I like how in the dream Dr. Melfi doesn’t scream. It’s so realistic. Most of us have experienced nightmares where we couldn’t speak or move. It’s an awful sensation.
Had a very similar experience in one of my dreams. I was in my bedroom, opened the door, and standing in the hallway is this homeless looking guy with a knife. I'm speechless, stumbling back, trying to yell for help. He's just standing there, laughing, slowly getting closer and closer. I back into my counter and reach behind me for a lamp, bringing it round in an attempt to bash him over the head with it. Guy just grabbed it like it was nothing, then proceeded to jam the knife into my stomach. Woke up screaming. Probably the worst dream I've ever had.
The freaky thing about sleep paralysis is it honestly affects me all day, and then its in the back of my mind for a long time. I hate it. I'm on edge when that happens.
@@metalmacabre9991that's not sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a semi-concious state, many people can have their eyes open and see their surroundings while also experiencing dream-lik hallucinations on top of it, like seeing people in the room that aren't there with their eyes open. Nightmares of paralysis occur while asleep but it is not Sleep Paralysis.
David Chase was a friggin' genius with how he portrayed the deep psychological inner dramas of the Soprano's characters! He went way beyond "character development"...
randy109 i agree. You can’t just make that up he probably used his own experience and the experience of his surroundings to put that in the show and probably also knows pretty well the psychology of a human being.
She was beautiful in Goodfellas and she still had it on Sopranos.. Love the way she talks at the end, she knew Tony would have been enraged like she was a member of his own family if she told him..
This show always did an amazing job depicting dreams. Combining two areas into one (the soda machine inexplicably being inside her office along with the stairwell door), the illogical use of macaroni as coins, Dr. Melfi watching herself like she's in a movie, etc. This is exactly how dreams are, just these very surreal events unfolding in very bizarre ways but often having a deeper significance. Very well done.
Rottweilers are not ferocious dog. They are sweet softies ( we've had them in our family throughout my whole life) ....but they are loyal and very protective.
@@msmilano7091 but when raised wrong like Tony was, they can be vicious and killers. Tony always had the potential to be that guy if he wasn’t raised in the mob but his father and mother raised him like a fighting dog. Perfect metaphor
@@matthewdurocher6408 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
@@matthewdurocher6408 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
I was raped when I was a kid, and the person who did it was never caught or punished. Seeing Dr. Melfi handle it all by herself, even though her attacker got away, is so inspiring to me. She is so strong and brave. It takes a lot of strength to not hold onto that bitterness and anger.
It was one of the most interesting Soprano story lines. It really challenged the viewers as to their perceptions of criminality, morality, the law, revenge. Great TV.
If she does say yes to having him killed, it totally changes her relationship with Tony. Throughout the show, she's as professional as she can be with him, but if she said yes, Tony would eventually manipulate her into whatever he wanted
+SuCKeRPunCH187 - Tony cared about Christopher and lots of other people he killed or in whose pain and suffering he was complicit. Sentimentality is not the same as willing another person's good.
When she showed up all battered, and briefly cried in the office, how hard would it have been for Tony to check with his law enforcement contacts and get the whole story on his own? Then... for wildly different reasons, it would have remained unspoken between them. Still, the rapist could have shown up horribly mutilated, or just disappeared from the face of the earth. That scenario, with all it's complications, could have easily played out in that fashion.
AJBfc i doubt it. Tony is a gentleman first which is y he offered to walk her to her car. if anything he would have treated her lije he did artie and would chalk it up to protecting the people in his universe. that guy would either go on living without a dick or he would die with it in his mouth
I took it as this The pasta= Italian, she pays for the Italian mafia to kill the guy. She gave two got one back. She got stuck in the vending machine just like she would get stuck in the drama of the mafia.
Absolutely great acting by Lorraine Bracco. She deserved Emmy for this scene and the one when she confronts Richard. And Dr. Melfi did the absolutely right thing not to ask Tony to interfere in their professional relationship with revenge to that "employee of the month ****sucker". She resisted her temptation, and that's her moral choice, the hard one, but the right. Tony-Melfi plot in The Sopranos is the unique chemistry, and it'd have been ruined in case of revenge. Once again, applause to Lorraine Bracco, and to David Chase.
The last scene of this episode was heartbreaking - you're absolutely right, she might a hard decision, but the right one. But aww man.... the way Tony cares for her when she shows weakness, how tender he's being, for once... there is literally no more perfect time for her tell him what she's thinking of telling him.
Melfi has told Tony that his anger towards his mother was what he had to overcome, without violence towards others instead of acting violent, understand and heal. But she suffered a horrific violent act, and she now has to deal with this violence, instead of acting on it. A true test of practicing her very words she has tried to get him to understand. Then, the creep gets released, and her horrific rape goes unpunished. Her saying "No", to Tony she remains loyal to her beliefs and can truly understand his anger. An amazing example of self control and being true to thyself.
I guarantee everyone who watched this show just hoped and prayed that during Tony’s session when she broke down crying, wanting to tell him, we all held our breath just hoping she would finally tell Tony what really happened to her!! If only....
It's a much more realistic depiction than people may realize too. My college roommate was dating a girl from his hometown and she was a year behind us in school. Apparently, during our frosh year, while she was a senior, she was raped by a kid that played football with my roommate. She never told him about it. It wasn't until about 2 months later when her best friend spilled the beans to my roommate. He was so baffled by the whole scenario and when he asked her why she never told him, she said that she was more afraid about the damage he would cause himself by going after the guy. And of course, he was enraged but he I'll give him credit... he never really questioned her decision. Then again, he may have just been playing it cool because during his first week back in the summer, he tracked the kid down and beat him so bad that he almost got charged with attempted murder. Luckily for him, he got a sympathetic prosecutor and the family of the kid pushed to have the charges dropped because they were so disgusted about the rape. Dunno if that damaged their relationship or if it was just a combination of things but they were broken up by the time we went back to school.
@@RustCole01 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
"there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that i could have that asshole squashed like a bug if i wanted". I teared up with that line I wished so much she would tell Tony.
