Why Didn't Tony Whack Paulie On The Boat? - The Sopranos Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- In The Sopranos, we follow New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, and the colourful cast of characters he is surrounded by - mob underlings, associates and rivals, like his nephew Chrissy, his rival Phil Leotardo, and a parade float.
One of the essential characters of The Sopranos is Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gultieri, a captain of the DiMeo crew who comes from Tony’s father’s generation.
In season 6, Tony and Paulie are on a boat and it seems Tony was about to kill Paulie, or at the very leats he was thinking about it. Was Tony really going to kill Paulie on the boat. Why was TOny going to kill Paulie on the boat.
*Did Ralph set up Jackie Jr with the card game? | The Sopranos Explained:*
th-cam.com/video/zzMORPaj5_c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=xVHdq9otKyhnjxMQ
He didEn't
@@rikimaruninja CHRISTUPHA!!
Paulie is one of the most hated character committing heinous crimes like the killing of an elderly lady
While he’s also the most loved and comedic characters like when he killed the elderly lady
She was such a nasty bitter woman bullying his ma it was almost satisfying seeing the pillow used , but still doesn’t cover the fact she’s just an old lady that wasn’t a criminal or thug herself so he still killed an old lady for her money
@@sean5558 it was still hilarious, that ooohhh noooo yell was the chefs kiss
@@Floridaburg-I would love to see bloopers of that, I can’t imagine keeping a straight face hearing that
You were always a little bastard
@sean5558 Isn't killing innocent people for money integral to the mob? Would it be any better if Paulie murdered a fit young man for money? The mob typically murders people through cowardly ambushes, not through some kind of fair competition between worthy rivals. From the perspective of these cockroaches, what is wrong with wacking an old bag for her purse?
My favorite part of the episode is when Paulie gets carmela the new coffee machine as a thanks for Tony not killing him 😂
A two thousand dollar expresso machine
A wings troll channel in a soprano video 😭💀 mattafact, ban Paulie for sneak dissing hawnestly
@@mooganify”mods ban anyone who says I didn’t do 20 years in the can.”
My favorite part is when Paulie walnuts said “OH WALNUTS” and walnutted everywhere 😂😂
And all Carmella can say is "God what is wrong with that man?"
Forgot to mention how when Tony was in his coma, when Paulie would visit and ramble on and on, Tony internalized it as an a neighbor with an annoyingly loud television that was driving him crazy.
That was one of the funniest scenes in the series. Paulie comes in, everyone tells him he must talk only positive things, he starts yapping about random shit; then Tony within the coma interprets that as an annoying neighbor with a loud TV and Tony outside immediately starts to fucking DIE.
He literally killed him lmao
Hmm funny you say that bc that’s when Tony died, wonder if that is supposed to foreshadow that Paulie kills Tony at the end
Tony didn’t kill Paulie because he realized “Remember When” isn’t the lowest form of conversation considering the fact that for the majority of the series all Tony did was talk about the old days and people like “Gary Cooper”.
The part where Paulie was laughing at the TV show was similar to Tony watching AJ giggling while on the computer.
My thoughts exactly 😂
Never made that connection, good catch! Then again, when it comes to comparisons, no one knows anything really.
Three's Company FUNNY SHOW Paulie knows good television
Good point
Tony can’t stand watching someone experience joy.
It’s so funny he’s pretty much the only character to survive to the end
Even Paulie is surprised by it. The scene at the repass after Bobby's funeral, Paulie looks shocked as he realizes nobody is left except for the kids' generation, so he sits with them at their table.
He survived the 70's by the skin of his nuts! Uncle Paulie doesn't die so easy.
Patsy makes it too .
I would imagine being ultra paranoid in that type of situation serves you pretty well.
I may be giving Paulie too much credit but I think he stood up and walked to the fishing pole, eyes off of Tony, to essentially say “Okay. If you’re gonna do it, do it.” Before Tony chucks the bottle at him, he slaps the pillar out of his frustration because he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Wanted to, but couldn’t. Because he loves Paulie. It’s really as simple as that.
no you’re right. remember his dream where he says “when my time comes, tell me… will i stand up?” theres your answer. he stands up in possibly his closest brush with death, looking content with his fate despite his full awareness of what is happening.
that's one side of it, personally I thought it was mostly because Tony kinda gave up trying to have full control over his family, specially in the second part of the last season he just seems like he accepts his fate, and giving up on Chrissy is a example of that despite Christopher being his main guy, specially since in the mob, mob bosses would try to have their family members because they can only trust them for the most part, he was like "it is what it is"
plus taking Paulie on the boat ride is kinda stupid and badly planned out(since they both know last time they were on a boat what happened), its like he didn't have energy to actually plan things out
Loves him like a brother in law.
