WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. I want you to 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:06.219 picture a kingdom. Just imagine it for a second. 00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:09.699 The king has just died. There is no clear heir 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:12.099 to the throne. Right. Total panic. Exactly. The 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:14.980 castle is in absolute panic mode. Half the court 00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:16.940 wants to crown the young, aggressive prince. 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:20.140 The guy who actually knows how to run the army 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:21.960 and keep the money flowing. And the other half. 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:24.120 The other half is terrified of the old, bitter 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:25.899 uncle who feels like he's been waiting in line 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:28.260 for 40 years. And the people in the village, 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:30.000 they just don't want the castle to burn down. 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:32.240 Yeah. It's the classic power vacuum scenario. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:34.700 It happens in history. It happens in corporate 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:37.399 boardrooms. And as we're going to talk about 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:39.210 today. It happens in organized crime. Right. 00:00:39.289 --> 00:00:41.530 Because today we aren't talking about medieval 00:00:41.530 --> 00:00:44.009 Europe or some fantasy novel. We are talking 00:00:44.009 --> 00:00:46.950 about North Jersey in 1999. Oh, yeah. We are 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:50.049 stepping right into the ashes of Jackie April 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:53.310 Sr., the acting boss of the DeMaio crime family. 00:00:53.570 --> 00:00:56.609 We are analyzing how a power vacuum can turn 00:00:56.609 --> 00:00:59.210 a brute into a mastermind. We are looking at 00:00:59.210 --> 00:01:02.109 The Sopranos. Specifically, we are doing a deep 00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:06.150 dive into season one, episode four, titled... 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:10.980 And if you are a fan of the show, you probably 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.159 remember this as the episode where things start 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:15.799 to get really, really real. Oh, absolutely. This 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:17.640 is the pivot point. Like, if you think you know 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:20.500 this episode, trust me, there are layers here 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:22.480 from the source material that we need to peel 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:25.079 back. Because this isn't just about mob guys 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:27.459 sitting around eating gabagool and complaining 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:29.780 about the weather. No, not at all. This is about 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:32.680 the death of the acting boss and the absolute 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:35.340 chaos that follows. And it creates an incredibly 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:38.480 volatile situation. I mean, you have a crime 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:41.040 family without a clear leader, which is basically 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.640 an open invitation for chaos. And right in the 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:45.469 middle of this. you have the threat of an actual 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:48.329 civil war breaking out between Tony Soprano and 00:01:48.329 --> 00:01:50.590 his uncle Junior. The tension is so thick you 00:01:50.590 --> 00:01:53.890 could cut it with a knife or, in this case, maybe 00:01:53.890 --> 00:01:55.989 a staple gun. Yeah, we'll definitely get to that 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:59.340 staple gun later. We will. But the mission of 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:01.180 this Dink Dive isn't just to recap the scenes 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:03.900 for you. We want to analyze how this specific 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.400 source material forces Tony Soprano to evolve. 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:09.539 He starts the hour as a mobster who solves problems 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:11.879 with his fists. But by the end of this deep dive, 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:14.020 you'll see how he transforms into a legitimate 00:02:14.020 --> 00:02:16.460 strategist. It really is a transformation story, 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:19.819 plain and simple. And the catalyst is fascinating. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.639 We're going to look at three main threads that 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:25.800 the sources highlight. First. A brilliant political 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:28.199 maneuver that is actually inspired by therapy. 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:30.979 Which is wild to think about. It is. Second, 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.479 a terrifying realization for Tony's son, AJ, 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:35.620 regarding who his father really is. Right. And 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:38.300 third, we have a corrupt detective who crosses 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:41.659 a major line showing us just how toxic Tony's 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:43.689 world really is. Yeah. Before we get into the 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:45.590 really heavy hitting stuff, let's just set the 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:47.990 stage a bit. This episode originally aired on 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:51.849 January 31st, 1999. It was directed by John Patterson 00:02:51.849 --> 00:02:54.250 and written by Jason Cahill. And that's a name 00:02:54.250 --> 00:02:56.150 worth remembering right there, Jason Cahill, 00:02:56.169 --> 00:02:58.349 because he actually won a Writers Guild of America 00:02:58.349 --> 00:03:01.969 award for this specific script. Yeah, the WGA 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:04.770 award for episodic drama. That's a huge deal. 00:03:04.870 --> 00:03:07.169 It tells you that even in the very first season. 