The Sopranos Season 6 Episode 18

The Soprano and Lupertazzi crime families quarrel over asbestos removal; Tony deals with a problematic associate; Paulie suffers a devastating personal loss; A.J. questions his friendship with Jasons Parisi and Gervasi. Ok i saw it eventually coming but not like this. Yes i am talking about possibly the most important part of the series where heartless bastard Tony Soprano finally shows the audience that he is a real mobster and therefore a monster with no value for human life. James Gandoflini's acting in this episode was superb and the whole episode was masterly made, the whole episode i wanted tony to show some emotion and some regret over ending Christopher's life(which was horrible the way it came) but kudos the writers really made us hate tony after this episode. Tony even said to Carmella that he thought that she said that she was relieved that he was dead and told Dr. Melfi that he is relieved, he then went to Vegas to get away from everyone elses mourning which he finds inconvenient. Paulies mother also dies and everyone turns up for Chris' funeral instead except a brief cameo from Carmella and Tony, i thought that it was funny that even in death Chris and Paulie clash because of the funeral attendance. Overall ground breaking great episode.

Tony said so many times in this episode why he snuffed out Chris. It was because Chris turned into a weak drug addict and as such, became a threat to rat out the mob. In the previous episode, Chris even suggested doing so the night before to J.T. Dolen (Tim Daly). On top of that he callously killed Dolen because Dolen didn't want Chris to confide in him things they would both regret. Mob killings are usually planned out and given consent. Instead, Chris became a loose cannon indulging in his addicted moods. Tony's mob instincts were right and a step ahead of everyone, as usual.





I think the writers wanted to make it plain that Chris most likely would have survived had Tony not intercepted because Carmella talked as if the hospital was surprised he didn't live. The hospital concluded Chris drowned in his own blood when in reality he was suffocated. So the writers were making it plain Tony murdered Chris. Although to watch the blood spurt out, it looked as if he would have succumbed very soon. Perhaps Tony wanted assurance Chris died before the ambulance arrived.





I was wondering how the writers would be able to off such a beloved character, and yet they ingeniously pulled it off. Taking advantage of an accident-fantastic! Carmella's response when she first heard the news was perfect. Everyone was in character and it was all well done. Great episode!





I also like the misunderstandings Tony and Chris had. After getting a bunch of flack about how the movie "Cleaver" mirrored his own situation with Adrian, Tony thought Chris still had misgivings or believed the two actually had an affair. After Tony calls it out to Christopher, to get things straight with Tony, Chris made J.T. Dolen claim it was his idea. Dolen told the guys he got the idea from the movie "Born Yesterday." After seeing Dolen's black eye, Tony knew Chris had put him up to it. And after seeing the movie, Tony thought Chris saw him as the Harry Block blowhard character. It hurt Tony's feelings that Chris would perceive him in such a way. And it would also explain why Chris seemed to be avoiding him (although the real reason was because Chris didn't want to be around alcohol.) So many misunderstandings so beautifully interwoven! So much like life.

Is it true? Is he realy dead? are they joking? He can´t be dead. Is the show gonna be any good without him? Will he return for some crazy reason? I was shocked when Cristopher died in this episode, he was i think my favorite character, he brought mutch of the fun and humor of the show. He was overall a verry nice character, who was played for 8 years by the superb (underrated) actor Michael Imperoli (Goodfellas (Spider)). The acting was unusualy good, i love Edie Falcos reaction when Tony tells her that Cristopher is dead. But nothing else hapened other than that Cristopher died. So the episode was filled with strong dialouge and great writing.





