There's also a lot of parallels drawn in this episode between Tracee and the roommate Caitlyn which often goes overlooked. Both clearly have some sort of mental issues mentioned, but one who grew up poor ends up on the pole while the other that comes from money ends up at Columbia. Both have no support system. When Tracee needs somewhere to go she goes to her abuser where she ends up getting slapped around by her literal pimp. When Caitlin needs somewhere to go, she goes to a friends dorm room and talks his ear off all night and gets slapped with a restraining order. This is a dense episode
Facts, many layers to this episode. I feel like this season has been very dense. We are loving it. And yes we did overlook that narrative. We appreciate you all bringing that up.
one of many S- tier episodes. Its called University because of the saying "university/college of hard knocks" also because tracee was the age of a college student and how many different paths young people take and how certain paths can lead to your demise
This and Pine Barrens are 2 of the most memorable episodes for me personally...I still listen to the Kinks song "Living on a Thin Line" and think about this episode every time...
I like how they got horrified by Dr. Melfi's attack to the point of putting a trigger warning and cutting the scene, but the scene where Tracy is beaten to death, they brush over. That scene haunted me.
Ralph's obsession with Gladiator clearly shows his love for violence as he says he prefers Gladiator over Sparticus which does not have as much violence or Gore as Galdiator. Actor Joe Pantoliano (Ralphie) told Vanity Fair that after this episode aired, women approached him wanting to feel his arms. Some women were apparently turned on by Ralph’s physical domination of Tracee. "Meadow and Tracee are also contrasted thru dentistry. Meadow (who is still probably on her family’s insurance plan) is reminded by her mother to make a dental appointment. Tracee, on the other hand, relies on her boss Silvio to loan her money to fix her teeth" Also, I find it interesting how Ralphie wanted to be an architect when he was younger. A job in which you build, design, and construct things, yet all we've seen Ralphie do so far is tear things down (Tracy and Jackie jr's innocence, mafia conflint, etc). Great episode. This season is a banger for sure, even more great episodes incoming.
great reaction! this could be my favorite episode of the show, S tier for sure. along with all the parallels between meadow/caitlin and tracee, a big part of this episode is depicting how the violent assholes we’ve come to know and love have become normal to us the viewers. this episode pulls the rug out from under us. a horrible, disgusting act of violence that’s even unfathomable to other mobsters, because ralphie is the ultimate monster. but look at how caitlin factors in: when we see a person who’s actually overcome by empathy, rather than devoid of it, it’s weird to us because we’re immersed in a world desensitized to all the violence. and that’s the genius: the girl who has normal reactions to horrific shit, is the outsider, not the one we understand anymore
I might be a piece of trash, but I laugh so hard when Sil starts slappin up Tracee and like a little kid, Ralphie watches and giggles from the window 😂😂😂😂
You're definitely right about the parallels between Meadow and Tracee, and that they were establishing a paternal relationship between her and Tony. This season heavily focuses on standalone episodes and doesn't have a clear-cut plot like Season 1 (Tony vs. Junior), but if you asked me to describe what the season is about, I'd say it's about Tony's struggles as father/father figure to his actual son and daughter, and to Jackie Jr. and Tracee. There are obvious parallels drawn between those characters, and clear visual indicators of this in later episodes. It's been about that since the second episode of the season with Tony's reaction to Noah, which he justifies by saying that he's trying to protect his daughter, and the stuff with AJ in ep. 3.
In the mob, made guys aren’t supposed to lay hands on one another. Even a boss isn’t allowed to hit a made man even if he’s just a soldier in rank. Any made guy is supposed to be untouchable and violating that rule can result in death as punishment. So Tony did break a rule by hitting Ralph. But Ralph also violated a rule by killing somebody without permission from the boss. In the real mob, you can’t just kill somebody unless the boss gives permission. With that said, a boss can order the death of his men, but he has to also be careful. There should be a good reason, otherwise the soldiers in the family could lose morale due to a boss having lots of men killed for no good reason, which can lead to the boss himself being killed and overthrown.
Joe Pantoliano and Chase created Ralphie -- a character who had been abused as a child by his mother. Similar to many serial killers. Pantoliano got an Emmy.
junior was the "boss" and ritchie dealt drugs for junior. so technically ritchie was not breaking the "rules" by disobeying tonys order not to deal drugs on these routes.
That whole situation is so fucking finicky Tony feel so heavily about it because he feels that connection with meadow but at the same time he was not connected to blood or anything but also isn’t Tony a boss of the family wouldn’t that mean he would have the right to do that?
The guys completely forget about Tracy as soon as the fight between Tony and Ralph happens. Paulie saying Ralph was way out of line and Tony brings up Tracy and Paulie says “that too”. Two words that spoke volumes.
Right, they had to make the problem "disrespecting the Bing" for it to be a worthy beef. Because in the mob world it's basically "woke" (and therefore bad) to think a made guy beating an innocent woman to death is a problem in and of itself.
Comparisons between lives of these two similarly aged girls makes this a great episode, on priviledged (and riding a moral high horse while living out of blood money, even as an adult), and the second one clearly had none of Meadow chances.
When I first saw this back in the day I absolutely thought Noah would cheat with Caitlin. Honestly it would have been my thinking at that time if I were him. F the paper
It is actually a faction thing because in the mafia you can't lay your hands on a made guy without cause (killing a random doesn't qualify). And Ralphie is a made guy which is why he said that during their altercation. Tony is a boss and not following the rules he is supposed to uphold can absolutely turn people in his own organization against him. The mafia is bigger than his glorified crew. And Ralphie is uniquely placed in that he is making money for both New Jersey and New York. Meaning their is potential for it to spiral out of control.
The entire history of the mafia is replete with bosses ignoring their supposed "rules". They are professional criminals and hardcore hypocrites. Following rules is not their strong suit. Tony ignoring the rules and doing whatever he feels like makes him a typical mob boss, not an outlier. Following the rules is for the underlings.
Technically, per mob rules Tony broke a cardinal rule punching Ralph. My understanding of Cosa Nostra rules is that this could result in a possible death sentence for him.
AC/DC ‘shook me all night long’ plays in the back, one of the best rock songs ever, and you guys don’t even notice? What does it take for you guys to notice great music? The soundtrack to this series is phenomenal.Maybe if they played The Back street boys?
