WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.240 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we were 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:05.419 doing something a little different and honestly 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:07.860 I am incredibly hyped about it. Oh yeah this 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:10.320 is a really fun one. Because usually we are tackling 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:15.380 you know a non -fiction book or a really complex 00:00:15.380 --> 00:00:19.399 scientific concept but today today we are cracking 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.579 open a specific artifact of pop culture history. 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.199 Something that I think really defines the golden 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.699 age of television. Exactly. we are looking at 00:00:27.699 --> 00:00:29.620 The Sopranos. And not just the series in general. 00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:31.600 We aren't doing a broad overview of the whole 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:33.799 show here. No, we are zooming in. Okay. Weigh 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.960 in on a single pivotal hour of television. Season 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:39.759 one. Right, season one, episode seven, titled 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:42.200 Down Neck. Now, for anyone listening who thinks 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:44.140 they know everything about The Soprano Family 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:47.320 because they maybe binged it once 10 years ago. 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:49.200 Stick with us. Yeah, stick with us because I 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.200 promise you there are layers here you definitely 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.299 miss. We have gone through the production notes, 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:55.979 the critical analysis. Yeah. The cultural context 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:58.880 of 1999. We have a stack of sources here that 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.579 is genuinely impressive. It really is a fascinating 00:01:01.579 --> 00:01:04.299 piece of the puzzle. It is. Down Neck is such 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:06.879 a crucial entry because it originally aired on 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.060 February 21st, 1999. Right. Think about that 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:12.579 context for a second. The show is still finding 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:15.400 its footing. It hasn't become the global phenomenon 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.000 it eventually became yet. Exactly. It is still 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.719 establishing its core thesis. And this episode 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:23.719 specifically serves as the pivot point. Pivot. 00:01:24.329 --> 00:01:27.030 That is the word I keep coming back to. Up until 00:01:27.030 --> 00:01:28.909 this point, you could argue the show was a quirky 00:01:28.909 --> 00:01:32.069 mob drama. A guy in therapy, sure, but lots of 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:34.329 mob business of the week. Right. Who owes who 00:01:34.329 --> 00:01:36.510 money? But Down Neck is where the show decides 00:01:36.510 --> 00:01:39.310 it is not just a crime procedural. It is a Greek 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:42.209 tragedy about family history. It pivots from 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:45.030 the external, the whacking the money collection, 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:47.489 to the internal. So the mission for our dive 00:01:47.489 --> 00:01:50.090 today is to explore how this specific episode 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:54.849 shifts the focus. We are looking at heredity, 00:01:54.950 --> 00:01:57.909 the unreliability of memory, and how the past 00:01:57.909 --> 00:02:00.489 haunts the present in very literal ways. It is 00:02:00.489 --> 00:02:02.810 the origin story in a way, but told through a 00:02:02.810 --> 00:02:04.890 very foggy lens. We have a lot to get through 00:02:04.890 --> 00:02:07.290 today. We really do. We are going to break down 00:02:07.290 --> 00:02:09.009 the plot, obviously, but we are also going to 00:02:09.009 --> 00:02:10.889 look at the introduction of flashbacks. Which 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:13.629 was a huge stylistic shift for the show at the 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:16.150 time. Completely. We've got cultural references 00:02:16.150 --> 00:02:18.370 and some incredible behind -the -scenes facts 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:21.060 that just... Blew my mind. The facts are particularly 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:23.759 good today. Oh, they are top tier. Yeah. We have 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:25.919 a future Hollywood superstar hiding in the background 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.439 of a scene. Someone you absolutely know and love. 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:32.000 We have a literary mix -up involving a fish that 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.680 tells us everything we need to know about Tony's 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:38.659 dad. And we have a music cue that is so ironically 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:41.319 perfect it almost hurts. That music cue involving 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.599 the rascals is one of my favorite details in 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:47.159 the entire series run. It is subtle. But once 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.939 you hear it, you cannot unhear it. So let's jump 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:52.960 right in. The episode is called Down Neck. Before 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:55.539 we even get to the plot, let us unpack that title. 