Paulie is and always has been a safer bet than Chrissy.........................whatever happened there.
That Glorified crew couldn't afford to lose anymore people, they were dropping like flies lol
By the end at least. We don't know why they never replenished their ranks, but we never even saw most of the Barese crew, which on paper was supposedly the largest and strongest crew in the family. By the end Tony, the boss, is out doing every errand
Yeah, flies on a toy train track...
@@ProtomanButCallMeBluesthe barese crew, whatever happened there. Indeed, what happened there?
He caused so much dysentery in the ranks you couldn’t find an unclogged pishadool at The Bing for weeks
Even if you had to take a wicked dump!
Now we know what happened to Gigi!
Paulie's terrible nature is brilliantly shown in what happens with Sal Vitro. When Feech moves in on him, what does Paulie's friendly intervention on Sal's behalf result in? Sal Vitro still loses half his work patch, has to kick up a "token" amount to Paulie (a couple of percent will probably end up being 10%) and has to mow a bunch of mob guy lawns for free. On top of that he steals half of his $1000 "compensation" for his busted arm. With friends like Paulie....
Thats when i fell in love with paulli. The minute that shovel got picked up 😂
Paulie would definitely turn informer if it benefited him😅
He came after him with a chainsaw !
@@michaelharrison3602that I disagree with! obviously we know Paulie is not against giving up info to N Y but with his image as a wise guy being all he had I think he was completely against ever making deals with the feds!
This was actually a masterful breakdown, and I honestly never even really considered the aspect about Tony regretting being pulled into 'the life,' and how that served as a sort of conflict with his father vis a vis Paulie. That's a brilliant take IMO and makes so much sense. Like you said, Tony's inner conflict and relationship with Paulie was so layered and complicated, and there were a host of motivations for considering whacking him, but it's the more nuanced human side that can be easy to overlook, especially with a sociopath like Tony. Also loved the film analysis part about the meaningful imagery of Tony's head bobbing up and down with the waves signifying his weighing Paulie's life in the balance.
Paulie is a 1:1 depiction of how Italians actually are.
Tony Sirico who played Paulie was in fact a actual mobster back in his youthful days and served time for his crimes. He was perfect for his role practically playing himself.
Funny. I'm from Italy and I don't know anyone like that.
@@DaisyChain3339. commendatore.
Telling Johnny Sack about the ginny sack 50 pound mole joke that ralph told everyone was it.When Ginny Sack goes camping the bears hide there food.i still laugh at this.
I always liked Sil’s “She’s so Fat her blood type is Ragu”
90 lb mole sir! It was a NINETY POUND MOLE REMOVED FROM HER ASS!
My fave was “when she hauls ass, she has to make two trips!”😂
"Going on a boat with Tony Soprano is a dangerous business.". Understatement....
Tony's killed more people on boats than Blackbeard.
@@wyldhowl2821 Definitely isn't The Love Boat....
@@wyldhowl2821besides pussy who else did he kill?
I think he didn't want to but Pauly was really getting on his nerves on their road trip where they were supposed to by lying low. He was talking so much he was starting to see Pauly as a liability even though he had been one of his top guys for years.
If Pauly had admitted to telling Johnny Sack about the joke I think he possibly would have went through with it either on the boat or at a later time.
I think he realized though that if Pauly suddenly disappeared when everyone knew they were on the lamb together the other guys probably would be suspicious and lose morale if Tony could get rid of one of his oldest and closest guys.Then it could happen to them and they'd have less reason to be loyal to his organization.
I think in the end he realized he was going to have to stick with Pauly despite his quirks and annoying behavior at times. He went all the way back to his father's crew. As he told Carmela "it's guys like him who allowed them to live their lifestyle".
Tony's thoughts of killing Paulie petered out. Died on the vine.
