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TV: The Sopranos Discussion Thread

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The ancient Egyptians postulated Seven Souls.

Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren, the Secret Name. This corresponds to my Director. He directs the film of your life from conception to death. The Secret Name is the title of your film. When you die, that's where Ren came in.

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light. The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons.

Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel. He, she, or it is third man out...depicted as flying away across a full moon, a bird with luminous wings and head of light. Sort of thing you might see on a screen in an Indian restaurant in Panama. The Khu is responsible for the subject and can be injured in his defense -- but not permanently, since the first three souls are eternal. They go back to Heaven for another vessel.

The four remaining souls must take their chances with the subject in the Land of the Dead.

Number four is Ba, the heart -- often treacherous. This is a hawk's body with your face on it, shrunk down to the size of a fist. Many a hero has been brought down, like Samson, by a perfidious Ba.

Number five is Ka, the Double, most closely associated with the subject. The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead to the Western Lands.

Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives.

Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.


What's this about?
 
Corresponding with onscreen images as lien is being recited.

From sopranosautopsy-

Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren, the Secret Name. This corresponds to my Director. He directs the film of your life from conception to death.

As already mentioned in this thread, the 'Director' appears to be Janice, who immediately conjures memories of Livia. The poisonous effect Livia had on Tony's life, which extends to his own children - and surely future Soprano generations to come - is clear. Tony's fate was sealed the second Livia brought him into the world. His poisoned upbringing touches upon every aspect of his person, "from conception to death".

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light. The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons.

The only life Eugene, a literal "button man" in Tony's crew, knows is following orders. He follows orders from Tony, from Chris, from the FBI. This status boxes him in entirely, and ultimately leads to his unraveling by the end of the episode.

Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel. He, she, or it is third man out.

As you already mentioned in the OP, Meadow can be interpreted as being Tony's "guardian angel", her voice ultimately being the thing that pulls him back from the brink of death in "Mayham".
Number four is Ba, the Heart, often treacherous.

It's pretty self-evident why Ray Cutro, a rat in Tony's crew, is the treacherous heart.

Number five is Ka, the Double, most closely associated with the subject. The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead.

Note here AJ is the "double", not "the devil". The last season is preoccupied throughout with where he will end up in the world. Especially in the final nine when he starts hanging out with the two Jasons, briefly flirting with violent crime himself, it appears he at least has the potential to truly become Tony's double.

Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives.

Another pretty self-evident one. Adriana is a shadow and a memory ("wrapped like chains").
Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.

Well, this one might depend on how you interpret the final scene of the series. But if you interpret it as representing Tony's "moment of death", leaving his family behind, Carmela is what "remains".
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From the old David Chase chat group-


1) Ren = Janice. She gets the important role of "director" because she is the show's living surrogate for Livia, who has, arguably, directed the soul and life of Tony Soprano more than anyone. Her shadow hangs over all six seasons of this show despite only appearing in two (plus one episode).

Miscellaneous notes: A) Vito gets some camera time before the montage really gets going to signify the huge role he has in the first half of season six. B) The cut to the train before the line "...to death" foreshadows Bobby's death in "The Blue Comet." C) The noticeably long close-up of the Bisquick logo is strange. Maybe signifying Americans' "taste" for consumerism, a connection to the "taste" comment in the first scene of this video? I'm reaching.

2) Sekum = Eugene. He gets the spot in this montage because of the role he plays in this episode, but he represents the mob. More specifically, he represents capos and soldiers who take orders (who "presses the right buttons") from Tony.

3) Khu = Meadow. She is the guardian angel because it is her voice that guides Tony back from Costa Mesa in "Mayham." Taking it a step further for those who think the show's cut to black in "Made in America" represents Tony's death, she would have been Tony's guardian angel again if she knew how to freaking parallel park!

4) Ba = Raymond. This one's pretty easy. Raymond is "treacherous" because he is a mole for the FBI, and we get a shot of President Bush for some nice, on-the-nose political commentary.

5) Ka = AJ. He is "the only reliable guide through the land of the dead" because of what becomes of him near the end of the series. Recall the scene in "Made in America," after Bobby's funeral, when AJ is talking bluntly about life, and no one listens to him because no one is willing to confront the harsh realities of life.

6) Khaibit = Adriana. As the "memory," she represents all those who Tony has seen perish due to his mafia activities. Adriana gets the role in this montage, but the list of dead who could qualify, after five seasons and 65 episodes, is long.

