Why Did Butch Turn On Phil? | The Sopranos Explained 

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If Phil would just have made it clear to anyone, how many years he’s served, that whole thing would have played out completely differently.

Butch kept an eye on both Phil and Tony at all times

That Chinatown scene is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. I love what they did with the tour bus rolling by and that line about “New York’s famous little Italy” once being so massive, now just reduced to a square block. It’s the perfect analogy for the mob in the early 2000’s when this was filmed. And Butch looks up and he’s lost, cold and confused… wondering how he got here. It’s just such a great scene.

Butch was a great actor. He did an incredible job as Johnny Torrio in Boardwalk Empire

Butch secretly wanted those Makita drills.

The reason he turned on Phil was the phone call where Phil says "When this is over we're going to sit down." When Butch said "I hope so." Phil acted like he couldn't hear him and hung up. Butch knew what Phil really meant by that and knew it was either him or Phil. Plus Butch would end the war and become boss so he really had nothing to lose.

“A pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold” Carmine Lupartazzi Jr., aka Little Carmine

Remember the scene where Butch was walking in Chinatown while talking to Phil on the phone? The conversation was about the war with Jersey, and how it wasn't going well. Phil seemed unhappy with Butch too. When Butch hung up the phone he looked around and realized he had been walking in the wrong direction. This is symbolic of how the NY mob has been led astray. I believe this is what motivated Butch to make a deal with Tony to end the war. With Phil out of the picture, he wouldn't have to deal with his soured attitude, and Butch would be the de facto leader of the NY family. However, Butch said Jersey had "redundant upper management" and I think he always believed that. He pushed for war because he wanted to fold the jersey mob into NY, and when he saw that Phil wasn't really doing a good job as a leader, he figured he could let Tony kill Phil, then he would kill Tony, and absorb the whole fuckin thing. I believe that's what actually happened.

When Phil cried like a Puerto Rican hoowah in the hospital, my estimation of him as a man just f*ckin’ plummeted.

Totally wrong!!!! Butch got Tony's high school records and he discovered that Tony DID in fact have the makings of Varsity athlete. After that the choice was a no-brainer.

In light of recent humiliations, it's an honor to be joined by men for this CinerRanter upload.

Like Tony told Chris " You need to be around to keep your finger on the pulse". Phil started a war and disappeared and left his 2 and 3 to deal with it. They struck Tony hard and they knew full well he wasn't just going to lay down. Payback was coming and they thought it would be one of them. Tony could of easily went into hiding on his own. He didn't, he stayed with his crew and kept his finger on the pulse

So nonchalantly "that animal Blundetto" I lost it when I heard that HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Frank Vincent was such a great character actor, what a great addition to the cast. RIP Frank😢

What is so difficult to understand? Phil was going to take care of Butchie, he told him, we are going to sit down and talk and then hung up on him. Butchie knew right there, Phil was going to kill him.

After Phil told Butch “I’ll deal with you later”, Butch knew it was either kill or be killed. Pretty simple.

I always thought he was sick of being unable to earn because of the war.

Butchie wanted the big chair, but not for naked ambition. Butch came up under Carmine. He knew that Phil, vengeful and emotional as he was - could never bring the stability he craved. He also knew Tony as a hothead, with the CoCo’s curbstomp fresh in his memory. Butchie knew that both bosses had to go for any lasting peace. I think he took this idea to Paulie and Patsy, and they heard him out, agreeing to deliver Tony in exchange for Phil. Pretty simple, and plenty of evidence.

I wish they did more with the “I agree in spirit, but I gotta council” guy

The feelings i got watching Phil in those final episodes was chilling. You no longer wondered about the end, you knew. Even if he did not directly play a role in Tony’s end, he destroyed the family pretty much, leaving T vulnerable. I had the same reaction to the bikers in the final season of Breaking Bad. Horrifying for what u saw coming.

Butchie’s eye straightened out. Both families were on lockdown. Nothing was happening and you Can’t pause that money for too long.