Oh It died on the vine huh? Frankly..im depressed and ashamed
@@sopranofan6118 I don’t want to hear about the economy
Tony didn’t whack Paulie because of the implication
"Hahaha! That seems really dark, though!"
Imagining Tony jumping and paulie going flying off the boat is so funny 😂😂😂
Got me too 😂
Lmaoo the way you slipped in parade float at the end deserves both a Pulitzer and a Grammy
The conversation with Beansie saved Paulie from getting whacked by Tony
Yep.
@@RichardPonsford-kv2uy by the skin of his nuts hehe
@@RichardPonsford-kv2uy Paulie survived by the skin of his nuts just like when the Colombo’s were going at it hehe
He had to hoof it back to the excelsior to take that wicked sh*t
As yappy loud mouth Paulie is, i dont think he would ever rat to the feds. I do think hes too old school, not afraid of jail, and doesn't have family other than his mom (aunt). Like Beanse said Tony and the guys os all hes really got
Tony Sirico actually told David Chase that he would do anything he was asked to, except being portrayed as a rat/informant. He was very adamant about that, and simply didn’t want the world to see him as a rat.
Paulie probably would kill himself before actually doing time. He literally told Feech that you get points for staying out the can.
Johnny Boy didn’t force Tony into the life. Tony tried Seton Hall but didn’t have the makings of an honest citizen.
Nor a varsity athlete
And Tony claimed that the players at Senton Hall were 7 feet tall. Lol
Seeing as that most Offensive Linemen aren’t no where near 7 feet tall is laughable.
There’s probably one lineman in the NFL that’s 6’10 I can think of.
They aren't friends...Paulie is his Dad's friend...If he kills Paulie he kills the last person who can talk to him about his Dad. If your Dad has died you will understand this.
I think sil and Paulie are the two best gangsters in the show. Paulie being a simple, arrogant and instinctive type and Sil being the thinking type.
He was playing himself the whole time, no wonder his acting was top notched.
Paulie was such a loyal soldier that I'd think if Tony put a hit out on Paulie, Paulie would be the first to volunteer to take the job...
That Sopranos had such a profound scene with Tony having a discussion with a shopping cart just goes to show the tremendous writing on this series.
Bravo Vince!
I thought "Bravo Vince!" was a Breaking Bad reference...
The problem with Tony was that he never had the makings of a varsity athlete
Man this is one of the best Soprano's analysis I've ever seen.
Difference is Paulie could fuckin sell it
If Tony tried wacking him, Paulie would die from the betrayal alone
In addition to Paulie being weird to hang out with and the embodiment of daddy issues for Tony, Paulie is also a daily reminder that the Sopranos are really just a glorified crew, and that the people Tony has working for him are just not at the same level of professionalism and competence as the families in New York. With the exception of Furio and possibly Ralph, Tony just doesn't have people who can do a job quickly and cleanly, and who don't have red flags in their personal life that will get them outted or killed. Tony cannot be feeling very good about the fact that he's had to look up to Paulie since childhood, yet this is the same dude from the pine barrens fiasco who let a helpless captive escape.
Or just the fact that Paulie's choleric temper caused that situation, which irritates him.
Very well said
and ruined his romantic dinner with Gloria
If Tony had whacked Paulie in Florida, then his crew would've turned on him. Sadly, Silvio probably would've had to be clipped too, but there's just no way the Barese Brothers, Carlo, and The Mastermind Benny Fazio would've put up with it. Everyone was still sore about having to tip toe around The Shaw when Tony refused to protect his crew from That Animal's actions. They all knew Tony whacked Ralph. They let it go because Ralph was a pain in everyone's ass, but they didn't forget. If Tony came back without Paulie and people started to ask Beansie questions ... nobody would be too concerned about Tony being gone even if he was a "boss".
I think that in the end Paulie had such long roots in the family and also luck that he always managed to get himself out of trouble.
Tony contemplated whacking Paulie...but he ddin'dentd! 😂
If it came down to Tony and Paulie, then I'm picking Paulie to be the last man standing.
I dunno, Tony killed Ralph in a fight.
tony will curb stomp paulie lets be real
How do you think Paulie survived this long in the life?
@@JamesDomenicoGrabban81Not being taken seriously
All of you: LOG OFF! That cookie shit makes me nervous.
The word you’re looking for is dissension, not dysentery. One is disagreement, the other is diarrhea
I thought the tagline in 'the Saints of Newark' was dumb.
