Scottclaudet and i also believe its that little child that we always forgive does it matter how hideous the act was Tony shows us the scared child and we forgive
@@Aivottaja If you had a grain of sensitivity, you'd see that Tony was an incredibly complex and nuanced character. He was born into the mafia, raised by a mobster father and a mother incapable of showing him love. Maybe you could consider getting down off your fucking high horse and stop pointing the figure of judgement. If you have an honest conversation with yourself, I'm sure you'll find that you have plenty of flaws and character defects of your own.
KiloByte69 Yea, but it's directed at a man who twice tried to have his own nephew killed (and Tony's completely aware of it). I'd say their idea of love is pretty is pretty equally fucked.
suncore598 They had to try to kill each other because of circumstances dictated by the life they live. Neither wanted it to ever come to that. It was similar to brothers fighting brothers in the civil war.
+Big R I'm german so I kinda know this deal. During the cold war we germans were standing on both sides of the iron curtin, ready to maybe kill our own cousins, if war breaks out.
yannick245 My family is from Germany as well, I still have relatives that live in the East. The entire thing makes me sick. And the Staasi? Where do they find people like that?
Junior didn't have children of his own so he loved Tony very much. He never idealized the life but accepted he was stuck with it. But he wanted something better for Tony. He was really invested in the idea of Tony becoming a professional athlete. And you could see throughout the show his disappointment that Tony got into the same life as him and how he suppressed those feelings. In the first scene with Junior he lashes out "How many f-ing hours I spent playing ball with you?!". And when he got the Alzheimer's, that's what kept coming out. But Tony never understood that. And Junior could never say how he felt because that's how the world he grew up in was like.
Thats really well put. I think alot of people from parents who came from more old school backgrounds (or definitely traditional families) can resonate with this scene. My dad is in his 80s now, he never told me he loved me growing up, worked hard his whole life. I remember once I cried once when I was a kid and he smacked me "men arent supposed to cry". We never smiled in pictures he was a really "old school guy". Thats how his dad was with him. Growing up - I loved and hated him. But now that hes old and maybe the end is near you ....its a weird thing. I am strangely harsh with him and all men as he was with me but I guess deep down idk. Maybe deep down maybe we all want that affection - Tony wants it from his uncle; but his uncle is literally incapable of giving it to him. I resonate with this scene - its one of the few scenes that makes me tear up.
It's sad because Tony goes so long not knowing that his uncle is losing a battle with dementia and he just thinks Junior is becoming a bitter old douche.
Tony didn’t believe it a first because it was all supposed too be an act, after Junior came under a lot of legal troubles. He faked dementia, when in turn he really had dementia
You can tell Junior wants to say he does, but he's hardened his heart so much and preserved this tough guy/dominant persona for so long that he simply can't bring himself to muster it, even with his waning mental cognizance. Absolutely brilliant scene.
Junior loved Tony but was unable to admit it because in their world, admitting love is a sign of weakness. The scene that really showed Junior's love was their final scene together. Junior couldn't remember his own name, couldn't remember his own brother, but he remembered that he used to play catch with Tony
This is the most heartbreaking part of the show for me. The don’t you love me line by Tony completely broke me into tears. Gandolfini’s child like delivery of that line was some amazing acting. Junior loves Tony so much and he knows what’s wrong with him but he’s too prideful to admit it. So all he can do is break down and cry.
@@sayedalazam4228 can be interpreted as either, or both. Junior comes from a world and time where telling another made man you love them, even if it is your nephew, was not something you did. He could have been fighting his emotions, or upset that Tony even had to ask, or depressed at the realization that his mental state had deteriorated to the point that something happened so bad that Tony HAS to ask. Or a combination of all of the above. That’s why this is such a powerful scene.
@@evangelionl0vr857 No... "these prairie dogs, they'll sleep during the day" and "There's the cayote" suggest that Junior wasn't really engaged in what Tony was saying to him. If he felt a tinge of sadness it wasn't at the question "don't you love me" but possibly at a long-ago memory of hearing someone ask him that before. Possibly Bobbi at Boca. You have to understand that people with the onset of dementia or alzhemiers don't know they have those conditions. Tony simply made indirect comments about Feche, Kennedy, the varsity shit... in reality, Junior and Tony were having parallel conversations neither of which was on the others wave-length.
It's symbolism. What does a prairie dog represent? What does a coyote represent? It shows a rabbit peeking it's head out of a hole when Anthony asks an intruding question. This show is so Fucking chalk full of metaphors, symbolism, and everything in life.
