How Machiavellian was Silvio Dante?: Machiavellian Monday

In this episode we will evaluate Silvio Dante in a Machiavellian context, which will be a little bit different due to his role in the family. We will take a look at his brief stint as acting boss as well as the problems he may have faced had Tony died, how he stands up to Machiavellian standards as a boss and the one thing he could have done differently that could've made all the difference.

[@Kaylosteez]

just came here from the little carmine vid, THESE ANALYSIS VIDEOS ARE AMAZING ‼️‼️

[@bullywhispers9544]

Thank you! Glad you like them

[@victorpapillon1487]

@@bullywhispers9544 BRO, please make the Noah Tannenbaum as Boss video brother please

[@mikenulty3309]

😊😅😊😅😢😊😅😅😊

[@Dimka2012Bo]

thats very allegorical of you

[@russsnyder2026]

After seeing Many Saints I think Sopranos Silvio looks pretty good for being 184 years old

[@bullywhispers9544]

Yeah he does!

[@StarlightEater]

Grandpa Munster ova 'ere!

[@Adino1]

Yeah, that casting choice confused me too

[@clawzx1195]

@@Adino1 dude seemed like he was taking the piss the whole time

[@aloneinthedark99]

It's pretty obvious when he's getting carted off in the ambulance that he wasn't wearing a hair piece. What a clusterfuck of a retcon, truly.

[@enak413]

Silvio's Machiavellianness has yet to reveal itself. Perhaps it will be displayed more in : The Sopranos II "Dante's Inferno"

[@andrewkaanjr9469]

I haven't read the other comments yet, and this is already the best.

[@aloneinthedark99]

Always with the scenarios

[@c-secofficer123]

👏🏻 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 🇮🇹

[@ralphishere5756]

OH! 🌲👽🌲

[@CharliRay]

This could legit happen and I would watch all 6 seasons

[@nicholasspevak4952]

He was more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. Advice, strategy. He wanted to carve out a little gabagool for himself and enjoy some provolone cheese.

[@faisalkamal4319]

It would be like Micheal Corleone type situation he doesn't want it but had to do it

[@pab1381]

Unless the cheese was about to be picked up from by his feet lol.

[@Dan_Ben_Michael]

He was a come from behind kind of guy.

[@hithere4719]

@@faisalkamal4319 more like if Tom Hagan was Sicilian.

[@AgentDanielCross]

​@@hithere4719 Well, Calabrese

[@faisalkamal4319]

I believe people give sil too much shit for having a panic attack while tony is here having panic attack everyday

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Yeah I thought that too. At least he had asthma as well that the panic attacks flared up

[@adamantiiispencespence4012]

Not so much as give him shit as say that he couldn't cope with the stress of all the bullshit that comes with being the boss. But neither could Tony at least not in an effective way. Compare the man from a few episodes of season one and 2 to the guy from 6 and it gets sad.

[@tlkpunte4356]

This actors first ever experience in front of the camera and also his wife's who was also his wife in real life. He did an incredible job

[@tristissimvshominvm8999]

Sil had all the makings of a varsity Michael Corleone impersonator.

[@ResistanceQuest]

It was very fortunate he managed to leave his shinebox days behind him without incident

[@willy565]

I love how Silvio was always reading books about fixing stuff. "Who left the cap off the super glue?!"

[@dspsblyuth]

The life of a pimp isn’t always exciting

[@alecrichards8574]

That's an interesting detail about his character too, makes me think of it being metaphorical about how he's good at analyzing and fixing problems and finding solutions. Kind of like how reading The Art of War can be applied to many aspects of life, not just warfare.

[@willy565]

@@alecrichards8574 And as Paulie would say..."Sun-Ta-Zoo."

[@theALMIGHTY987]

Sil was dedicated to the"life", he didn't want to"big chair💺! He respected whoever sat in it because it was more a/b the position to him. Sil was more Machiavellian than most think, he didn't want to b boss because he knew it was nothing after that but a prison cell or a dirt nap!

[@ThomasDepena]

I mean, when Tony got shot he seemed pretty happy at the prospect of becoming the boss.

[@theALMIGHTY987]

@@ThomasDepena He was Tony's right hand, it was already assumed that he was next to lead the"family". Remember he straightened everyone out a/b how things went while Tony was out of commission. Remember he told his wife they were thinking of making him boss after Jackie, not Tony.

[@theALMIGHTY987]

@Red Lobster Skull Was he🤔, remember she was trying to get him excited a/b it saying Benny feels honored to drive for him & saying times make the man. I believe she was more excited a/b being the wife of the boss, remember she watched Rosalie then Carmela, she thought it was her turn......look how she stood in the mirror w/him!

