@Tristo Smitty that's subjective. I've had some very odd dreams I can't make sense of. I've had a couple of omen dreams too, one that foretold my mother's death in 6 days. She wasn't sick, t just happened though I can chalk it up to coincidence, I see it as something I can't begin to explain.
that was one creepy dream I always thought the woman was livia I imagine that would be Tony's own personal hell to be trapped with the person he dreaded the most forever
It was Livia who represented everything he feared most and the darkest figure in his life. His actions were always revolved around how he grew up But he kept choosing the wrong way instead of mending that inner hell that stemmed from is mother
first time I watched that, it was late at night in my room and I spent the rest of that night walking around in my room with all the lights on until the sun was visible.
@@TylerSmith-sd2oc That scene was intense, the fact that it starts out of focus and you have to double take, not to mention the sound when you see her too
Maybe, but if you believe that it was Patsy it doesn’t matter what Tony changed, that the works have already been set in motion against him years ago Patsy was jsut bidding his time until it was right
@@sean5558 patsy would not have Hated tony if his brother wasn’t whacked. Not just that but Patsy son was gonna rat on tony or spend a good amount of time in jail. Although there is a theory going around that it was Paulie who set the thing up, or that A.J’s girlfriend was a plant by Phil’s henchmen, or young carmine. Either way all stem from Tony’s inability to think ahead and protect himself or his family and Kept indulging in his bad behavior that he didn’t have the help he really needed. He was doomed from the Getgo cause misery is something he takes comfort in either he likes it or not. He brought it on himself, and it’s either he dies in a restaurant waiting for meadow, or that he goes to jail for the rest of his life, or worse nothing happens and is stuck in a mundane life. Alone with his own sins.
What makes this so chilling to me is the way she descends the staircase. Elegantly and calm like a prom date. As though she’s genuinely looking forward to make Tony’s personal hell as long and painful as possible. A true date with the devil
I just realized Tony says if you are lucky, you remember the little moments like this at 15:05 But at the final scene AJ makes a reference to that moment and Tony doesn't remember. He is not one of the "lucky" ones.
When Tony B says in the scene with Kevin Finnerty “Your family’s inside” and he deliberately replies “what family?..” That is a direct reference to it being his mafia family all in hell that he was going to and not his real family... Freaky stuff
It seemed like things might have been good at that point. Tony B. was there to welcome him, no hard feelings; just let go of the briefcase. Then Carmella and Meadow called him back and he messed it all up.
@M R Scum is a strong word, they were bad but look at the circumstances. Most of these guys were born and conditioned to be a mobster from young childhood. That's a victim in my eyes. Especially Chrissy, Imagine being raised with a killer and thief like Tony as the closest thing to a father you will ever have. No wonder Chris didn't turn out so well.
@@johnrodden8273 I hear ya but at some point a victim has to stop making excuses, we don’t have much sympathy for example pedophiles when they were abused as a child ya know? But poverty and being conditioned by family to live the mob life is a hard thing to beat. Not everything is black and white. I’m stoned
@@johnrodden8273 that’s the most bullshit I’ve heard in a long while. They are scummy pieces of shit and have no redeeming qualities that make up for the horrible things they’ve done.
@@christophersuswal9544 oh yeah ofcourse, I’m just saying that tony is so deeply affected by his life that he feels unsafe in his dreams, and was scared he may have muttered something his wife shouldn’t hear. I didn’t mean any disrespect to those with actual conditions keeping them from sleeping.
@@christophersuswal9544 I know people who struggle with insomnia and in no way does it make you a bad person or someone who doesn’t deserve happiness. In fact I respect people who have to go through such adversity, sleeping is so important so having issues with it can and will affect many different aspects of your life.
No worries man I figured that's what you meant. And I agree with you that this scene (as well as many of the other plots on the show) prove how miserable Tony is and uncomfortable in his own skin
@@clc-gl4jn i havent watched anything of the sopranos but the part where he goes to a house and tony b (?) keeps asking for his suitecase scares the fuck out of me
Him hearing Meadow's voice as a little girl in the bushes instead of her current voice is one of my favorite moments in the show. Also, I just noticed that if you pause right as Kevin Finnerty is approaching the stairs, you can see the woman on the patio's face for a brief second and I'm guessing it's supposed to be Livia. It's just interesting how they added makeup to make her look like a corpse or something.
