What? You wanna say something? No. Aside from the famous Pine Barrens episode,
and of course, the Don’t Stop Believin’ series finale, Made in America - the frustrating
conclusion to Employee of the Month is perhaps the most discussed episode during the long
rich history of the powerhouse HBO mega hit series - The Sopranos. To call the ending “frustrating” is a
profound understatement, which helps explain why it remains such a hot topic among The
Sopranos faithful to this day. After being brutally attacked and raped by
the degenerate scumbag Employee of the Month from a local sub joint, an already traumatized
Melfi is forced to contend with a chain of custody mishap that sees her attacker walk
free. Melfi was a victim, but there would be no
justice for her! Melfi’s overwhelming fear led to a dream
where she was forced to relive the horrible event all over again. With her hand stuck inside a vending machine,
she is frightened by an attack dog in her Lynchian nightmare, reliving the horror she
experienced. Melfi soon realized the real danger lurked
around the corner, and this time justice was served. The Rottweiler pounced on her would-be assailant
causing him to scream in agony. Melfi is a competent enough psychiatrist that
she is able to adequately interpret her own dream in a session with Elliot. She identified the dog as the man who always
frightened her, because she understood him for the monster he was - Tony Soprano. But that monster was also the one who could
bring her justice where law enforcement failed. The entire episode acts almost like a callback
to the opening scene in The Godfather. The police and the law had failed Bonasera,
the Undertaker, and he went to Don Corleone for justice. The way Employee of the Month was set up,
this is the outcome that everyone wanted, and many if not most probably expected - that
Melfi would go to Tony for justice, the exact same way Bonasera went to Vito Corleone. When Melfi recalls her dream to Elliot, she
admits: I felt such a sense of relief. I felt safe for the first time since it happened. That is very telling! The temptation was there, Melfi knew that
SHE had the power to exact her revenge upon her degenerate scumbag attacker. Elliot is horrified by the suggestion, and
Melfi reluctantly claims that she would not break her sacred “social compact”. But time and time again throughout the show,
characters would claim ownership in having the ability to resist temptation, only to
give in at the exact moment said temptation surfaced. Tony himself is a prime example of this time
and time again, such as the time he was going wild when he couldn’t go through with his
extramarital activities involving realtor Julianna Skiff. Tony soon regrets his decision and gives it
another go at the realtor. Melfi is inexplicably proud of Tony, boasting
that her therapy has made him improve great strides Melfi herself has done the exact same thing,
time and time again. Melfi was always wishy-washy with Tony, rejecting
his early advances where she was seemingly both repulsed and excited by his persistent
creepy charm. Tony once crossed a line and became physically
threatening towards her, and despite knowing full well this was unacceptable behavior,
she gave him a pass and allowed him to return to her practice. There were other disruptions in her life caused
by Tony as well, after the failed attempt on his life, Melfi had to go into hiding,
practicing out of a cheap motel room, during which time she failed one patient who took
his own life. Time and time again, Melfi gave Tony a pass
and continued to treat him. She ultimately took him back and implicitly
tolerated his erratic actions. She did this while everyone she knew who had
the slightest inkling she was treating a Mobster advised her against it, time and again, for
obvious reasons. A common theme is that he was exploiting her,
assuaging his own guilt, but doing nothing to change his criminal ways. Melfi didn’t care, however. All of this just adds fuel to the fire, that
this felt like it was heading in the direction of that classic scene from the original Godfather. She finally had the opportunity to use Tony
for justice, for revenge, to ensure no woman was ever harmed by this degenerate scumbag
again. It was obvious that her desire to tell him
was strong. She let slip enough that Tony was mighty confused
but he knew SOMETHING was up. Watching Melfi breakdown, the audience was
RIGHT THERE with her! We all felt the powerful omnipresent emotion
from the gross miscarriage of justice her character suffered and endured, and everyone
- I mean EVERYONE wanted her to tell him - right then and there - so that degenerate low life
scumbag could get what he had coming to him! Somehow, however, she did not. She kept it to herself, ultimately protecting
a criminal from street justice, and in the end, it was the bravest thing Melfi ever did
in her character’s defining moment. What? You wanna say something? No. Melfi resisting the temptation proved she
wasn’t just talking the talk, she walked the walk. She was able to treat Tony, however unsuccessfully,
while still preserving her own morality by not compromising her principles for revenge. The irony here is strong: Her principles are