I think Butchie's scene at the phone had an ethnic and cultural component too. In the first season they were talking about the "Albanians living in our houses" if they went into their bunkers facing indictments. Butchie was seeing another culture moving in and thriving while they engaged in petty wars, killing themselves off, like little Italy was killed off.

When Phil turned into a house, I always knew he'd have the makings of a varsity magician. It's a shame he couldn't escape the lifestyle though...

Phil not being a "easy person to get along with" very much a understatement 🤣

Good point at the trenches thing. Makes more sense. Another thing is Butch wanted a swift victory by aiming at the snakes head and get back on business as usual while Phil wanted a war to the last man thus attracting the feds and any attention from the feds is bad for business. Phil's motivation for war is personal, Butch is just strictly business.

One important factor not mentioned was who else was at the final sit-down from New York? Carmine Jr. It is also possible that while Butchie felt abandoned by Phil to fight the war that he met with Carmine Jr for advice since he and Tony have always been linked as friends. It is very possible that it was Carmine Jr that wanted his father's seat and HE played the long game and waited for the last two bosses to go before succeeding power. If you recall the final sit-down when Tony asks for a 'twenty on Phil' how does Butchie respond? He looks at Carmine Jr first who gives him the approval to not get in the way of the Jersey crew to do what they got to do. So Butchie looked sub servant to Carmine Jr so we might see that as evidence of who was really calling the shots for New York.

Don’t forget Phil’s brother… whatever happened there

Butchy was so well casted, tiny, cross eyed and menacing. Give that casting person a Ham

Carmine Jr and Butch turned against Phil , killed Tony and ended up doing business with Pauli and Patsy . This is the best explanation so far

There was an explanation for the start of the war. Phil still held a grudge that Tony didn't turn over Blundetto. Not to mention that when Phil was a captain Tony ran him off the road and completely disrespected him. In the real mob guys kill guys over simply laying hands on them, imagine if you ran a button man off the road then choked him all while disrespecting him to other mobsters. The Decalvacante Family could never go against the Gambino's as a lot of guys ended up in Jersey because they couldn't get made in New York. Just like Hesh said he turned to guys like Tony for protection, Tony Turned to New York for the same. Tony broke a lot of rules and the only amazing thing is that war was declared instead of a hit on Tony.

Butch knew anybody that could turn into a house would eventually be a threat

I love how many show quotes and memes you can sneak into your narration 😂

I have been searching trought the internet for years expecting to hear this theory about the conection of Butch with the murder of Tony, and I think it combine perfectly with the Paulie-Patsy theory: Butch betrayed Phil and Paulie betrayed Tony, both families moved on from this with new bosses and renewed alliances...Gretting from Brazil and thanks for the explanation, you won a subscriber today!

Leaving the ending scene open to interruption (death or arrest) for Tony in the diner, one can assume Butch allowed Phil to be whacked so Butch wouldn't have to deal with the consequences from NY, could have also had Tony whacked since that's what he wanted anyways. Two birds with one stone so to speak. Thus, that leaves Butch as Boss and Tony out of the way, Butch had no one standing in his way. Just my own opinion

Butchie triple crossing the bosses of NY and NJ respectively to control both NY and NJ makes perfect sense. He's a surprise. You never see him coming. He represents quiet earnest unfaltering overambition, that is rarely rash or foolish, that is content to wait and bide its time. Seeing all the angles, assesses all the angles and methodically proceeding to manip/control all those angles and achieving the desired outcome. He puts up the front of a loyal soldier/lieutenant and Lupertazzi family fanatic, all the while coveting the top stop for himself. Probably the most interesting character on the show and one the audience knew least about, he's a peripheral character and shadowy. We get the sense he's been around a long time (he's an older cat) and paid his dues but he blends in, he doesn't stand out, being cockeyed makes him at once seem less threatening and yet somehow menacing. You really don't notice him which makes his treachery all the more compelling. He's cunning and wily, springing from the shadows like some feral animal or monster or gollum.

Excellent run down of the Butch’s mindset and the dynamics between NY and NJ.

Butch was waiting for Carmine. But then he learned that Carmine was gone, he left. Happens all the time.