That nightmare is beyond creepy. It represented Tony’s deepest fear and spectre that haunted him his entire life. His unloving mother. Something a lot of men wrestle with, including myself. That’s why this show is so successful, it mirrors so many of our collective fears and desires. Everyone wants to be loved, everyone knows how it feels to be unloved., whole or in parts.
The 4th season threw in a handful of horror movie elements, I really dug that. Especially the dream he has of Gloria asking if he wants to see her neck
People dying and killing on the show was as natural and seamless as it can get. But for some reason, Gloria committing suicide was real impactful and stung kinda hard for me for some reason. It was so tragic and pathetic, and real, ya know? Idk.
The suicide episode of Gloria in season 4 was so very creepy and depressing. The way Carmella casually mentions that nice sales women and how she killed herself, and Tony (with his back to her) is completely in shock and devastated yet cannot show it whatsoever. The nightmare where she is making him that London broil (the one she threw at his back) and we see the ceiling cracking, so very depressing and terrifying.
@@carlosalegria4776 I think it's because that we, somehow, as a viewer, know that the woman is Livia. We know she's that suffocating, shadowy and monstrous figure that haunted Tony his whole life. To imagine that Tony's hell is to be trapped forever with that woman in a lightless house is just beyond disturbing. This is what I imagine hell looks like.
That’s one thing I’ve always thought about the Sopranos that is extremely underrated. I know a lot of people hate the dream sequences but I think they are perfect. They really perfectly encapsulate the absurdity of dreams and how in a lot of cases, it is our subconscious mind forcing us to deal with trauma we refuse to acknowledge with our conscious mind.
Without the dream sequences or the therapy scenes the show wouldn't have been as good as it was. The mob stuff is great but those extra layers are why it's the greatest television show ever made
People hate the dream sequences?? That's nuts don't think I've ever seen dreams portrayed so well in media. Definitely one of the more memorable aspects of the show for me
Melfi did him more harm than good. This is evident in the penultimate episode of the series. Ripping pages from her Departures magazine and the "don't need to be a gynecologist to know which way the wind blows" comments showed Melfi that she made the right choice in dumping him as a patient.
@@flightofthebumblebee9529 Agreed, she made the right choice but all too late for all the wrong reasons. Remember the dinner table scene with Elliot where he hung her out dry in front of all her colleagues and friends by breaking doctor patient confidentiality. It's weird that nobody gets hung up on him calling out her bullshit as immoral. If she had broke it off him earlier it wouldn't have been but there and then I have to agree with Tony.
His father was ruthless but seemed like a chill guy if you didn't "do business" with him and on some level cared and loved his kids. Him being "rubbed into a nub" by the time of his death speaks volumes
Look into ARG. analog horror on RU-vid. Or watch Wendigoon videos about it. Exactly the same feeling. Yes its horror but no jumpscares, no gore. Just... eerie.
You know I don’t know why but this is like the first thing that kinda like really scared me I watch horror movies all the time and it’s my favorite even the shitty ones because I just laugh but the Virgin Mary and Tony’s dream fucking gives me chills like something about it just makes me scared almost wanting to cry and I’m not blowing this out of proportion seeing his mother from the stair but not really knowing if it’s his mother how they just stand there and don’t say anything to hearing Tony’s daughter say “daddy” from the trees while he was almost dead and how Virgin Mary just appears everything about is freaks me out also with the psychic he just give me the chills
You're probably experiencing what I felt, a deep discomfort at seeing this normally stoic; powerful character completely terrified. He has none of his power in these dream sequences, and almost sounds like a scared child.
@@sirronald285 I'm not a big horror fan so tell me if you have a different perception of the genre, but a horror movie's main focus is to scare you and you don't get the level of deep characterization and connection that you do with The Sopranos, so when the show eventually gets eerie it's all the more unsettling
I think the devil was responsible for Tony’s luck turning around after he kills Chris. Sort of a karmic reward for an evil deed, and also to incentivize further progress down the road towards Hell. Livia/Satan really wanted his soul.