RIP Cristopher Moltisanti

Before I get to my review, I just want to say that I really hope 'The Sopranos' gets an Emmy for whatever it's nominated for including 'Best Drama.' Sure, the show is gone and many shows to come have better chances, but this show really suffered in that category. For a show like this, it's hard to believe it only won the award once, in it's Fifth Season. The show never won in its first, second, third, fourth, and sixth seasons, even though every season is stellar. I have to say, what is House and Boston Leagal doing in that category. Sure, House is a great show, but I only watch it to see what Hugh Laurie will do. As far as I'm concerned, some of its stories are problematic and has no continuity. With Boston Leagal, I only saw some episodes and still I wasn't pleased because it's basically like 'The Practice' with a comedic point of view. In my opinion, the three that will really be in the contest is Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, and The Sopranos. Many think Heroes with win, but who knows...





Back to my review, this episode is nominated for "Best Writing" and is sure to win (Unless of course The Second Coming or Made in America win). In the beginning of the episode, Phil Leotardo, one of the most annoying and hateful characters ever put on the series, complains about an asbestos situation. On the ride home, Tony and Christopher crash into a ditch and we learn that Chris was high. He sees that Christopher is in his moment of dying because he's coughing out blood and wailing in agony with his eyes hazed all over the place. Tony suffocates him by holding his nostrils together.


In this episode, I really hoped that Tony died because of what he did. Sure, Christopher deserved it but at least Tony should've gave him a chance and let the Hospital handle it and deal with it later. In some episodes, Tony doesn't show his emotions until the end (his emotions about his mother's death in "Proshai, Livushka). In this episode, we learned what kind of person Tony really is, a man of emotion, not really, and hate. As far as I care, Tony shouldn't have done that.

This episode just had me hooked, with the wonderful acting, and that feeling is coming back that something bad is about to happen. There are some things that bothered me though.





One: Chris died tragically but not in the way I or others thought. Come on this is Chris were talking about, you would think some gun fight, come on this is the mob world. I'm glad though that everyones sad reaction to the news was perfect, how could they not mess that up. It's still painful to hear the words Chris is dead, but it's happened.





Two: Tony and that girl in Vegas (forgot her name) dragged on a bit. I just wanted to know where this was going and it went places and led up to a perfect ending (that desert scene you know) but it was all chit chat and some stuff said with inner meanings. All together though, this is an episode I want to talk more and more about. That asbestis crap being dumped into the lakes though, that got to me.

Christopher's relapse and re-entry into substance abuse lasted very briefly this time around. His downward spiral finally hit bottom and this time, he never resurfaced. As the season and the show come to their final soon, there are a lot of tying loose ends, but Christopher's demise did not feel rushed. Still, it was a shocker to me that he was written off at this episode. Christopher, in the eyes of his compadres, has for some time gone away. In his attempt to extricate himself from alcohol and substance abuse, he could not but distance himself away from his "family" for the existence within that family induced the very bad things he had tried to relinquish. With the exception of his wife, he did not get any more support for his effort. One could see the desperation, everyone picking on him while he was trying to stay strong.





Originally I had wanted to classify this episode as "Painful to Watch" but was afraid that it might betaken the cynical way of the episode being so bad that it was painful to watch. Au contraire, it was literally painful to watch a bad character who tried to better himself but met his demise amidst unsupporting friends. All of the characters and story lines in Sopranos have always been well thought of and well developed, but Christopher's and AJ's roles had really shown the helplessness, the hopelessness of someone so lost and so deep into the darkness; the futility of caring and trying to do good for others who mean so much to them. The only difference was that Christopher had worked and earned his wings while A.J. was rather indulgent and not yet earned his stripes. Yet one still sees some modicum of decency in AJ amidst the confusion swirling around the few violent incidences, of which he was both a passive and an active participant. It is quite interesting to see how two children, born in the same family, raised the same way, exposed to the same stimuli could end up very differently, which brings in mind the question of Nature vs. Nurture. Meadow held herself together through it all; she went through rebelious phase, and she threw different fits and tantrums, but she came out of all of those with her head high and her feet strongly anchored. Unfortunately thus far, AJ got stuck somewhere deep and had struggled to come out alive. His is another good one to watch, even when it can seem too indulgent at times.

