The Sopranos Season 3 Episode 6 - "University" Reaction

[@CoryGasaway]

Ralphie is an official made member of the family. As big of a piece of shit that Ralphie is, he is a "made guy" in the family. The rules are very clear. A made guy can basically do whatever they want to whoever they want, as long as that person is also not a made guy. So hurting Georgie doesn't break the rules, as well as killing Tracie. In fact, even though Tony is the boss, Tony still has to follow the rules himself. He can't rewrite them or change them. So Tony hitting Ralphie is technically breaking their code. The only reason Tony would be allowed to put his hands on Ralphie is if Ralphie disrespected Tony's own family, broke any family rules himself, or was a rat, etc. So as crazy as it sounds, Tony was the one in the wrong for hitting Ralphie. Not Ralphie obviously deserved it... and much more. Not to mention, Ralphie is a very strong earner as a soldier in the Aprile Crew of the family (which Gigi is now the Capo of), and puts a lot of money in Tony's pocket and family's coffer, so Tony can't just kill him as it would hurt the family financially and Ralphie technically didn't break any rules anyways. That being said, in case you need more help understanding the family, here's how the DiMeo family tree looks: -Boss: Junior (only in name) -Street Boss: Tony (actual Boss in the eyes of everyone and the 5 New York families) -Underboss: Paulie (and Capo of his own crew...Tony's old crew. Took over when Tony became Boss) -Consiligiere: Silvio -Capo of the Barese Crew: Larry Barese (but his brother Albert runs the crew while Larry is in prison) -Capo of the Curto Crew: Ray Curto -Capo of the Aprile Crew: Gigi Cestone (Ralphie was pissed that Tony made him Capo, felt he was wrongfully passed over) -Capo of the Altieri Crew: Carlo Gervasi Each Capo runs a crew with their own soldiers (made men like Ralphie, Christopher, etc.), as well as other associates (not made men). Soldiers and associates have to give a percentage of their earnings to their Capo, the Capos then gives a percentage of their earnings to Tony. Feel free to ask any questions you have. I can answer them without spoilers. *Maybe print out this family tree so you can use it as reference.

[@Aradim90]

Minor correction, Jackie Aprile and Junior are "acting" bosses, the official boss is Ercole DiMeo but he's in prison for life, it's mentioned in passing by Jackie in one of the first episodes ("I might be acting boss while the old man is guest of the government")

[@rickyj1250]

Are you kidding me Cory? You don't ever admit the existence of this thing. Ever

[@vickjr98]

@@rickyj1250 hahahaha

[@sebaynovuelve]

I really like this episode because they very cleverly parallel the story from the girl at the bada bing with Medows story. At the end you were asking why did Tony feel so bad about the girls death, my theory is that it reminded him of Meadow and that's why he's sad about it. Some things are also paralleled between Ralphie and Noah. That's why I love this show, they find very subtle ways of saying things that you might easily miss if you don't pay a lot of attention to the subtext in the show.

[@mahkimahkila6396]

Ok so this important: Ralphie is part of Gigi's crew along with Benny and Vito. The guys who hang around Tony (Paulie, Silvio and Chrisropher) are part of Tony's unofficial crew. (Remember Tony is technically only a captain) This is because officially Junior is boss, with Mikey (technically missing) and Beppy (life in prisonat the end of season 1) as his consigliere and Underboss. Tony is only a captain officially, with Paulie and Silvio being his soldiers. But in reality Paulie and Silvio are his Underboss and Consigliere. I hope you understand a bit better. 😄

[@mahkimahkila6396]

This is actually how the mafia worked post John Gotti in real life to confuse outsiders

[@rflair]

This show is 100% comedy, dark.

[@albertcardenas9437]

I like my comedy like I like my coffee, dark

[@AClockworkMelon]

Ralphie is made. He can be killed (after all, Richie was made too) but it's not a decision to make lightly. If too many made guys turn up dead everyone starts to realize that their protection as made men is worthless. So it's always got to be the choice to try to work things out without killing them before escalating. As for Sil, Ralphie, and all the others being cold bastards: The only person who can operate in the environment of organized crime is someone who's already a borderline insane sociopath. Other more romanticized media like the Godfather shy away from it more than the Sopranos ever did. You spend the first few seasons getting to know these guys who are often charismatic, funny, and likeable. But more and more you see that they're all monsters. But thankfully they never stop being entertaining.

[@francisalbert1799]

Apparently a big reason David Chase had Ralphie beat Tracee to death was by this time the popularity of the show was on another level and the audience were really starting to love and look up to Tony and the other mobsters and he wanted to remind the audience these were not good people.

[@jh1618]

That actually makes total sense. Especially Sil is really a glorified pimp, even though he is portrayed so nicely by van Zandt. Probably speaks for his charisma that they felt they had to break it up a little.

[@russellward4624]

Sounds similar to Buffy the vampire slayer. Everyone loved Spike and we weren't supposed to so Joss Wedon wrote a scene that nobody could make excuses about.

