Discussion Fridge / TheSopranos

Removed:

• The fate of Tony's family after the show ends. Whenever Carmella pesters Tony about what the family will do for money if he dies, Tony tells her that the information will be made available to her when "the time comes." However, by the end of the show, Tony's consigliere is in a coma, and his two most trusted right-hand men (Bobby and Christopher) are dead. This means that if Tony did indeed die in the show's finale, that his family's financial well-being is left in the hands of the resentful Patsy Parisi and the ever-unreliable Paulie. Given that both of them have been shown to dislike Carmella (with Paulie showing he was willing to screw her out of money before Tony was even dead), and that neither knew the extent of Tony's banking relationships, it is unlikely Carmella and her children will be left with much of anything. Without his father's influence, it is equally unlikely that AJ will keep his job, and Meadow will lack the means to pay for her law school.
  • But I thought it was made pretty clear that A) Tony made sure a lot of his money was kept where only his mob lawyer Neil Mink could get a hold of it and B) Carmela has already squirreled some of Tony's money away herself into various accounts of $99,999 in preparation for such things?
  • Plus Meadow is dating Patsy Parisi's son, so even though the match may not have the dynastic advantage for Patsy it once did, wouldn't he be looked down on by other mobsters if he failed to provide for his future daughter-in-law?
  • Have not watched the show in quite a while, but I was always under the impression that the money would be delivered by the Russian money launderers/mobsters with whom Tony had originally placed it. Also, the relationship between Tony and the Russian always seemed more than merely professional to me. I never really thought that Tony would rely on his crew alone to provide for his family in case of a tragedy. While one might raise the possibility of the Russians cheating Tony and keeping the money instead of giving it to Carmela (be it as a lump sum or in installments), I would argue that this life insurance deal for mobsters is probably a significant portion of their operation which requires their customers to have an enormous amount of trust, making it unlikely for the Russians to be willing to cheat Carmela out of the money.
  • Carmela ensured that she and her children have legitimate avenues to access Tony's assets in the event he was ever killed (e.g. the living trust Tony signed in Season 4). They might not be able to get to all of Tony's cash, but they certainly won't be left with anything.

As all the natter suggests, we really don't know enough about what financial mechanisms Tony left in place for this to be a fridge horror. For all we know, Carmela may have millions in cash and assets.

Removed these for being theories and interpretation rather than fridge brilliance:

• Dr Jennifer Melfi is Tony's true consigliere. Melfi's effectiveness in this role is part of the reason that Tony is able to maintain control over the North Jersey rackets for many years, when other families seem to constantly beset by internal power struggles.
• The opening titles. Every week, Tony drives the New Jersey Turnpike. Every time, he takes a ticket and pays his toll in cash. Why not get an EZPass? Because that's an RFID transponder and he's paranoid about being tracked, by law enforcement or otherwise.
• It seems odd at first that Tony's father is so over-the-top in flashbacks, compared to the serious nature of the show, and even his memories of everyone else. However, Johnny Boy has been dead for a long time, and all Tony has left is a memory of his father that has been built up over time to ridiculous proportions.