I always found it so weird how they were able to write such good dreams sequences. The logical inconsistencies, weird pacing, etc. Nothing makes sense, but it kind of does.
ok for what its worth here's my take Melfi wanted to be part of the american system.. the acme machine. She gave all of herself to it, believing wholly it would pay off. but instead she gets nothing. When she reaches in, she become trapped, halfway in, halfway out, not fully American not fully Italian...this leaves her exposed and powerless...... just then, one Macaroni is returned to her, the innate Italian part of her she hasn't truly given up. She realizes this is what gives her leverage with the dog (Tony) who then goes on to protect and avenge her.
2:02 I love how they also always subtly indicate how useless Melfi’s therapist is. He decides to suddenly connect the vending machine aspect of her dream to some random event he read about in the news, like he’s not even deeply thinking about her words or her problem. And she is the one making all the big revelations here: he lets out a pathetic “oh” when she realizes the Rottweiler is Tony and he wasn’t anywhere near getting there
I felt so bad for Melfi in that episode. I'm a guy so rape scenes don't usually bother me as much as they'd bother a woman (not that I condone rape or anything) but Melfi's rape was a particularly horrible scene. She should get a medal for controlling herself and not not telling Tony...
She is a tough cookie. A woman less equipped to manage the range of negative emotions she must have felt at the time would have been on the borderline after that. I am talking suicide or a murderous explosion or just complete self-destruction with drugs or alcohol...
It says a lot about us too. I think most of us in the audience are almost literally hoping and begging that she tells Tony. But she doesn't.... The easy thing to do would've been to tell Tony and have that guy tortured to death. Melfi has a set of beliefs and she knows that if she sics Tony on that guy, she will be a hypocrite. I don't know if Melfi's choice was the correct one in terms of justice. But it was the right (and very difficult) choice to stay true to her morals.
+Nino Gaggi - she gets something better even if it is not consolling - she retains her humanity. Everyone glibly assumes she could have solicited a killing from Tony and that would have been that, when the whole point of this show is the chaotic and destructive nature of evil. Turning to Tony would not have been an act of vigilante justice - it would have been one of revenge by employing a vile instrument. Worse still - it would have completely ended even the pretense of healing Tony since she essentially would have been acknowledging the usefulness and (important point) - the goodness of his uncontrolled violence and his contempt for an imperfect justice system.
+Jason Murdock - this is the same reply I wrote to Nino - - she gets something better even if it is not consolling - she retains her humanity. Everyone glibly assumes she could have solicited a killing from Tony and that would have been that, when the whole point of this show is the chaotic and destructive nature of evil. Turning to Tony would not have been an act of vigilante justice - it would have been one of revenge by employing a vile instrument. Worse still - it would have completely ended even the pretense of healing Tony since she essentially would have been acknowledging the usefulness and (important point) - the goodness of his uncontrolled violence and his contempt for an imperfect justice system. Ultimately I think it was even corrrect in terms of justice - yes, we all hate procedural failures (until the procedures that guarantee our own freedom are violated) allowing the guilty to go free - it is awful. But "trying to control everything" is the kind of trap that catches many (and releases few). She would be worse than a mere hypocrite if she had turned to Tony...
Tony would’ve never bought that “car accident” BS. She’s wounded and scared, she practically gave that away when something falls from the desk and scares the hell out of her. Someone like Tony is used to street violence and could’ve tell easy she was beaten or raped. They went off from realism in that one.
I love this scene so much, and as far as the choice she made goes, I think a lot of people just wanted to see her sic Tony on her attacker for the thrill of seeing that sort of eye for an eye justice, and of course for more good old fashioned gratuitous violence. I think the showrunners made a wise and moral choice by having Dr. Melfi be the bigger person. After all, her entire persona in the show, her archetype, is the civilizing force that counterbalances Tony's brutality and egoism, right? She's the better angel of his nature. If she were to abandon that, get down in the gutter with him and take personal revenge rather than trusting in law and order, it would utterly undermine her character and everything she stands for. The showrunners made the right call. It's frustrating not to get to see her attacker get killed. But life IS frustrating. No good deed goes unpunished, and the wicked flourish like the green bay tree. This show was always supposed to be gritty, to show the real world in all its unfairness and ugliness. That unfairness extends to Dr. Melfi getting little real justice for her assault. It was absolutely the right move, and the stronger storytelling choice, to have her refrain from revenge. Kudos to the showrunners, and to Lorraine Bracco for this amazing scene.
Her son should have contacted Tony and had the deed done. In real life, all too often, the guilty go unpunished. This show was meant to entertain. It would have been entertaining if the doctor got justice by still being out of the loop. OR... Tony could have investigated on his own, figured out what happened, and STILL served up justice with her being no part of setting the wheels in motion. As another poster said, they made the wise choice of not having the doctor finger the rapist. That doesn't mean they made the wise choice of having the punk stumble onto the wrong victim by other means. They should have found him with a certain body part stuffed in his mouth, and it should have never been spoken of between doctor and client. As far as I'm concerned, THAT would have been entertainment!
Indeed. Ambiguity and disconnectedness are key themes of the show. Chase's method included introducing ambiguity and disconnection into his storytelling, cinematography, and even direction, so that the medium would reflect the message.
I was always shocked that Melfi didn't have Tony (through a 3rd party) go after the rapist. We all try to be big people, but once the brutality of life (or in this case a rapist) is thrust in our face - we usually will justify anything we do to go after someone who has wronged us.
After she helped Tony SO much in her professional capacity she should have allowed Tony to help her in HIS professional capacity... I think he would have been deeply honored to bring justice on her behalf.
8 ปีที่แล้ว +22
No such thing as honor. She'd end up owing him one. Not a good idea.
It's what we the emotionally invested viewers of the show wanted but it's exactly what made the writing of The Sopranos excellent. If Melfi would have asked Tony for help, I kinda think he'd say he would but then get distracted and have it sloppily handled by Fur probably. No matter the action he would have took, he would have from that point on seen her as someone whose indebted to him which he would have undoubtable used against her in someway. Tony was a sociopath. Plus, there is the obvious that Melfi's want to not be attached to Tony's "lifestyle" was greater than her want for revenge. Anyway lol fucking amazing show.