7) Sekhu = Carmela. She is "the remains" because she will be what remains when Tony dies. I don't personally think this means Tony dies at the end of "Made in America" (though I think he did), but Tony's lifestyle--and, frankly, his weight--means he is almost certain to die before Carmela.
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I started and finished the Sopranos in February/March of this year and it was amazing. Regretting not getting into it years ago.

The only negative was Tony's chewing. Couldn't stand it.
 
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What was interesting is Vito appeared in a much earlier episode as a different character, he was in the pastry shop when Chris shot the kid in the foot. Kind of mirrors the scene in Goodfellas where he's playing a character shot in the foot by Joe Pesci
 
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HawksFan74 said:
What was interesting is Vito appeared in a much earlier episode as a different character, he was in the pastry shop when Chris shot the kid in the foot. Kind of mirrors the scene in Goodfellas where he's playing a character shot in the foot by Joe Pesci
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LOL, that's crazy. It's not like he was just an extra either, he was a full-on different character.

 
tarheelhockey said:
LOL, that's crazy. It's not like he was just an extra either, he was a full-on different character.

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Not that crazy, a lot of television/hbo shows did that pre-Sopranos. Small screen had a stigma, actors going from movies to television weren't as common as now. Usually a newby would have a couple cameos on a soap or something and then into the movies.

Recycling actors was common
 
Richard said:
Not that crazy, a lot of television/hbo shows did that pre-Sopranos. Small screen had a stigma, actors going from movies to television weren't as common as now. Usually a newby would have a couple cameos on a soap or something and then into the movies.

Recycling actors was common
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nah this is different. I can’t recall a show I watched doing this unless they were in costume or makeup
 
Richard said:
Not that crazy, a lot of television/hbo shows did that pre-Sopranos. Small screen had a stigma, actors going from movies to television weren't as common as now. Usually a newby would have a couple cameos on a soap or something and then into the movies.

Recycling actors was common
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I mean it's crazy seeing him in that scene as a totally different guy.
 
tarheelhockey said:
I mean it's crazy seeing him in that scene as a totally different guy.
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What I find crazy is that you, and other poster, didnt know this. Not being disparaging but its one of those things in the show that if you didnt know it by watching its been pointed out so many times that people no longer needed to point it out. Again, not calling you guys out but im amazed that there are still fans that don't remember it and that havent had it pointed out before
 
Mr Fahrenheit said:
What I find crazy is that you, and other poster, didnt know this. Not being disparaging but its one of those things in the show that if you didnt know it by watching its been pointed out so many times that people no longer needed to point it out. Again, not calling you guys out but im amazed that there are still fans that don't remember it and that havent had it pointed out before
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I just watched the series within the past year and this thread is the only fandom I’ve engaged with :dunno:

(incidentally, this is one of the value-adds I’ve come to appreciate about HF having non-hockey boards)
 
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HawksFan74 said:
What was interesting is Vito appeared in a much earlier episode as a different character, he was in the pastry shop when Chris shot the kid in the foot. Kind of mirrors the scene in Goodfellas where he's playing a character shot in the foot by Joe Pesci
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Recently started a rewatch and yeah, that scene really jumped out at me. I was wondering why Chris didn't acknowledge Vito, then realised he was playing a different character.
 
Megahab said:
I started and finished the Sopranos in February/March of this year and it was amazing. Regretting not getting into it years ago.

The only negative was Tony's chewing. Couldn't stand it.
Click to expand...

Trivia note: retired FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone (aka Donnie Brasco) mentions in his book that "The Sopranos gets at least one thing right. They always show Tony stuffing his face."
 
Mr Fahrenheit said:
What I find crazy is that you, and other poster, didnt know this. Not being disparaging but its one of those things in the show that if you didnt know it by watching its been pointed out so many times that people no longer needed to point it out. Again, not calling you guys out but im amazed that there are still fans that don't remember it and that havent had it pointed out before
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You're not going to notice it unless you do a rewatch and the show was on like 20 years ago. He was only in that scene for a few minutes so easy to miss it.
 
The video has profanity but the scene where Phil complains about Ellis Island changing his grandfather's name from Leonardo to Leotardo is classic.
 
HawksFan74 said:
nah this is different. I can’t recall a show I watched doing this unless they were in costume or makeup
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Sledge Hammer!, an all time classic 80's sitcom, had one actor play the villain of the week a few times. I think the Dukes of Hazzard did it quite a bit too. It was definitely more common in the serialized, non-prestige TV shows of yesteryear, but it did happen a fair amount.
 
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