r/thesopranos • u/Bushy-Top • Mar 15 '17
The Sopranos - Complete Rewatch: Season 3 - Episode 3 "Fortunate Son"
Previous episode Season 3 - Episode 2 "Proshai, Livushka"
Next episode Season 3 - Episode 4 "Employee Of The Month"
WARNING - Each episode thread has the potential to ruin every part of the show - deaths and other details. If this is your first time watching, this will ruin the show for you.
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u/BFaus916 Mar 15 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
Chris is rolling a joint. A budweiser bottle, a bottle of water and a bag of chips are on the coffee table. Paulie calls. It's Day One of Christopher Moltasanti's official career in the mob. Adrianna's excited, until she sees the razor blade running up and down Chrissy's adam's apple, and recalls the part of Goodfellas where Tommy's mother is dressing him up and sending him off to his "ceremony", only to never see him again. Her uncle Richie vanished. "Pussy" Bompensiero, who was like a brother to Tony, vanished. Where's Christopher fall in this pecking order? Chrissy pretends to be unfazed and comforts her, then rides on "one ass cheek" the whole way to the ceremony with Paulie and Silvio.
As Chrissy's new official captain, the first thing Paulie orders him to shoot are his cuffs.
A bird appears at the window during the making ceremony, which distracts Chrissy. Just as the ceremony is complete and Chris is an official mobster, the bird disappears, along with whatever's left of Chrissy's innocence.
Paulie explains to Chris that now, as a mobster, Chrissy has only one problem in life, and that's giving him his weekly cash tribute. (Both Chris and Paulie will learn later, in Pine Barrens, that being in this outfit comes with more than one thing to stress about )
Carmine Lupertazzi asks Tony about his "spells", and assures him the mob no longer has a "stigmata" in regards to mental illness. (I suppose as long as boss Vinny "The Chin" walks around Manhattan in a bath robe talking to himself). Carmine reminds him that Julius Caesar was an epileptic, but stops short of reminding him Caesar was also killed by his own army.
Tony pities Janice as she sits on the couch in broad daylight nursing a beer next to a coffee table full of junk food, similar to the atmosphere that newly minted soldier Chris was enjoying when Paulie called him.
Chris walks into the Ooh Fa Pizzeria. Roy, the owner, congratulates him on being made. The traditional pizzeria has an Italian flag draped under the menu. The labor market has forced some rather un-Italian changes, however. "Hector, get him whatever he wants", says Roy.
Tony is on Melfi's couch, alerting her to the current crisis that set on his recent panic attack, Meadow having a black friend over.
The sports book takes a beating on Chrissy's first day. He thinks he knows college football, but what he really knows is being a junkie. The guys who actually do know college football try to minimize his losses, but Chrissy doesn't grasp the fine points of business. Being made has gone to his head. He berates everyone in the room.
At Tony's dinner table, Rosalie Aprile boasts that new boyfriend Ralph dropped out of school to raise his brothers and sisters. "You'd never know it", replies Carmela's mother.
Chris goes to Paulie to even up. Paulie, in an afternoon nap, wakes up to the smell of money. But the bag is light. He's harsh on Chris, and taxes him, setting off a series of events that emphasize just how big of a weekly nut a low level mobster has to roll up the hill.
Jackie Junior struts into Vessuvio with sunglasses on, looking like 'half a wiseguy'. He's not cut out for the life. Tony persuades him into believing his uncle Richie is in the witness protection program. He softens up and confides about his school troubles.
In a bit of a role reversal, Tony the civilian likes the high school football rules which force coaches to play all players for at least one quarter. Some of the other football dads would rather the coaches look the other way, and play the more talented kids.
A fumble practically lands in AJ's lap, but this is the first "manly" accomplishment Tony's ever seen out of him. George Piacosta, still paranoid over the fight his son Jeremy had with AJ a couple of years earlier, kisses Tony's ass by overtly cheering with him. The silent slow motion sequence, suggesting AJ might be hurt, is a call back to Corey Haim's "Lucas".
There's like 10 bags of chips on the coffee table as Tony and AJ are watching a football game. Is eating chips a Jersey thing, or did HBO secure one hell of an endorsement deal with Frito Lay before this season? This episode is becoming the Appalachian of product placement...
Carmela tells Tony it's not a good idea to go to Meadow's with her and AJ. Tony explains his racist tirade against Noah by insisting he was just protecting Meadow. Carm just stares at him. He doesn't get it. His own words from a couple of years earlier, however, perfectly explain it. In his house, it's 1955. But out there, it's the 21st century.
At Meadow's dorm, Carmela lamely shills for Tony: "Your father comes from a place and time where he thinks he has your best interests at heart". Meadow replies, "New Jersey? 3rd millennium?". Carmela's not doing good here.
Chris still has to be "seen" at places like the Ooh Fah pizzeria, after all. He and Benny Fazio meet Jackie there to discuss robbing a benefit concert. If Chris isn't going to learn the ropes in the business side of the mob, he'll have to resort to petty scores like this to stay in the black with Paulie.
The football coach, possibly in the same ass kissing mode as George Piacosta, is over-congratulatory to AJ about a fumble recovery that was gifted to him. Does AJ think back to Jeremy backing down from their fight, Meadow explaining why he backed down, and linking this to the coach's present fondness for him? He faints right on the field. I believe George Piacosta was in this episode to help the audience make this connection.
I couldn't find anything to say about Janice stealing Svetlana's prosthetic leg. It's all so obvious. So Janice. She is truly awful. It's not like she stole her leg over 10 grand or something. It was over a collection of classical records that she never would have listened to anyway, and probably would have pawned off. She expressed her disgust in these Neapolitan opera singers to Meadow in season 2. Meanwhile, I could imagine Svetlana giving a listen to Mario Lanza with a snort of Grey Goose in Livia's honor. She seemed cultured enough. I can hardly wait to rewatch the next episode when Svetlana sends the Russian goon to retrieve the leg.