***** Alhough it's true that Tony was a sociopath, had he stumbled on the information some other way, he would have done the deed with a sense of righting a wrong. It probably would have never been spoken of between him and the doctor. In Tony's mind, he probably wouldn't want her indebted to him. In Tony's mind, it would be a deed he felt would score him points with the big guy upstairs. Maybe not... but that's my theory and I'm sticking with it.
Bill Anthony Ehh I see it as he was incapable of love and empathy and so fourth but he functioned well enough to convince some he could do better. But in the end he pinched Chrissy's nose which out of all the wicked shit he had did in the show including killing Tony B, sealed the deal for me. He didn't see people as people but as obstacles, and he only had faith in god when it was convenient. But yeah man, love discussing Sopranos theories. Kinda wish it'd get released to netflix so it could boom in popularity again. =]
Tony is the dog like in Berserk when they are trying to bring Casca's memories back when Gut's is the dog, dragging her sub-conscious along in her deeply pained memories. Berserk is a good piece of work also.
The vending machine represents the justice system, big, powerful, yet malfunctioning. She's a rape victim and her case gets caught up in loop holes. The rapist is still at large and has the oppotunity to rape her again before justice is served. She had to "dig" elsewhere for a solution. That satisfaction of having justice served when needed is something that ties in with everybody.
I love how both the machine and the dog represent Tony. Elliot imploring her to let go of Tony and in the scene the soda machine is a dispenser, the way Tony could dispense justice in the traditional sense of what the mafia was to Italians who didn’t trust the cops. If she let go of the soda she could be free but she won’t let go of it just like with Tony.
I know Melfi giving in and telling Tony would of pretty much killed her character in the long run (she's encouraging Tony) but I wish they at least shot an alternate ending to that one episode or made it a dream sequence in itself. Melfi could dream she tells Tony and wee see the carnage that ensues from that. Then when Dr. Melfi realizes it doesn't fix anything she wakes up and decides not to tell him.
I think of the dream sequence as that alternate. The dog (tony) does rip her attacker to shreds. I like that it wasn’t super on the nose and we just inferred that tony was just ending that guy in front of melfi in her dream. And that it was very brutal.
***** I was not answering you. Refrain from the profanity. It isn't necessary. I was answering another person's question. If you knew, then you did not have to use profanity with me. I was not writing to you. Stop being a simple minded person. Plenty of those all over the place. Rude Butt.
+Cocker007 Thank you for that. I cannot stand it when folks are so hostile when unprovoked. Good words of wisdom, I will not bother with trolls. ;-) Have a cool day!
However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
I have a hard time watching the rape but after my 3rd rewatch of the series I noticed that David Chase didnt use any music or any flashy camera work during the rape, it was realistic and brutal and it felt like it went on forever when it was not that long. It shows just how horrific rape, I may not know what it feels like to be a woman in the situation but that scene was rough to watch and I applaud David Chase for how he portrayed it so real. I always thought the scene was not needed but after seeing the affect on the characters and seeing the comments here I think this is some crazy good writing. The dream sequence has SO MANY LAYERS that people can still analyse to this day. The Sopranos is seriously the best TV show ever made, the wiritng was just on another level with the layers and how real it was and also how it didnt treat the audience as dumb. 3rd viewing of the show and I still find new stuff, AMAZING!
Dude, I have a hard time with rape scenes in TV and movies. I talked me buddy into renting The Hills Have Eyes, a long time ago when it first came out. Seemed like a decent flick. And it was pretty good but holy shit, that rape scene had me dry heaving. I had to bail on the rest of the movie. I wanted to turn it off but at that point, my buddy was invested in the movie. I actually just ended up leaving. My former fiance worked at a battered women's shelter and the stories I heard.... just imagining the suffering chicks endure by being violated like that, it hurts my frikan soul. I can deal with eggregious levels of gore and violence but sexual assault is the worst pain you can inflict on a person IMO. All that said, the show did a good job with that scene and the entire plot around it.
@@RustCole01 That scene in that movie was brutal but I feel this was done to a even more disturbing point cause the camera barely flinches. In the Hills Have Eyes it was disturbing but happened fast and didnt linger like this...
They could have had the ex-husband contact Tony and make it anonymous so she wouldn't have to know. Have something similar to Bellequava's death where he's tied up or have Furio do a number on him.
That would have been out of character for Richard. I would have liked to see street justice prevail myself. Maybe Melfi's son tells someone at school who ends up unknowingly telling Meadow, who tells Carm, etc. and Tony figures it out and fucks up the rapist anyway without Melfi knowing.
I never liked Rottweilers before this scene. Always thought they were too scary and intimidating, but seeing one rip into this piece of shit made me very fond of them
hahahaha right Juan??? Same here!!!! There's something about this scene that is just so sexy seeing that dog run up on that guy and chewing the shit out of him!!!
You would think Tony would've put out feelers to any contacts in the police department to find out about her attacker. It wouldn't be that hard to get a name if he really wanted.
Cannot fucking BELIEVE the show missed out on her having Tony go after him. I know it may be a bit out of character for her but I think they could get away with it because of Tony's strong feelings for her. Especially if the show had him figure it out WITHOUT her directly telling him and taking matters into his own hands because then she wouldn't even have to break character professionally and ask.
Linkjoy123 even better! Lmfao have her eventually be inducted into the Soprano family as one of Tony's most ruthless enforcers! That would be fucking awesome and a complete contrast to her character when the show started so you really couldn't ask for a more diverse character arch!
+tankmaster1018 They could have played it in a way that let Tony some how find out what happened without actually telling him. It would have been a sweet payback scene. But the Sopranos was about the darkness of the criminal world. It was never about satisfying the audience with retribution scenes. Those scenes did sometimes happen but it was not the goal. It just makes me love that show even more. There is no ultimate justice in real life. Why should my favourite show do it.