00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:57.620 What are we looking at here? It is a geographical 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:01.539 reference. Right. Down Neck refers to the ironbound 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:03.900 section of Newark, New Jersey. This is where 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:07.020 Tony Soprano grew up. It is a working class, 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.539 neighborhood heavy industry. Very different from 00:03:10.539 --> 00:03:12.879 the green lawns of North Caldwell, where he lives 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.030 now. By using that title, the show signals that 00:03:16.030 --> 00:03:18.490 we are going back to the roots. We aren't in 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:21.289 the suburban sprawl of the Soprano Mansion anymore. 00:03:21.469 --> 00:03:23.689 We are going back to the streets where it all 00:03:23.689 --> 00:03:25.889 began. And we aren't going back voluntarily. 00:03:26.430 --> 00:03:29.050 No. The catalyst for this trip down memory lane 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:33.590 isn't a mob war or a whacking or an FBI indictment. 00:03:33.729 --> 00:03:36.870 It is AJ. It is Tony's son. It usually is the 00:03:36.870 --> 00:03:39.430 family stuff that triggers the biggest crises 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:41.710 for Tony. Which brings us to the first part of 00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:44.870 our analysis today, the catalyst, AJ's rebellion. 00:03:45.330 --> 00:03:48.689 So let us set the scene here, AJ Soprano. Throughout 00:03:48.689 --> 00:03:50.930 the early episodes, he is usually just sort of 00:03:50.930 --> 00:03:53.009 a background texture. He is playing Nintendo. 00:03:53.330 --> 00:03:56.289 He is complaining about food. He is being moody. 00:03:56.550 --> 00:03:58.569 Here, he actually takes action. He does something 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:00.610 pretty wild. He and his friends break into the 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:03.009 chapel at their Catholic school, Verbum Dei. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.819 And they don't just break in to hang out or vandalize 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:08.400 the place. They steal the sacramental wine. The 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.259 sacramental wine. I mean, in the see also section 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:13.680 of our source material, this is literally categorized 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.259 as host desecration. That is a heavy charge for 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:19.560 a teenager. You are not just breaking a school 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:22.879 rule. You are breaking a divine law, theoretically. 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:26.079 It is a mortal sin, technically. But what makes 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:28.879 this so distinctly AJ. and this is where the 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.779 character writing really shines, isn't just the 00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:35.079 theft. It is the lack of planning regarding what 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:36.939 they do with it. They don't sell it. They don't 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:38.660 save it for a Friday night party. They drink 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.120 it immediately and then they show up to gym class 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:43.600 drunk. That is the detail that always gets me. 00:04:43.779 --> 00:04:46.399 It is absurd. Getting drunk before gym class 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:50.139 specifically, of all the classes to be inebriated 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:52.199 for physical education, seems like the absolute 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.259 worst choice. You are running laps. You are dodging 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:58.550 balls. It is a recipe for disaster. You need 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:01.050 coordination. It highlights a lack of foresight 00:05:01.050 --> 00:05:03.430 that becomes a running theme for AJ. He lives 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:05.589 entirely in the moment with zero consideration 00:05:05.589 --> 00:05:08.829 for consequences. But this act lands Tony and 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:12.329 Carmela in the principal's office. Or, specifically, 00:05:12.689 --> 00:05:15.290 a meeting with the school psychologist, Dr. Peter 00:05:15.290 --> 00:05:18.129 Galani, and the administrator, Mr. Meskimen. 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:21.170 And this is where the conflict starts. The school 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:23.540 has a theory. They aren't just saying your kid 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:25.500 is bad or your kid is a delinquent. You're offering 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:29.360 a medical diagnosis. They suggest that AJ might 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.620 have attention deficit disorder. ADD. Now we 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:34.579 have to pause and look at the context here. This 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:37.920 is 1999. The conversation around ADD and ADHD 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:41.000 was very different back then compared to today. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:43.879 Completely different. Today, a diagnosis is often 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:47.649 seen as a tool. A roadmap to getting help, maybe 00:05:47.649 --> 00:05:49.870 medication, maybe an individualized education 00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:53.050 program. But for a guy like Tony Soprano in 1999. 