Next do Paulie and him seeing supernatural shit (Virgin Mary, psychic seeing his past), motherly dilemma, and his increasing loose cannon-ness through the series
Also, and the final dinner, AJ quotes Tony "And if you're lucky, you'll remember the moments like these, that were good!". But Tony doesn't remember that. Furthermore, when Tony is (allegedly/most likely) shot, he doesn't see anything flashing before his eyes, it all turns black, he said in the talk with Bobby on the boat.
I absolutely love how much worse Tony is by the end of the show compared to season 1. And how it is tied into his therapy enabling his most narcissistic, victim complex, wretched instinct and allowing him to cleanse himself of all his evil deeds, his guilt, it allows him to become worse, and worse, and in season 4-5 it’s very very apparent how full of shit he is when he and Carmela separate. It’s clear by then that he completely buys his own shit, and the ONLY way he can communicate is to manipulate, emotionally blackmail, and break others down, he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it much of the time, he buys his own billshit. And it’s most apparent when he tries to manipulate Carmela into feeling guilt and shame And pity for him after being horrible to her repeatedly. One of my favorite scenes is when Artie is in the hospital, and tells Tony he subconsciously is like a Hawk, always preying, while telling himself he’s not. Literally 24/7 manipulating, lying, and trying to take what he wants even with his owl children, but he has massive coping mechanisms and denial built up to create personal narratives that he’s doing everything for a good reason
Yes! Everything takes on a different meaning while rewatching when you realize this Tony expression when throwing dirt on Jackie Aprile coffin doesn't seem so warm and loving
I don’t get this. It’s all around. Now. In childhood. Young adulthood. The neighbours. And so on. Why sit on your back side and watch for years? I got grossed out even though I tried to watch it more than once. I think this made being evil acceptable.
I always wonder what Junior and Johny's home was like. We know their father was a stone mason that barely spoke english so the cultural and generation divide was there but we hear absolutely nothing about their mother. Makes me wonder about their relations with women. Johnny marrying the She-Beast, and Junior being an insecure bachelor.
What does the monster hand that grabs Christopher represent? I kinda took it as the mob life. He thought he was using it but it ends up holding him and not letting go.
I always thought it was because of all the people they cut up in the back of Satriales, i remember him making the comment while cutting up Richie with Furio, "It's going to be a while before I eat anything from Satriales". Its either the guilt from him being so loyal to his lifestyle that he could inadvertently be feeding people human meat, or the fear of getting caught. That's what I believe holding him & he can't shake himself free from. That being said, this is the Sopranos and there are a million takes for every scene
That dream also has a lot of references to Tony's grandfather, putting him in a similar position. An Italian immigrant (no speaka da english), poor, and working as a stonemason. Earlier on in the series Tony seems to take pride in his grandfather, taking Meadow to see the church he helped build, but could this dream show that Tony is actually ashamed of his heritage, or afraid of it? Tony's grandfather was the last one to not be a direct member of the mafia, and perhaps Tony fears that if he stops now he could end up like his grandfather, poor and alone in a strange place. The mafia brought the Soprano family from lowly masons to wealthy and powerful people, and Tony is afraid of ending up like his grandfather.
That’s a great interpretation but I always viewed it as Tony lamenting the way his life turned out. And the Livia-esque figure on the stairs is bearing down on him symbolizing the fact that he blames Livia for preventing him from having a “normal” life. He did take great pride in his grandfather’s work and I believe that goes hand in hand with how Tony always imagined himself outside the mafia. His admiration for his grandfather could also relate to his idealization of the “Strong Silent Type” considering that he literally couldn’t speak the language(lol) and he’d definitely be a strong man considering his profession, the time and the manner in which he made it to the US. Papa Soprano was everything Tony wanted to be but he couldn’t live up to that due to his mother’s unwillingness to see anyone around her be happy. A cursed existence. I did a semester and a half at Lone Star University. I understand novelistic deconstruction as a concept.