[@hithere4719]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Sil’s pompadour isn’t trying to be weighed down.

[@ongogablogian3178]

*gets shot and put into a coma 😂

[@dtraversodt]

Sil, based on Many Saints of Newark , took after Dickie in that he was mostly a calming influence on Tony and age wise he was young enough to relate to Tony's era and old enough to retain the way Dickie carried himself

[@ResistanceQuest]

This manages to be informative, entertaining, and interesting. A rare combination!

[@tanyamhami]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I would like an analysis done about Paulie… like he went from serious and respected by tony and crew to a joke….I would love to see a breakdown of his character progression

[@chadghost8204]

Sil might just be my favorite character! Great analysis.

[@brendanmuller7301]

Now do a "crazy fuck" Wednesday for characters like chris, ralphie, Janice, livia, and gloria

[@faisalkamal4319]

I like in the list only one you could say is Christopher I dident moltisanti is most stable

[@AgentDanielCross]

Whackjob Wednesday

[@semperaugustus661]

Gotta put Richie on that list too.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

The great thing is that these characters are meant to be taken apart and can still be put back together again. Kudos to the writers and actors

[@RaVisions]

Yea like Richie or Ralphie characters that you could really take apart

[@cyrusamaria]

Have you ever considered maybe Silvio had more intentions like Tywin Lannister in GOT? To position himself as the number 2 but be the de facto boss? In a way that Tony thought he was doing to Junior.. maybe Sil was doing that to Tony? It would be reasonable considering that his club was their office more so than Satriales..

[@marquesjohnson6359]

I don't know if sil was machiavellian but I did think he was a good #2 who usually gave tony sound advice and would tell him the truth even when he didn't want to hear it

[@cosmicskates7721]

YES! Tony emulates Livia lol when he stretches his arm out like he's batting away at shot of whiskey, wtvr it was that Sil insists he grab before giving Tony the skinnie on the Gervasi whack omg anyway I think it's great because Tony was like "I just had my bialy"

[@barbaryn7899]

Sil was a strong silent type, you know like Gary Cooper

[@ononoma]

And to be fair Silvio was a damn good counselor. He even mentioned in the last season that when Jackie was sick there was talk of putting a the top and it wasn't his thing it wasn't his strong suit. He was smart enough to realize this isn't my thing this isn't where I will succeed. But in the last season when Tony went down he really had no choice. Machiavelli might say loyalty was his downfall. But whether it's sports car business or organized crime loyalty is a virtue. You don't always get rewarded for it is appreciated in the moment

[@dannybodros5180]

Very observant.

[@faisalkamal4319]

The sacred and the propane

[@alexruss2002]

This is amazing. Thank you. Can't wait till next Monday

[@geoffdaly8481]

I think Silvio was quite smart and effective in his role as consigliere and was a generally smart guy on the show. Having said that the two most tactical characters for a series I've ever seen were Tony Soprano and Ryan O'Reily of OZ.

[@seanyoung9014]

In any real prison, they would've killed O'Reily so fast. Lmao he was such an obvious snake.

[@geoffdaly8481]

@@seanyoung9014 There's no doubt. The idea that he would have been able to stir ALL THAT SHIT UP and it would NEVER trace back to any of the people he was conning is so obviously unrealistic. In terms of Sopranos the most obvious BS of that show was how easy it was for them to get away with murder. A NUMBER of those murders would have gotten them busted right away.

[@seanyoung9014]

@@geoffdaly8481 Lol yeah they were doing some of the most public whackings I've ever seen. Uncle Junior and Mikey alone..wow. 🤣🚔🚔🚔

[@dspsblyuth]

He’s very smart man. The one leg russian broad said so

[@sterlHAsilva]

Sil is my favorite tv personality of all time, I ask my dog “wanna watch uncle sil?’ And he goes nuts

[@Freefalling23]

Was waiting for this one!

[@AnomolousGrandeur]

Excellent content

[@blackkkabllakkcaa]

Holy cow! Was just watching MM on Johnny Sacks and the top comment was for Silvio. 2 hrs ago, you the man!

[@hdjksa52]

Steven Van Zandt. I really have to go back and listen to his work.

[@pjbuma13]

Sil was probably my favorite character.

[@laurenpeterson9510]

So that's where juniors money is!

[@bullywhispers9544]

No, thats how you find where it is hahaha. Thanks for watching!

[@unknowninfinium4353]

Dude just came across this series. Love it. Any chance you'll be covering more than Sopranos under Machiavelli Monday?

