boss. I disagree, he's really just an old school wiseguy who honored the oath tht he took.
As much as his ego played a part in his saying of that line, he ends up accepting that he's not 'street boss' and concedes by eventually joining Tony paying 95% of his proceedings, as well as an ally against Richie Aprille. Essentially Junior becomes Tony's vassal funnily enough.
Hardly. Christopher's intervention. Tony B getting his foot demolished by the car. The women screaming after the hit on Santoro. Tony dropping the stapler.
@@chrisconway1357 judging by this scene he is just some irrelevant dude from Junior’s crew who he made underboss and who shortly after ended up in jail for a long time, so its no wonder we never hear of him. Mangano and Teresi on other hand are suppose to be bosses of 2 familes from NY, which is weird since Carmine was not mentioned even tho Sack is his underboss
In the end, Tony relied heavily on Junior's advice and guidance to keep the Family afloat. Junior, to some degree, was actually the one running things.
@@DanJuega Junior had real power. He substantially altered many of Tony's decisions, and used his position of authority in Tony's organization to negotiate for better cuts and curry favor. At the end of the day, he was brought in for quite a few significant decisions (including showing face to Carmine Lupertazi during disputes). He had real power, despite being sidelined.
@@chrismartin8829 He definitely had some influence since his nephew was the boss and Tony valued his advice, but that influence started and ended there. He had no authority and was confined to his house at that point.
@@chrismartin8829 how can you have real power and be sidelined at the same time. If you’re sidelined youre sidelined. Junior had influence but he didn’t have power, Tony was the one running shit.
Junior would never give up tony. He talks a bunch of s*** throughout the series to other guys about Tony but in the end, Tony was a son to him. That's why it took dementia for the man to cross him.
It’s hilarious that there are some people that have saw this scene with no context lol. They must have thought Mikey sounded like a real sweetheart. Go take a midol
1:04 that quick cut to Tony with a small, smug smirk, Tony secretly isn't that mad, cause his plan went off without a hitch. Junior had the title of "boss" but it was just a figurehead or puppet title. He knew he was the real boss, and Junior took all the heat
