Can anybody make sense of that dream sequence? It was like David Lynch directed this episode.
It looks like we’re going to the mattresses. I guess Tony B better pick out a coffin.
You stole my thoughts. About ten minuts into the dream sequence, I thought “Is this the Sopranos, or is it Twin Peaks?”
There have been excellent analyses into the deeper meaning of Sopranos scenes posted to CS. Hopefully, we’ll see some more of them in this thread. The most I can make of it is that Tony is feeling guilt for all the pain he directly and indirectly causes.
Not to sound like an idiot, but what is this CS you speak. I thought tonights episode, although feeling fever induced, was pretty good. I want to read up on other thoughts on the matter.
Actually does anyone remember the other dream episode and relevance to the show, because I also think they’re are a preview of whats the come. (Not just the Tony B stuff, but the Bucco refence and Tony telling Carm he wants to go home)
You’re sitting in it (Cafe Society).
Loved the scene with Tony banging Artie’s x-wife while Artie is sitting on the bed providing tips, “She loves it when you rub her muzzle” - next scene Tony sitting on a horse inside the House talking to Carmella.
The dinner scene was strange as well. AJ & Finn kept being interchanged at the table.
That was my impression too. All the people in the car, except for Artie, had been killed by Tony. It seemed like he was really seeing all his victims and realizing what it meant that he had killed them all. I thought maybe the dream was partially inspired by the news about Tony B and a realization that he would have to kill another person he cared about. I don’t quite grasp how the high school coach plays into it, though.
I liked the Godfather call out in the bathroom, whatever it meant. 
The last time we saw a dream sequence of this magnitude on the Sopranos was finale of Season II, Episode 26 - - “Funhouse” - - when Big Pussy checks out.
I agree with Diogenes the Cynic, Tony B had better pick out a coffin; however, David Chase has been very good about surprising us in the past. I am anxiously anticipating the last 2 episodes!!
–David Lynch Fan
Good point. The coach is a “leadership” point for Tony S - - as discussed with Carm . . . . Don’t forget Tony’s Dad was driving the car . . .
I thougt we were in the car after the Ralphie thing.
True - - but a dream sequence of this magnitude?
I think I figured out why Artie fits into the fray. Of all the characters on the show Artie has to be Ton’s favorite victim. Lets go down the list. He burned down his restaurant for the insurance money. I can’t remeber what it was that went down last year, but I do remember Tony yelling at Artie about a past due debt. Now, Tony (I swear I love this character and the decisions he makes) wants to bump uglies with Artie’s ex-wife and if I recall Tony was a huge part of why the split up in the first place. I think all the people Tony is resposible for killing had it a lot better than Artie.
What about the teeth? Something to do with Finn and dental school? Something else odd about the dream sequence…When Tony B was shooting he had a real gun, making real wounds, but the didn’t appear to do any real damage (ie they weren’t killing him). He didn’t die until he shot him with his finger and said ‘bang.’ Not sure if that’s important or not. Just an observation.
I thought the dream sequence was incredible and plan to watch it again for sure. Every character who has died except Livia (for obvious reasons), all the way back to the very beginning, almost-forgotten guys like Mikey Palmice and Det. Makasian, and even the poor horse, all showed up. Gloria was an especially poignant and fascinating aspect of the dream, plus the hilarious/terrifying comparison to his mother.
My analysis in a nutshell: It was all about Tony’s conscience acting up, as personified by Coach Molinaro. That was brilliant-- Tony trying to whack his own conscience and failing, in a dark basement. I loved how the bullets fell apart in his hands, an impotence image to go along with the tooth loss.
The creepiest parts of the dream for me were the echoes it had with dreams I’ve had-- losing teeth for no apparent reason, random celebrity guest star appearances, thinking you’ve woken up only to realize you haven’t and are still dreaming, seeing the dead and talking to them about being dead, trying to do something (like reloading the gun) and just not being able to do it no matter how hard you try, saying very psychologically loaded things to people that you could never say to them in real life, predicting crises you know unconsciously will happen, having on person turn into another, random segues, etc. It was a very realistic dream sequence in its surreal bizarreness.