Good Interpretation. As a psychologist I would identify Tony as a goal orientated psychopath and borderline personality disorder. Then again, pretty much every mobster fits that bill. Power is the only thing men like Tony crave, the rest is just ornamentation. They cannot love, nor can they truly feel anything which is outside their goal of power. I like to think Furio came back and whacked Tony, then spirited away with Carmella to Naples. Tony Soprano, the man everyone loved to hate. He was like Darth Vader but with bigger balls and a charming disposition.
@@tedwojtasik8781 The hole in that Furio theory is that he blew her husband's brains out in front of her and kids. Why would she love him after witnessing that? AJ and Meadow's life were taking a positive turn. Now with Tony dead, Patsy and Paulie all that's really left, she will be left with nothing and so will her children. Carmela's worst fear the entire show came true. Her support line is gone.
I have my own take on the house, where I believe the house represents where Tony’s soul will rest in the afterlife, but the STATE of the house is the most important, because it shows the two paths of Tony’s life (bear with me - its a long one): Part 1: Coma Sequence In the coma sequence, where we see Tony as Kevin Finnerty, Tony/Kevin is a clean businessman with a good job and family - something deep down Tony really wanted for himself. When Tony/Kevin drives up to the house, there is a fun party going on and the house looks beautiful - even Tony/Kevin himself is dressed in a nice suit. It is here where, if Tony took the proper road in life, this is where he would be in the after life - a giant party, in a nice house surrounded by friends and family - Heaven so to speak. Even Tony Blundetto tells him his kids are waiting inside for him - something Tony has difficulty with since he’s always at odds with his kids, but Kevin does not, as his kids love him and are waiting for him. But unfortunately that is not the case, because it is also here we see Tony/Kevin carrying a briefcase - which to me represents Tony’s mob life. It is here Tony Blundetto tells Tony/Kevin that you can’t go inside the house with the briefcase, because deep down, Tony/Kevin knows (and reinforced by Tony Blundetto) that if he does, it will ruin the house - both everything inside and out. But here Tony/Kevin can’t just give it up so easily, because the mob life is all he knows. Even when Tony Blundetto tells him that brief case looks heavy, the mob life is a weight that Tony has to carry for the rest of his life (and after life as well), and for any Cowboy Bebop fans reading this - just like Spike, Tony has to carry that weight, whether he wants to or not. Interestingly enough, when he refuses to give over the briefcase (i.e. his mob life), it is then when see the “Woman in Black” going into the house, and “reminding him” you can’t come inside because of the weight you carry.
Part 2: Nightmare Sequence In the nightmare sequence, this is the destination that Tony does end up. It is here where Tony is in a nice suit, in the back seat of the car, being driven to a destination. To me this has some homage to the River Styx in Greek myth, where in this sequence, the driver is akin to the ferryman bringing Tony’s soul down the River Styx, where the longer down the river one travels, the more harsher the person’s punishment is in the afterlife. It is here we see a glimpse of all the people Tony has hurt and harmed in someway thus far, showing us the “sins” Tony has committed throughout his life,. When Tony arrives at the house, as pointed out in the video, Tony’s appearance beings to deteriorate, where he looks like a poor worker. It is here, Tony’s lavish lifestyle (especially achieved through his sins) is stripped away to Tony’s bare minimum. Furthermore, when Tony arrives at the house, the house in a terrible shape - just like he is when he arrives. When Tony goes up to the dilapidated house and knocks, it is interesting to note that the door just opens by itself to let him inside and he is face-to-face with the creepy “Woman in Black” on the stairs standing there ominously like the devil coming to take Tony’s soul for the afterlife. It is also interesting to note that the door opening by itself is indication that since Tony is now in hell, hell is ready and waiting for him “not strings attached so to speak” for him to step inside to be “with the devil” forever. This in stark contrast to the Tony/Kevin being at the same house in much better condition, and being allowed in, but needing to drop the briefcase first. Lastly, to me the “Woman in Black” aka “the Devil”represents Tony’s mother Livia - the one person that Tony blames for messing up his life, leading him down his path of destruction, and preventing him from living the normal life he could have had as “Kevin Finnerty”. To me this part of the nightmare represents that Tony is in hell, where he now has to spend the rest of the afterlife, in this creepy, old dilapidated house, with the person the he hates the most - his mother.