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:09.900 The industry knew this show was writing at a 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:12.199 level that was miles above standard television. 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.879 Wow. Okay, so let's jump right into the deep 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.180 end. Segment one, The King is Dead. So Jackie 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:20.199 April Sr. passes away. We knew it was coming, 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:22.479 right? He had stomach cancer. But the reality 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.300 of it hits the family hard. And the immediate 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.460 aftermath is, well, it's a total scramble. It's 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:30.840 a mess. Because you have Tony, who effectively 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:33.319 has the backing of the other captains, right? 00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:36.099 The rank and file. They want Tony. Correct. Tony 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:38.870 has the support. Of the other DeMeo captains, 00:03:38.870 --> 00:03:41.310 guys like Raymond Curto and Larry Boy Baris, 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:44.509 they look at Tony and they see the future. He's 00:03:44.509 --> 00:03:46.990 younger, he's a frantic earner, and crucially, 00:03:47.129 --> 00:03:49.710 he's relatively sane compared to the alternative. 00:03:49.909 --> 00:03:51.590 Right, which is saying something in this crew. 00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:54.030 Exactly. They know that if Tony runs things, 00:03:54.250 --> 00:03:56.210 everyone makes money. It's stable. They want 00:03:56.210 --> 00:03:58.090 stability. They want the gravy train to keep 00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:00.189 rolling without the feds bussing down their doors. 00:04:00.330 --> 00:04:02.789 But then you have Uncle Junior. Corrado Soprano. 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:05.949 The man, the myth, the constant complainer. He 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:09.110 really is. But he has seniority. And he has a 00:04:09.110 --> 00:04:11.150 lot of agitation built up. He feels passed over. 00:04:11.330 --> 00:04:14.210 He feels disrespected. He believes that because 00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:17.110 he is older, because he is the brother of the 00:04:17.110 --> 00:04:20.569 previous boss Tony's father, Johnny Boy, that... 00:04:20.949 --> 00:04:23.470 It is his turn. He's been waiting in line for 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:25.449 decades. And there is nothing more dangerous 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:27.990 than an insecure man who feels he's been passed 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:31.410 over. In this episode, that agitation turns into 00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:33.829 a direct threat. There is that chilling moment 00:04:33.829 --> 00:04:36.170 where Junior tells Tony to come heavy to their 00:04:36.170 --> 00:04:38.730 next meeting. Come heavy? Yeah, it's such a dark 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:40.829 line. It sounds cool, you know, like movie dialogue, 00:04:40.990 --> 00:04:43.149 but let's be clear about what that actually means 00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:45.189 in this context. Right. It implies a fundamental 00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:47.790 breach of trust. He is telling his own nephew 00:04:47.790 --> 00:04:50.930 to bring a gun because he... Junior might decide 00:04:50.930 --> 00:04:53.529 to kill him. It's a declaration that diplomacy 00:04:53.529 --> 00:04:56.310 has completely failed. It signals that violence 00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:59.029 is not just a possibility. It is imminent. So 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:02.009 Tony is backed into a corner here. He has the 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:03.850 support of the captains, but he doesn't want 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.850 a war. A war is bad for business. It's bad for 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:09.670 his actual family, his wife and kids. So what 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:12.009 does he do? This is where the script gets really 00:05:12.009 --> 00:05:14.550 interesting. He doesn't go to his lieutenants 00:05:14.550 --> 00:05:16.870 for advice on flanking maneuvers. He doesn't 00:05:16.870 --> 00:05:20.060 go to his wife. He goes to therapy. But not for 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:22.259 the reason you might think. I mean, he doesn't 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:24.079 go to Dr. Melfi and sit on the couch and say, 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:27.339 Hey, Doc, how do I handle a hostile takeover 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:29.779 of a criminal organization? No, exactly. It's 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:32.160 completely accidental. It's the grand aha moment 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:34.439 of the episode. He's actually complaining about 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.100 his mother, Livia. Which is a whole other war 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:39.649 he's fighting. A forever war. He's complaining 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:41.829 about how impossible she is, how she refuses 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:44.670 to be happy, how she's just a black hole of misery. 00:05:44.930 --> 00:05:47.430 And Dr. Melfi, who is just trying to give him 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:49.930 a psychological coping mechanism for dealing 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:52.850 with a difficult geriatric parent, drops this 00:05:52.850 --> 00:05:56.110 absolute nugget of wisdom. She suggests giving 00:05:56.110 --> 00:05:58.709 the elderly the illusion of control. The illusion 00:05:58.709 --> 00:06:01.629 of control. Let's really unpack that. She means. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:04.180 Let them think they're making the decisions. 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.819 Let them feel like they are in charge, even if 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:10.500 they aren't, just to keep them placated. It's 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:12.680 like when you let a toddler hold a toy steering 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:14.399 wheel in the car. They think they're driving, 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:16.959 but you're the one actually navigating the traffic. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.379 And you can see the light bulb go on over Tony's 00:06:19.379 --> 00:06:22.079 head. It's almost cinematic the way James Gandolfini 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.639 plays it. He realizes, wait a minute, Junior 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:27.680 is old. Junior is cranky. Junior wants respect. 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:31.480 Precisely. It's a moment of pure synthesis. He 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:33.759 realizes that Junior and Livia are the exact 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:36.319 same problem. They're both elderly, they're both 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.500 bitter, and they both desperately want to be 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:41.100 treated like the boss. So Tony takes this therapeutic 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:43.899 tool, which was meant for family harmony or dealing 00:06:43.899 --> 00:06:46.540 with his aging mother, and he weaponizes it. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.980 He applies it directly to organized crime politics. 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:51.959 And the execution of it is masterful. He goes 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:53.920 back to the other captains, Larry Boy, Raymond, 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:56.899 and he sells them on the plan. He says, let Junior 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:59.319 be the boss. And at first, they hate it. They 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:02.459 think Junior is a disaster. Of course they do. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:04.160 They think he's going to ruin the business with 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.980 his ego. But Tony explains the nuance. Junior 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:10.779 gets the title. Junior gets to sit at the head 00:07:10.779 --> 00:07:12.959 of the table at the restaurant. Junior gets to 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.779 distribute the Christmas money and take the bows. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:18.319 The pomp and circumstance. The crown. Exactly. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:22.620 But the real assets. The unions, the construction 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:24.860 contracts, the loan sharking businesses that 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:27.399 actually generate the millions of dollars, those 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:30.180 stay with the captains. And Tony stays in control 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.519 of the flow of that money. So Junior gets the 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:35.279 glory and Tony gets the cash. And the control. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:37.779 Because the captains know who is really pulling 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:40.300 the strings. Junior thinks he won. He thinks 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:43.120 he intimidated Tony. But he's really just a figurehead. 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:45.360 It's genius. It's absolutely genius. And I want 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.240 to bring in the expert analysis here from the 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:49.439 source material. We have a take from the television 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.959 critic Alan Sepinwall. Yes. Alan Sepinwall is 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.839 a heavyweight when it comes to TV criticism and 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.839 specifically regarding The Sopranos. He calls 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:02.100 this resolution an elegant solution. Elegant. 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:04.519 Yeah, that's a really great word for it. It really 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:07.649 is. He highlights this as the moment that proves 00:08:07.649 --> 00:08:10.430 Tony is a savvy tactician. Because think about 00:08:10.430 --> 00:08:13.250 what this achieves. It creates a win -win -win 00:08:13.250 --> 00:08:15.529 for Tony. Okay, let's untack the wins. Win number 00:08:15.529 --> 00:08:19.329 one, no war. Exactly. He avoids a bloody internal 00:08:19.329 --> 00:08:22.149 conflict that would have lost them money, manpower, 00:08:22.269 --> 00:08:24.709 and drawn massive police attention. Win number 00:08:24.709 --> 00:08:27.370 two, he keeps the money. He keeps the profitable 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:30.610 assets. Tony is willing to sacrifice his ego 00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:33.799 for his wallet. Junior is the exact opposite. 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.240 He would burn the money just to feed his ego. 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:38.200 And win number three. This is the one that I 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:40.279 think is the most clever. This is the 4D chess 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.759 move. The lightning rod effect. By making Junior 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.740 the official boss, Junior becomes the face of 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:49.200 the family, which means when the FBI starts looking 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.159 for a target, who do they look at? They look 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:53.220 at the boss. They look at Junior. Junior becomes 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:55.179 the primary target for federal investigations. 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:58.299 He takes the heat, the surveillance, the subpoenas. 00:08:58.669 --> 00:09:01.009 Tony effectively sets his uncle up to be the 00:09:01.009 --> 00:09:03.169 human shield for the rest of the family. It's 00:09:03.169 --> 00:09:06.230 the perfect shield. Tony essentially sets his 00:09:06.230 --> 00:09:09.190 uncle up to be arrested down the line, all while 00:09:09.190 --> 00:09:11.570 making his uncle feel like he's the king of the 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:13.809 world. It really demonstrates the complexity 00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:16.250 of Tony's character, right out of the gate in 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:19.509 season one. He's not just a thug, he's Machiavellian. 