I loved the connections between Charmaine and the horse, the latent guilt Tony was having about maybe betraying Artie by banging his wife. Also, great connections made between Gloria and Livia and Melfi, the way Tony feels that everyone in his life, past and present, is conspiring to encourage him to destroy his conscience, his anxiety about Finn’s parents and their approval of him, his unconscious preoccupation with death, his worries about Tony B and the Johnny Sack situation. That sequence covered a vast amount of territory in Tony’s psyche.
Interesting that AJ wasn’t in it AT ALL, who you’d think would be a big source of anxiety for Tony. Anyone notice that?
The end scene too was great–“Is it light where you are?” Wanna take bets on a Carmella/Tony reunion? Tony B definitely gonna get whacked? Killing a made man is a sure death sentence, I think.
IMHO Tony’s teeth have little to do with Fin . . . he is losing his teeth (power) and he is unprepared . . . . the “shooting with the finger” reminds me of “Sid and Nancy” . . . . alas, par for the course with Faux David Lynch Segues . . . .
To ask a question I have no answer to: what the hell was Annette Benning doing there?!?
I would bet dollars to donuts on a Tony/Carm reunion. Tony S killing Tony B does not seem to be a “sure death sentence” in my estimation. Tony is the “Boss.” Tony B would like to be, but a plaque in his restaurant does not make him so!
Keep in mind, Tony B still has his “prison wits,” whereas Tony S is having psych trouble . . . .
Well, wow.
A.J. was in the episode; he alternated with Finn on Meadow’s left (at Vesuvio).
Was that Melfi in the lobby of the Plaza? What was Tony doing checking into that suite anyway? Just to get away from the Guatemalan maid for a while?
I love the dream episodes; so much to pick apart. Not even sure if the whole Plaza stay wasn’t ALL a dream. Christopher’s visit had a very dreamy quality (taking the chocolates) and put doubt in my mind whether Tony was really at the Plaza at all.
“You can’t keep your horse [whores] in here” – nice.
This was one of those episodes where the closing credits caught me by surprise because I had no idea an hour had passed. Perfect entertainment, when you lose all track of time.
I had the same question . . . although I was watching Sopranos alone tonight . . . (therefore - - did not have another to explore these questions) why was Tony checking into the Plaza, anyway? And yes - - that was Dr. Melfi!!
Tony said he checked in to The Plaza because his old family house was falling apart and he wanted to get away from the various maids he’d hired.
I could have sworn there was another Sopranos episode where Tony was spitting up teeth. In any case, it’s a horrifying experience… literally falling to pieces while you watch your family fall to pieces. He loses the first tooth after Carmella has turned his back on him. He brings it to the restaurant and shows it to Finn - hoping the man who is marrying his daughter can make it all right. But more teeth fall out. And Finn/AJ will never amount to anything. Nobody will put Tony or his family back together again. And oh yes - something very bad is about to happen.
Isn’t that where he looked up and asked Gloria the reporter when he could get up? Tony B shot him, but it took Tony S to say that it was real. Why? Because, as the sign at the beginning of the show says, “I’m the boss and I said so.”
Well said. If ever there was a realistic dream sequence, we saw it tonight. The whole 20 or so minute sequence struck me as being so damned familiar… especially the part where the bullets kept crumbling between Tony’s fingers (I know somebody will draw a connection between the impotence of real bullets and the power of pointing a finger sooner or later). Also that dreamlike brand of truthfulness - especially, for me, that moment where Tony confesses that TV is so much more interesting than real life.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading the Dope for too long, but the first thing I thought was - Carmella is west of Tony. If it’s still dark on Manhattan, it’ll still be dark in New Jersey. But they are so far apart…
I’ll wrap this up with a question. I honestly don’t know the name of the guy Tony B shot in the dream. Is it the same guy that Christopher said Tony B had killed in real life? Unfortunately, I do have trouble keeping everybody straight on the Carmine - Johnny Sack axis.
Tony B shot Bill Leotardo, the brother of Phil Leotardo, who was the intended target.
Phil was just “winged”