What an overly drawn out episode. Surprised it's gotten the ratings it has because it's nothing special. In fact, it's an insult to Sopranos fans who expected a lot more than what they got here.





The writing the last few seasons have been abysmal. The writers have done a great job of writing in one meaningless episode after another then tossing an episode like this which attempts to wrap up a lot of this but does it unconvincingly.





So let me get this straight? Tony, Christopher are hit by a couple of teenyboppers on the road? LMAO. Who wrote this crap. Tony despite of his years of caring for Chris decides to take advantage of the situation by rubbing out Chris.





I don't know what's the point of keeping a character around this so long only to kill them in such a cheap way. All the horrible things Chris has done and he's the victim of an auto accident by a couple of airheads? Haha. Brilliant.





Another thing that wasn't convincing was Carmela's grief over Chris. They've never been close not like a mother or son. I remember it was the first few seasons that Carmela referred to him as an A-HOLE. LMAO. So basically the first half was a lot of soap operish drama for a character nobody cares about that really should have been killed of a long time.





Then Tony decides to get together with another slut in Vegas while Phil is involved in a dumping scheme.





The only part that really did make sense was Tony's admittance to Dr. Melfi that he hated the kid which is something I've always known. However, Tony's philosophy is hypocritical describing Chris as a messup yet Tony himself is a screwup, he has a family that's screwed and as we see with what happened with AJ and black man, AJ is a screwed up loser like his dad.

Tony, I guess that your problems with Christopher had been solved once and for all, but as for New York well that’s a different story. We pick up our story with Tony and Phil discussing business as we learn in the opening scene that Tony is dumping asbestos where he shouldn’t be, and Phil feels that his pockets are little too light for this service. Phil demands of Tony a higher percentage that is unacceptable to Tony, and so they part ways with no resolution to the matter. Now the tension builds between New Jersey, and New York which should provide, hopefully, some good action as we close out the series. Christopher and Tony driving back home from the meeting are discussing the terms Phil set, and Christopher waxes melancholy over the situation and attempts to sway Tony to meet Phil’s demands to keep the peace. Tony begins to agree with Christopher, but notices that Christopher is acting strange with the way he keeps shifting his head as well as fooling with the radio. Christopher’s driving then becomes erratic as he drives into the oncoming lane and nearly has a head on collision, but is able to avoid it only to lose control of the vehicle causing it to roll down a hill. Finally the vehicle comes to a stop with Christopher seriously injured and coughing blood, while Tony is only banged up. Christopher then begins to tell Tony that he needs to help him out because he will never pass the drug test. As Tony makes his way over to Christopher’s side of the car, Christopher keeps repeating that Tony needs help him out because he will lose his license. All the while Christopher is coughing up blood and looking really bad. Tony begins to dial 911 and then has second thoughts then stops before finishing the number. Tony then leans into the car places his fingers on Christopher’s nose causing him to suffocate thus killing Christopher, and then afterwards calls 911. Tony’s rushed to the hospital where he’s informed that Christopher was pronounced dead, and then he contacts Carmela with the bad news. Tony’s released from the hospital and is home recuperating when his top guys come to visit him, and with everyone around showing grief Tony is acting very mellow over the situation. When you consider this it’s amazing that no one else found that odd given the closeness of Tony, and Christopher’s to one another, and even with the falling out between Pauley and Christopher, Pauley expressed remorse openly about the things he gave Christopher grief over. Next we go through the motions of showing the family’s grief with Christopher’s wife, mother, and others albeit with respect to his father-in-law who was angered at Christopher because of the toxicology report indicating the drugs in the system. Tony has one of his signature dreams where he’s with his psychiatrist in whom he confesses to killing him as well as others and expresses to her the relief he has with Christopher’s death then wakes up. Then at his regular psychiatrist visit he expresses the sense of relief and frustration over Christopher’s death of course this time without being specific concerning his role in Christopher’s death. Next we learn that Pauley’s mother has died as well. Tony, while at Christopher’s funeral again shows no remorse openly over Christopher’s death. Now, I know that these mobsters are a hard bunch, and not prone to break down in front of one another but still no one notices or calls him on it. Tony and Carmela then pay a visit to Pauley’s mother’s funeral where ¾ of the room is empty, and then Pauley seeing Tony comes over to him, and Carmela expresses her sorrow for his loss then leaves him and Tony to talk alone. Pauley expresses hurt and anger that more people haven’t come to pay their respects but that Christopher’s funeral was packed, and Tony then talks to him and calms him down. Tony then decides a little later that he needed to get away for while so he hops on a plane and heads to Las Vegas because that’s what most of us would do when dealing with grief or attempting to look as though he is. Tony finds out that his so-called luck has changed and comes up a winner, then considers hey why not since you’re here look up one of Christopher’s old flings to let her know that Christopher is dead. One thing leads to another, and the rest is history as Tony sleeps with her than decides to try a little peyote because Christopher had done some when he was there. So not only is Tony sharing intimacy with one of Christopher’s old flings but then decides to walk a little more in Christopher’s shoes, and experience what Christopher had experienced. While high on peyote Tony begins winning big at the roulette table while he and the girl are acting spaced out which eventually culminates in Tony lying flat-out on the floor laughing in the middle of the casino with everyone watching him act like a moron. We then find Tony in the desert with the girl spacing out on the sky and everything around them, and then Tony stands up and shouts “I get it” thus ending the episode.





