Why Did Tony Forgive Uncle Junior For Trying To Kill Him? The Sopranos Explained

how people [Music] The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano and his associates as he navigates through life as a family man and the head of a crime family the show is filled with colorful and challenging characters for Tony to face such as Phil leotardo Carmen lupatazzi Ralph severetto and Johnny sack one of the most prominent characters in the show is karado soprano AKA Uncle Jr the brother of Tony's deceased father Johnny boy I've hardly ever talked about Junior on the channel but I do hope to do so in future videos as he is one of the most fascinating characters in the show Junior really is one of the most lovable and endearing characters in The Sopranos and it's remarkable when you consider he started off as someone who pretty much all fans despised in season 1 junior is a force to be reckoned with being a potential successor to the position of boss of the demaio crew after Jackie April's death and thus being a rival to Tony in spite of their close relationship which goes was back to when Junior used to play catch with Tony in Tony's youth after a stalemate Tony capitulates allowing Junior to become boss but secretly having the Capo's ears behind Junior's back happy for the feds to have their Spotlight on Junior which ends up being a master class move as junior is eventually arrested and placed under house arrest pending the result of a RICO trial something which he is tied up in for almost the rest of the entire show Junior pretty much becomes a mentor character to Tony someone who Tony comes to and speaks freely with seeks advice from and is comfortable around until of course Junior's mental condition deteriorates for most of the show Junior and Tony have a warm and loving relationship it's complex it's nuanced there is amnosity and there are definitely issues some of which will tackle today but ultimately Tony and Junior's talks on Junior's couch are some of the most Charming moments of the show season 1 however is a completely different ball game Tony and Junior butt head so often not to mention the stirring of Tony's mother Livia that Junior actually decides to kill Tony and Via an unsuccessful hit this comes after Tony jokes about Uncle June being in the Muff Brendan an associate of Tony's crew being killed by Junior's right-hand man Mikey pamlese Tony stopping Junior from killing Malanga in arti buka's restaurant and a whole lot of other things the two have an uneasy relationship not least because the two are fighting for power and Junior happens to be a self-absorbed and petty man but when it's all said and done after Junior's men are killed after he tries to have Tony whacked most of Junior's business is taken away from him and he is allowed to remain a puppet boss as a target for the feds and Junior is later released from jail and enters house arrest and over time Junior and Tony somewhat mend their relationship it starts off kg a few arguments and hospital rooms here and there but over time Tony begins to enjoy his uncle's company once again but a question does emerge why didn't Tony kill Junior after Junior tried to have him whacked tried to make his wife a widow and his two children fatherless why did Tony essentially forgive Junior and repair his relationship with him when so many others like for example have felt the wrath of Tony Soprano well is a bit of a different situation given he was a rat but there's many different aspects to Tony taking out Uncle June the first thing to remember is that Tony was going to kill junior he had everything planned and most of Junior subordinates were taken out beforehand he was only spared because he was arrested and in the fed's hands so Tony couldn't get to him so it's interesting to ponder how different things could have turned out if Junior hadn't essentially been saved by the FBI but putting that to a side he could have still taken his revenge when Junior got out and was sent home so Tony and Junior's complex relationship has to be factored into Tony's decision to pretty much forego the murder attempt we see that Tony has a lot of trouble coming to terms with his family being less than perfect we see for example he would rather remain willfully ignorant of the fact that his father was a man who did not treat him and his mother right but instead chooses to put the blame entirely on Libya it takes him a long while and a lot of therapy to even accept that his mother was a sociopath who is the cause for many of his issues but perhaps Tony somewhere in the back of his mind with the little boy who used to play catch with his uncle is would rather ignore that Junior tried to have him killed and instead see him as his loving Uncle Tony also acknowledges that Junior was manipulated by Olivia when he made the decision to kill Tony who held a grudge against him for moving her into a home in his own mind Tony would have shifted the entirety of the blame onto his mother convincing himself it was all her so he can still see Junior as untainted because quite simply Tony still loved Junior in spite of the hit attempt and he believed Junior loved him back killing the man would be very difficult for season one or two Tony to do and on top of this Tony has positioned Junior into the position of a front boss so it would actually be useful to keep him around to take the heat off himself and what with his cap house out for the count Junior was no longer a threat you have to remember Tony had two different relationships with Junior his personal one and a professional one on a professional level within the rules of the mob Junior was completely justified in coming after Tony and Tony knew it he was having secret meetings with the capos behind Junior's back at a time Junior was boss he was seeing a psychiatrist which is a complete death sentence in the mob he even made kaliningus jokes about Junior that might be seen as banter by some breaking balls but consider a real world example mob boss Vincent Gigante was said to have ordered the death of any underling who even said his name in case it was revealed on a wiretap that he was a gangster when you factor things like this into consideration it's a wonder why junior didn't whack Tony with his golf club right there and then and even with all these justifications for kidding Tony Junior to his credit is clearly still uncomfortable with the idea of killing his nephew as shown by him putting it out of sight and mind when talking with Mikey at a funeral and his hesitation when talking to Olivia about Tony's secret meetings Junior had every right to go after Tony it wasn't personal it was strictly business Junior failed Tony removed all possible harm so there was no further reason to have his uncle's death on his book of Deeds Tony is a pragmatist he could forgive him on a professional level and over time as the wound started to heal the duo had a healthier personal relationship Junior was trying to save face by killing Tony and felt he had no choice in the matter Tony would have probably done the same thing in his position so he holds no ill will it's even implied later that Tony regretted making Bushmen of the calamari jokes not to mention all the other issues Malanga the truck hijacking Fiasco where a trucker was killed conspiring with the other capos etc etc with his mother things are different Junior was a made man and Olivia wasn't and as she's not a rival for the position of Boss it stings more Tony just can't find an Avenue to justify her involvement in his supposed murder he is forced to justify it as a mother simply hating her son after the death of Johnny boy junior took on a role equivalent to his surrogate father so it would have been akin to kidding his own dad and given Junior wasn't a threat and was actually more valuable to Tony alive rather than dead Tony chose not to kill him also interestingly it is thought that Sopranos created David Chase did in fact plan to have Junior killed off presumably at the hands of Tony but after The Sopranos was renewed for a second season added to the fact that Junior was one of the writing room's favorite characters to write he was written to stay on in the show as a significant supporting character so why do you think Tony didn't have his uncle whacked and instead let him off the hook let me know in the comments below subscribe to the channel and thanks for watching before we finish I just want to thank my patrons Andre Millington Nicholas Curtis Dirk K and Daniel P and also my channel members the new on Glam 24 Rikers Michael awatwe and Damien Irving

Channel: CineRanter

Views: 116,872

Keywords: the sopranos, uncle junior, david chase, tony sprano, tony and junior, tony and junior talk, tony and junior dont you love me, tony and junior last scene, the sopranos analysis

Id: S9303VOoxaI

Length: 9min 0sec (540 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 21 2022