[@bullywhispers9544]

Yes. Thanks for watching!

[@michaellalli7693]

At least Silvio showed some class. He also helped kept Tony out of danger at times.

[@killerfrank8974]

Very good analysis of Sil and I have to agree with you; Silvio should have appointed an enforcer as his number 2. I believe it definitely would have helped him a lot. In fact, your recommendation makes me think of Frank Costello's situation. Costello had been the Consigliere for Lucky Luciano's family but when Lucky got sent to prison and eventually deported, Frank came to be the acting boss. Costello was known to be very diplomatic, hence his nickname "the Prime Minister". However he was able to rule the family for a good while in part, I believe, because of who is underboss was, Guarino "Willie" Moretti, a feared killer who I believe was also Costello's cousin. It also helped that Costello was allied with Albert Anastasia, also known as the Lord High Executioner", on the mafia commission.

[@take5th]

He needed the rules, lived within them, and opined without pressure of time. But when things got ambiguous, gray instead of black and white, he choked.

[@whitecloak11]

Tony said it best every decision affects every aspect of everything else.

[@azmoe99]

"Machiavellian" is a word you hear all the time now and is rarely used correctly.

[@midasapprentice8670]

Good job.

[@bigchief70]

Blackstone, Yellowstone, Hell on Wheels...etc. ton of stuff you could draw from.

[@leviatticus3801]

You make pretty good vids

[@futureclean]

Sil has a great head of hair.

[@robertlee4172]

Let's play Machiavellian games, to see where it will lead us. Well, we see NY's Lupertazzi family take some hits. But the Dimeo crew took the major beat down. Butchie was the one with the final coup de gras. He targeted Tony, Bobby and Sil (on Phil's order, mind you) then made the executive decision to let the remaining Soprano faction take out his own boss. The big picture here, is that these mobsters were all plotting for the top tier position. Johnny put a hit on Carmine, Carmine put a hit on Johnny. The Mayor of Munchkindland put a hit on Peeps, the mayor get took out by Johnny. "And on with the thing of ours". Follow the progression of hits, during this war, it's all about climbing that ladder.

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

Some people are better at being number 2.

[@bullywhispers9544]

Keep an eye out for the Furio episode

[@mysteryjunkie9808]

@@bullywhispers9544 if Furio was a Machevillian he would’ve pushed Tony into that Helicopter blades when he had a chance

[@faisalkamal4319]

Silvio had just one panic attack while tony had many Tony had major anger issues

[@johnnymoondog9474]

@@bullywhispers9544 He's the perfect #2 for a Machiavellian boss

[@MabDarogan2]

Well argued

[@geessaess1707]

This kid is just tellin us how Sil is being fuken perceived.

[@faisalkamal4319]

Ooh it all happened Russian in the woods whatever happened there

[@geessaess1707]

@@faisalkamal4319 I thought he was a Czechoslovakian interior decorator or something.

[@faisalkamal4319]

@@geessaess1707 his house looked like shit

[@Snarkythecat]

*”It’s on page 4 on the boss manual.”*

[@moi8665]

Let’s Go!

[@MarceloRomero360]

Very allegorical

[@jeffdollaz]

You should do one of these on jax teller and his reign as president in sons of anarchy

[@shabazzed]

ill admit that i never realized sil was wearing a rug

[@eromicafrancisco5477]

as much as I want to hate Silvio for killing Adrianna I just can't especially with his impersonations cracks me up every time I watch Saparonos I kind of was waiting hoping he'd do it to every time he was on screen when I first was watching sapronos lol 😂

[@WillNelson73]

Silvio was probably the MOST Machiavellian character in the show

[@hildaenjoyer8862]

That’s Carmine Sr.

[@ChrisWalters_910]

1. I laughed so loud at the Spidey sense and treasure map joke. 2. Maybe you can help me understand this, I never understood stood why they didn't make a big deal when Tony beat the brakes and "Ironed out" (Staple Gun) Mikey Palmice but it was a big deal when Tony Hit Ralph. They were both Made men?

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

Good question. 1. Junior would have been the one to take action 2. He wasn't a big earner and 3. He was very unpopular in general. I'm sure there's more.

[@DrLeroyGreen]

Meadow, Carm, and Livia were the most Machiavellian characters in the show. Listed in order of most Machiavellian.