Butchie got two bosses killed*. Fucking incredible. *think about it

I think butchie had everything planned out. In the scene where they were in the hair salon with him and albie, there’s a picture of a young girl/model on the wall, this the same girl who randomly shows up at AJs mental hospital and then starts hanging with him when the war starts, she’s there in the safe house when Carm & Tony say they’re going to halstons diner (where Tony is ultimately killed) the girl has some kinda connection to butchie is my point. With Phil dead and Tony dead he was in the clear to lead nyc as the new boss.

Phil was out of shineboxes. Ain't nobody gonna compromise for another 20 years.

Missed the fact when Butchie rings Phil in the Chinatown scene, he has a guy with him. When it turns out that Phil is not going to meet Butchi in person, Butchie signals to the guy that he's not needed. Butchie was expecting Phil to be in the neighborhood and had a guy ready to whack him

Phil was bad for business. Carmine clearly pulled the strings better without the title. Butchie answered to carmine in the end and it was clearly a way better deal than Phil’s emotional fits of street violence

The last phone call between Butch and Phil is the key I think. Phil makes it clear that Butchs’ days are numbered by saying that they are going to “ talk” soon. Butch new it was kill..or be killed.

"If there's one thing my father taught me, it's this: A pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold."

Butch would make the perfect mob boss imo. He's best suited, out of everyone else, to have his sights on NY and NJ simultaneously.

Maybe Patsy showed up in the back of his car one night and told him that it won't be cinematic.

I always thought it was the phone conversation. Remember when Phil says “We’re gonna have a chat when this is over kid” implying a bump or two in which Butch says “I hope so” then, Phil pretends that the line was bad and hangs up. Phil didn’t want to be screwed down on a role for Butch and Butch realised this. It was quite obvious

Phil was costing them more than a gallon of gold, so they took his pint of blood

“Listen kid when you get back we are having a sit down you and me, “ I hope so” “ I can’t hear you, your breaking up” “ I SAID I hope” hangs up Eyes in different directions

One thing about Phil. Its not all talk wit him.

Phil yelled at him once, Butchie never forgave him for that

Poor Billy was just a kid, barely out of nappies.

I'm surprised you didn't consider the possibility that Butch was playing the Starscream role and helping position Phil as the bad guy. All the aggressive advice he gave to Phil was in person... on the phone and in sit downs with other folks, though, he was portraying the role of someone who didn't want war. He knew Phil didn't have the temperament to really last as the boss, and there was so much churn in that position already, what's one more? HE ALWAYS PLANNED TO BECOME BOSS. He USED Phil! He gets Phil out of the way and he's the boss of that operation and has a good relationship with Tony, who doesn't know his role in setting off the war. Heck, he probably arranged the hit on Tony in front of his family because, as an old school guy, he would've resented the way Phil got clipped in front of his wife and grandkids (there were a couple of people in Tony's organization he could have gone through to help him set it up at that point). At the end of the day, he's the last man standing in the highest position. Maybe he can work through Paulie to shore up the DiMeo operation, maybe he has him clipped too... who knows? He's a ruthless SOB.

Let me tell ya a couple of three things, Phil was a grilled cheese filled, tissue soiling dinosaur, who did 20 years in the can btw. He didn't know how the streets had changed. Butchie had his finger on the pulse

butch always had the advantage because he could simultaneously have one eye on phil and the other on tony

Looking forward to the video on the Paulie/Patsy angle. IMO something had to have been worked out with the hit on Tony, otherwise it would have been seen as a betrayal of the peace settlement that could reignite the war. Patsy would have been the one in the best position to know where Tony was going to be, since his son was close to Meadow, who was going to meet Tony at the diner. The hitman arrived, saw he had a clear shot at Tony without Meadow there, and took care of business. Meadow could also have been in on the hit, with her parallel parking adventure being a ruse to allow the hitman time to do his job (KIDDING!).

When Phil said to Butch they were going to have to talk,coupled with Phil prolonging the conflict,prohibiting everyone from earning,he had to go.

It's simple, Butch saw they lost. The price for his life was not standing in the way of Phil's death.