essentially adherence to professional ethics and the law, while Tony is the avatar for
all things opposite; he represents violence and chaos. The law, however, failed Melfi when she needed
it most. She could have had vengeance and justice on
her own by turning to the law’s antithesis, but in doing so she would have been forever
compromised and she knew it. Adherence to the law requires accepting when
the law gets it wrong, or else you essentially take on Tony’s point of view. Here, she didn’t just sing it, she brought
it - with every fiber of her being. It was powerful, it was memorable, it was
PERFECT! And that is the reason it is still such a
common topic to this day among the loyal Sopranos faithful. We all WANTED her to tell Tony. But she did-dent. And a big part of what made it so powerful,
is we already know how it would have played out if she told him. It would have broken her soul. We saw this type of thing several times with
Tony and those who owed him a favor, again circling back to The Godfather. Some day, and that day may never come, I’ll
call upon you to do a service for me. BINGO!! We have a few prominent examples. First we have Davey, the owner of Ramsey Sports
and Outdoors, who owes Tony money from a high stakes gambling debt, which costs him his
son’s SUV, and it ultimately ruins his business and his family, as Tony bleeds him dry. Then we have Vin the dirty cop, and while
we do not see exactly what went down with them prior to Season 1, we know enough - that
he was a degenerate gambler who was compromised and under Tony’s thumb. And finally we have Tony’s good friend from
childhood - the one and only Artie Bucco! Tony gave his good friend a loan for some
questionable business investment, and in turn, Artie got his ass kicked by the French conman
who screwed him over. If you want to know what would have happened
to Melfi, look no further than what Artie said when he figured it all out! You knew exactly what was gonna happen. You can see 20 moves down the road. Your mind goes through all the permutations
at, like, internet speed and realizes: "Worst case scenario: I eat for free!" We already know Tony would have ultimately
destroyed and exploited Melfi for being complicit one way or another. She would have owed him, and been under his
thumb, whether through sexual favors or discounted shrink sessions, or whatever he wanted when
the day inevitably came and he called on her for a service - much like Don Corleone and
Bonasera. Except Bonasera got off much easier than Melfi
would have, and we all KNOW it. Tony would have effectively owned her, the
same as the dirty cop, the same as the sports store guy, and the same as Artie Bucco. And to add insult to injury, not only were
we denied the satisfaction of seeing Tony serving a strong dose of justice to the degenerate
scumbag attacker, we didn’t even get the chance to see Furio beat the hell out of the
con artist Frenchman! That, perhaps, may have served as some type
of consultation prize. But in the end - it was a perfect ending to
a dark emotional roller coaster of an episode - and the reason it’s still so often discussed
to this day is because it asks a lot of very difficult to answer questions for us as an
audience. Employee of the Month was a powerhouse Sopranos
episode that will forever live in the hearts of Sopranos die-hards, because no matter how
many times we all watch that episode - we STILL want her to tell him, even when we already
KNOW that she won’t. Power house, indeed! Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed,
and have a wonderful night! You don’t have to eat every dish of rigatoni. You don’t have to fuck every female you
meet. I’m not going to hurt a man that I love
because of some cop gossip from a degenerate fucking gambler with a badge! You understand me? You know, you got an amazing ability to sum
up a man’s whole life in a single sentence. How much is he into us for? About 45 boxes of ziti. What? He grabbed another 10 while you were asleep. He said you okayed it. Our kids go to the same school together! Tony I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m just having some bad luck! It just got worse! You knew exactly what was gonna happen. You can see 20 moves down the road. Your mind goes through all the permutations
at, like, internet speed and realizes: "Oh! Worst case scenario: I eat for free!" Lose control? Who said anything about that? You direct your anger where it belongs! You have panic attacks. Panic occurs when feelings of anger, revenge,
whatever overwhelm you! No feeling has ever been so sweet as to see
that pig beg, and plead, and scream for his life, because the justice system is fucked
up, Elliot! I stood in the courtroom like a fool! And those two bastards, they smiled at me! But meanwhile, that Employee of the Month
cogsucker is back on the street! And who’s going to stop him? You? And I said to my wife, for justice we must
go to Don Corleone. Ohhh! Oh my God! Help me! Please! Calm down. What’s the matter? What did I do? Tell me what’s the matter? Some day, and that day may never come, I’ll
call upon you to do a service for me. What? You wanna say something? No.