00:05:53.629 --> 00:05:56.350 He hears disorder and he hears broken. He hears 00:05:56.350 --> 00:05:59.490 weakness. Tony reacts exactly how you would expect 00:05:59.490 --> 00:06:02.629 Tony Soprano to react. Scornful rejection. He 00:06:02.629 --> 00:06:05.089 hates it. He absolutely hates it. He dismisses 00:06:05.089 --> 00:06:07.069 it entirely. His argument is that AJ is just 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:09.670 acting like a normal 13 -year -old. In Tony's 00:06:09.670 --> 00:06:11.629 mind, stealing wine and getting drunk is just 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:14.029 boys being boys. It is a rite of passage. He 00:06:14.029 --> 00:06:16.569 refuses to label it as a medical condition. And 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:20.649 Carmela, where is she in this meeting? In the 00:06:20.649 --> 00:06:23.149 office, she backs him up. They present a united 00:06:23.149 --> 00:06:26.170 front. It is that classic us against the world 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:28.209 mentality. They walk out of that office together, 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:31.850 essentially telling the school, you are the problem, 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:34.870 not our son. But that unity doesn't last long, 00:06:34.930 --> 00:06:37.290 does it? No, it doesn't. Once they get back to 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:39.550 the fortress of their home, The cracks start 00:06:39.550 --> 00:06:41.829 to show. It crumbles pretty fast. The fallout 00:06:41.829 --> 00:06:44.149 comes home. Later, they are having dinner with 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:47.800 Livia. Tony's mother. And AJ starts misbehaving 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:51.079 again. He is fidgeting. He is rude. He is not 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:53.040 listening. And that is the straw that breaks 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:55.579 the camel's back. AJ gets grounded. But then 00:06:55.579 --> 00:06:57.899 the real fight happens. Tony and Carmela start 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:00.759 arguing about why AJ is the way he is. And this 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:02.819 is where the episode really starts to dig deep. 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:04.920 This is crucial. Carmela circles back to the 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.500 school's idea. She is the pragmatist here. She 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:10.139 suggests that maybe special education is needed. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.040 She is worried about his future, his grades, 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:16.639 his ability to function. But Tony, Tony is terrified 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.579 of something else entirely. He is not worried 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:20.579 about schoolwork. He is worried about biology. 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:24.240 Exactly. Tony fears the genetic component. In 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.259 the source material, this is described as Tony 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:29.060 fearing the rotten putrid gene. Rotten putrid 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:31.079 gene. That is such a visceral way to put it. 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.920 It is. He is scared that AJ has inherited reckless 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.259 tendencies from his side of the family. He looks 00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:39.259 at his son. And he doesn't see a bored suburban 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:42.600 teenager. He sees the ghost of himself and the 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:44.899 ghost of his father. And that is the trigger. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:48.319 That specific fear. That his son is broken because 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.939 he comes from broken line. That is what forces 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:53.819 Tony to look backward. He cannot understand AJ 00:07:53.819 --> 00:07:56.100 without understanding himself. And that brings 00:07:56.100 --> 00:07:59.000 us to the flashbacks. This is a major structural 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:02.079 shift for the episode and the series. We move 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.100 to the second major part of our discussion today. 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:08.279 The flashbacks to 1967 Newark. Now visually these 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:11.339 scenes are distinct. They have this sepia toned 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:14.779 high contrast look. It feels like a memory. A 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:16.519 little bit hazy, a little bit distorted. And 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.839 the atmosphere is heavy. The source material 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.040 notes that these flashbacks take place around 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.120 the time of the 1967 Newark riots. So the tension 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:27.139 in the air isn't just family tension. It is societal 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:30.439 tension. The city is a powder keg. just like 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.820 the Soprano household. The first memory is triggered 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:35.460 specifically by Tony contemplating talking to 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:38.519 AJ about the family business. He is trying to 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.600 figure out how to be a father so he remembers 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:43.700 his own father. Let us walk through this first 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:47.059 memory. It starts with a failure. Young Tony 00:08:47.059 --> 00:08:49.799 misses the bus. Which is a classic kid in trouble 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:52.419 setup. He misses the bus so he is wandering the 00:08:52.419 --> 00:08:54.460 streets of the Ironbound section when he shouldn't 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:57.279 be. And he witnesses something traumatic. He 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:00.379 sees his father. Johnny Boy Soprano. Played by 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:03.179 the late, great Joseph Saravo. And Uncle Junior. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.279 And they are beating a man. A man named Rocco 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:09.620 Alatorre. It is not just a scuffle. It is a vicious 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:11.659 beating. And what is interesting here is the 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:14.159 sensory detail. The source notes the specific 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.679 song playing during this scene. Don't bring me 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:19.419 down by the animals. It is perfect. That driving 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:22.539 bass line, Eric Burden's gritty vocals. It captures 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:25.120 the grime and the downward spiral of the violence. 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:28.620 Don't bring me down. Almost sounds like a plea 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:31.779 from the victim or maybe from Tony's own conscience. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.679 But young Tony doesn't run away. A normal kid 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:37.620 might screen or run home to mom. Tony does something 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:40.360 that I think explains his entire adult life. 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:42.779 He follows them. He hides in the trunk of Johnny's 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:45.019 car. This is the narrative progression of the 00:09:45.019 --> 00:09:48.659 memory. He literally stows away in the dark, 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:51.360 cramped trunk just to be close to his father. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.919 It speaks to his desperate need for connection, 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:56.399 even if that connection is dangerous. He wants 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:58.340 to know the secret life. And where does he go? 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.639 The car drives them to a mob run fairground or 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:04.320 carnival. Right. And this leads to the second 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:07.639 major trauma. And arguably the visual centerpiece 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:10.159 of the flashback sequence. Young Tony watches 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:12.200 Johnny Boy Jr. and their friends get arrested. 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:14.419 He sees his dad in handcuffs. The police are 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:16.019 there. The people are shouting. It is chaos. 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:18.679 That has to be a shattering moment for a kid. 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:21.379 It is, but the show handles it with this incredible 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:23.779 juxtaposition. The source material points out 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:26.100 that during the arrest, the music playing is 00:10:26.100 --> 00:10:29.100 the Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II. The waltz. 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:33.179 A classical, elegant, swirling waltz. So you 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:36.480 have this gritty, street -level criminality. 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:39.059 Cops, mobsters, handcuffs. And over it, you have 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:41.460 this music that belongs in a Viennese ballroom. 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:44.409 Why do you think they made that choice? It creates 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:46.889 a total disconnect between the reality of the 00:10:46.889 --> 00:10:49.889 crime and the way Tony perceives it. If we heard 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:52.350 sirens and shouting, we would feel the shame 00:10:52.350 --> 00:10:55.470 and the fear. But with the waltz, it feels grand. 00:10:55.629 --> 00:10:58.129 It feels operatic. It turns Johnny Boy into a 00:10:58.129 --> 00:11:01.009 tragic hero rather than just a thug getting busted. 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:03.990 And he does romanticize it, right? Because later 00:11:03.990 --> 00:11:06.690 he talks to Dr. Melfi about this specific moment. 00:11:06.809 --> 00:11:08.690 That is the expert analysis of the character 00:11:08.690 --> 00:11:11.509 here. Tony confesses to Melfi that despite seeing 00:11:11.509 --> 00:11:14.570 the arrest, or maybe because of it, he felt proud 00:11:14.570 --> 00:11:17.149 to be Johnny Boy's son. Proud. Hero worship. 00:11:17.309 --> 00:11:20.330 He sees his father as a powerful figure who commands 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:22.830 attention. Even the police have to come in force 00:11:22.830 --> 00:11:25.279 to take him down. He admits Johnny was a complicated 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.559 man, but he struggles with the morality of it. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:29.639 He doesn't want AJ to be like Johnny, but he 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:32.299 cannot help but love Johnny himself. He is trapped 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:34.679 in that admiration. That phrase, complicated 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:36.820 man, keeps coming up. It is like his shield. 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:40.200 It is the euphemism he uses to avoid saying criminal. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.500 It is how he rationalizes the abuse and the crime. 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:45.960 If he is complicated, then the bad stuff is just 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.460 part of the package. Speaking of abuse, we have 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.539 to talk about the next major theme today. Because 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:53.700 it is not just Johnny Boy who leaves a mark. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.360 It is Livia. Oh, Livia. If you thought Nancy 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:00.120 Marchand's portrayal of older Livia was intense, 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:03.919 seeing Livia as a young mother is terrifying 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.580 in a different way. She's played by Layla Robbins 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.899 in the flashbacks. There is a specific memory 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:12.019 Tony recalls. that I think haunts every viewer. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.259 The fork memory. Tony recalls a moment where 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:17.639 Livia threatened to gouge his eye out with a 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:19.779 carving fork. With a fork. I will stick this 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:22.480 fork in your eye. That is not normal parenting. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:24.639 That is straight up horror movie stuff. It is 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:27.820 decidedly not normal. And this is what Tony discusses 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:30.159 with Melfi. He implies that his parents were 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:32.659 abusive. This fuels that fear we talked about. 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:34.899 That he and AJ have inherited these reckless 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:38.460 tendencies. It is not just about ADD or brain 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:41.940 chemistry. It is about a lineage of violence 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:45.019 and instability. He is asking, can you grow up 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:47.159 in a house like that and not come out broken? 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:50.360 But there is a moment of levity amidst this darkness, 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:53.169 and it comes from Johnny Boy. It is one of my 00:12:53.169 --> 00:12:55.690 favorite aha moments from the hook we teased 00:12:55.690 --> 00:12:58.149 earlier. The literary mishap. I love this detail 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:00.429 so much. Yes, so there is an argument between 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:02.850 Johnny Boy and Livia in the kitchen. It is about 00:13:02.850 --> 00:13:05.710 a job offer. Apparently, Rocco Alator, the guy 00:13:05.710 --> 00:13:08.070 getting beaten up earlier, had actually offered 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:11.809 Johnny a legitimate job. A way out. A job in 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:13.909 Reno, Nevada. Can you imagine that alternate 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:16.350 timeline? The Sopranos in Reno. Tony growing 00:13:16.350 --> 00:13:19.029 up in a casino town instead of Jersey. It would 00:13:19.029 --> 00:13:21.090 have been a completely different show. But Johnny 00:13:21.090 --> 00:13:24.159 turns it down. He chooses the life in Jersey. 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:26.860 And he describes the alternative or perhaps the 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:29.440 burden of his current life. He was flustered. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:32.159 He tries to use a fancy metaphor to explain his 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.980 feelings to Livia. He says it would be an albacore 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:38.700 around my neck. An albacore? Like the tuna? Now, 00:13:38.740 --> 00:13:40.720 obviously, he is trying to reference high literature 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:44.320 here. He is trying to quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.620 poem, The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. The actual 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:50.519 phrase is an albatross around my neck. Right. 00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:54.029 An albatross is a giant seabird. In the poem, 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:57.009 the mariner kills the bird, which is a sin against 00:13:57.009 --> 00:13:59.450 nature. And he has to wear the dead bird around 00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:02.450 his neck as a symbol of his guilt and his burden. 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:05.509 It is a very heavy, specific symbol. Johnny Boy 00:14:05.509 --> 00:14:08.889 replaces the bird of guilt with a fish. A tuna 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:12.090 fish. It is a brilliant writing detail. The expert 00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:14.850 note here is that this highlights Johnny's lack 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:17.590 of education. He has street smarts, sure. He 00:14:17.590 --> 00:14:20.600 runs a crew. He knows how to earn. But he misquotes 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:23.340 literature. He tries to sound profound and he 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:25.440 ends up sounding ridiculous. And Tony is hyper 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.899 aware of this. He remembers it. He does. And 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:30.620 he sees that same lack of focus, that same roughness 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:32.960 in AJ. When AJ is failing history or getting 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.940 drunk before gym, Tony sees the albacore mistake. 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:38.360 He sees the limitations of his father repeating 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.899 in his son. It is funny, but it is also tragic. 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:43.639 It shows the limits of Johnny's world. He cannot 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.080 even get the metaphor right. Precisely. It is 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.299 a malapropism that reveals the tragedy of the 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:51.879 character. He is reaching for something higher, 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.820 but he cannot quite grasp it. Moving on to the 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:57.240 next segment, we get a collision of worlds that 00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:59.620 critics absolutely loved. We step out of the 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.480 flashbacks and into the present day for the comedy 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.720 of errors involving A .J. and Livia. This is 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.480 a subplot that runs parallel to the heavy flashbacks. 