The Sopranos is a reminder that no matter how big and influential you think you are, you are going to end up just as everyone else, old, lonely, powerless, sick, misunderstood, so try to show love to everyone around you, it's really all that matters. This series is full of moments like these, showing that all the toughest OGs are just as emotional as every other human
What?? Lol no. The Sopranos is absolutely not a reminder of that simply bc that is not the case for so many. The majority of the departed did not leave the earth lonely, powerless, sick, misunderstood etc. Thats an incredibly vague and broad generalization which really represents a very small minority. Most people pass surrounded by family, full of love and closure, power is relative to whoever it stems from, don't have to be sick necessarily, and lastly I doubt most people feel misunderstood when their time comes. Thus meaning you're wrong. Pathetic.
@@whoknows4379 looks like someone is scared about getting old and dying. Honestly it’s difficult to find that closure in a family like this. If you have a good family who cares about you and your happiness more than you and your accomplishments, you’ll be fine. That’s what the show was about though, the toxic elements of people tony was surrounded by while being toxic himself. Different types of personality disorders that make up his anti social behavior. That’s what psychoanalysis is present through most of the show. Tony’s mother being a narcissist and his uncle not far different. It’s environmental factors creating his depression but also being the reason he’s rich. It may not be the case for many, but for those who live it - it’s very close to home. Even in little ways
You're wrong, you'll end up old and sick most likely, but that doesn't mean you cannot be powerful or that you have to "love everyone" you brainlet. There are many old people that were powerful, understood, respected and loved, people usually are loved one way or another by someone in the end.
Just watched the 20 year reunion video of the cast on the today show... Hearing Dominic Chianese discuss this scene. The raw emotion that still surfaces such a veteran actor. Really shows the power that Gandolfini had as an actor and as a person. We will never see television like this again. Not even GOT has what this show and this cast did.
I came to re-watch this scene because of that interview. I don't know that there will ever be a show that matches what The Sopranos brought to the table. I've loved quite a few shows in my nearly 40 years, but none of them enthralled me, captured me or intrigued me more than this one.
Very good point. These mobsters proclaim that family (both blood relations and mob-family associations) mean everything to them. But instead what we see is that both types of "family" are routinely screwed over and even killed with regularity and without very much hesitation. This serves to illustrate the absolute hypocrisy and depravity of these pychopaths.
“Yeah, you and me both” the way Gandolfini delivers that is so subtle yet so powerful. Like he’s regretting every decision he’s ever made yet it’s too late for that.
And you can take this scene anyway you want but i read it like this; Junior kind of knows he's slowly mentally deteriorating and when Tony says "Don't you love me?" Junior is both insulted by his questioning of that and is depressed by his realization of what's really going on. Such a great series, the many theories of what scenes really meant is what made it so brilliant.
+Daniel Staab Dan...I agree ...all the brutal mob business/the Bing/the whores /the beatings/ruthless dealings ...its writing like this that made it the # 1 show on TV!
Noble Nemesis I think jun never loved anyone or respected anyone in his life (except Johnny Boy) he never married/no long term gf/his sense of style is ' I am a loser/he tries to kill his own nephew. Jun is a simply a man who is incapable of love/trusting anyone .
I think the very fact that Tony is even asking Jnr that question is what made him feel sad! The one person in his life who is still alive with a real connection to him is asking if Jnr even loves him! That would make you feel extremely lonely ontop of the fact that you realise your brain is slowly dying! Brilliant scene!!
Wonderful scene from both men. The last 25 seconds says more about their relationship than a thousand words could. They're both proud men, but Tony shows rare vulnerability here and Junior almost crying is like a brief glimpse into the window of all that pent up pain, and love. Of course he loves Tony but in the world of the Sopranos that ain't worth too much most of the time.
Gandolfini said, in his only long interview about the show, that one thing he really like about _The Sopranos_ was its multigenerational aspect, how it portrayed older people not as peripheral ciphers but characters as vital to individuals’ lives as their own children.
Such a sad and meaningful scene. Tony and Junior had the most interesting relationship in the series by far, half the time trying to kill eachother and the other half saving eachother. It's really saddening how Junior ended up.
Yeah, but Brendan was robbing their trucks and got one of their drivers killed. To me, it seemed justified considering they were in the mob. Brendan even panics when the driver is killed, saying "Junior fucking Soprano's gonna go apeshit."
There's so much dynamic emotion in this scene, brilliant writing and directing. The end where Junior tears up and there is dead silence and the documentary music chimes is absolutely stunning. Somehow in some abstract way it reminds me of the vastness of the world, around every corner there are people with complicated emotions and stories like Tony and Junior.
No other TV show can be compared to this masterpiece. The writing, scenario, acting, photography, music. Everything was just perfect. Soprano 10/10 Breaking Bad 9/10 The wire 7/10
Junior loves him but it's the life and all its "macho" crap that makes him unable to admit it and/or express his love. Junior has been a gangster as long as he can remember and has lost a big part of humanity because of this.