I believe Butchie had Tony killed as well. Not only to get rid of Tony and can potentially consolidate the New Jersey crew since Paulie has no loyalty and Ally Boy's crew really wouldn't care who they were kicking up to. Don't forget that Tony had Coco's teeth smashed right in front of Butchie. Also, Tony pointed a gun at Butch. They don't let that kind of thing slide.

They were at a stalemate. They couldn't get to Tony and NJ couldn't get to Phil. Both families were losing money.

I came for the comments & was not disappointed!! It also didn’t help when Phil says to Butchy in the end of the phone call, “Hey kid, when this is all over we’re gonna sit down, just me & you” & then poceeded to hang up on him. Love your videos good shit brotha 🫡

I think Butch's reasons are basically what he says. Phil is weaker than he thought, and not quite as devoted to the rules of the life as Butch thought, so he said 'screw it'. If Phil isn't who Butch thought he is, what are they fighting for? Butch can make as much money or more, and less headache if this is the real Phil. Even with all of that, Butch doesn't break the code to give up Phil's location.

Because Al Capone already tried to take him out and he had to step down so when he thought he might get taken out again...exactly what phil said to him on the phone, he decided to act first. Hence why Phil was take out by Buth aka johnny torio.

The phrase “we’ll talk about this when I get back” and Rusty being in Chinatown when the conversation end….it’s right there

This really wasn't all that complicated. He wanted to be higher up in the organization, and wasn't satisfied waiting any longer. He probably knew Phil was going to drag his feet, so he decided to make his move.

No-one in the family could respect Phil once they found out he’d turned into a house.

3:03 edgiest Ford commercial ever.

Phil implied he would kill butch “we’re going to have a sit down after this is over.” Cell reception was bad but butch said he “hoped so.” But he told Tony war had gone to far and such.

I will add that I think Tony busting up Coco actually worked in Tony's favor here. Butchie saw Tony was capable of decisive action and someone to be feared, respected, and potentially a good partner to have in Jersey, as was the case with Carmine Sr.

It's amazing all the different comments on these videos about the ending. They are all brilliant assumptions and all could be true. What a master piece of a show.

Little Carmine orchestrated everything from the sidelines like a great coach. He was down in Florida. He brokered the sit down between Tony and Phil. Then he brokered the sit down with New York. Go watch that scene again. Watch what Carmine does when they leave. Carmine ended up running things exactly how Tony did with Junior as the figurehead.

GREAT VID! Phil recovered in the hospital not in prison...

I’m in the Butch camp. He planned it out to remove Phil become the boss by using war with jersey. Phil and Tony took the fall leaving Butch as boss NY and knocking down Jersey before Soprano crew became bigger threat than the red headed stepchild it always was. Butch was a smart powerful NY crime boss.

"And so it goes"- K. Vonnegut Chase is a brilliant writer

That was always weird to me, they had Tony cornered, took out his upper ranks and then just let it go? Maybe butchie did that to get Tony to drop his guard? That was always just weird to me

The Lupertazzis were not willing to go back to war with New Jersey over the way Phil was killed. In fact, it was actually necessary for Phil to get popped in front of his wife since she was the one controlling Phil anyway. There was a scene in season 6 where his wife was telling him what needs to be done about Vito as Phil lay on the bed silent with no pants on. They couldn't have made it more obvious that his wife wears the pants in the family, not Phil. They literally shot a scene where Phil didn't have any pants on to illustrate this. Next, the Lupertazzis had already given Tony permission to whack Phil. How he does it is of no concern to them. Keep in mind this is the same crime family who's clout has been greatly diminished in recent years by the massive federal indictments Jimmy Petrile's cooperation led to, and the same crime family who's been locked in an endless cycle of bloodshed ever since Carmine Sr. died. They're depleted by now. Furthermore, while it was never stated outright, the past two years would've seen the Lupertazzi family's power in New York wane considerably as a result of the other Five Families creeping in to chisel away at the traditional territories and rackets in the power vacuum the indictments and civil wars created. Lastly, *I will NEVER believe Butch assumed the role of boss after this war.* I will never agree to this when you could see the sheer misery that was written across Little Carmine's face during the sit-down. His defeated, exasperated demeanor suggests he was also taking the L here by doing the one thing it took him several months to realize he didn't want for himself after all- becoming boss of the family (allusion to the conversation he had with Tony earlier in season 6 about his dream of Carmine Sr. wearing the paper crown and being disappointed his son was pursuing becoming a mob boss instead of a family man capable of experiencing genuine fulfillment in his life). Butch also looked to Carmine before answering a couple of times during the sitdown too, which further hints that Carmine was actually the one in charge now- no matter how much it depressed him. Also, based on the news segments the mobsters all watched in Season 5 where Feech, Angelo, Tony B, and Phil were released from prison, and the civil war their returns ignited within the Lupertazzi family, Little Carmine was likely the only candidate the captains and soldiers on the street would accept at this point. The entire Brooklyn faction was disgusted with Johnny Sac, Phil Leotardo, Doc Santoro, and the others' endless fight for the rapidly shrinking profits and prestige that Carmine Sr.'s death spurred.

