The Sopranos - Why You're Wrong About Davey Scatino

[Laughter] in this pronos New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano's way of living has major impact on those around him those within his sere of influence can often find themselves party to advantages like his wife Carmela pretty much blackmailing a neighbor's sister into writing a letter of recommendation for her daughter however others like artti buo has his restaurant set on fire by Tony which devastates him even though Tony was trying to make the best of a bad situation and help his friend out but when it comes to non-family members when it comes to non-friends when it comes to gangsters who are not made guys when it comes to non- Italian American medigans when it comes to Adriana's [ __ ] nothing is off limits to the predatory nature of laosan Nostra members the rest of the world whether they be business owners government officials or even local gardeners exist to be exploited and often stolen from squeezed dry Sal vitro for his close proximity to Mobsters has his arm broken and is forced to do work for free because of a bust up between two grease balls poorly in Fe numerous Innocents get in the way and are punished due to the mob's greed or blood lust like the two ukrainians who are taken out instead of Phil Lardo during this season 6 mob War today I wanted to talk a little about one such victim of Tony and the mob Davey scatino played by cyber System model T1000 000 Davey heard about Tony taking over the Executive game from his uncle and once in Tony repeatedly warns him that these games are high stakes and they're not for him but he is desperate to join even after already being in debt to the frightening ruchie aiio and he's already struggling to pay off that debt at the executive game he borrows more money from the house while Tony sleeps and ends up in major debt after this he tries to avoid Tony borrow from artti sell his son's car to to Tony and eventually Tony and his crew have Davey pay off his debt through the store he owns buying loads of stuff the mob will sell off that Davey will never repay eventually filing for bankruptcy Davey spends his kids College fee he lashes out at his brother-in-law at one point and even seems to try to take his own life in one scene Davey moves out of Jersey intending to work on a ranch in Vegas something Tony snides at as it's literally the home of gambling and the last we hear of him is Meadow telling her father he is now in a mental health facility victim is probably not the first word that comes to mind when talking about Davey he is a very sniveling pathetic weak character who projects and blames his own problems onto others like his brother-in-law Vic in the bar or telling his son he's taking away his car because of his off-roading he damages his family's prospects like when he gambles away his son's college funds and he practically begged his way into Tony's pocket who gave gave him numerous warnings to stay out of the game even though he could have easily been predatory and said yeah Dave you come along it'll be fun but hey this is my why your wrong Series where we take a look at characters from alternate angles and I actually think Davey isn't as bad as he's made out to be fair a lot of this video is going to be about Tony more than Davey and it's partly inspired by comments I got in my video I did on the bust out in Goodfellas where I use the Tony Davy situation as an example of how the mob prays on the weak and vulnerable with bust outs a lot of people felt it wasn't actually a bust out Simply a matter of a grown man who made a wager he lost he made another wager he lost again end of story and Davy deserved what he got no question he was weak he was out of control and he had become such an embarrassment that his wife ended up leaving him he's a scumbag loser and if he was my brother-in-law I'd have as much contempt for him as did Vic Musto in fact my major point in this video isn't some great analysis about him being a tragic misunderstood character it's just that I just kind of feel a bit sorry for the dude that's really it you can Lament The idiotic nature of a character who gets his up and comment while at the same time having empathy for him especially for his family who had to suffer because of his actions his story is a cringe inducing car crash that's only entertaining because it isn't happening to you or anyone you know because it's happening to a fictional character in fact the ripple effect from the Davey situation affected loads of characters from Tony Richie Meadow Davey's son and wife Carmela and others it's difficult to argue for Davey as he said himself he's a big boy but I want to B for the guy a little and the angle I'm approaching this video from is that Dave is a degenerate gambling addict it's not an addiction I completely understand there's more of a psychological aspect to it than a tangible one like smoking drinking or drugs but experts have compared it to these kind of addictions and it is clearly a real phenomenon a dangerous one at that and Davey is presented as an unsympathetic character I particularly detested the way he kept bringing up the children to soften Tony up I wouldn't do anything to insult you our kids go to the same school together but let's say you had someone like bubbles from the wi who fans adore and who is portrayed sympathetically he tried many times to give up his drug addiction and failed on numerous occasions with disastrous results if someone dangled a wmd in front of him and he succumbs to taking a few hits yeah it's his fault but there is an element where you do feel for the guy and Davey has a typical gambling addict dialogue I'm going to come back my L's going to change as if they lifted the dialogue straight from a Gamblers Anonymous meeting which by the way the DAV actor attended for preparation my argument in this video is that Tony intentionally manipulated Davey and he always planned to rinse him and dry I'm actually surprised this isn't a more common belief held by fans as it seems most feel Tony is completely innocent of blame and maybe it is up to interpretation but I think Tony definitely was playing the long game as I'll get into first off Tony was aware he had a reputation for gambling no it's just you know me I like to play a little a little forget it it's bought up a few few times by Davy's wife for instance so it's clearly a known thing that Davey has a gambling issue maybe there were incidents in the past in these cases you'd take care with friends like these but I think Tony saw an opportunity that walked into his lap it's interesting that Davey used to go to Gamblers Anonymous and Tony then played a part in his relapse as he did with Christopher who used to go to Alcoholics Anonymous