This episode dealt with a long burning issue between Christopher and Tony, and Tony’s doubts about grooming Christopher to take over the family business from him. It wasn’t much of a surprise that Christopher was going to die somehow before the series ended, and more so by Tony’s hand. Sure Christopher seems to have his life in order, and seemed sincere in trying to kick his habits but was constantly relapsing so this gave cause for concern with Tony. Now out here in normal society you look at a person who’s trying get sober, and yes it’s not easy for them as most do experience relapses at times, but those who are sincere pick themselves up and move forward. But in the Mafia a drug addict is a liability because of the leverage that can be used against them to turn evidence against Tony and the organization. If you remember back a few seasons ago Tony told Christopher at the hospital shortly after the intervention that if it were anyone else that they would have an intervention in the back their head indicated with his fingers shaped like a gun, so the message was clear. Tony got Christopher in rehab and told him that he would get this one chance while making the message clear that he wasn’t going to tolerate slip ups. Afterwards, Christopher having gotten clean, tried hard to stay sober but those around him made it hard for him to stay clean. Christopher after having gotten clean was clear minded and stronger for it, but yet while they congratulated his sobriety they also mocked him for it because it changed him. They also viewed the fact that they could control themselves but he couldn’t as a sign of weakness on Christopher’s part, and their respect for him went down. Then Christopher relapsed over time and was using periodically which Tony of course found out about. We could name the many instances that drove him to relapse centered around Adriana, Tony, Adriana’s death, and a plethora of other instances leading him down the wrong track of substance abuse. Further Christopher having a Family, a wife, a baby, and his habit made Tony nervous over the leverage that would be held over him to turn witness for an FBI case. The movie “Cleaver” painted a very grim view of Christopher’s feelings towards Tony, and Tony once realizing how he was portrayed in this movie gave him further concern about Christopher. So taking all these things and combining them together it seemed as though Christopher’s days were numbered anyway, and the accident provided Tony an easy out concerning Christopher. Now as for New Jersey and New York it’s going to be very interesting to see what direction they go in, will it culminate into a blood bath, or will the situation be resolved in a more diplomatic unfortunate series of events type of way. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of fans of the show want the action to be ratcheted up for the few remaining episodes left in the series, but who knows because David Chase has chosen his own path in storytelling, and as we’ve learned in the past anything goes. One things for certain watching a major character like Christopher killed off certainly does signify that the end of the series is near yet I wonder what the fates of the other major characters are going to be, and if they are killed off how will they go out. Well with only a few episodes left those questions shall be answered, and then we will have to learn to get along without The Sopranos. It’s rare to see one of the great shows in television history come into being follow it all the way through to its conclusion and wonder if there will ever be a show like it to garner such great praise and loyal following anytime soon. While there are many fantastic shows out there are only a few that can hold the coveted title of “Excellent”, and I am certain that we will come to miss this remarkable show with all of its great storytelling, stellar cast and characters, as well as excellent production. Just a few more episodes to go and all are questions to its ending will be answered. Take care.