+Nino Gaggi Very well said. Exactly my thoughts. Tony might be the only person in the world he loves but still "this thing of ours" has corrupted his soul.
Id say it ate him up inside to see what he had done to his own family - he was going to kill tony to get power...Junior wanted the power more than he loved tony and in hindsight he was really ashamed of it...thats why he didnt just say yes or no. Tony is oldschool too and he asked the question expecting a response.
Those of us who have had a parent or grandparent succumb to Alzheimer's disease know how heartbreaking it truly is. I remember my grandmother forgot everyone in our family before she died. She only remembered my father but thought that I was him when I was a kid.
I completely accept that it's your opinion but I don't get the need for people to have such a high moral ground for fictional characters, the mob shit is more or less a back drop for a show that's pretty much a drama. I can get you don't like his character but not liking a mobster in a mobster show because he's a mobster just sounds redundant to me.
The depth and dimensions that James was able to capture was just pure genius. He was an absolute talent that just doesn’t exist anymore, and he died far too young.
***** Yeah that was terrible. But the fact that his physical body is deteriorating and he cant focus doesn't mean that he no longer loves Tony. If your wife is asleep does she cease to love you, just because she is in lala land and at the moment doesn't know you exist?
@@RB2331 Corrado loved Tony, without a doubt. Junior knew he was never gonna have a family/ children of his own, and he knew his brother was never going to be the perfect father to Tony. Junior picked up the pieces best he could for Tony's childhood, in ways his brother Johnny boy wasn't able too. They loved each other.
This scene always chokes me up every god damn time I watch it. As soon as Tony asks “don’t you love me?” And you see juniors face, gets me every single time. Reminds me so much of my grandmother and her battle with this god awful disease.
one of the writers of the show was doing a radio interview (can't remember which show or station sorry) and this scene came into the discussion, I do remember him saying that Juniors reaction to the "don't you love me" question was one of angst. He does love Tony however a part of Junior is very cynical and in his mindset showing love like that is a weakness in the world him & Tony live in. He's basically fighting his own emotions.
But Tony has said numerous times he loves Christopher. Not sure why saying I love you is a big thing. I just believe it's all the grudge they've created between each other even though they're bound through family blood.
Tony and Christopher had a different dynamic. He was his subordinate, in many ways Junior and Tony were equals in the mafia. When Chris got more responsibility as the show went on, you could see how the rifts between them killed the love, much like Tony and Junior.
Junior wanted nothing but love and to be loved. To see his close relative question his ability to do so hit Junior hard. With his dementia getting worse, he finds himself completely alone in this moment. You have to wonder, why is Junior without a wife and kids? I don't recall them covering it in the series. He pushes people away who get close to him. Tony found a crack in the shell here. What a great character, so well done
Reiks Kooc Junior says in one episode that he could never bring a woman into the life of a wise-guy, and that's why he never got married. But he also pined away for Johnny's mistress who Tony meets. So it was probably a little of both.
How many times have you heard junior say "that's my nephew you're talking about" or tony say "that's my uncle you're talking about"? despite the mafia shit tony and junior were uncle and nephew at the end of the day
Man, after just watching the 20 year reunion interview and Dominic breaks down crying mentioning this scene makes it that much more powerful. RIP Jimmy
My grandad had dementia.. which makes this scene even more sad and powerful.. seems like junior cant express his feelings to Tony as his brain is dieing.. yes he does love him.. and you can see his frustration with the disease as he breaks down... a very sad and moving scene indeed.. gets you right in the feels everytime.. best show ever..
It's not just the dementia. I have it the same way with my father. I know he loves me but he's just not the type that ever could say it. He was a Vietnam Veteran and I'm sure it changed him. When he turned 75 he started telling me that he loved me. And gave me a new Ford F-150.
Tony’s relationship with his uncle was the real dramatic centerpiece of the show, it was in many ways tragic as they kept falling out, never quite able to make a lasting peace. Tony harbored his grudges, Junior was never fully able to trust Tony, doubting every gesture of his kindness of having a double agenda or a hidden motive. It ended very badly, even though for a while it seemed to get better.
Erica Lynn im Italian American and this is the most accurate statement. My uncles/dad are Tony's age and my grandparents/great uncle juniors age and it rings true for some of them and the stories my family has told me
I hear what you said, and I don't disagree necessarily. But I think of many ethic groups, Italians are more likely to express love for their relatives than many other groups (Irish, Anglo Saxons, etc). To me what is great about this scene, is it not just one single emotion or circumstance that make Junior and Antony emotional, it's years of the personal relationship and the power dynamics of the mob that have pushed them to the extremes. There is no doubt that they love each other, but in mob life, they were often enemies. No Corrado knows he's old and frail, he can't keep up the macho mob mentality anymore. He's just an old man, confined to his home. It's a deep scene.