'The man who made Tony Soprano...Dickie Moltisanti'
It was Junior who made Tony Soprano, and Tony grew up to be insecure like Junior.
What do you expect that his blood uncle 🩸 😂
Paulie also expresses his happy wandererism with Chris ("Where's my arc, Paulie?").
Paulie's like, "I was born, I went to to the army, did some time in the can, and here I am, a half a wise guy."
You knew who had an arc?Noah😅
You ever think nothing good will ever happen to you?
Nothing did, so what
@@KCCC326 Exactly. So what?
And that's everything.
(What sweet relief it must be to sail through life like that!)
10:30 Tony wants it to be one way, but it's another way.
His Name is his Name.
"THE other way" sorry, it was douchey to correct you 😂
Tony is such a hypocrite. He wonders if Paulie has ever been put to the test when he himself was never put to the test.
Well, the Feds did offer him to enter the witness protection program after the failed hit in Season 1. Others would have jumped on this offer, especially considering how close he came to be killed.
I really like the points you made about Tony ultimately resenting his father and father figures for bringing him into this lifestyle. As far as the women in his life, I believe he has similar feelings against Carmella. There is so much bitterness towards her from Tony throughout the show. I think that he believes that if he managed to keep a relationship with Charmaine when he was a teenager he would have potentially ended up selling patio furniture or something. This is shown in the test dream episode where he talks to his old coach who says that he surround himself with bad apples and that Artie was the biggest bum of all. In addition to it being Charmaine’s voice that he hears on the phone in the coma dream episode when he speak to his wife.
That’s not even mentioning all the times in the show when Carmella is head over heels excited over Tony’s expensive gifts, whereas Charmaine wont allow a hint of blood money into her life.
My favorite part of the many saints of Newark movie was the scene where Tony and Artie steal the ice cream truck. It is clearly shown that artie was the driving force behind the theft. Which solidifies the idea that he might actually been wilder than Tony at some point, but got steered to the right path. While Tony didn’t, due to his inherent need to please his father, mother and Carmella
This is a great analysis and had a lot of perspectives I didn't consider
1:53 In my Phil voice "Whatever happened there??! Whatever happened there??!"
I think this speaks for the entire second half of the show. Things are going well for Tony, he gets rid of Ralphie Cifaretto who he can't stand, all his capos are steady earning and no more panic attacks. Then Tony B gets out of jail and whacks the brother of a New York capo. Tony knows he let guilt cloud his judgement and New York might kill him. That's why he's such a hardass in season 6, fighting with Chris, Paulie, Bobby, Carmella, AJ etc. He didn't whack Paulie but he probably should've
Tony obviously didn't kill him because he thinks the world of him
this bloke's zingers are truly legendary...well done mate
That "Come on, you told John about that joke, right?" gave me anxiety because he wasn't letting it go. He came out here for a reason.
To me, Paulie sending the coffee machine isn't about thanking Tony for not killing him. I think it was more of admitting to Tony that it was in fact him and his way of making it right with Tony. This episode is full of symbolism throughout. The whole thing about Paulie being a stand up guy when it comes to talking to the feds is proven here.
I think it was to avoid suspicion in the coming hit on Tony that Paulie was aware of..
This might be my favorite video of yours. Really good analysis about Tony's realization that the old days weren't so bright. Gary Cooper wasn't so strong or so silent, as you put it.
And the parade float 🤣 Silvio: "hes gay?... Gary Cooper??
Tony: Noooooo!!
The more time that passes the more I’m convinced Paulie and Parissi set up Tony. And maybe Sil and Bobby as well. And I’m pretty sure nobody blames either one of them.
It's a matter of whether or not everyone else would understand. Not everybody was onboard with Tony wacking Ralph. The difference? Ralph had earning skills, Paulie had management skills. One of those things is more expendable than the other. Give Paulie a crew and he can make money, give Ralphie oxygen and he's gonna make money. Paulie can go.
The chances of Paulie stabbing Tony in the back are far less than Ralphie. With Ralphie, it's pretty much a guarantee if he would ever get the window to act.
@@jca4la yea but as a boss making an executive decision, which one is more justifiable? Wack Paulie and ur left with his rackets, wack Ralph and ur left wondering..
