Power Law 20 in the Sopranos: Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power

In this episode, we will evaluate law 20 of Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power in the Sopranos by first taking a second to look at the two main justifications behind this law in general, as shown through Jackie jr, before moving on to a more in depth look focusing on Tony Soprano during the internal struggle for power in New York and how he handled it. As well as the more detailed aspects of the law which are shown quite clearly from this point forward through Tony, Johnny Sack, Phil Leotardo, Little Carmine, Tony B and Vito.

[@bullywhispers9544]

Do you think Tony handled the fight for control of New York well?

[@zxylo786]

Tony shouldn't have lied to Johnny Sack about that animal Blundetto. And at that point. His crew was full of nobodies. But he handled the war as best as he could. Shame that the damage was already done like 10 episodes later. Tony was done on the final scene. One way or the other.

[@garbageboys8303]

Honest answer ... I think Tony although a nut tried his best to rationalize his bullcrap murdering rats and folks who commit treason... which 2 this day is punishable by death regardless we all die even Tony Marlo and Avon will is it worth it ofc it is ... we all active players in this game (life) directly or indirectly some of us Tony's some Omar's some dookies some Michael's some Prezbalewskis some Franklin saints I've seen alot of all of them ..... just gotta be a bunny Colvin ,a slim Charles , a Namond , a bubbles, sorry for the long comment I just see the good and the bad we do as a people and in these sitcoms and shows yall stay happy healthy and free

[@Mike37551]

If Tony had handed his cousin over to Phil, once Phil became boss he’d constantly try to bulldoze Tony in all negotiations, and another conflict would be inevitable. Phil would view Tony as just another subordinate. There’s even a chance Tony would just get whacked himself out of nowhere rather than have the chance to participate in a war. As it played out, Phil hated Tony, but he respected him. If it went the other way, Phil would have business interests that diverged from Tony AND he’d hold Tony in contempt.

[@Mike37551]

@Dagwood Dogwoggle Yeah. Phil was going to be a problem for the whole operation no matter what. Once he didn’t have a Carmine or Johnny Sack to moderate him, his days were numbered. He has the same personality as Valchek from the Wire.

[@thomasstone3480]

if anything i think tony would have been better served by letting tony b kill phil, though i don't think there's any reasonable way he could have known that

[@thomasstone3480]

@Dagwood Dogwoggle my thought was that s still kills b, he just lets him rampage a little bit longer first

[@tomz5704]

​@DagwoodDogwogglenot if Tony didn't "know", plus Tony B was never made, therefore a mere associate even though related. It would have just ment Tony B would have been killed, most likely at least

[@josephkelly6681]

So true.

[@collinmonette9795]

My favorite series

[@DaveSCameron]

And mine.

[@nancyvillines4552]

Along with Boardwalk Empire ❤ I love period piece's. Especially the 1920's.

[@shawnbbunbbbybbb3942]

If Tony did handover his cousin to Phil I don’t think they would’ve had a better relationship when Phil became boss. I think Phil would have seen that as a sign of weakness and he would have thought he can get anything out of Tony. Also this situation with Vito would have went down the same so overall I really don’t think giving up his cousin to phil would have made much of a difference in their relationship

[@PuchitoGuzmán]

Yeah, that pigmy stuff going on in jersey, they don’t even prick fingers lol

[@davidsmyth4184]

Great episode. Lot's to think about. You would have to think that the moment Phil discovered "dat animal Blundetto" dead, he had only one thing on his mind. If he hadn't turned into a house,(was evah happened dayr)he probably would have won the war. Bye bye pop pop's, wave bye bye

[@pgfinna]

48 LEGS OF DR MELFI 😂😂😂

[@davidsmyth4184]

Anyways, gotta go. Me and some of the crew of the good ship Lollypop have a chess lesson out in the boontons.

[@LKaramazov]

Schwarzenegger clip was priceless.

[@nate3583]

Such a fantastic series

[@jotaro_kujo488]

It’s actually surprising how Tony managed to stay neutral after basically committing to clipping Carmine Sr. Also surprising (and frankly sad) that he continued the same formal attitude with Phil after he disgracefully whacked his top earner Vito without any provocation whatsoeva! Speaking of Tony B, I think it’s fair he didn’t let Phil get him and did the job himself. I presume everyone in New York realized there was not much more you could request from Tony and it was up to Phil to just get over it. Additionally, it probably gave the right impression to the New Jersey family that no matter how close of a friend you are to the boss, your actions will have consequences.