00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:21.789 He understands human psychology better than he 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:24.009 understands algebra. And it all came from a therapy 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:26.250 session about nursing homes. Which is the beauty 00:09:26.250 --> 00:09:29.269 of the show. It finds the profound and the dangerous 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:32.850 in the totally mundane. So Tony solves the problem 00:09:32.850 --> 00:09:35.850 with Junior. But that doesn't mean his life is 00:09:35.850 --> 00:09:38.389 stress -free. In fact, while he's fixing the 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:41.230 mob politics, his two worlds, the mob world and 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:43.830 the therapy world, are starting to bleed together. 00:09:44.049 --> 00:09:46.900 This is a major theme of the episode. paranoia 00:09:46.900 --> 00:09:49.799 paranoia sets in big time tony is at therapy 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:52.980 or rather leaving therapy and he sees something 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:55.759 that just stops his heart he sees silvio dante 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:58.899 his right hand man his classilier his own man 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:01.860 and silvio is leaving a dentist's office right 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:04.320 across from dr milfey's suite now to a normal 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.720 person you'd say oh hey silvio is getting a root 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:09.340 canal poor guy hope he feels better but to tony 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:12.700 soprano this is a catastrophe because if silvio 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:16.039 sees tony the secret is out Tony is seeing a 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:19.659 shrink. And in their world, seeing a shrink is 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:22.019 a sign of weakness. It's a death sentence, potentially. 00:10:22.259 --> 00:10:25.159 Because it means he's a liability. Exactly. If 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:27.159 the other captains found out Tony was spilling 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:29.419 his guts to an outsider, they wouldn't just lose 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:31.899 respect. They might decide he needs to go before 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:33.539 he tells the therapist something that gets them 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:36.120 all indicted. So the stakes are literally life 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.000 and death for him emotionally. Tony is freaking 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.159 out. He's considering quitting therapy entirely 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:44.000 just to avoid the risk. But it gets messier. 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:47.080 Because Tony isn't just paranoid about being 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.860 seen. He's becoming obsessed with Melfi herself. 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.639 He's attracted to her. And his paranoia leads 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:56.120 him to do something very Tony. He decides he 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:57.779 needs to know everything about her. Right. He 00:10:57.779 --> 00:10:59.940 can't just let it go. He hires a cop. And her 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.360 Vin Macazian. Played by the incredible John Hurd. 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:05.679 Yes. Macazian is a police detective, but he is, 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.220 well, let's call him compromised. He's dirty. 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:10.500 He's a gambler. He's depressed. He's bitter. 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:12.950 And he owes Tony money. A lot of gambling debt. 00:11:13.070 --> 00:11:16.629 And Tony uses that leverage. He tells Macazian, 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:19.009 I want you to follow her. I want to know everything, 00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:22.250 who she talks to, where she goes. Now, Macazian, 00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:24.370 being the sleazebag that he is, he makes an assumption 00:11:24.370 --> 00:11:27.409 right off the bat. He assumes Melfi is Tony's 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:29.409 mistress. Right. He doesn't know she's a doctor. 00:11:29.529 --> 00:11:31.669 He just sees an attractive woman Tony is obsessed 00:11:31.669 --> 00:11:34.690 with. So he frames everything through that lens. 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:38.490 He assumes it's sex. So he stalks her with this 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:41.409 jealous, almost protective energy on Tony's behalf. 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:44.490 And this leads to a really, really ugly scene. 00:11:44.710 --> 00:11:48.389 It does. Makazian is kaling Melfi. He sees her 00:11:48.389 --> 00:11:51.490 out with a date, just a normal guy. And Makazian 00:11:51.490 --> 00:11:53.809 decides to intervene. He pulls them over. He 00:11:53.809 --> 00:11:56.070 pulls the couple over in traffic. He assaults 00:11:56.070 --> 00:11:58.149 the man. He physically beats him up and arrests 00:11:58.149 --> 00:12:01.090 him. For absolutely no reason other than to mess 00:12:01.090 --> 00:12:03.389 with Melfi's life, thinking he's doing Tony a 00:12:03.389 --> 00:12:05.730 favor or maybe just exercising his own miserable 00:12:05.730 --> 00:12:08.639 power. It's terrifying because it shows the toxicity 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.720 of Tony's reach. Tony didn't say go beat up her 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:14.139 date. He didn't order that. But because Tony 00:12:14.139 --> 00:12:16.840 is involved, violence just naturally enters Melfi's 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.360 personal life. It's that bleeding of worlds again. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:21.980 You cannot touch Tony Soprano without getting 00:12:21.980 --> 00:12:24.820 some mud on you. And Melfi is completely innocent 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:27.519 in this regard. Yet she suffers the consequences 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:29.950 of Tony's corruption. It effectively destroys 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:31.909 her personal life for the evening, and she has 00:12:31.909 --> 00:12:34.110 no idea why this is happening. She's just suddenly 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:36.529 in a horror movie where a cop is beating up her 00:12:36.529 --> 00:12:39.850 date. And meanwhile, Tony is trying to quit therapy 00:12:39.850 --> 00:12:42.750 because of the Silvio scare. But there is one 00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:45.470 person standing in his way. Carmela. Carmela 00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:48.870 Soprano. She issues a strict ultimatum. She does. 00:12:49.009 --> 00:12:51.769 And there's a thick layer of irony here that 00:12:51.769 --> 00:12:55.230 the script plays so well. Carmela knows Tony's 00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:57.740 seeing a therapist. But she is under the impression 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.019 that the therapist is male. Right. She thinks 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:02.279 he's seeing a guy named Dr. Melfi. So she insists. 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:05.080 She flat out demands that he continue. She says, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.759 essentially, you stay in therapy or the marriage 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:10.200 is in trouble. She sees the Prozac pills. She 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:12.159 sees the mood swings. She knows that without 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.019 professional help, Tony is unbearable to live 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:18.159 with. So Tony is trapped in a vice. He has to 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.059 keep going to the place that makes him paranoid. 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:23.000 To see the woman he is obsessed with, who is 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:25.379 currently being stalked by the dirty cop he hired. 00:13:25.769 --> 00:13:27.750 It's a pressure cooker. It is. And that pressure 00:13:27.750 --> 00:13:29.769 cooker isn't just affecting the adults in the 00:13:29.769 --> 00:13:32.029 family. It is trickling down to the next generation. 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:34.690 Which brings us to segment three, the loss of 00:13:34.690 --> 00:13:38.230 innocence. This is the AJ and Meadow storyline. 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:42.350 And honestly, this part hits hard. It really 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:44.450 does. It centers on what seems like a standard 00:13:44.450 --> 00:13:47.710 schoolyard scuffle. AJ Sobrano gets into it with 00:13:47.710 --> 00:13:50.149 a classmate named Jeremy P. Acosta. Just typical 00:13:50.149 --> 00:13:52.450 teenage stuff, right? Boys being boys. On the 00:13:52.450 --> 00:13:55.139 surface, yes. But looking at the details the 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:58.080 source lays out, there's a clear physical mismatch. 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:01.279 Jeremy is bigger than AJ. He's physically dominant. 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.620 So you'd expect AJ to get crushed. Exactly. In 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:07.799 the first scuffle, AJ basically loses. But then 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:10.960 they are set for a rematch. A fight after school. 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:13.320 AJ is terrified. He's looking for a weapon in 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:15.539 the garage. He's anxious. And then the fight 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:18.340 just doesn't happen. Jeremy folds. Not only does 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:23.139 he fold, he pays AJ. He... literally hands him 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:25.379 money for a shirt that was torn in the previous 00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:27.960 stuffle. He pays damages to the kid he could 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:30.299 easily beat up. And AJ's completely baffled. 00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:32.480 He doesn't understand. He thinks, did I win? 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:35.659 Am I tough? He has absolutely no context for 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:38.320 this behavior. But Meadow does. Meadow sees clearly. 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:41.100 She is essentially the Greek chorus of truth 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.559 in this family. She sees right through the suburban 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:45.820 facade they put up. This is where we get the 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:48.820 backstory. Why did Jeremy back down? It turns 00:14:48.820 --> 00:14:51.690 out... there was a coincidence the day before 00:14:51.690 --> 00:14:54.509 the rematch tony ran into jeremy's father at 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:57.269 a plant nursery of all places a completely mundane 00:14:57.269 --> 00:15:00.149 suburban setting but tony happened to be holding 00:15:00.149 --> 00:15:02.690 an axe he's holding a giant axe at a garden center 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:05.350 he was just looking at it maybe buying it for 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:08.129 yard work but he was friendly he greets jeremy's 00:15:08.129 --> 00:15:11.570 father but jeremy's father he was terrified he 00:15:11.570 --> 00:15:13.830 sees tony soprano the reputed mobster holding 00:15:13.830 --> 00:15:16.409 a weapon he backs away nervously he goes home 00:15:16.409 --> 00:15:18.860 and probably tells his son whatever you do Do 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:21.320 not touch the Soprano Kid. So Jeremy wasn't afraid 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:24.340 of AJ at all. He was afraid of Tony's reputation. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.120 Precisely. The shadow of the father protecting 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.440 the son without the son even knowing it. And 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:31.779 Meadow has to sit AJ down and explain this to 00:15:31.779 --> 00:15:34.740 him. She just bursts his bubble completely. She 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:37.679 really does. She intervenes and basically says, 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.490 look, Jeremy wasn't scared of you. Wake up. And 00:15:40.490 --> 00:15:42.950 then she drops the hammer. She asks that rhetorical 00:15:42.950 --> 00:15:45.090 question that just cuts through all the denial 00:15:45.090 --> 00:15:47.950 in that house. How many other garbage men live 00:15:47.950 --> 00:15:50.850 in a house as expensive as theirs? Boom. It's 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:53.549 a moment where logic overrides the comfortable 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:56.529 lie they've been living. Tony says he's in waste 00:15:56.529 --> 00:15:58.950 management, but the lifestyle just doesn't match 00:15:58.950 --> 00:16:01.389 the job title. And she doesn't just say it. She 00:16:01.389 --> 00:16:03.590 shows him the hard evidence. She pulls up the 00:16:03.590 --> 00:16:06.190 internet. And remember, this is 1999, so we're 00:16:06.190 --> 00:16:10.409 talking dial -up. chunky CRT monitors. She shows 00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:13.149 AJ a mafia -themed website. It's all there in 00:16:13.149 --> 00:16:15.789 black and white or rather chunky pixels. It's 00:16:15.789 --> 00:16:17.610 digital proof. You can't deny it when it's staring 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:20.850 at you on the screen. And watch AJ's face in 00:16:20.850 --> 00:16:23.149 that scene. It's not excitement. It's not, oh, 00:16:23.190 --> 00:16:25.929 cool, my dad is a gangster. It's confusion. It's 00:16:25.929 --> 00:16:29.470 fear. It's the realization that his entire identity, 00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:33.029 his safety, is based on a lie. And this leads 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:35.210 to the final scene of the episode, which is just 00:16:35.210 --> 00:16:38.049 masterfully directed. We're at Jackie April's 00:16:38.049 --> 00:16:40.289 funeral. A very solemn occasion. It's raining. 00:16:40.950 --> 00:16:45.149 Umbrellas, black coats, gray sky. Cinematic perfection. 00:16:45.529 --> 00:16:47.909 But look at the details the source material points 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:50.730 out here. There are federal agents there. They're 00:16:50.730 --> 00:16:53.289 taking pictures from cars. They're documenting 00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:55.690 the hierarchy, seeing who talks to whom, who 00:16:55.690 --> 00:16:57.870 stands next to whom. This is standard procedure 00:16:57.870 --> 00:17:00.289 for mob funerals, building their IACO cases. 00:17:00.549 --> 00:17:03.330 And amidst all this adult criminal posturing, 00:17:03.370 --> 00:17:05.769 you have the two kids, AJ and Meadow. And Meadow 00:17:05.769 --> 00:17:08.309 gives AJ a knowing look. She just nods in the 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:10.170 direction of the agents with the cameras. She's 00:17:10.170 --> 00:17:12.630 saying, see, this is our life. This is what dad 00:17:12.630 --> 00:17:14.549 actually does. It's the moment the walls completely 00:17:14.549 --> 00:17:17.089 crumble. The barrier between home life and work 00:17:17.089 --> 00:17:20.069 life that Tony tries so hard to maintain. It's 00:17:20.069 --> 00:17:23.309 gone for the kids. They know. AJ is forced to 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:25.670 acknowledge who his father really is. He can't 00:17:25.670 --> 00:17:28.150 pretend anymore. It's a loss of innocence, plain 00:17:28.150 --> 00:17:30.369 and simple. And it parallels what Tony is going 00:17:30.369 --> 00:17:32.750 through. Tony is realizing he can't separate 00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:36.190 his worlds either. The mob follows him to therapy. 00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:39.940 The reputation follows his son to school. Everything 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:42.700 is deeply connected. Speaking of connected, we 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:45.099 have to talk about Christopher Moltisanti. Because 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:48.200 while Tony is playing 4D chess with Uncle Junior 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:50.880 and the kids are discovering the truth, Christopher 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.619 is just spiraling. Christopher is in a very, 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:56.680 very dark place in Meadowlands. If Tony is the 00:17:56.680 --> 00:17:58.880 brain of the operation right now, Christopher 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.359 is the pure id. Segment four. Christopher's downward 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.099 spiral. Where do we find him at the start of 00:18:04.099 --> 00:18:06.539 this? Physically, he's a wreck. He's wearing 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:09.119 a neck brace. Why the neck brace? For anyone 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:10.720 who needs a refresher. It's from the previous 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.859 episode. He was subjected to a mock execution 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:15.619 by the Russian mobsters hired by Junior. Which 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:18.339 is traumatizing enough. Exactly. He's suffering 00:18:18.339 --> 00:18:20.660 from what we would effectively call post -traumatic 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:23.720 stress. He's jumpy. He's scared. He's humiliated. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.240 And then he makes a gruesome discovery. He finds 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.859 Brendan Fallone. His friend. Dead in a bathtub. 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:31.480 Brendan didn't get the mop execution. He got 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.740 the real one. So now Christopher is terrified. 00:18:33.940 --> 00:18:36.980 He's grieving. And Christopher being Christopher. 00:18:37.470 --> 00:18:40.069 He wants action. He wants to hit back. He figures 00:18:40.069 --> 00:18:42.829 out who is responsible. He connects the dots 00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:45.569 back to Uncle Junior and his enforcer, Mikey 00:18:45.569 --> 00:18:48.710 Palmas. And he goes to Tony. He demands retribution. 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:51.690 He wants blood. He basically says, let me kill 00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:53.390 Mikey. But this is where the rules of the game 00:18:53.390 --> 00:18:57.049 come in. Tony has to be the boss. He has to enforce 00:18:57.049 --> 00:18:59.349 the mafia code. Right. He orders Christopher 00:18:59.349 --> 00:19:02.410 to stand down. He has to. Because Mikey Palmas 00:19:02.410 --> 00:19:04.930 is a made man. Explain that for the listeners 00:19:04.930 --> 00:19:07.450 who might not be fully up on their mob terminology. 00:19:08.109 --> 00:19:10.490 What does made man actually mean in this context? 