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:10.799 As part of his punishment for the gym incident, 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:13.480 A .J. has to visit Livia at her nursing home, 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.759 Green Grove. Punishment duty. visiting grandma. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:20.580 Okay, context is key. AJ is oblivious. He is 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:22.840 a teenager. He is not paying attention to the 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:25.279 mob war or the psychological drama. But he has 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.360 overheard something at home. He overheard Tony 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.259 and Carmela discussing therapy. So he is sitting 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:32.659 with Livia, probably bored out of his mind, and 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:35.320 he just spills it. Innocently. He mentions that 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.779 Tony is seeing a psychiatrist. And Livia, how 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:40.960 does the master manipulator react? Her interpretation 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:43.720 is instantaneous and completely narcissistic. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.759 She immediately assumes Tony is talking to the 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:49.279 shrink about her. Which, to be fair, he is. A 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.279 lot of his therapy is about her. He absolutely 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.639 is. But she takes it as a betrayal. And her reaction 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.440 is immediate manipulation. She tries to pass 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.740 this dangerous information to Uncle Junior. And 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:02.519 we have to remember the stakes. In the mob world, 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:04.860 seeing a psychiatrist is a death sentence. It 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:07.419 is a vulnerability. It implies you might flip 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:10.700 or share secrets. If Junior finds out Tony is 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.700 done... It is a close call. Tony walks in just 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:15.879 before she can tell Junior. He interrupts the 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:18.059 conversation, preserving the secret for the moment. 00:16:18.299 --> 00:16:20.580 But the tension is there. The critical reception 00:16:20.580 --> 00:16:23.740 for this scene was huge. We have a note here 00:16:23.740 --> 00:16:27.360 from the critic, Alan Sepinwall. Yes, Sepinwall 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.399 praised this combination. He noted that AJ is 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.419 so oblivious that he is essentially immune to 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:36.690 Livia. Livia starts her usual routine. The waterworks, 00:16:36.789 --> 00:16:39.470 the loud self -pity, the I gave my life to my 00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:41.769 children on a silver platter speech. And AJ. 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:44.629 He just doesn't care. He doesn't even notice 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:46.590 she's doing it. He's probably thinking about 00:16:46.590 --> 00:16:49.210 what level he is on in Mario Kart. It is the 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:51.649 unstoppable force meeting the immovable object 00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:54.210 of teenage apathy. Sepinwall called it priceless. 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:57.830 It shows that Livia's power relies on people 00:16:57.830 --> 00:17:00.309 caring about her opinion. Tony cares so she can 00:17:00.309 --> 00:17:02.850 hurt him. AJ doesn't so she cannot touch him. 00:17:02.950 --> 00:17:05.450 That brings us to the resolution segment. We 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:07.109 have had the flashbacks, we've had the comedy, 00:17:07.210 --> 00:17:09.670 and now we have the truth. There is a scene in 00:17:09.670 --> 00:17:12.470 the garage that brings the father and son together. 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:16.490 The garage scene. It is intimate. Tony is changing 00:17:16.490 --> 00:17:19.750 a flat tire. AJ is assisting him holding the 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:22.390 light or the lug nuts. It is a classic father 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:25.509 -son activity. But AJ drops a bomb. He asks, 00:17:25.670 --> 00:17:28.930 point blank, are you in the mafia? This is the 00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:31.220 moment. The flashbacks have been building to 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:33.119 this. The Albacore story has been building to 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.900 this. AJ isn't just asking randomly. He cites 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:38.779 evidence. He saw police photographers at Jackie 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:41.339 April Sr.'s funeral. He is putting the pieces 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:43.960 together. And Tony's answer. It is one of the 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:46.460 most important lines in the season. He denies 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:49.279 being like Jackie April. But he uses that phrase 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:51.480 again. He says Jackie was a complicated man. 