[@dr3dg352]

Yeah, I think Tony actually played the Tony B/New York situation as well as he could. He did let Phil walk over him a bit as boss, but that sadly seems to be the New York/Jersey dynamic. :/ The Lupertazzi Family just couldn't land a good replacement for Carmine Sr.

[@JamesRDavenport]

I think no matter how Tony handled the Blundetto situation, conflict with Phil was inevitable. Leotardo was never going to respect the DiMeos, so all Tony really could do is deal with that immediate situation in the best possible way to keep his reputation (which he did) then prepare for war with hard head Phil. Some people in this world just want to fight you. Bide your time and wait to get the drop on them.

[@felipebrito4656]

These are great! Keep it up!

[@samuelesfandyari7786]

Hello! i have been binging your videos on the sopranos and the wire. Love it!! I would love a video discussing the laws of power within the BPD in the Wire. For example how jay landsman remains in a pretty powerful position (assumin sgt counts as powerful) by using a similar strategy as patsy parese in the sopranos. By being a mainly predictable subordinate. Is this something you would be interested in doing at some point?

[@laurenpeterson9510]

Arnie!

[@davidsmyth4184]

Reminds me of a young Ronald Reagan.

[@mikepolantis8472]

Bro, would you please consider making a video about the movie 'Uncut Gems' 2019 from a Laws of Power perspective?

[@azimsiddiqui4773]

hey bro great videos. you're one of my favorite channels. although could you mention the actual law a few times because soemtimes its hard to hear it the first time and when that happens its confusing for the rest of the video. also where/how do you edit these.

[@frankmurphy7234]

Carmine Jr is a GENIUS!

[@garbageboys8303]

Hey Mr Whispers idk if you reply directly but have u watched boardwalk empire ? I'm binge watching it now in the back of my head I think of the sopranos because it's in jersey and the wire cuz of Michael k Williams AL Neri cuz he was in Oz Steve Buscemi being in sopranos in kinda going on a tangent but anyways hope you're well and maybe u have an opinion or insight on boardwalk empire and see some parallels in all the shows esoterically and esoterically ... nothing new under the sun anyways

[@erickennedy3322]

Chris was right about Carmine thing ,but he said at wrong time.

[@remimk]

I'd love to see a "what if" about if Jackie jr. successfully pulled off the card game heist

[@tedwojtasik8781]

Tony screwed up bigtime regarding the Animal Blundetto & the Shah of Iran. What Tony should have done is setup an ambush for Philly the closet case at his uncles old house where Tony B was staying. Tony sends a few soldiers up to the home to lay in ambush, then tells Philly, who spent 20 years in the can, not a peep, where Tony Magic Hands is. Phil and his "boys" go up to take care of business and instead, they all wind up with pool cues shoved up their arses. Reach out to Little Carmine and let him know the path is clear for him to take over the family. It's perfect and I bet Suns Zoo would approve 😏

[@IronMikeDyson1979]

Also i believe carmine jr purposely got phil upset over the shooting to avoid phil and tony getting along any way possible to eventually try to overthrow carmine jr in time

[@gvbovzqz]

Narrator of this video sounds like AJ haha

[@rodolfopolino6798]

We need How Machiavellian is Logan Roy 😉

[@for_sureski]

My dumb ass thought the law was " do not commit to anyone (who's) in the TV show sopranos " n kept checking the date to see if it was April 1st or sum shit I'm high

[@PuchitoGuzmán]

Chrissy’s beak could certainly kill 😅

[@blimy01maynard30]

I don't think Little Carmine was some genius. I do think he was equally as mad as Phil over the killings of his cousin Lorraine, Angelo, and his defacto father Rusty. Carmine even mentions in the sitdown with Tony and Phil that he knows who killed Rusty. We know it was Tony and Phil.

[@slthjawa5062gggghhjjjjjkkkk]

Carmine may not have been a genius but what if he made a genius play ?

[@neilpk70]

Fictional Cosa Nostra characters are nowhere near as fascinating as the real ones.

[@kemperboyd1209]

Where's the Vito example??