Ah, this part makes sense. Then Larry pinned it on Jackie so as not to draw heat from the living members of the crew, which Tony didn’t know until after he went on his trip.
But now I’m not sure again what going to Florida was supposed to accomplish, if Larry was going to rat Tony and Paulie out for that murder, as he well could have.
I was wondering that, too. The only thing that I could figure is that it prevents the Feds from being able to haul them in for questioning, and if really incriminating evidence turns up, Tony and Paulie would get word of it from Sil, and be able to go underground to some place a little less conspicuous than Florida.
I think that he was planning on killing Paulie if Paulie admitted to telling the joke. I do not think it is as much of an annoyance thing, as it is a paranoia thing. Tony is worried that Paulie’s big mouth will get him in jail. The boat ride was just to be prepared, so in case he found out that Paulie did tell the joke, he would have a convenient location to kill him. The boat ride just shows how paranoid Tony is getting lately.
I don’t think he’d killed Paulie for that, it wouldn’t go over very well. They’d all be wondering who was next and jump ship. Bobby would definitely be nervous and so would Christopher.
I think he just decided it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t have a gun and I don’t think he believed Paulie’s denials.
By driving to Florida and trying to keep a low profile, Tony would buy himself some time if the Feds came after him. The Feds would visit his home in Jersey, Tony would know, next stop Panama. Of course, meeting up with another mobster kills low profile too.
It occurs to me that his badgering of Paulie about the joke may have been Tony’s way of testing whether Paulie could keep his mouth shut under pressure. If Paulie had admitted to telling Johnny about the joke (something I think T is already fairly certain about), then it would have shown him up as somebody who might be unreliable when put to the test.
I wonder if Paulie refusing to confess about the joke may have saved his life not because Tony believed him (or cared that much to begin with) but because he showed some ability to keep his trap shut and stick to his story when pressed.
Watching the show I never got the impression he was going to kill Paulie. Tony’s a bully and I think it was his way of getting the message to Paulie that if he didn’t keep quite the same thing could happen to him that happened to Pussy. It was like the game he played with Bobby.
I never thought of it that way, DtC. Interesting. I’m not sure Tony is that deep and thoughtful, but he might be arrogant enough to think his interrogation would be the equal to a Fed one.
That’s how Matt Zoeller Seitz saw it too. He writes about it here – good stuff.
Forgive the bump…tonight I caught a few minutes of the episode where they flash back to Tony’s first panic attack (“Fortunate Son”). The 11-year-old Tony follows his dad to the back of Satriale’s, only to see his dad cut Mr. Satriale’s pinky off with a meat cleaver.
Johnny takes young Tony on his knee and explains that Mr. Satriale was a gambler who couldn’t pay his debts, and he was just doing what he had to do. He very pointedly told Tony, over and over, “Don’t ever gamble”.
Just thought it was interesting given Tony’s apparently mounting gambling problem.
OK I’m days late jumping in here.
Remember the executive card game with Frank Sinatra Jr and the sporting goods store owner? Once upon a time it was Junior that ran that game. Reliving his glory years of running a card game, only now it’s for buttons, not money. How the mighty have fallen. Informers, sycophants, and authority figures, just like the wise guys. Watching him give a beat down to another old guy was a trip. Then the over-medicated invalid. RIP Corrado.
Paulie In the buffet line filling a napkin full of pastries was priceless. Can’t help but take and take and take. For a minute I thought that Tony might take him out. There was a long pause after he threw the beer bottle at him where Tony had a conflicted look on his face. Asking him if he had Tourettes, with the constant “heh heh” was a hell of an insight. Years of therapy making him see things?
By the way, the white shoes at the hit of Doc were crappy sneakers, not self respecting mobsters loafers.