@@The_Com-Mentor As the boss, I prefer loyalty over a bit more business. Will put someone else in Ralphie's place, may not make as much, but will still be collecting and breathing as opposed to swimming with the fishes.
@@jca4la that's the whole point, Paulie wasn't loyal, he told Johnny Sack about the joke that set bad blood in motion between NY and NJ...some ppl were meant to be #2.
@The_Com-Mentor You are correct, Paulie ran his mouth, learned a hard lesson. He also was embarrassed when approached Carmine, learned another lesson.
Ralph disrespected the Bing, but didn't learn the lesson. Whined to John and got shut down, didn't learn. Passed over in favor Gigi for head of the Aprile crew. Still didn't learn. Promoted after Gigi's death. Still bounced around like Rambo without a jockstrap.
In that life, you only get so many chances to screw the pooch. Ralphie ran a freaking kennel and finally the bill came due.
Paulie is the best character in the show, he's the real deal the reality. I'd bet he (Paulie) stood on that boat ready to fight to the end to survive. He's the definition of survival. That's a part you kinda glossed over, notice he lifts weights after the dream about Puss, he is consciously preparing himself for a fight just in case the coffee maker gesture isn't enough. That's just my thoughts and opinion though.
“U better Check with tourrets “ haha when mr soprano said that i crack myself up
I think it's rather straightforward... Any love and respect Tony had for his friends was gone by this point. He just saw all of them as potential liabilities that would flip.
In his now completely criminal mentality devoid of sentimentality, he weighed the options of taking out what he felt were his biggest liabilities....be it Paulie, Chrissy, Carlo, Hesh, etc.
I want to take a second to appreciate that Beansie was a decent dude who was always reasonable and got absolutely screwed for it, yet deservedly gets one of the better endings on the show.
I remember somebody brought up a while back how another little detail is when Paulie spits. He doesn’t spit directly in the ocean, he spits in his hand. He doesn’t wanna disrespect the place that they dumped BP’s body, because anybody could really end up getting whacked and sinking towards the bottom of the ocean, including him or even Tony. The ocean is often seen as vast and near infinite, sorta similarly to the concept of the afterlife itself. I don’t really think that had any bearing on Tony’s decision to not kill him, but it’s still a cool little detail somebody pointed out.
4:04 I see what you did there🤣
*Honestly Tony did a bad move inviting Paulie on that boat trip, i mean he must know that he was theyre when they killed Puss, i feel like he should had knew he would feel intimidated and knew not to tell on himself talking to much like Puss did in a sence, i feel like Tony should had invited Paulie to a fancy hotel apartment with them together for the night get him drunk and say some jokes and get him real comfortable maybe he would had told on himself accidently...I just felt like Tony was to hasty in this episode...*
I think this is some of the best Sopranos analysis I've seen on TH-cam. Good insights based on an understanding you can only get from attentively watching the series through many times.
Also, I can't express my admiration enough for the actors in this show. James Galdnofini and Tony Sirico made these characters so real. I'm still surprised all these years later by little things they did that reveal insights into their minds in any given moment.
4:02 my favourite part of the sopranos community is quoting the characters casually. I love it
1:22 Did he just pull a Lil Carmine on us?
3:00 heh, not you though
I love when you said "parade float" LMAO.
"If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him"
Yes. Have not even watched a second of this and I can tell you already, Tony wanted him dead - if he confessed to being the one telling JS about the joke, Tonys HUD business etc. You can see Paulie contemplating but realised quickly that his life would be in jeopardy and denied it.
Tony, and the wider Family, lost money on this, created unnecessary headaches around Ralph and JS; its just funny how JS was the true snake and Carmine had not a clue who Paulie was, let alone asked about him.
To summarise, they were in the middle of the ocean, no witnesses, if Paulie admitted to it, Tony would certainly kill him for the loss of money, the headaches and the simple fact of being a rat.
It's always a possibility in that line of work.
Tony is a great guy, he not a narcissist...haha
1:06 Stradenfrood? 🤨
Stradenfrood
Are you trying to cause dysentery in the ranks
You do and you'll clean it up!
from Little Carmine’s dictionary
I hope this channel makes an analysis of Janice. Honestly, she's a very underrated character that had an impressive development towards the end of the show, and all people remember is how annoying she was in the first seasons.