I like some of the very subtle hints that this is a dream. There's some on the nose stuff like the macaroni and the soda machine, watching herself from the third person, but if you look at the part where she's putting the second macaroni in the machine, the hand holding the noodle is actually backwards. I found this interesting as someone who has tried and had some success with lucid dreaming (funnily enough as per my own therapist's suggestion for gaining control over nightmares) and one of the ways I've had some success with it, is paying attention to my hands in dreams. If you write your dreams down, or try to remember details of them after you wake up, you may often notice you have the wrong amount of fingers, your hands are backwards, or they often pass through solid objects. Really nice attention to detail there.
Lorraine Bracco was originally asked to play the role of Carmela Soprano, but she felt that the part was too similar to her character in Goodfellas (1990). She decided the role of Dr. Melfi would be more challenging.
We just finished watching this episode for the 100th time ( part of our Sopranos yearly binge) and we still scream at the screen: TELL HIM!!!!! JUST TELL HIIIIIIM!!! 😫😫😫😫
It would have been great if Tony had found out what happened somehow and got his hands on that rapist pos. Then Dr.Melfi would find out something bad happened to her rapist but suspecting it was Tony it is never spoken of just a knowing glance.
janablang wow , thought so , Ye dont get pasta that shape in Ireland . every other shape , but not something that looks like it belongs on a hearing aid ...lol
I'm really annoyed with all of the comments about Dr.Melfi being too overweight. Only saying that shit because she's a woman. Look at the main character of the show, lucky he's a man.
Scrolling all the way down to ur comment and the only one talking about her being overweight is urs u stupid fuck, nobody has said a single word and if they have then they are at the bottom pile, stop trying to be some social justice hero, ur litterly doing the opposite by bringing it up
When she was in session with Tony and she looked all bruised up, you can tell she so wanted to tell Tony about the guy her raped and beat her. I remember yelling at the t.v., “Tell him! Tell Tony”! Because if she really did, Tony would have gone to that guy and brutally murder him.… but I guess she held back for moral reasons and also to not use Tony for her personal issue with that guy, then she’ll be indebted to Tony for life.
I like how in the dream Dr. Melfi doesn’t scream. It’s so realistic. Most of us have experienced nightmares where we couldn’t speak or move. It’s an awful sensation.
Sleep parylisis. It's real, and it's very scary.
Had a very similar experience in one of my dreams. I was in my bedroom, opened the door, and standing in the hallway is this homeless looking guy with a knife. I'm speechless, stumbling back, trying to yell for help. He's just standing there, laughing, slowly getting closer and closer. I back into my counter and reach behind me for a lamp, bringing it round in an attempt to bash him over the head with it. Guy just grabbed it like it was nothing, then proceeded to jam the knife into my stomach. Woke up screaming. Probably the worst dream I've ever had.
The freaky thing about sleep paralysis is it honestly affects me all day, and then its in the back of my mind for a long time. I hate it. I'm on edge when that happens.
@@fro_e oh damn thats WILD!!! LOL
@@metalmacabre9991that's not sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a semi-concious state, many people can have their eyes open and see their surroundings while also experiencing dream-lik hallucinations on top of it, like seeing people in the room that aren't there with their eyes open. Nightmares of paralysis occur while asleep but it is not Sleep Paralysis.
James Gandolfini played the dog very well.
Yes. It was very believable performance.
No, that was Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in that role.
hahahahahahahagahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Lmfaooo
hahaha or as youngsters would say lol
David Chase was a friggin' genius with how he portrayed the deep psychological inner dramas of the Soprano's characters! He went way beyond "character development"...
"Genius" is the word, on so many levels.
randy109 i agree. You can’t just make that up he probably used his own experience and the experience of his surroundings to put that in the show and probably also knows pretty well the psychology of a human being.
This was one of the darker episodes ever & it had nothing to do w the Mob.
It’s one of my favorite aspects. Wonder if the movie will have any
David Chase didn’t write this episode
She was beautiful in Goodfellas and she still had it on Sopranos.. Love the way she talks at the end, she knew Tony would have been enraged like she was a member of his own family if she told him..
Tony would have certainly tortured and castrated that asshole if he found out.
Sure is her! Didn't realize until you said it. Henry's wife Karen right?
She was pathetic and annoying in Goodfellas
"I'm sorry!"
(Fetal position)
Karen! Why did you do that Karen!?
@@jayargh1132 That was all we got!
This show always did an amazing job depicting dreams. Combining two areas into one (the soda machine inexplicably being inside her office along with the stairwell door), the illogical use of macaroni as coins, Dr. Melfi watching herself like she's in a movie, etc. This is exactly how dreams are, just these very surreal events unfolding in very bizarre ways but often having a deeper significance. Very well done.
The macaroni wasn't too far-fetched...
Agreed, the muffled audio and Melfi's silent screams were also a nice touch.
The macaroni symbolized the mob, she was going to use the mafia to deal with this.
The macaroni was an association to the money she received from tony
Love the fact that they used a Rott as a symbol for Tony Soprano. Kind of shows what kind of an animal Tony was. Perfect.
One that protects the camp and others?
Rottweilers are not ferocious dog. They are sweet softies ( we've had them in our family throughout my whole life) ....but they are loyal and very protective.
@@msmilano7091 but when raised wrong like Tony was, they can be vicious and killers. Tony always had the potential to be that guy if he wasn’t raised in the mob but his father and mother raised him like a fighting dog. Perfect metaphor
@@matthewdurocher6408 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
@@matthewdurocher6408 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
I was raped when I was a kid, and the person who did it was never caught or punished. Seeing Dr. Melfi handle it all by herself, even though her attacker got away, is so inspiring to me. She is so strong and brave. It takes a lot of strength to not hold onto that bitterness and anger.
May the cocksucker burn in hell for what he did to you
hope good times come forever ur day man 🙏🙏
Its a movie
It was one of the most interesting Soprano story lines. It really challenged the viewers as to their perceptions of criminality, morality, the law, revenge. Great TV.