One last thing I would like to add - it’s interesting to see that in the series finale, when the hitman passes Tony’s 3 o’clock, and we see the picture of the house on the wall, the house looks likes its old and in a state of decay. To me - here as Tony lives his final moments, the state of the house gives us an idea where Tony will end up in the after life.
"Now I never told nobody this. But...while I was in that coma, something happened to me. I went some place, I think. But I know I never want to go back there" - Epic
Having Tony hear Meadow as a little girl calling him back to life was the most beautiful singular choice made during this AMAZING show. As compelling as Walter White was, Tony Soprano blows him away. Gandolfini portrays everything.
All the murders Tony Soprano committed on screen were guys who were in his crew or had been at one time or another. It’s a telling stat. The Sopranos is basically the story of a guy trapped in his awful life, and destroying himself in recognition of that imprisonment. Also, it’s not that Christopher chose not to follow his movie dreams, it’s that Tony basically forbade him that escape. Christopher might have been weak and entitled, but he was ready to move to LA almost from the first time we meet him. It was Tony who shivved that ambition, not Chris.
Right. Even when Tony gave Chris "10 minutes to think about it" out on the front steps of his house, it was understood... there's no out. If you say no, you're choosing death, which shall come to you by my hand, one way or another. I think the reason Chris looked so dejected when he got up and went back inside (to be with Tony) that he knew he was as good as dead either way. This way just put it off for a while longer.
It was very much like Nicky Scarfo’s life. When he killed Ralph remember Patsy saying if he could do that then née of them were safe. I believe that’s where Patsy launched the plot to kill Tony. He was already turning members and Paulie decided to go along after their trip to south Florida.
Besides breaking bad and the wire one show I never hear it compared to enough is twin peaks. It's the dreams. Tony has dreams like Cooper that are surreal, confusing, mysterious, often prophetic, always ominous, or downright hellish. It's worth watching and comparing the two.
That's a very good point, and one I've not really since made. Aside from Twin Peaks use of dreams and dream logic, I think The Sopranos has one of the best narrative uses of dreams in television. Where Twin Peaks (& David Lynch's work at large) has dreams and reality overlap, The Sopranos uses dreams to convey a character's innermost thoughts and fears. Also, the way the dreams are shot is fantastic. It feels like how a dream actually feels, rather than just a lame fake out, like a lot of other shows.
Thats why its heavy. Nice reference of that Anubis egyptian afterlife thing where your soul is eaten by a crocodile monster if its heavier than a feather
@n/a that house wasn’t heaven, it was hell. Deceptively inviting and appearing as light, but Tony’s misgivings, rushed urgings of his cousin, representing the devil, that Tony let go of the briefcase ( his life or soul) and the appearance of the same shadowy woman’s figure as earlier (representing his mother) tells Tony and us that nothing good lies in store in that house. It will be his hell if he enters.
The fact that we’re talking about a fictional TV character in this much depth is just a phenomenal testament to how well written and imagined Tony Soprano was, and how brilliantly James Gandolfini brought him to life.
One thing I've always wondered about hell in the Sopranos is why Mikey Palmice, the dumbest goofiest sociopath in a world of dumb goofy sociopaths, has such a large presence in the afterlife? Chris sees him in the Irish bar, he seems to be a legitimate ghost haunting Paulie, and he shows up in the Test Drive dream.
Unlike a majority of characters in the show, Mikey genuinely liked killing others when allowed. He was also intensely loyal to Junior from beginning to end.
That's interesting...I never connected it with Hell specifically, but I did think the dark figure of the woman in the doorway was his personal grim reaper and his closeness to death.
I always thought the car was a euphemism for Tony traveling to hell. The clues being the screaming/gunfire sounds over the radio (the fires of the pit) the fact that carmella drove him there with Ralf and the mistresses along for the ride (all helping him each step in his evil and depravity) it was such an amazing show.
the house that Tony always dreams about is framed next to him in the final scene of the final episode. it's also roughly around his 3 o' clock as well. I find that very interesting.