I always like Butch and I honestly would've preferred if he was the final boss for the Sopranos crew, not phil, just because it would've a good example of Tony running through everyone he had goodwill with in New York. However I also like the idea of Butch being the last man standing after Tony gets whacked.

Because Phil threatened Butch’s life. The last episode during their phone call Butch suggested to Phill that they should reach out to Tony to make peace. Phil got pissed at that and let Butch know that he was upset at the fact that they didn’t kill Tony first and that when this was over he and Butch were going to have a sit down. At that point Butch knew his life was in danger and decided to side with Tony.

He was sick of phil being emotional from wine and an empty stomach

Butch knows the strategies of war. He definitely read the 48 Laws.

Wish we got a movie later to see Tony and Butch working together but James died so they could not do it

Have you or could you do a breakdown of the sitdown Tony did with New York talking about Phil. for instance, your view on Tony asking about compensation for his sister, Janice, and what if anything did the people in the room think about that?

0:32, Paulie has his pinkie out even when not pointing. Like the gesture of “devil horns” in America, I read that pointing with index and pinkie fingers is an Italian warning about the devil

theories are just that. We can theorize on the meaning of the way someone says "hello". I think the writers were just tryin to end the damn thing.

@6:02 what vito sees when he looks down!!

“That's what it comes down to: availability. The people that see me every day that are on my side, they feel safe because they know I'm close. That gives them more reason to love me. The people that want to do otherwise, they think twice because they know I'm close. That gives them more reason to fear me.” - Sonny

But I thought Butchie says “I can’t go there” regarding giving a location on Phil, it was Agent Harris who gave up the gas station (??).

Philly never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

I think butch falls into that category Tony talks about how some people just wanna whack someone. Butch had bloodlust in him since day one.

Easiest theory thag no one talks about. He gave the nod to Tony to take him out so he would take out Tony and look like a hero and become boss in the same swing. Real life situation that’s what happens

While nobody actually knows what the characters did & didn't do by the final episode, I like to think Butch ordered the hit on Tony. While Butch's character was never fully developed like Phil, with Phil and NJ's top three all gone there was nobody else. Even out of a comma, Silvio was too indecisive and lacked the management skills, as demonstrated when Tony laid in his comma. And even if Bobby wasn't whacked, he was certainly too stupid to run the family, confusing Nostradamus with Hunchback of Notre Dame over steak with Tony.

1:12 wait Phil did time in prison I never knew he barley ever mentioned it

He didn’t like it when Phil turned into a house. It wasn’t right. He should of stood like a man.

11:55 that goes in hand with Tony said to chris we collect the crumbs from the fallout

I think the "because Phil was an epic asshole" theory has a lot of weight.

I believe the theory at the end that he pushed Phil to war because he knew eventually he would get the hot-headed Phil to act on it. He could then blame it on Phil, no one would question it and he could take over.

Phil did 20 years in the can without a peep. And a lot of people forget that!

It was either Butchie, or Pop-N-Fresh from the bakery that had Tony whacked.

Butch saw the writing on the wall. That phone call showed that Phil was only in it for himself. Butch was expendable. It was a matter of survival.