Yes 🤝
I was gagging
If she does say yes to having him killed, it totally changes her relationship with Tony. Throughout the show, she's as professional as she can be with him, but if she said yes, Tony would eventually manipulate her into whatever he wanted
AJBfc no i dont believe tony would have asked her for anything in return. He cared about melfi
+SuCKeRPunCH187 - Tony cared about Christopher and lots of other people he killed or in whose pain and suffering he was complicit. Sentimentality is not the same as willing another person's good.
When she showed up all battered, and briefly cried in the office, how hard would it have been for Tony to check with his law enforcement contacts and get the whole story on his own? Then... for wildly different reasons, it would have remained unspoken between them. Still, the rapist could have shown up horribly mutilated, or just disappeared from the face of the earth. That scenario, with all it's complications, could have easily played out in that fashion.
AJBfc i doubt it. Tony is a gentleman first which is y he offered to walk her to her car. if anything he would have treated her lije he did artie and would chalk it up to protecting the people in his universe. that guy would either go on living without a dick or he would die with it in his mouth
SuCKeRPunCH187 eventually he would of, Tony became almost completely dehumanized at the end of the series
I took it as this The pasta= Italian, she pays for the Italian mafia to kill the guy. She gave two got one back. She got stuck in the vending machine just like she would get stuck in the drama of the mafia.
Spot on!
Indeed, Tony always went out of his way to make sure she was never apart of his criminal world and that would have sucked her in.
Those machines don't take macaroni. Only penne.
Machines don't take penne anymore
That's a fusilli joke
Tee hee
Well done...now get out!! lol
It wouldn't have fit with her character at all, but I just wish Tony had found out about what happened. He would have been in rare form, for sure.
He could, by some cop friend or something. Would have been nice.
Oh yeah
Absolutely great acting by Lorraine Bracco. She deserved Emmy for this scene and the one when she confronts Richard.
And Dr. Melfi did the absolutely right thing not to ask Tony to interfere in their professional relationship with revenge to that "employee of the month ****sucker". She resisted her temptation, and that's her moral choice, the hard one, but the right.
Tony-Melfi plot in The Sopranos is the unique chemistry, and it'd have been ruined in case of revenge.
Once again, applause to Lorraine Bracco, and to David Chase.
The last scene of this episode was heartbreaking - you're absolutely right, she might a hard decision, but the right one. But aww man.... the way Tony cares for her when she shows weakness, how tender he's being, for once... there is literally no more perfect time for her tell him what she's thinking of telling him.
definitely not the right moral choice. are you dumb??
Lorraine's acting in this episode is legendary
Melfi has told Tony that his anger towards his mother was what he had to overcome, without violence towards others instead of acting violent, understand and heal.
But she suffered a horrific violent act, and she now has to deal with this violence, instead of acting on it.
A true test of practicing her very words she has tried to get him to understand. Then, the creep gets released, and her horrific rape goes unpunished.
Her saying "No", to Tony she remains loyal to her beliefs and can truly understand his anger.
An amazing example of self control and being true to thyself.
Sopranos does dream sequences like no other. I am constantly amazed by this show even 20 years after it premiered.
I guarantee everyone who watched this show just hoped and prayed that during Tony’s session when she broke down crying, wanting to tell him, we all held our breath just hoping she would finally tell Tony what really happened to her!! If only....
It's a much more realistic depiction than people may realize too. My college roommate was dating a girl from his hometown and she was a year behind us in school. Apparently, during our frosh year, while she was a senior, she was raped by a kid that played football with my roommate.
She never told him about it. It wasn't until about 2 months later when her best friend spilled the beans to my roommate. He was so baffled by the whole scenario and when he asked her why she never told him, she said that she was more afraid about the damage he would cause himself by going after the guy. And of course, he was enraged but he I'll give him credit... he never really questioned her decision. Then again, he may have just been playing it cool because during his first week back in the summer, he tracked the kid down and beat him so bad that he almost got charged with attempted murder.
Luckily for him, he got a sympathetic prosecutor and the family of the kid pushed to have the charges dropped because they were so disgusted about the rape. Dunno if that damaged their relationship or if it was just a combination of things but they were broken up by the time we went back to school.
@@RustCole01 However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
YES!!!!!
@@RustCole01 wow that is a really interesting story thanks
@@RustCole01 really great story
"there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that i could have that asshole squashed like a bug if i wanted". I teared up with that line I wished so much she would tell Tony.
He could’ve checked that with his people in the department. In real life he would’ve know something bad happened to her, not a car accident.
I always found it so weird how they were able to write such good dreams sequences. The logical inconsistencies, weird pacing, etc. Nothing makes sense, but it kind of does.
Bingo
ok for what its worth here's my take
Melfi wanted to be part of the american system.. the acme machine. She gave all of herself to it, believing wholly it would pay off. but instead she gets nothing. When she reaches in, she become trapped, halfway in, halfway out, not fully American not fully Italian...this leaves her exposed and powerless...... just then, one Macaroni is returned to her, the innate Italian part of her she hasn't truly given up. She realizes this is what gives her leverage with the dog (Tony) who then goes on to protect and avenge her.
2:02 I love how they also always subtly indicate how useless Melfi’s therapist is. He decides to suddenly connect the vending machine aspect of her dream to some random event he read about in the news, like he’s not even deeply thinking about her words or her problem. And she is the one making all the big revelations here: he lets out a pathetic “oh” when she realizes the Rottweiler is Tony and he wasn’t anywhere near getting there
I felt so bad for Melfi in that episode. I'm a guy so rape scenes don't usually bother me as much as they'd bother a woman (not that I condone rape or anything) but Melfi's rape was a particularly horrible scene. She should get a medal for controlling herself and not not telling Tony...
She is a tough cookie. A woman less equipped to manage the range of negative emotions she must have felt at the time would have been on the borderline after that. I am talking suicide or a murderous explosion or just complete self-destruction with drugs or alcohol...
It says a lot about us too. I think most of us in the audience are almost literally hoping and begging that she tells Tony. But she doesn't....
The easy thing to do would've been to tell Tony and have that guy tortured to death. Melfi has a set of beliefs and she knows that if she sics Tony on that guy, she will be a hypocrite.