00:19:10.869 --> 00:19:12.930 It means he is an officially initiated member 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:15.690 of the mafia. He has taken the oath. And because 00:19:15.690 --> 00:19:18.390 of that, he is untouchable without official permission 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:20.970 from the boss of the family. If Christopher, 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:23.430 who's not made yet, were to lay a hand on Mikey, 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:26.369 Christopher would be killed. No questions asked. 00:19:26.710 --> 00:19:29.349 It's the firewall that prevents total chaos in 00:19:29.349 --> 00:19:31.390 their underworld. So Tony's actually protecting 00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:34.250 Christopher by telling him to stop. Yes. But 00:19:34.250 --> 00:19:37.170 Tony is also furious. He hates Mikey Palmas, 00:19:37.269 --> 00:19:40.369 too. Mikey has been a constant thorn in his side, 00:19:40.410 --> 00:19:43.089 making jokes, stirring the pot, acting like Junior's 00:19:43.089 --> 00:19:46.089 attack dog. So Tony finds a loophole. This is 00:19:46.089 --> 00:19:48.509 another prime example of Tony's tactical mind. 00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:51.829 The rule is, Christopher can't touch Mikey because 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:55.289 Christopher isn't made. But Tony, Tony is a capo. 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:58.380 Tony outranks Mikey. So Tony takes matters into 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:01.460 his own hair. Literally. He tracks Mikey down. 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:04.039 And we get that brutal, iconic scene with the 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:06.500 staple gun. It's not just a fight. It's a message. 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:09.119 Tony finds him by the side of the road. And the 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.660 staple gun isn't a weapon of war. It's a tool 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:14.740 of humiliation. It says, I don't even need a 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:16.460 gun to hurt you. I can hurt you with office supplies 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:19.380 because I own you. It serves two really important 00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:22.740 purposes. One, it vents Tony's frustration. He 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:25.539 gets to physically punish Mikey for Brendan's 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:28.599 death and for disrespecting him. Two, it shows 00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:31.059 Christopher that Tony has his back, but he does 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:33.059 it within the boundaries of the rules. It's that 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:35.319 balance again. Enforcing the rules of the mob 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:37.539 while finding a way to win your personal battles. 00:20:37.619 --> 00:20:40.039 It's discipline through violence. And tying it 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:42.519 back to the theme, Tony is constantly navigating 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:46.009 constraints. The constraints of the FBI, the 00:20:46.009 --> 00:20:48.069 constraints of the mob code, the constraints 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:50.589 of his marriage. And in every single segment 00:20:50.589 --> 00:20:53.130 of this episode, we see him finding a way to 00:20:53.130 --> 00:20:55.289 wiggle through those constraints to get what 00:20:55.289 --> 00:20:57.869 he wants. So we've broken down the plot. We've 00:20:57.869 --> 00:21:00.829 got the politics, the paranoia. The kids, the 00:21:00.829 --> 00:21:03.369 revenge. Now let's zoom out a bit to segment 00:21:03.369 --> 00:21:07.009 five, critical reception and legacy. Because, 00:21:07.089 --> 00:21:09.450 you know, how was this episode actually received 00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:12.430 by the critics? It's interesting. Retrospectively, 00:21:12.430 --> 00:21:14.670 the reviews are generally very positive, but 00:21:14.670 --> 00:21:17.130 there were some specific critiques from major 00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:19.970 outlets. Let's start with the critique. We have 00:21:19.970 --> 00:21:22.690 Emily St. James from the A .V. Club. Right. She 00:21:22.690 --> 00:21:24.890 felt that Meadowlands was a bit of a step down 00:21:24.890 --> 00:21:26.630 from the first three episodes. Really, a step 00:21:26.630 --> 00:21:28.390 down? I mean, with all this tension. That was 00:21:28.390 --> 00:21:30.569 her take. She specifically called out the AJ 00:21:30.569 --> 00:21:33.450 subplot with the bully. She called it pretty 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.970 pointless. Ouch. Pointless is a strong word. 00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:39.349 She viewed it as just a miniature version of 00:21:39.349 --> 00:21:42.269 the Tony and Junior conflict. Like, big guy versus 00:21:42.269 --> 00:21:45.130 little guy, resolved with a weird financial deal. 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:47.829 She felt it was repetitive rather than revealing. 00:21:48.430 --> 00:21:51.250 I mean, I can see that parallel, but I have to 00:21:51.250 --> 00:21:53.470 completely disagree that it's pointless. I think 00:21:53.470 --> 00:21:55.829 the parallel is exactly the point. The show is 00:21:55.829 --> 00:21:58.450 constantly exploring how the sins of the father 00:21:58.450 --> 00:22:00.829 are visited upon the children. I agree with you 00:22:00.829 --> 00:22:04.029 entirely. Showing AJ dealing with a turf war 00:22:04.029 --> 00:22:07.890 in middle school highlights how absurd and pervasive 00:22:07.890 --> 00:22:10.509 this mafia lifestyle is. It's not pointless, 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:12.970 it's resonance. And to be fair to her review, 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:15.329 she did admit that the episode was a pretty good 00:22:15.329 --> 00:22:17.970 summation of the show's future interests. She 00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:20.210 recognized it set the table for what was to come 00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:22.250 with the kids. And then we have Alan Sepinwall, 00:22:22.349 --> 00:22:24.029 who we mentioned earlier regarding the elegant 00:22:24.029 --> 00:22:26.509 solution. Right. Sepinwall was highly positive 00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:28.990 about the whole thing. He praised that ending 00:22:28.990 --> 00:22:31.869 scene, the funeral in the rain, as a really strong 00:22:31.869 --> 00:22:35.130 way to show the colliding worlds. He really appreciated 00:22:35.130 --> 00:22:37.809 the structural integrity of the episode. He saw 00:22:37.809 --> 00:22:39.730 it as the episode where the show proved it wasn't 00:22:39.730 --> 00:22:42.750 just a mob parody. It could handle deeply complex, 00:22:42.950 --> 00:22:45.670 long -form plotting. And clearly, the industry 00:22:45.670 --> 00:22:48.170 agreed with the praise over the critique. They 00:22:48.170 --> 00:22:50.109 did. We mentioned it at the top, but it bears 00:22:50.109 --> 00:22:53.930 repeating. Jason Cahill won the WGA Award, the 00:22:53.930 --> 00:22:56.150 Writers Guild of America Award, for this script 00:22:56.150 --> 00:22:59.690 in the Emphasotic Drama category in 1999. That 00:22:59.690 --> 00:23:02.309 is a huge honor. It puts the script up there 00:23:02.309 --> 00:23:04.349 with the best of the best in television history. 