[@lewishorsman2219]

Silvio was the way he was because he had legitimate interests outside of leadership and being leader would have had him give up a lot of his life. There’s no way he would have chosen the top seat. His place of business constantly under scrutiny all the time, affecting business etc. his wife getting annoyed that he has to go do business ALL the time? He’s a pragmatist at his core. He knows Tony was best for the job because Tony actually insulated Sil. Silvio could always use the fact that Tony didn’t take advice from anyone once circumstances made up Tony’s mind. Sil could carry on with his daily life under the ruse of “Hey I’m just the advisor and I advised the boss but he’s the boss who makes the final decisions” Plus Sil really does not have the mean streak for it. Sil never makes a decision to hurt or whack somebody himself. Even when they killed Fat Dom him and Carlo had the telepathic agreement to do so. Sil is a follower not a leader so he couldn’t be that Machiavellian.

[@bandit7519]

sil wasn t bald on the tv show never hinted to that not once it was known that they guy who played sil wore a wig to get sil hair do the guy who played him not sil wore a wig but good video hope to see more thanks for the video

[@laurenpeterson9510]

It shows he was bald in the many saints of Newark

[@bullywhispers9544]

Thanks for watching! It shows him rocking the comb over in The Many Saints

[@iexist8293]

The production staff for the sopranos got the wig for Van Zandt with the idea that the audience would immediately recognise it was a wig. They failed because nobody noticed. Half the cast are balding or bald anyway like anyone their age. Many saints was complete trash from start to finish. Magaros impression especially was an embarrassment.

[@Grandmaster-Kush]

I can never spot wigs, got no eye for such details

[@dmdeign7116]

He's said his piece, Chrissy

[@PREEM513]

It actually makes sense if sil is 19-20 in 1975 he would be 51-52 in 2007. Which is older then tony. He is not a grown man in many saints. He is an associate still. Tony would be 48 if he is 16 in 1975.

[@markb5403]

Yeah, I noticed as well timeline got messed up between this and Many Saints. I remember Tony says in episode 1 " I'm 42, and I'm already more successful than my uncle ever was", that was in 1999, so Tony's gonna be 50 in 2007, but around 12 or 13 during the events of Many Saints of Newark. Yet he's clearly late teens in the movie. Having said that, the movie was disappointing so I'm just ignoring it totally going forward.

[@diquadhumungersaur492]

sil always seemed pragmatic and ,more importantly, loyal.. once he was satisfied that tony was the boss,and would be an effective one, every thing else was "negotiable"

[@alancarmody8848]

You’re like Sopranos Theories but, you know, better

[@CharliRay]

SIL was the checks and balances guy and Tony’s greatest Allie

[@robforbes5814]

He was bold enough to threaten the cheese fuck

[@cosmothecreator]

Silvio Dante, the Italian American Sun Tuhzoo

[@gfx2943]

Sil never had the makings of a varsity air breather.

[@JorgeTorres-pr6mn]

We all know Silvio didn’t have the makings of a boss

[@cyrusamaria]

They keep saying that.. but Tony had plenty of panic attacks and passed out a lot too. Phil also had a heart attack and Carmine just passed out and died. So these health issues are pretty common with the #1 spot.

[@clawzx1195]

@@cyrusamaria now the overlord from overlord had the makings of a boss

[@Espinozaize]

5:34 Given that Ralph was baled, it is ironic that he willingly chose to be a redhead. Since that means that he has no soul. Fitting though

[@UATU.]

It never occurred to me that Silvio was wearing a toupee, but since I found out I keep staring at his changing wig hairlines.

[@beezysbeatz4924]

I think David Chase utilized Syl perfectly for the most part. Scenes and storylines where Syl was prominent or he had a lot of lines, I found myself either close to cringe or my disbelief unsuspended. Maybe I saw too many Bruce Springsteen videos in the 80's, idk but Syl is a great character, in small doses.

[@bennettrogers8027]

I want how Machiavellian Silvio is in lillyhammer.

[@sunnyprofit4405]

How much older then Tony is Sil ??What did he do back in the Johnny Saprono Days ?? Make NextVideo with Answers like this

[@ononoma]

I'm only 2 minutes into this. But the way the author talks about machiavellianism, I believe that Tony after being shot in stomach picking a fight with his bodyguard / Handler sorry that was machiavellianism. Maybe even a bit of sun 2

[@wyldhowl2821]

I think IF Tony's dead after the finale, Syl is the only logical choice for a boss. Paulie Walnuts is more forceful / scary, but Syl more intelligent. Who carries more respect? Well they are both respected, but Paulie would piss someone off almost right away, too prideful to ever step away from a conflict. Paulie under Syl could work, if he could find a way to convey to Paulie that they are not equals anymore. He'd have to butter Paulie up to soothe his pride, but really the boss still has to be boss. Syl is not weak, but in that world respect is earned by fear, so the question would be whether others near his level fear him enough. Machiavelli said a prince must be feared more than loved, though he must be careful not to end up hated.