I don't know if Melfi's choice was the correct one in terms of justice. But it was the right (and very difficult) choice to stay true to her morals.
Jason Murdock You speak for most of us, indeed.
+Nino Gaggi - she gets something better even if it is not consolling - she retains her humanity. Everyone glibly assumes she could have solicited a killing from Tony and that would have been that, when the whole point of this show is the chaotic and destructive nature of evil. Turning to Tony would not have been an act of vigilante justice - it would have been one of revenge by employing a vile instrument. Worse still - it would have completely ended even the pretense of healing Tony since she essentially would have been acknowledging the usefulness and (important point) - the goodness of his uncontrolled violence and his contempt for an imperfect justice system.
+Jason Murdock - this is the same reply I wrote to Nino - - she gets something better even if it is not consolling - she retains her humanity. Everyone glibly assumes she could have solicited a killing from Tony and that would have been that, when the whole point of this show is the chaotic and destructive nature of evil. Turning to Tony would not have been an act of vigilante justice - it would have been one of revenge by employing a vile instrument. Worse still - it would have completely ended even the pretense of healing Tony since she essentially would have been acknowledging the usefulness and (important point) - the goodness of his uncontrolled violence and his contempt for an imperfect justice system.
Ultimately I think it was even corrrect in terms of justice - yes, we all hate procedural failures (until the procedures that guarantee our own freedom are violated) allowing the guilty to go free - it is awful. But "trying to control everything" is the kind of trap that catches many (and releases few). She would be worse than a mere hypocrite if she had turned to Tony...
Just finished this episode and wow was it damn great. I can’t believe I waited this long to start this show.
Tony would’ve never bought that “car accident” BS. She’s wounded and scared, she practically gave that away when something falls from the desk and scares the hell out of her.
Someone like Tony is used to street violence and could’ve tell easy she was beaten or raped.
They went off from realism in that one.
Dude, at the end of this episode, I was deadass screaming at my TV "TELL TONY WHAT HAPPENED!! PLEASE!" 🤣🤣🤣
Old comment, but the show trolled us with that 'no.' savage lol
I love this scene so much, and as far as the choice she made goes, I think a lot of people just wanted to see her sic Tony on her attacker for the thrill of seeing that sort of eye for an eye justice, and of course for more good old fashioned gratuitous violence.
I think the showrunners made a wise and moral choice by having Dr. Melfi be the bigger person. After all, her entire persona in the show, her archetype, is the civilizing force that counterbalances Tony's brutality and egoism, right? She's the better angel of his nature. If she were to abandon that, get down in the gutter with him and take personal revenge rather than trusting in law and order, it would utterly undermine her character and everything she stands for.
The showrunners made the right call. It's frustrating not to get to see her attacker get killed. But life IS frustrating. No good deed goes unpunished, and the wicked flourish like the green bay tree. This show was always supposed to be gritty, to show the real world in all its unfairness and ugliness. That unfairness extends to Dr. Melfi getting little real justice for her assault. It was absolutely the right move, and the stronger storytelling choice, to have her refrain from revenge. Kudos to the showrunners, and to Lorraine Bracco for this amazing scene.
She never trusted in law and order. She made the civilized choice but that doesn't mean she believes in so called law and order.
Her son should have contacted Tony and had the deed done. In real life, all too often, the guilty go unpunished. This show was meant to entertain. It would have been entertaining if the doctor got justice by still being out of the loop. OR... Tony could have investigated on his own, figured out what happened, and STILL served up justice with her being no part of setting the wheels in motion. As another poster said, they made the wise choice of not having the doctor finger the rapist. That doesn't mean they made the wise choice of having the punk stumble onto the wrong victim by other means. They should have found him with a certain body part stuffed in his mouth, and it should have never been spoken of between doctor and client. As far as I'm concerned, THAT would have been entertainment!
The whole series the writers mess with peoples heads and does things opposite to what you want or expect.
Indeed. Ambiguity and disconnectedness are key themes of the show. Chase's method included introducing ambiguity and disconnection into his storytelling, cinematography, and even direction, so that the medium would reflect the message.
I was always shocked that Melfi didn't have Tony (through a 3rd party) go after the rapist. We all try to be big people, but once the brutality of life (or in this case a rapist) is thrust in our face - we usually will justify anything we do to go after someone who has wronged us.
I wish they did more with the dog in Melfi's dream, he was one of my favourite characters in the show.
Well, we see how Tony deals with sexual predators when he gave Coco a free dental appointment
I'll never forgive her for not telling Tony..lol...that wlda been a great story line...
After she helped Tony SO much in her professional capacity she should have allowed Tony to help her in HIS professional capacity... I think he would have been deeply honored to bring justice on her behalf.
No such thing as honor. She'd end up owing him one. Not a good idea.
It's what we the emotionally invested viewers of the show wanted but it's exactly what made the writing of The Sopranos excellent. If Melfi would have asked Tony for help, I kinda think he'd say he would but then get distracted and have it sloppily handled by Fur probably. No matter the action he would have took, he would have from that point on seen her as someone whose indebted to him which he would have undoubtable used against her in someway. Tony was a sociopath. Plus, there is the obvious that Melfi's want to not be attached to Tony's "lifestyle" was greater than her want for revenge. Anyway lol fucking amazing show.
***** Alhough it's true that Tony was a sociopath, had he stumbled on the information some other way, he would have done the deed with a sense of righting a wrong. It probably would have never been spoken of between him and the doctor. In Tony's mind, he probably wouldn't want her indebted to him. In Tony's mind, it would be a deed he felt would score him points with the big guy upstairs. Maybe not... but that's my theory and I'm sticking with it.
Bill Anthony Ehh I see it as he was incapable of love and empathy and so fourth but he functioned well enough to convince some he could do better. But in the end he pinched Chrissy's nose which out of all the wicked shit he had did in the show including killing Tony B, sealed the deal for me. He didn't see people as people but as obstacles, and he only had faith in god when it was convenient.