who relapsed partly because of Tony it just shows how much of a negative negative influence Tony is to the vulnerable around him anyway the overarching theme of this story is not ha look at this loser sniveling Gambler look how weak he is compared to the alpha strong Tony Soprano no it's look how the mob prays on the vulnerable and destroys lives lone sharking is literally an entire industry that the mob thrived in this point is emphasized by the season finale ending Montage showing The Sopranos happy celebrating Meadows graduation jux depos with the negative effects they have on the environment including Davey who is shown packing up and leaving town here is a man who started off as the head of a family as a stool owner and ended up broke after a few interactions with Tony Soprano it could be argued that Tony the great manipulator that he is was not helping Davey telling him to stay away from the executive game but baiting him knowing Davey's nature and playing on it making sure the hook is nice and tight before he starts pulling he hurts dav's ego by saying these guys play deep which Davey follows up with his comments about how many jock straps he sold so clearly it hit a nerve and an important factor to consider is that Davey was already in debt to Richie of course we could argue he should have sorted that out before getting into another game but with Rich Banning Davey from any future games Davy's main means to repaying Richie was blocked off maybe that's why he was trying so hard to get into the executive game he saw it as his of paying off Richie because he knew if he couldn't he'd be screwed with his debt to Rich when you look at it from that point of view his actions make a little more sense Tony ropes him in he tells him what kind of game is being played explains his relationship to Frank Sinatra Jr sir and then tells him it isn't a game for him after practically doing a Jordan Belford sales pitch turning Davey down also allows Tony to remove any guilt he might feel over this situation he'd always be able to say well I warned him but come on it's not as if Davey can twist Tony Soprano's arm into making a decision if Tony really tried Davey would not have gotten into that game yes Tony gave him chances to avoid this whole situation but that basically involved Tony very lightly saying no a few times before pulling out the Welcome Wagon for Davey and getting him a seat at the table and moving on to where Tony wakes up and is told by Chris that Davey claims he okayed more cash for him while Tony was asleep this of course looks very bad on Davey he's broken Tony's trust in a manner of speaking but if you listen carefully Chris says Davey grabbed another 10 boxes of ziti taking him to 45 in total about a winner this time I'll do the best I can how much is he into his for about 45 bucks as a z King ofs he grabbed another 10 while you were asleep he said you okay but that still means Tony allowed him to go to 35 with no issue it's framed like Davey has gone behind Tony ton 's back and made a huge blunder after he loses a lot of money which Tony never okayed but it was only 10 grand after Tony had already Ed 35 and once Davey was in Tony's pocket there was no longer a need for a ruse Tony's attitude immediately changes somewhat Justified sure but now it becomes a very typical relationship of a mobster hounding a person in debt for money what swings it for me is the conversation in the store when Tony catches da steep why' you let me do it well I knew you had this business here Davey it's my nature frog and a scorpion you know what's the end planned bankruptcy hey you're not the first guy to get busted out this is how a guy like me makes a living this is my bread and butter I mean this surely sells it that Tony has always had a bust out in mind right the cobwebs are now removed it's lowkey one of the scariest scenes in the show Tony just belatedly saying to Davey I'm going to ruin your life and this was always my goal he and his friends messing around in the store while Davey is literally sleeping in it utterly powerless at the fact that he's being intentionally bled dry and he's even complicit in his own downfall this is a school friend of Tony who had a vulnerable gambling problem and was entrapped with his business and life driven into the ground slowly and deliberately it's pretty sickening Dave is a mark a Target just like the owner of the Crazy Horse which Chris gave to Adriana just like old man satal who had his fingers chopped off and his business taken away and most likely just like whoever owned the Bing before the Mobsters got involved and just like what JT Dolan becomes for Christopher even though they started off as friends helping each other with rehab These Guys these Mobsters are scum they're leeches Tony played Davey and Justified it to Meadow by saying Davey was a grown man who made a wager just like Tony Ton's father Justified what Tony saw by saying satel was a degenerate Gambler and it was his own fault this is literally a business model for the mob and if you think Tony is completely innocent in this storyline honestly maybe he has pulled the wool over your eyes too he treated a childhood friend like a Relentless vulture he even sent people to Davey at night to scare the guy and they lit a fire in his dumpster they're animals Vic they start a fire my tster and then these two guys came to see me one night you got no idea what dead eyes means until you face these people with that being said it's open to interpretation whether Tony always planned the bus D or whether he got the idea somewhere along the lines perhaps after he woke up and knew Dave was 45k into him maybe he was angry that Davey usurped his authority or maybe he thought this guy is going to crash and burn anyway it might as well be me who profits from it sure Davey survived well enough it could have been worse for him but he split from his family lost his business and from what Meadow said his gambling problems must have continued eventually Landing him in a mental facility implying he may have even gone as far as to lose his marbles this guy is just a hopeless pathetic guy as personified by one of his last scenes where he struggles to get the coffee machine working and then crushes his cup in defeat Tony walks over and the coffee machine works fine for him some people are just losers so what do you think does Davey a Sleazy and unlikable guy deserve some sympathy or should I discontinue the lithium let me know in the comments section below subscribe to the channel and thanks for watching

Channel: CineRanter

Views: 55,837

Keywords: the sopranos video essay, tony soprano, the sopranos analysis

Id: 2pulrAh68xg

Length: 13min 41sec (821 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024