Peace To All.

So this was a very surprising finish for Christopher. For Tony always sticking up for him and showing love (?) and respect for him, to finish him off? I did think it was about the babyseat, drugs, etc. but then Tony showing more relief then grief, that was the surprising bit. It shows how cold Tony can be, like we didn't know, but still I did think he had a bit more feelings for his real family, especially showing signs that he wants out. I think he has to watch out for A.J. now, for he's showing violent signs, and before I thought maybe Christopher was going to take out Tony, it now might be A.J. that does.

What can I say... Not only has my prediction come true about Chris but how it happened is still a complete surprise to me. David Chase went the whole opposite direction by having Chris go out by fighting his own demons. This was ultimately from his battle of drug addiction and his desperate attempts to make Tony "love him". The thoughts on everybodys mind was that he would go out shooting or an attempt on his life from one of Phil Leotardo guys. But the first 10 minutes were so captivating in this episode that I could not look away. Even though many probably look at Tony S as the "bad guy" in this episode for taking out Chris because it might show him as overstepping his power, but I see it differently. After watchin the episode twice, its hard to say that if he had called a cab for Chris, what would of happened. Chris would of continued to do drugs and have a different agenda than what is expected of him from the family. Tony was just tired of his selfish ways and his drug habits, along with the babyseat being impaled by a branch so it had to be done. A.J is torn by which life to go by and I wouldnt be surprised if suicide was his end.

What a better episode! They had sum filler, but alot of subtext in the story kept me focused. When Chris says that his system has no balls, he is answering Tony from last week at the grill. When Tony realizes that Chris' lungs have collapsed, he has a thought that changed us all, and decided to kill him right there. This causes much grief and pain to the family, but not Tony. He is relieved that Chris and all his problems are gone. There is so much happening it drives Tony crazy, and he must get away to Vegas to find peace...or a piece. It's funny, he goes all that way, then goes to one of Chris' girls that lives there. If he is trying to escape Chris, he is doin a piss poor job. But at the end in the desert he screams "I DID IT!" We all know that that was building up, now he will most likely fall into a depression once he returns home.





As for Phil and the dump site...I think this is how or what the show will end over. Dumping asbestos is a serious EPA violation, and carries alot of weight. Remember Al Capone was busted via taxes, not murders.

I liked this episode quite a bit. First of all I really wasn't expecting Christopher to die like that. It was interesting. It was a surprise but not that much of a surprise. Tony had lost a considerable amount of trust in Christopher, plus apparently from how the episode developed he was jealous of Christopher and threatened by him. The episode highlighted some of the weaker qualities in Tony's character, mainly how selfish and extremely insecure he can be. They managed to do this in a much more believable way than they did in the earlier episode dealing with his gambling. Tony's has been a little less careful, a little more reckless. Is this basically leading up to his downfall? We will have to wait and see. I also like the continued development we have seen in the AJ character. It is obvious they are trying to compare AJ to Tony. With AJ having his own therapy sessions and the "junior mafia," thing going on with his friends. The interesting thing about it is that AJ is still a very sensitive kid, he has not quite become cold enough to not be bothered by the things he sees, and the darker side of humanity. I was impressed by some of Robert Iler's acting in this episode, it showed some real growth. Overall a very nice episode.

This one prompted a sudden and impromptu 3-way phone conversation with family during the first 10 minutes. I don't know what to say but I knew it was coming but not like that.