But yeah man, love discussing Sopranos theories. Kinda wish it'd get released to netflix so it could boom in popularity again. =]
and when he curb stomps that fuck from york in the diner for hittin on Meadow! awesome
This was the most powerful episode in the show in my opinion. Her development is incredible.
Bro, David Chase is a fucking genius.
Tony is the dog like in Berserk when they are trying to bring Casca's memories back when Gut's is the dog, dragging her sub-conscious along in her deeply pained memories. Berserk is a good piece of work also.
The vending machine represents the justice system, big, powerful, yet malfunctioning. She's a rape victim and her case gets caught up in loop holes. The rapist is still at large and has the oppotunity to rape her again before justice is served. She had to "dig" elsewhere for a solution. That satisfaction of having justice served when needed is something that ties in with everybody.
I love how her Jersey accent comes out when she gets mad.
If Vin was still alive and kicking in season 3, Rossi would’ve been found with a poll cue up to his @$$.
Dreams do have meaning in real life.
“Hold the mayo.”
“We’re out of mayo.”
@@0mnicide 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@0mnicide Anyway, four bucks a pound
“Ahh Homer are you just holding onto the can?”
One of the best scenes ever on T.V. Amazing acting and video sequence.
I love how both the machine and the dog represent Tony. Elliot imploring her to let go of Tony and in the scene the soda machine is a dispenser, the way Tony could dispense justice in the traditional sense of what the mafia was to Italians who didn’t trust the cops. If she let go of the soda she could be free but she won’t let go of it just like with Tony.
I know Melfi giving in and telling Tony would of pretty much killed her character in the long run (she's encouraging Tony) but I wish they at least shot an alternate ending to that one episode or made it a dream sequence in itself.
Melfi could dream she tells Tony and wee see the carnage that ensues from that. Then when Dr. Melfi realizes it doesn't fix anything she wakes up and decides not to tell him.
I think of the dream sequence as that alternate. The dog (tony) does rip her attacker to shreds. I like that it wasn’t super on the nose and we just inferred that tony was just ending that guy in front of melfi in her dream. And that it was very brutal.
Karen Hill from Goodfellas I think... I may be mistaken..
***** I was not answering you. Refrain from the profanity. It isn't necessary. I was answering another person's question. If you knew, then you did not have to use profanity with me. I was not writing to you. Stop being a simple minded person. Plenty of those all over the place. Rude Butt.
M Perry Thanks for the reply. Don't bother about the troll...
+Cocker007 Thank you for that. I cannot stand it when folks are so hostile when unprovoked. Good words of wisdom, I will not bother with trolls. ;-) Have a cool day!
Cocker007. Yes Lorraine Bracco is her name. Italian in real life.
I swear I finished the series without realizing it was her😂😂😂
Lorraine Bracco should’ve won the Emmy that year hands down.
Her acting this episode was really top tier. Hard to watch because she made it feel so real
However, I can't believe the writers made the rapist go unpunished. Ok the story is everything, but to make sure that at least he was arrested again and was convicted...! I err?
The empowerment tony and melfi gave each other was incredible
Revenge is a dish best served to a dog
A Rottweiler
Sansa Stark agrees
🤣🤣🤣
@@GABRIELA-ACEVEDO. that still seemed to esy for him😬😠😖
Most of us wanted her to tell tony about this. Dr. Melfi is above that, above most of us.
I wish soda only cost 2 macaroni these days
I have a hard time watching the rape but after my 3rd rewatch of the series I noticed that David Chase didnt use any music or any flashy camera work during the rape, it was realistic and brutal and it felt like it went on forever when it was not that long. It shows just how horrific rape, I may not know what it feels like to be a woman in the situation but that scene was rough to watch and I applaud David Chase for how he portrayed it so real. I always thought the scene was not needed but after seeing the affect on the characters and seeing the comments here I think this is some crazy good writing. The dream sequence has SO MANY LAYERS that people can still analyse to this day. The Sopranos is seriously the best TV show ever made, the wiritng was just on another level with the layers and how real it was and also how it didnt treat the audience as dumb. 3rd viewing of the show and I still find new stuff, AMAZING!
Dude, I have a hard time with rape scenes in TV and movies. I talked me buddy into renting The Hills Have Eyes, a long time ago when it first came out. Seemed like a decent flick. And it was pretty good but holy shit, that rape scene had me dry heaving. I had to bail on the rest of the movie. I wanted to turn it off but at that point, my buddy was invested in the movie. I actually just ended up leaving.
My former fiance worked at a battered women's shelter and the stories I heard.... just imagining the suffering chicks endure by being violated like that, it hurts my frikan soul. I can deal with eggregious levels of gore and violence but sexual assault is the worst pain you can inflict on a person IMO.
All that said, the show did a good job with that scene and the entire plot around it.
@@RustCole01 That scene in that movie was brutal but I feel this was done to a even more disturbing point cause the camera barely flinches. In the Hills Have Eyes it was disturbing but happened fast and didnt linger like this...
ACME cola machine not working = police/broken justice system. That's what I get from this scene
I always hated Melfi’s psychiatrist. Good performance from Bogdanovich though!
They could have had the ex-husband contact Tony and make it anonymous so she wouldn't have to know. Have something similar to Bellequava's death where he's tied up or have Furio do a number on him.
Yeah but he at least he'd take comfort in knowing that the rapist would be dealt with
That would have been out of character for Richard. I would have liked to see street justice prevail myself. Maybe Melfi's son tells someone at school who ends up unknowingly telling Meadow, who tells Carm, etc. and Tony figures it out and fucks up the rapist anyway without Melfi knowing.
I never liked Rottweilers before this scene. Always thought they were too scary and intimidating, but seeing one rip into this piece of shit made me very fond of them
hahahaha right Juan??? Same here!!!! There's something about this scene that is just so sexy seeing that dog run up on that guy and chewing the shit out of him!!!
I wanted her to tell Tony so much. I'm glad she didn't in the end but while watching it I was like screaming at the tv "tell him!"
0:49 isn’t that sound from GTA: San Andreas when you get a soda from the soda machine?
You would think Tony would've put out feelers to any contacts in the police department to find out about her attacker. It wouldn't be that hard to get a name if he really wanted.