00:23:04.529 --> 00:23:06.509 It validates the complexity we've been discussing 00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:09.369 for the last hour. The way it weaves the political 00:23:09.369 --> 00:23:11.589 maneuvering with the psychological drama that 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:13.869 is award -winning stuff. It set the standard 00:23:13.869 --> 00:23:15.789 for what a political episode of The Sopranos 00:23:15.789 --> 00:23:17.430 could look like. It wasn't about body count. 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:20.809 It was about chess moves. So as we wrap up this 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:23.170 deep dive into Meadowlands, let's summarize the 00:23:23.170 --> 00:23:25.450 key takeaways. What are the big pillars that 00:23:25.450 --> 00:23:27.789 you should remember? First, we have the evolution 00:23:27.789 --> 00:23:30.910 of Tony. He secures his power by giving it away 00:23:30.910 --> 00:23:34.049 in name only. It's the illusion of control. He 00:23:34.049 --> 00:23:36.230 becomes the puppet master, not just the puppet. 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:39.069 Second, the walls are trembling. The boundary 00:23:39.069 --> 00:23:41.390 between the mob world and the civilian world 00:23:41.390 --> 00:23:44.750 is dissolving rapidly. Melfi gets dragged in 00:23:44.750 --> 00:23:47.329 via the corrupt cop. The school gets dragged 00:23:47.329 --> 00:23:49.789 in via Tony's violent reputation. And third, 00:23:50.009 --> 00:23:53.369 the children know. The innocence is gone. AJ 00:23:53.369 --> 00:23:55.829 and Meadow are now participants, or at least 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:58.809 conscious observers, of their father's dark reality. 00:23:59.089 --> 00:24:01.630 They can't unsee the federal agents at that funeral. 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:03.960 It's a major turning point for the whole series. 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.880 Nothing goes back to normal after this. Absolutely 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:08.200 not. Now, before we sign off, we have a provocative 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:10.200 thought for you to shoo on based on the source 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.319 material. We've been talking about Melfi's advice, 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:15.819 the illusion of control. She gave Tony a tool 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:18.980 to manage his uncle's fragile ego, her intention, 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:22.720 family harmony, just helping a man deal with 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:25.039 his elderly relative. But what actually happened? 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:27.900 Tony weaponized it. He used that therapeutic 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:31.579 psychological tool to secure control over a criminal 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:35.019 empire and effectively set his uncle up as a 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:37.119 target for the FBI. So the question you have 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:40.140 to ask is, does this make Dr. Melfi an unwitting 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:43.140 accomplice in Tony's rise to power? She is trying 00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:45.839 to heal a man, but she might actually be helping 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.440 build a better, smarter mob boss. By making Tony 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:51.940 more mentally stable, by giving him these deep 00:24:51.940 --> 00:24:54.920 psychological insights, is she actually making 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:57.359 him a better criminal? Is she helping him survive 00:24:57.359 --> 00:24:59.819 so he can victimize more people? It's a moral 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:02.359 gray area that the show just loves to explore. 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:04.660 It's the central moral dilemma of the whole series, 00:25:04.779 --> 00:25:07.880 really. Does therapy make bad men better, or 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:09.599 does it just make them more effective at being 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.019 bad? It's a question Melfi struggles with for 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:14.440 six seasons. And in Meadowlands, we see the very 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.279 first clear evidence that the answer... might 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:19.319 be the one she dreads the most. That is definitely 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:21.559 something to think about. Is therapy making Tony 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:24.259 a better person or just a more effective criminal? 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.700 A fascinating question. We want you to think 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:29.640 about how the illusion of control plays out in 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:32.599 your own observations of power dynamics. In your 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:36.000 office, in politics, in your family, who really 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.460 holds the power? The person with the title or 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:40.660 the person with the leverage? Usually it's the 00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:42.619 one quietly sitting in the back, pulling the 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:45.660 strings and counting the money. Exactly. Thanks 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:47.880 for joining us on this deep dive into the Meadowlands. 00:25:48.140 --> 00:25:50.380 We'll catch you on the next one. Stay curious. 00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:51.000 See ya.