“The Sopranos” premiered 20 years ago today (January 10, 1999).

Excellent point about the rat (which I never considered before), but I'm not sure how to interpret it in that context because Tony's point is that the rat died. "He's not looking at Christopher! A rat died back in the wall or some sh!t...abstract shapes or something."

Another excellent point. I had always been so firm on Ralphie being the arsonist that I never considered Paulie. He certainly had motive. By that point Paulie hated Ralphie and the horse, had already torpedoed Ralphie with Johnny Sac, was jealous of Ralph's earning power and vindictive about Tony forgiving a debt that Paulie felt Ralphie owed him.

 

I should have said that Paulie may have started the fire. I didn't mean to imply or say he did.

 

I don't think anyone started the fire; it was an accident.

 

I just rewatched the season 5 finale, All Due Respect. A few things about this episode. First, I wonder if Chase knew Johnny Sac was going to have cancer. In the scene where he is on the phone with Tony while in the doctor's office, there's chest x-rays in the background.

The second is, and it wasn't addressed in the podcast, how did the feds let Tony get away? Would they legally be able to detain him? They cuffed Sal Vitro. I don't know the correct legal terms, so I apologize if I misused detain.

The third thing, and I only realized this from the podcast, was Tony sent Christopher to get Tony B.'s body after he let Phil know where the body was. I guess it's safe to assume Phil wouldn't have disposed of the body. But did he know Phil was not there anymore? After all, Phil still wasn't happy. His embrace with Chris in the motel seemed genuine, so I don't think he was sending him to his potential death.

 

I am sure that was planned ahead of time, like most character arcs.

The feds underestimated the foot speed of a guy who some thought didn't have the makings of a varsity athlete.

Tony did say, "It might be over, but watch your back," so I think he figured that no one was still there, but to be careful. There was no reason for Phil to hang around once he saw Tony B's dead body, as I doubt he figured Tony S would send someone back to get the body. I am sure the assumption was that someone would eventually find his dead body and call the cops, but no one, including Phil, knew the depths of how much Tony S cared for Tony B, which is why Tony S wanted him to get a proper burial (or what passes for one given the circumstances).

 

Regarding why the FBI didn't go after Tony, he wasn't the target of the raid. As @George Co-Stanza said, he was quick to go in the opposite direction from where the feds were approaching, put a lot of distance between himself and the Sacrimoni residence by rapidly crossing a field, going down an embankment, walking along a stream, and then cutting across some other neighborhoods. When he rests for a minute, he calls his attorney and it becomes clear that Johnny Sac was the target of the indictment.

Regarding sending Christopher, there had been lots of tension between Chris and Tony B the entire season, and this was T's way of acknlowledging Chris' struggle and giving him closure. Remember, the three had been up to the property earlier and the Tonys had bonded over abusing Christopher. Tony B had become the "new favorite" after years of Christopher being groomed, so by asking Christopher to bury Tony B., T was symbolically asking him to bury all the hurt feelings. There was no immediate danger from Phil, who would also have to bury his grudges--at least until after Johnny Sac passed away.

 

I know he wasn't the target, be it it seemed odd they cuffed Sal Vitro. Wouldn't they have known he wasn't a target?

 

I think when the feds serve their warrants, they may detain anyone at the site to ensure they don't interfere. They would have detained Tony if he remained there. Plus, with Sal Vitro, there's the comic relief because of how abused he'd been ever since Feech broke his arm. Poor guy couldn't catch a break. If they interviewed Sal and he cooperated, that may have provided more evidence. He had at least rudimentary knowledge of Tony and Johnny's criminal activity and territory, and the feds would have tried to get him to name accomplices or any suspicious activity he may have seen on the premises. Being a gardener, he would be a witness to comings and goings that the feds would want to know about.

 

I knew it was for comic relief, but wasn't sure about the legalities. Thank you for explaining.