Perfect scene, perfect execution. The way Gandolfini's voice cracks ever so slightly when he asked June if he loved him... The pain in that moment was very real. What a fucking scene.
elle Jay i just started it as well, and this is the most recent ep i finished. This was a powerful moment, so much so that i had to revisit it already.
Can't believe you all are just now watching this show. God bless RU-vid. I watched this live during their run. I hated it because I'd have to wait another week for the next episode. Then after one of the seasons they took a 1 1/2 year break. It was torture. Easily my fav show of all time.
One of the best, most sentimentally powerful scenes in cinema. Two men who are ego driven, macho types…who are both hurting badly but who are told never to talk about your feelings. The way Tony keeps trying to explain what’s bothering him to junior, and junior continues kicking the can down the road and not answering. Only for tony to eventually break and just come out and ask it, like a child might. “Don’t you love me?” Amazing that Dominic actually broke down in tears for this scene. It’s a legitimate, genuine moment of sadness on display.
This scene got me good . I didn't know what all the hype was about with the sopranos series. I thought it was just a parody of the godfather with okay acting . I haven’t cried in bcs and breaking bad or any other good series in quite a while but this scene felt personal and very well acted . Jr trying to enjoy the little things he has in his life while slowly losing his memories and Tony trying to find the bit of happiness he can find while trying to earn the respect from a person he always looked up too . Rip James .
"I'm still the boss of this family" Junior wanted to be boss for such a long time. After so many years of coveting the position, he finally got it - only to realize he was being used as a lightning rod. He never got the power he had hoped for during all those years. But he clings to the empty title; in a way, it is one of the few things he has left as he is withering away.
My grandma had dementia into the final years of her life, and one of the hardest things my mother dealt with was how mean she was capable of being. It's very sad, because you know it's the disease, but it still hurts those who are being forgotten. This scene reminded me of that time.
Yeah. I have an older cousin who took care of his mother before they had to put her in a nursing home. She was so abusive towards the end that he didn't go to her funeral. Even when you know what's going on it's hard to let it go.
I think, deep down, all human beings are awful. Dementia/Alzheimer’s just exposes one’s inner awfulness by removing inhibition. My grandma is the same, would say the most degrading shit. Yet she spent most of her life toiling away to feed and care for her children.
A hug here would have been the perfect ending to a different scene in a different show. But this is The Sopranos. Bitter sweet realism is it's bread n butter.
What a scene ! Goosebumps. The scene shows the love Junior has for Tony ,unfortunately in trying to be boss he never showed it . felt sorry for him in the end ..
I think his Alzheimers, in this particular scene, was an act to try and keep his emotional wall up in front of Tony. But he cracked for a brief moment when Tony persisted. Old dudes are like this, my grandpa was the same way and he didn't even have alzheimers, he'd just avoid 'that gooey emotional shit' whenever and however possible.
In the beginning season, Livia foretells that uncle Junior would have dementia saying something like "You will start to forget everything too when you get older." Very sad moment in this scene
Yeah, those scenes between Junior in the “retirement community” confirmed to me that he’d end up developing dementia. Not so much Livia’s comments but the fearful condescension Junior treated the place with, as if he knew that his aging mind would strip him of his newfound status as “boss” far quicker than he got it.
these is without doubt one of the most amazing and revealing scenes of the sopranos. This is clearly one of the key points that the series try to make, how Tony despite having all the money of the world and power...does not have the fundamental things and feelings of his family, respect and love.
These scenes between Junior and Tony were the best in the show and were always brilliantly written. Tony clearly loved his Junior deep down because he still remembered the good times they had in his youth and how Junior was kind to him whilst his dad wasn't so much. Junior clearly felt something for Tony too, hence why he always referred to him as "my little nephew" even when Tony is older. It's just their arrogance, narcissism and profession meant both were utterly incapable of properly expressing themselves or ever showing weakness in front of the other. If somehow they both ended up getting away from the mob life they'd probably go back to being very close.
It’s even more ironic when you consider that the trial literally gave him dementia, the knock to the head he received leaving the courtroom is implied to have caused or sped up his dementia. It’s also poetic; Junior waits his whole life to become boss only to gain the position and be less “in charge” than he was before, he then feigns dementia to help secure his freedom only to swiftly lose his freedom to the condition he was pretending to have.
1 Bad Jesus In the recent cast interview they did commemorating the 20th anniversary of the premiere of the show, he actually mentions this scene specifically when they are talking about working with Gandolfini.
One of my favorite scenes hands down! After all the fighting and name calling, attempted murder on his own nephew and all the pride ward, this is one time junior acts like his uncle and blood. Still too proud to say it, but he basically did with that painful expression! Best acting I’ve seen