Kudos to Chase for the continued symbollic special effects and asides that are interwoven throughout this series - even tying together or echoing a few from last season. The earlier episodes this final "season" were like how a roller coaster first starts moving - slowly chugging along, maybe hesitating or jerking a bit until the grease works its way through the wheels and the thing smooths out and starts gaining speed as it goes up and down the small hills and curves around a relatively flat track. With 3 more episodes to go, this coaster has now started chugging uphill towards the apex of a mighty hill and I can't wait to see what happens next when it goes flying (and let's hope Chase DOES allow it to fly).

This episode started out very strong, and had the potential to become a classic. However, the storyline lapsed severely and the second half of the show was nothing but filler.


For one thing, who would believe a powerful mob boss would travel alone to vegas and trip out? No person of any kind of power would leave themselves so open and vulnerable. If Leotardo caught wind of that, he would have had a sniper on the next plane.


I also found it hard to believe that Leotardo would dump a truckload of asbestos into what appeared to be a wildlife preserve, in broad daylight too! Not that the character isn't a mean, dark SOB to begin with, but that really is over the top, even for Phil. ( I did think it was a nice touch having the sound of the ducks in the background as the asbestos poisoned and destroyed their habitat. It was almost like Phil was destroying Tony's home while he was away, those f$@%ng ducks again!!


Christoper's death was a mercy killing,(by the writers, not Tony)albeit unexpected. His character this season has become nothing but a weak, unstable,complaining obstacle, and his murder of JT Dolan last week was completely uncalled for. I never really cared for JT to begin with, but the man paid his debt and then some, and was innocently sitting in his home minding his business. Nobody deserves that. Perhaps in the last moments of his life, Chrissy was able to reflect on this and come to terms with the wrongs of his ways.


I will miss Michael Imperioli though, he did an excellent job with the character throughout the entire series, and the episodes that he wrote are among my favorites.("From Where to Eternity" and "Christopher" most notably)


It would be nice if one of the remaining 3 episodes were written by Imperioli. Most likey he will also re-appear in one of Tony's dreams before the series ends. Nonetheless, as soon as Tony touched down in vegas, I thought he was re entering another "Kevin Finnerty" dream or something, although the locations were beautifully shot,and of course Gandolfini is always a joy to watch, the writing really just seemed like filler, like they had nothing else to do with the remaining 30 minutes of the episode. So, with 3 episodes left and 10 major characters still standing, it will be very interesting to see how it plays out. I hope the writers don't let us down, at least we know the actors never will. JS

(Spoilers ahead)You know, even when I know what's going to happen on The Sopranos, I still don't know what's going to happen!





We all saw Christopher's death coming, but leave it to David Chase to defy our expectations for him to go down in a hail of bullets, and instead dispatch him in such an ignoble and morally ambiguous way.





AJ continues to struggle against the pull of his evil heritage. It is an unexpected pleasure to witness his dawning self-awareness. He still could come down on either side of the fence, though.





Not so for Tony, who has fully succumbed to the dark side. Vegas epiphany aside, this can only end badly for T.





This is what classic entertainment looks like. The acting, the writing in this episode- this is a creative team at the height of its powers- thoroughly entrancing viewing!

This episode was a huge disappointment. Coming off of the momentum from last week's excellent 'Walk the Line' episode, I was hoping that each of the remaining episodes would only get better and better until this series wraps up after 3 more episodes. But this wasn't the case.





The only thing significant that happened in the episode was that Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) died by asphyxiation caused by Tony physically cutting off his air supply with his hands after they were in a car accident. Tony leaves for Las Vegas to get away for a while, where he dabbles in drugs, including 'peyote' and marijuana. AJ, by the end of the episode, is back to his severely depressed, horribly acting self. I can't blame him - with the way this series seems like it is going to end, this is the best example of 'reality imitating art' I've ever seen. And, just to milk a dead cow even more, they have pushed back the final episode of the series until June 10th.