Dude FUCK janice. Nobody ever thought she was good even later on. She makes rewatching the series hard
Wow. Really insightful stuff. That semester and a half really paid off
So insightful!! Excellent video, thank you. I’m going to watch it again. I have to say, though, it’s not an oversight that Pauline is one of the few to get out of this series unscathed.
“ He dident”. Very nice
I've been asking this question ever since I watched the Sopranos. Still pisses me off Paulie was the only member of the crew to get away clean.
Not really. Paulie will never move up. He has no family by this point. All his friends are dead. Paulie probably winds up wacking himself
7:39 No more weight remarks Cineranter, they're hurtful, and they're destructive.
But we love them ton😔
I feel killing Big Puss would take a far greater toll on Tony as that was his friend, Paulie was inherited from his father. While they do have a relationship and bond, it isn't comparable to the relationship Tony had with Puss.
Paulie will live forever, can’t imagine Tony whacking him
Tonys behaviors in the scene on the boat definitely did insinuate that he was considering killing Pauly. Tony was being sarcasticly hostile and they even panned the camera over to the axe
My favorite character was Bobby. He was a good decent man caught up in a bad situation. That pretty much describes most good decent men in America today.
This Cineranter is more creative than Spielberg
"You know, Quasimodo predicted all this..."
Na..it was Nostradamus Mozart
Who did whaaat
Tony could not kill Paulie, because Paulie is Tony big homie. Tony had to test Pauline, and he passed. Tony wants to because he knows he told the joke, and lots of people got killed indirectly , or directly about the joke.
One thing we are all overlooking is Paulie stayed in shape unlike his counterparts. He wasnt going to be an easy kill.
Life imitating art, Tony's dramatic death came before Paulie's... In real life: James Gandolfini despite being way younger than Tony Sirico ended up tragically dying at 51 and Sirico almost making it to 80 years old.
Maybe Paulie is the ideal gangster? He can still enjoy his life, unwind, do the job and leave the job behind as needed. To him it's just a job, a way of life, and he might even be a better leader than Tony.
Paulie was cackling at a network TV show. That’s what annoyed Tony so much.
He was definitely thinking really hard about it.
It's interesting how both families, especially the capos, each decided to kill their boss and made a deal about that with each other. Phil got betrayed by his guys, while Tony got betrayed by people like Paulie. Both families realized that they needed new leadership, because both men were no longer stable and trustworthy. I'm sure that moments like these, where Tony almost killed Paulie on the boat, contributed significantly to that decision.
If Tony had killed Paulie, Paulie wouldn't have been around to betray him to New York in the final episode, so yeah, in hindsight, Tony should have killed Paulie. It would have made him even more twisted and lonely, and spending the rest of his life behind bars, but he'd be alive.
When Paulie said he was going to get some danish, I was like “oh 💩”
He kept "plausible deniability" by NOT falling for Tony's trap. It saved his life.
I'm guessing Tony realized it was too little too late, and Paulie had already come to terms he got played by NY and is more than aware it would cost him everything.
Yeah, I can see all that, and the carnage caused by that one stupid joke 😂
I don't think there's any comparisons between this situation and the Hesh situation. Tony genuinely contemplated killing Paulie, but the Hesh saga was sort of a bait and switch. It was intended to make us think that Tony was going to kill Hesh over money, but Tony really loved Hesh and Hesh love for money ruined their relationship. That's why Hesh's final scene showed him sitting there with a bag of money and no friends. Tony went to bat for Hesh against Junior out of love, but when Hesh helped Tony, his fear of not getting his money back made him pushy and insecure. Tony was genuinely confused when Hesh wouldn't go out with him and Bobby for a day because Tony truly wanted to be his friend.....it was Hesh who read that situation wrong. Also it was Bobby that suggested that Tony blow Hesh off and not pay him back, but Tony said that a boss can't do that. Other than some late payments, Tony really didn't do anything wrong. Hesh's love for money ruined their true friendship
“Causing major dysentery in the ranks” is such a good Lil Carmine-ism
Great video. I loved the analysis
1:29 - bro said "dysentery" again...... its just "dissent" my brother
The joke
--------
Your head
Watch the show brother
I think the last explaination you bring up is really the thesis of the whole episode.
Tony's loss of innocence/no choice due to Paulie who represents this in real life flesh and blood