[@Cbricklyne]

So here's the deal. The roommate KNEW that Meadow wasn't around and that she had gone to her parents' place. She went down to Noah's room LOOKING for a hook-up,(which she got). Yes, NewsFlash!!! Noah slept with her, and that's why he failed his exam. That's part of what played into his breaking up with Meadow despite all the "restraining order" drama that he pitched to her ( I mean,.....she IS a headcase, but it was more a situation of not wanting her to blarb about it to everyone).

[@shotgun_shaun]

I think Tracee was looking more for a father in Tony than a lover. A little more context into why Ralph is such a good earner: he owns a contracting company and as such, gets lucrative contracts for development. You'll start to hear the terms "No-show" and "no-work" coming up, and this is directly referencing Ralph's construction contracts. Basically, he and his crew get salary and more importantly, benefits and a tax return for construction labor (electricians, plumbers, etc.).

[@michaelgoodyear9369]

I remember people were shocked when this episode aired. That murder scene was brutal

[@liteflightify]

One of my ten best episodes of the series.

[@indridcold3762]

The Hasidic homeboy showed his true colors in this episode.

[@michaelgoodyear9369]

I always hated that guy

[@frankwilson1580]

it's all about money with the mafia, silvio goes for what he wants 'all about money'

[@knockknock705]

Noah got what he wanted from Meadow and then he dumped her.

[@russellward4624]

I think it was more about his dad. Meadow is a commoner and doesn't meet the standards expected of him. I think Caitlen was an issue as well. Meadow is kind-hearted he's not.

[@knockknock705]

@@russellward4624 The conversation between Meadow and her mom is telling. She tells her that Noah can be so affectionate(before sex) then treat her so cold(after sex). Noah was all about Noah. Meadow had nothing more to offer him.

[@russellward4624]

@@knockknock705 I disagree. I think he liked her but he can't stand up to his dad.

[@knockknock705]

@@russellward4624 It could be. Or he could be the one pulling his dad's strings, being the one that maybe suggested to his father he file the restraining order. Blame my dad not me haha.When Meadow told him what an incredible understanding guy he was and Noah whole-heartedly agreed, that told me all I needed to know about Noah. The Sopranos still sparking disagreements many years later😀

[@russellward4624]

@@knockknock705 so why woukd he take her to meet His dad? It doesn't make sense. His dad takes out a restraining order out. He's clearly doesn't think that's right. If it was just about having sex and dumping her why he stay with her? They had sex more than once. Stayed together for some time. He takes her to meet his dad. Why would he do that if he's intending to dump her? Its clear his father pressured him to focus on school.

[@corinaperez226]

Noah was very controlled by his dad. I always thought that the dad put the screws to him to break up with the gangsters daughter.

[@childrenoftheabzu]

Hes a made man so they cant just kill him. Actually, according to their rules, Tony was in the wrong for just hitting him.

[@MrMeddyman]

7:40 it's played for laughs, but Tony is a Catholic and he's saying this which just shows what he thinks of Ralphie

[@runbkk8981]

is new episodes coming soon, i want to know how this show ends 😂

[@RainyDayReactions]

next one is uploading!

[@rickyj1250]

RIP Chris and Nia

[@RainyDayReactions]

Oh no, we’re good! Kids still a bit sick though so haven’t had time to get back at it. Next week for sure we’ll be back 100% and we’ll be posting our schedule by this Saturday

[@rickyj1250]

@@RainyDayReactions I thought you guys entered the "Witness Protection Program"

[@RainyDayReactions]

No snitches here! Lol

[@rickyj1250]

What happened to this week's episodes?

[@RainyDayReactions]

We are sick at the moment, we posted about it on our community tab

[@Hatsuseno1]

@@RainyDayReactions Get well soon

[@childrenoftheabzu]

yeah noah is a asshole, but not for breaking up with her. Cant fault someone for just not being into it anymore.

[@jeremiahthompson8951]

Where are you guys at? Waiting for the next episode.

[@RainyDayReactions]

Next week we’ll be back to normal schedule.. took us a bit longer to get over our cold, especially the kids!

[@jeremiahthompson8951]

Great. Well not about the cold.lmao Hope you get well soon.

[@rman15]

there's a bit of discussion/speculation among fans over whether or not Meadow's roommate slept with her boyfriend when she went to his dorm to study. I think she did, but Ive got a friend whose adamant they did not, what do you guy think?

[@CoryGasaway]

There's ambiguity there in the scene, sure. I'll give you that. But there's not enough evidence to arrive at that conclusion.

[@GuamoKun]

He did, the restraining order is just to make sure that Meadow’s roommate doesn’t get too close and tell anyone. When that doesn’t pan out the next thing is to just breakup. Sources: trust me bro

[@notjimmystewart]

Pie o My

[@CoryGasaway]

Side person = "goomah"

[@MattMajcan]

meadow's roommate is my favorite character. sometimes i think people feel uncomfortable laughing at her, but my god her character is hilarious.

[@tj5579]

I just found her annoying

[@tj5579]

What happened to The Sopranos reaction?

[@RainyDayReactions]

It's currently uploading :)

[@Just-Saiyan]

🤙