The Sopranos - Ralphie (major spoilers)

[nick jacoby]

I mean... This scene is crazy. I just watched this episode again. James Gandolfini man.
Brilliant. RIP. Joe Pantoliano is a brilliant actor as well.

If you have never watched The Sopranos here is some context. Stop Reading here
if you don't want to know any more about the series or this scene. SPOILER ALERT


Tony is mad because Ralph had a stable (with a horse in it) burned down in order to collect insurance money. The horse was burned alive. It was Ralphs horse but Tony liked the horse a lot .....and had even paid the veterinarian bill previously when the horse was sick and Ralph neglected it. Although it is never "confirmed" .. we all know Ralph did indeed have the stable burned down. . There were other incidents between Ralph and Tony that obviously added to this happening. But I wont go into them here. Ralph was a scumbag. But one of the best characters. Period

Tony, although a complete sociopath has a deep love for animals that is shown several times in the series. Also important, at this time Ralphs son Justin is in the hospital with severe injuries he suffered from an accident he suffered while playing around with a bow and arrow with his friend in the backyard.

 

[moreorless87]

A lot of influence from Gandolfini's scene in True Romance.

I have to admit my interest in the show declined after Ralph's death, not that it wasn't deserved but he was such a gloriously hateble asshole.

 

[nick jacoby]

A lot of influence from Gandolfini's scene in True Romance.

I have to admit my interest in the show declined after Ralph's death, not that it wasn't deserved but he was such a gloriously hateble asshole.

man i love every episode of The Sopranos! But I hear you! Ralph was an amazing character!

 

[Amerikuracana]

If you fk somebody's sister, they may or may not end up hating you for it.

 

[Lights Out 101]

The GOAT series

 

[Amerikuracana]

Also, it was also about the girl he actually killed.

 

[DaleBoca]

TS was clearly influenced by my Fat Jerry Anastasia post I made not long ago.

And sick Spoiler.... lol. Some people still haven’t seen this series, you goomba.

 

[nick jacoby]

TS was clearly influenced by my Fat Jerry Anastasia post I made not long ago.

And sick Spoiler.... lol. Some people still haven’t seen this series, you goomba.

haha I thought about it. But I mean spoiler alerts shouldnt be required on things over 10 years old

edit- I added a spoiler alert lol

 

[DC23]

Deleted this fucking thread.

TS you virgin.

 

[DaleBoca]

haha I thought about it. But I mean spoiler alerts shouldnt be required on things over 10 years old

edit- I added a spoiler alert lol

Yea.... you may want to also edit your title. If you know... kinda gives it away... and also remove the video or at least put it in a spoiler box.

 

[BisexualMMA]

The real question is what kind of crazy fuck keeps his Raid on the kitchen counter?

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Ralph was one of the best characters on the show imo.

 

[moreorless87]

man i love every episode of The Sopranos! But I hear you! Ralph was an amazing character!

I still watched most of it but I feel that was the point were a bit of dropoff started.

Again that character has more than a little 90's cinema influence to him, lot in common with Joe Pantoliano's character Ceaser in Bound IMHO.

 

[Winter-John]

My theory is the writers were originally going to have Janice accidentally kill Ralph when she pushed him down the stairs, but pulled back on it because everybody wanted to see Tony kill him

 

[Leon]

I remember watching this the first time. You could feel the tension building. Such an intense scene.

Also Ralphie did let this poor horse burn to death. "SO WHAT IF I DID IT? IT WAS A FUCKING HORSE!"

 

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Is Tony a sociopath though? People throw that word around waaaay too much. I don't know what the fuck it really means either. But I think if he loves animals, or anything for that matter, he's a not a sociopath.

 

[Scerpi]

TS was clearly influenced by my Fat Jerry Anastasia post I made not long ago.

And sick Spoiler.... lol. Some people still haven’t seen this series, you goomba.

Get the fuck out of here with your “sick” spoiler

 

[SRN]

Ralph was one of the best characters on the show imo.

Yes he was, truly despicable pos but a great character. I'm also a fan of Richie Aprile. Both played by great actors

Is Tony a sociopath though? People throw that word around waaaay too much. I don't know what the fuck it really means either. But I think if he loves animals, or anything for that matter, he's a not a sociopath.

That was Dr Melfi's diagnose. Sociopaths are not psychopaths, they do have empathy although not a great one. They are mostly anti-social (dangerous behaviors, no respect for authorities...), capable of developing relationships, friends and have a family. They basically are a "by all means necessary" kind of people that will do anything to gain what they want but are not monsters like psychos.

 

[Clippy]

I never did watch this show but now why fuckin bother

 

[moreorless87]

That was Dr Melfi's diagnose. Sociopaths are not psychopaths, they do have empathy although not a great one. They are mostly anti-social (dangerous behaviors, no respect for authorities...), capable of developing relationships, friends and have a family. They basically are a "by all means necessary" kind of people that will do anything to gain what they want but are not monsters like psychos.

Neither is really an official term and theres no clearly defined difference between them as far as I'm aware although people tend to use psychopath more for violent criminals and maybe some confusion between being psychotic which is an entirely different condition.

I think the shows aim was to show that Tony is actually a reasonably normal guy who lives in an environment that's very abnormal encouraging immoral sociopathic behavour. The horse becomes an outlet for feeing empathy in a way that he's otherwise been conditioned not to, hence why he takes it to such an extreme and kills Ralph. A lot of the setup highlights that as well with Ralph being dismissive of the horse relative to his son being injured.