The legs on this woman!
What season/episode is this from?
Cannot fucking BELIEVE the show missed out on her having Tony go after him. I know it may be a bit out of character for her but I think they could get away with it because of Tony's strong feelings for her. Especially if the show had him figure it out WITHOUT her directly telling him and taking matters into his own hands because then she wouldn't even have to break character professionally and ask.
+tankmaster1018 True
Linkjoy123 even better! Lmfao have her eventually be inducted into the Soprano family as one of Tony's most ruthless enforcers! That would be fucking awesome and a complete contrast to her character when the show started so you really couldn't ask for a more diverse character arch!
+tankmaster1018 They could have played it in a way that let Tony some how find out what happened without actually telling him. It would have been a sweet payback scene.
But the Sopranos was about the darkness of the criminal world. It was never about satisfying the audience with retribution scenes. Those scenes did sometimes happen but it was not the goal. It just makes me love that show even more. There is no ultimate justice in real life. Why should my favourite show do it.
Ryan P good point man. Haha I just still have the Breaking Bad mindset. I shouldn't be trying to force it onto other shows. Lmfao
+tankmaster1018 I know I think Chase fcked up not having Tony do some vigilante moves on that rapist.
Wish that dog had a bigger role in the show....I would have gave it an Emmy for this scene
I like some of the very subtle hints that this is a dream. There's some on the nose stuff like the macaroni and the soda machine, watching herself from the third person, but if you look at the part where she's putting the second macaroni in the machine, the hand holding the noodle is actually backwards. I found this interesting as someone who has tried and had some success with lucid dreaming (funnily enough as per my own therapist's suggestion for gaining control over nightmares) and one of the ways I've had some success with it, is paying attention to my hands in dreams. If you write your dreams down, or try to remember details of them after you wake up, you may often notice you have the wrong amount of fingers, your hands are backwards, or they often pass through solid objects. Really nice attention to detail there.
Lorraine Bracco was originally asked to play the role of Carmela Soprano, but she felt that the part was too similar to her character in Goodfellas (1990). She decided the role of Dr. Melfi would be more challenging.
The random soda machine and paying with pasta is perfectly dream-like
I would have liked Dr Melfi to tell tony about what happened to
i can never read text in my dreams
How could she perform that credible break in her voice like if her throat was actually ill after the attack?
I'm amazed...
I like how everything doesn't go how you want it go in this show. You want her to tell Tony. But she never will.
I always wanted her to tell Tony...Sic Tony on him like a Rottweiler, he would've literally loved nothing more lol
We just finished watching this episode for the 100th time ( part of our Sopranos yearly binge) and we still scream at the screen: TELL HIM!!!!! JUST TELL HIIIIIIM!!! 😫😫😫😫
Was so heart-warming to see my favourite character let her liberal persona slip and indulge in tribalismo for a glorious moment...Bellissima!
It would have been great if Tony had found out what happened somehow and got his hands on that rapist pos. Then Dr.Melfi would find out something bad happened to her rapist but suspecting it was Tony it is never spoken of just a knowing glance.
Yeah like instead of saying employee of the month it says in memory of
1:10 macaroni in a vending machine
So in canon Sopranos is in the same universe as Looney Tunes. 0:27
BRILLIANCE AT ITS VERY HIGHEST AND BEST
Ah, the 90s, back when you could get a can of pop for just two macaroni...
She should of gave the go ahead to Tony on this one
The sopranos had great psychological insight
Melfi should have told Tony.
What episode was this,of sopranos???
'Employee of the Month' (took four seconds to look it up)
Sometimes a cola machine is just a cola machine.
Melfi would’ve been indebted to Tony, if she’d said anything.
I love how you think the dog represents the rapist in the beggining.
ACME Cola paid with macaroni. Brilliant! :D
What were those things she was putting in the vending machine ?
Pasta ?
Yup
janablang
wow , thought so ,
Ye dont get pasta that shape in Ireland .
every other shape , but not something that looks like it belongs on a hearing aid ...lol
+Ollie Phelan Americas favorite shape for Mac and cheese😊
janablang
Is that a Macdonalds Bigmac and cheese ?
Or macaroni and cheese ?
a U -tube ?
And that's why Ireland doesn't exist no more.
I like Lorraine Bracco and Peter Bogdanovich, great actors!😘
And that's the nice thing about the mob; Sometimes someone has to go and the cops won't do shit. Sometimes you can ask the "underground police".
I'm really annoyed with all of the comments about Dr.Melfi being too overweight. Only saying that shit because she's a woman. Look at the main character of the show, lucky he's a man.
spencerschannel she’s hot as hell despite being “overweight.” Not all women need to look like a Victoria’s Secret model to look sexy.
Scrolling all the way down to ur comment and the only one talking about her being overweight is urs u stupid fuck, nobody has said a single word and if they have then they are at the bottom pile, stop trying to be some social justice hero, ur litterly doing the opposite by bringing it up
spencerschannel I’ve seen no such comments
where the fuck are those comment? never seen any
This is one of them movie dreams where it actually pertains to your life. 😆
I dream about random bullshit!
dogs saves therapist from the rapist
2:31 You can't read in your dreams. Everything you ever try to read in your dreams changes.
That may only be partly true. I've read exit signs I my dreams. They said EXIT.
she is a great actor.
Breaking Bad scen right here.
Shes is beautiful
Come on Dr. Melfi give the order. Lol
Man this is something striaight out of Arkham
When she was in session with Tony and she looked all bruised up, you can tell she so wanted to tell Tony about the guy her raped and beat her. I remember yelling at the t.v., “Tell him! Tell Tony”! Because if she really did, Tony would have gone to that guy and brutally murder him.… but I guess she held back for moral reasons and also to not use Tony for her personal issue with that guy, then she’ll be indebted to Tony for life.
Big head massive shoulders... yup that’s ole’ Jimmy Gand. LOL
Help step brother, I’m stuck.
Melhor representação do sonho que eu já vi
She should have told Tony!
this is how every p*rn where the person gets "stuck" should end