[@MadMetsFan]

I think that Sil was too conditional with his rulings (which is somewhat understandable since the boss might be coming back) ... He kept saying stuff like "... for now" and he clearly was pushing stuff off for a future date

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

The audio in the clips is tinny

[@barbaryn7899]

Our true enemy has yet to reveal themselves

[@wellsborie6897]

IDK about putting Paulie in as your buffer. He's a snake, and having him control information like that would get you killed

[@ItsReallyT]

Sil is a number 2 in the Machiavellian standard based on his desire to be exactly that to Tony. He literally said it. 😂

[@aaronrowell6943]

It is kind of funny that he embodies the Machiavellian Spirit the most but when made acting boss he doesn't want to hold that spot. Better to be fox than lion, and the greed got him in the end because him grabbing up all that money left him a big target

[@Slippindisc]

They didn’t really have an underboss. Which kinda made Sil de facto underboss, didn’t it?

[@CHICANO1975]

Sil should have been a natural successor to Tony. But when he got his chance, he proved that the seat was too big for him. He makes a great # 2 and that's where he should stay.

[@greym7857]

420th like...case the joint.

[@1vicjustice]

Sunta Zoo! The Chinese Prince Matchabelli!

[@ebransc09]

4:07. His angry face really makes him look like a pug.

[@drdree8396]

That Pygmy thing in Jersey?

[@KwangTheMongrel]

Silvio could call out Tony because his role as consigliere granted him the privilege of being frank with the boss. That’s one thing I try to always do is criticize people in private. They will respect you for it.

[@budwhite9591]

Watch out, he can be a sick fu,k when he’s gamblin

[@SantomPh]

You can't hit a made guy in another crew or one ranked above you. However as the boss Tony had every right to punish Ralph for what he did, by taxing him or cutting him out. Carmine could also punish any of the NY crew under him without asking permission. Remember it was Fish Lips who ordered a hit on John and vice versa. Sil knows the rule, but didn't read the interpretations and exceptions.

[@dinglbarry1275]

The Silvio Dante character that was given to us for that brief period of time as acting boss while Tony was in the hospital didn't fit the Silvio character that was given to us throughout the rest of the series. The writers liked the storyline of Silvio not being able to handle being acting boss in that moment rather than building a Silvio character arc to support such a thing. In reality Silvio would have had no problem as acting boss. He was already running the Bing and had no qualms about laying down the law and telling people how it was as long as they weren't above him in rank... he was smart in his interactions with Tony and had a constructive way of talking to him when he disagreed with him. For example when he constructively tells Tony he was in the wrong for putting his hands on another made guy and Tony listened to him and made Ralphie a Capo as a result. I can't imagine another character who would have been better than Silvio as Boss. Tony for example, his ego came before the family and all else. From what we're shown about silvio, he didn't have much of an ego. he wasn't striving for the boss position.... if the position is open and it's decided he'll be the guy, he'll take it and from what we're shown about Silvio, he would follow the code above any egoistic endeavors.

[@MobstersInc]

Art Of Sopranos 🍿

[@CGFIELDS]

3:03 Called him “Sal”, instead of Sil 🤔

[@yesucansell2]

He was smart. Probably the smartest.

[@murraykelm5691]

Even though Sil runs the Bing, I never seen him with a gumar or chasing after any of the strippers. This shows that he would not let anything distract him from the business.

[@AgentDanielCross]

It is heavily mentioned he does test drive the strippers.

[@johnjohnjohnjohn921]

do frank underwood

[@Scyllax]

“Gl” is “ll”.

[@theamazingmarlbito6293]

How are you not calling this "Mafiavellian"?

[@aguy559]

The snippets from other shows don’t really add anything.

[@Dogapillar4Lyfe]

Being a bald man, I appreciate all the bald jokes

[@marzbitenhaussen]

i love machiavelli, hahaha I follow the path of the prince

[@dandavis8300]

Hey, what's anybody's nickname, other than Paulie Walnuts? I mean what's Tony's Nickname, Silvio's or Christopher's? There was Big Pussy and Little Carmine; was Bobby "Fat Bob" or maybe Elmer Fudd?

[@AtoZbassfishing9]

consigliare: con - se- arrrre - eeee the g is silent. offensive to us italians.

[@waragainstmyself1159]

His wife was such a babe, and loyal

[@billcook4768]

What if I told you Silvio faked the coma, cut a deal, and it was he who shot Tony. Talk about Machiavellian.

[@bamajesse4608]

Wu peed on Sil’s rug?