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:54.319 He is recycling the excuse he made for his own 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:57.599 father. Exactly. He uses the same euphemism for 00:17:57.599 --> 00:17:59.799 his friend that he used for Johnny Boy. It shows 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:02.519 he hasn't really processed it yet. But he tries 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:05.799 to bond. He tells AJ that he doesn't have to 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:08.460 be like Johnny Boy. He is trying to break the 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:11.259 cycle. And what about the ADD diagnosis? Do we 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:13.279 get an answer? Oh, do! Psychological testing 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:16.539 confirms borderline ADD. So the school wasn't 00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:19.359 wrong. And Tony's takeaway. He resolves to spend 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:22.099 more time with his son. He applies what he learned 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:24.500 from the memories of his own absent criminal 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:27.289 father. He wants to be present. He thinks that 00:18:27.289 --> 00:18:31.890 if he is a good dad, he can overwrite the rotten 00:18:31.890 --> 00:18:35.049 gene. It is a hopeful ending in a way. He is 00:18:35.049 --> 00:18:37.609 trying. He is trying. Whether he succeeds well, 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:39.670 that is the rest of the series. Now let us get 00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:42.730 into the final major section today, the production 00:18:42.730 --> 00:18:46.049 trivia and cultural context. This is where the 00:18:46.049 --> 00:18:48.329 deep dive really shines. We need to talk about 00:18:48.329 --> 00:18:50.750 the music of Down Neck. The music choices in 00:18:50.750 --> 00:18:52.750 The Sopranos are always deliberate, and this 00:18:52.750 --> 00:18:54.630 episode is packed. We already mentioned the blue 00:18:54.630 --> 00:18:56.950 Danube during the arrest, and Don't Bring Me 00:18:56.950 --> 00:18:58.990 Down during the beating. But there is a scene 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:02.650 involving Prozac that uses a very specific anthem. 00:19:03.150 --> 00:19:07.190 Yes. When Tony takes his Prozac and remembers 00:19:07.190 --> 00:19:10.289 his childhood, the song playing is White Rabbit 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:12.670 by Jefferson Airplane. One pill makes you larger, 00:19:12.849 --> 00:19:15.490 one pill makes you small. It is a psychedelic 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:18.829 classic about altering your consciousness. about 00:19:18.829 --> 00:19:20.670 going down the rabbit hole. It is the perfect 00:19:20.670 --> 00:19:22.950 choice for a scene about psychiatric medication 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:26.349 and unlocking repressed memories. It also plays 00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:28.890 during the Ice Cream Sunday ending, tying the 00:19:28.890 --> 00:19:31.210 whole episode together. But the best music fact, 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.329 and I know you love this one, is the irony of 00:19:33.329 --> 00:19:35.589 the Rascals. This is brilliant. So there is a 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:37.450 scene in the flashback where a song is playing 00:19:37.450 --> 00:19:41.490 on a TV in the background in 1967. It is I've 00:19:41.490 --> 00:19:43.769 Been Lonely Too Long by the Rascals. Great tune. 00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:46.869 Classic blue -eyed soul. And while this is playing, 00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:49.190 Livia is watching the news about the mob arrest 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:51.410 and she starts complaining. She says they are 00:19:51.410 --> 00:19:53.390 always picking on Italians. She is playing the 00:19:53.390 --> 00:19:56.410 victim card. The world is against us. But the 00:19:56.410 --> 00:19:58.410 irony, and this is a fact check from our source, 00:19:58.549 --> 00:20:01.529 is that the Rascals were huge stars at that moment. 00:20:01.670 --> 00:20:03.369 And three of the four members of the Rascals 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:06.269 were Italian -Americans. Dino Dinelli, Felix 00:20:06.269 --> 00:20:09.190 Cavallari, and Eddie Bregotti. So she is sitting 00:20:09.190 --> 00:20:11.670 there complaining about anti -Italian discrimination 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:14.549 while listening to a band that proves Italian 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:16.950 -Americans are dominating American pop culture. 00:20:17.170 --> 00:20:20.369 Exactly. It shows her narrow worldview. She only 00:20:20.369 --> 00:20:22.759 sees the persecution. Never the success. She 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:25.140 ignores the joy of the music to focus on the 00:20:25.140 --> 00:20:27.799 misery of the news. Now let us talk about the 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:31.420 cast. We teased a future superstar earlier. We 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:34.900 did. In the cast list under also guest star in 00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:37.799 Is the Kid, we have a credit for a Rydland kid. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.539 And that kid is... Michael B. Jordan. The Michael 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:44.160 B. Jordan. Creed, Black Panther, The Wire. One 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.240 of his earliest roles. He is one of the kids 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:48.720 chasing young Tony at the fairground. He throws 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:50.759 a bottle or something. It is a blink and you 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.019 will miss it moment, but it is there. That is 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:56.039 wild. From chasing Tony Soprano in a carnival 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:59.039 to ruling Wakanda. That is quite the career arc. 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.119 It really is. And we also have a significant 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:04.000 note about the director. Lorraine Santaferrara. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.240 Why is she significant? She holds the distinction 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.339 of being the only woman to direct an episode 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:12.140 of The Sopranos. Wait, out of the entire series? 