You must have Great eye sight,because I rewatched the final episode, it's Impossible to see and also blurred,to tell excactly the house details in the framed pictures on the wall. Which one? We're you looking @ ?
I've seen a lot of people say that, but I'm not sure if it's true... the house pictured in bar at series' very end is much smaller than the house from the two dreams
Oh my gosh this dream sequence was so polarizing the first time I saw it. Only time in the whole series I felt like I was watching a horror movie. Cinematic excellence.
@@Arsolon618 No the beacon represents his lifeline and connection to the real world, the helicopter light was clearly shown at the beginning as the doctor's light
I loved the point you made about the woman in Tony's dream "poisoning the air around her with darkness." Really punctuated my personal uneasiness of the nightmare taking place during daytime.
Some good stuff here. Interesting thoughts. One thing I’ve always found interesting is Chase’s insistence that Tony’s experience in his “coma” is not a dream. One thing that sets The Sopranos apart from other crime sagas like The Wire or Breaking Bad is that The Sopranos has actual supernatural events occur. Almost like it has a mythology underneath it all that we are never privy to. Tony goes “somewhere” in his coma trip. It’s like the psychic in season 2 or seeing Big Pussy in the mirror at Livia’s wake or Paulie seeing the Virgin Mary at the bing(which isn’t a hallucination because the audience spots her in a mirror BEFORE Paulie does). Then there’s that cat in the final episode. Anyways, good video.
Like when Paulie goes to the Medium and the dude accurately mentions the people Paulie whacked, even the poison ivy which is something nobody could ever have guessed.
Nah his dream is not the scariest scene when he’s in the comma and is walking to the house. That shit literally games nightmares. He saw his mother as the devil.
David Chase did an incredible job handling dreams in The Sopranos as well as in his prior series, Northern Exposure. You can tell he pulled some of the stuff out of his own experiences
It's true what they say - the scariest scenes are found in non-horror movies or TV series. The staircase dream is absolutely terrifying, undoubtedly one of the eeriest and most accurate portrayals of a nightmare.
These videos are so so good. Omfg. Wow. That nightmare Tony had with the woman(his mom) in the stairwell is truly so unsettling and disturbing. It really seems like Hell. You’re doing such a great job, thank you for this.
I have constant horrific nightmares myself all the time and now this video disturbs me even more.. Tony B wearing that Tux in the Coma scene and trying to persuade Tony to go into that creepy home with the patio lights was definitely the gateway to Hell
At 7:20 we see Tony sitting, contemplating a "loss". And then there goes a duck behind him, flying off, like in the first season, when he fears "losing" his family, as he tells Dr. Melfi.
After watching this, I am in awe of the screenwriters-very deep stuff exposing Tony's fragility. You almost feel sorry for him. He leads a very evil life , and displays little remorse for the terrible things he does. Yet in his dreams, he suffers from these horrible images. Thanks for the analysis and perspective on the soul of a mob boss.
I still say when Bobby was standing at the lake holding his daughter. The song "This Magic Moment" is playing in the background during that scene and is so haunting. Due to the fact of what little innocence Bobby had was now a reflection of his past. All he can hold on to is "this magic moment" while holding his daughter. And wishes that “moment would last forever, forever until the end of time."
The lake symbolized the abyss. Janice and Tony no matter how hard they tried, couldn't stop staring out into the lake. After Bobby came back from his first murder, it was like he was infected by whatever the sopranos had
My kingdom for a Sopranos Dream Analysis that actually makes some effort to engage with Chase's pretty obvious intellectual engagement with Freud and psychoanalysis.
Tony could have been an athlete, Chris could have been a writer, many of these characters could have gone for legit successful lifes but the tragedy is that they didn't, and deep down they regret that. Toxic influences and upbringings, power and money, the temptation was just stronger and easier, but at the end they just have to accept their bitter end and they know it.
Must of don't even realize at first that the door opens by itself. Sooooo creepy. And when he wakes up after the nightmare, we've all been there when we wake up and u are still scared.