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:15.680 Out of all 86 episodes. She is the only female 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.359 director listed in the credits. That is a staggering 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.480 statistic. And it is interesting that she directed 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:23.220 this episode. It makes sense, doesn't it? This 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:26.440 episode is so focused on the mother -son dynamic 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.619 on Livia, on the emotional interiority of the 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:31.619 characters. I think she brought a specific sensitivity 00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:35.299 to the flashbacks. It feels less like a mob movie 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:37.579 and more like a domestic drama, which makes the 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:40.720 violence even more shocking. We also have some 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.019 cultural references that ground the episode in 00:21:43.019 --> 00:21:46.420 1999. AJ references South Park. He specifically 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:50.279 references the very first episode, Cartman Gets 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:52.960 an Anal Probe. This grounds us firmly in the 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:55.920 late 90s pop culture landscape. It shows the 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:58.539 generational divide. Tony is listening to classic 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:02.160 rock. AJ is watching irrelevant cartoons. And 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:05.220 on the high culture side, Dr. Melfi quotes George 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:07.559 Santayana. Those who cannot remember the past 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.839 are condemned to repeat it. Although our source 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.720 notes she slightly misquotes it. Everyone misquotes 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.740 that one. It is like play it again, Sam. Exactly. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:17.799 And Tony mentions Leopold and Loeb, the famous 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:20.779 murderers, during therapy. He is really reaching 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:23.259 for comparisons to understand his own nature. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:27.039 He asks if he is like them broken evil. So what 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:29.779 does this all mean if we zoom out as we wrap 00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:31.900 up? We have covered the plot, the flashbacks, 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.900 the music, the trivia. What is the big picture 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:39.460 here? This episode is the pivot. It establishes 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:41.680 the generational trauma. It establishes that 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.599 Tony isn't just a bad guy. He is a guy made of 00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:47.799 bad parts. memories, genetics examples set by 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.960 his father. The contrast between the glory days 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:53.799 he imagines and the brutal reality of the flashbacks 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:56.259 is the core of the show. He wants to believe 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:59.200 his dad was a hero, but the flashbacks show us 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.420 a thug. Emily St. James of the AV Club noted 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:04.660 this in her review. She said the episode rarely 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:06.980 deviates from its central thesis about fathers 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:08.940 and mothers and their sons. It is incredibly 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.059 focused. And that focus pays off. We leave this 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:14.279 episode understanding why Tony is the way he 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:17.220 is. He is a guy with an albacore around his neck. 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:19.099 A fish out of water. And I want to leave you, 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:20.900 the listener, with a final provocative thought 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:23.160 on that. We laughed about the albacore malapropism. 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:26.960 Johnny Boy meant albatross, a bird. He said albacore, 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.220 a fish. Right. But maybe it fits better. An albatross 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:33.940 is a burden from the sky. It is airy. An albacore 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:37.059 is a dead weight from the deep. It implies you 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:40.200 are underwater. And Tony Soprano lives in the 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:42.539 deep end. He is drowning in his family history. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:45.460 It is not just bad luck. It is his environment. 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:48.799 He is swimming in it. That is a profound way 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.700 to look at a slip of the tongue. He really is 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:53.019 the fish who doesn't know he is wet. That is 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:55.440 what we do here on The Deep Dive. Oh. We find 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.680 the meaning in the mistakes. We certainly try. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.079 Thanks for listening, everyone. Go re -watch 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:03.079 Down Neck. Look for Michael B. Jordan. Listen 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.460 for the waltz. And think about the fish. See 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:07.779 you next time. Keep watching those credits. You 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:08.980 never know who you will see.