The Sopranos -- "Who Am I? Where Am I Going?"

Episode 6.2 "Join the Club"
Starring James Gandolfini
Directed by David Nutter
Written by David Chase
Created by David Chase
Release Date: March 19th, 2006
Episode Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join_th...

[@rconley95]

This is James Gandolfini's actual voice which is funny

[@stevenwinfield1016]

Tony: “So tell me about Costa Mesa” Bartender: “Round here, it’s dead.” Brilliant lead up

[@BoJack32]

Can you fill me in?

[@lawsenharte]

@@BoJack32 Tonys in a limbo land between his life and his death, and he is faced with both options throughout this episode, and in the next episode his 'guardian angel' and daughter Meadow saves him

[@agentstanley29]

Yeah, Costa Mesa (Comatose) in real life is far from "dead". It is a swanky Orange County beach community.

[@ultrameticulous]

People pointed out lots of other lines that had meaning. I just noticed "there's always a faster gun" since he's in there from being shot by Junior.

[@GhoulGrundle]

"Around here? It's dead."

[@og_hapsburg7189]

he’s in purgatory

[@GhoulGrundle]

@@og_hapsburg7189 of course

[@BarakAlmog]

@@og_hapsburg7189 Paulie could have done it standing on his head...

[@almuslim2346]

@@BarakAlmog It was him who probably stole his brief case..

[@kaj7135]

@@og_hapsburg7189 Purgatory? I can do 6000 years of that standing on my head!

[@bluecomet1109]

I swear sopranos is the most massive show ever. So much character development, different "dreams", different arcs and storylines for multiple characters. If you are going to watch this show, clear your schedule

[@josephtalmadge3108]

rip to Paulie Walnuts he passed yesterday

[@jakubwrona2040]

The most complex show about.... life, in all aspects of it.

[@ninobr0wn_]

That's exactly what I tell people when they try saying breaking bad was better..while I do like bb, the only people who actually had character development were Walt and Jesse...every body else in that show stayed the exact same from ep 1 till the end...sopranos you can probably write a book about each character lmao

[@bluecomet1109]

@J Kim my cock is fat

[@chinohillschampion]

The best compliment I’ve ever heard about the Sopranos is that it is responsible for starting the second golden age of television. It was so good that the entire television industry stepped its game up.

[@Living_on_a_thin_line]

Only this show can make a patio furniture salesman an interesting character

[@Agent1W]

Exterior decorator.

[@miseendriste6337]

​@@Agent1WHis yard looked like shit

[@aitismarka9483]

@@Agent1W His yard looked like shit. It’s been ages since he’s had his lawn put in.

[@Agent1W]

@@aitismarka9483 He took out *16 animated garden gnomes single-handedly!

[@fthmydn]

It's like a prediction about who Tony would have been if he hadn't been born into the mafia realm.

[@mmcneil777]

You can hear Toney’s NJ accent periodically, especially when he was calling his family and when he was going to hook up with this lady.

[@kidnameless]

James Gandolfini himself was from New Jersey - I imagine he's simply using his regular voice for these coma sequences. So, it would still be a Jersey accent, just not nearly as pronounced as Tony Soprano's.

[@chinohillschampion]

@@kidnamelessyea that was my assumption as well!

[@SC-vj4wv]

Tony's a cheater even in an alternate universe.

[@faisalkamal4319]

He's a coozehound

[@keveardo]

Old habits are hard to change

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

That's a line right out of Carmella's Gucci hand bag.

[@Witnessmoo]

Being a scumbag is in the soul.

[@fyc7116]

@@Witnessmoo You would know.

[@peppersaltman1805]

Pain in stomach, from shooting .. didn't even catch that

[@jondomanstandup]

I missed it too. Man. Every fucking word has meaning

[@DSPsWifesBf]

@@jondomanstandup the show was well-written for sure. Do any modern day shows come close to this quality of writing?

[@6equj5_]

that and the reference to the vomiting and fever dreams, where pussy is the 'blackened grouper', perhaps?

[@dougbfresh]

@@DSPsWifesBf Yeah for sure, I think some of theese type of shows, this, LOST and others, have this nostalgia factor of everyone watching at the same time together which doesn't happen as much anymore. But Games of Throne similar quality. A lot of streaming content for sure...recommend Severence on Apple TV for great cinematography and writing. For All Mankind on Apple as well is pretty solid. (at least first two seasons).

[@ultrameticulous]

"there's always a faster gun" "We're out of the grouper sandwich." "I'll have the Cazzata Malanga!"

[@fredrickphilip2979]

Tony talks as James Gandolfini in his dreams

[@NoticerOfficial]

I just noticed this He has no jersey gangster accent

[@Deadman1000]

@@NoticerOfficial in this he's on the verge of dying and Tony is shown what he would be like if he never joined the mob.

[@camilluskid]

Notice that Costa Mesa is right near Finn’s hometown of Mission Viejo. I forgot whether he was supposed to be visiting Meadow out there too in the dream. A few episodes back he dreams about having dinner with Finn’s parents and his teeth start falling out. You rarely hear him mention his daughter’s relationship while awake, but his subconscious revels a certain insecurity about the situation. I wonder if a connection can be made between Finnerty and the person Tony wishes he could be in the presence of those like Finn’s parents. Perhaps another slight metaphor in this scene.

[@secondcomingofbast9908]

Great catch. I never caught the connection between the names "Finn" and "Finnerty." You're the first person I know of who did.

[@TheSamLegacy]

Wow, very allegorical.

[@miciboo9993]

Nah. That’s Annette Bening with Finn’s dad.

[@comanchedase]

@@TheSamLegacy the sacred and the propane

[@comanchedase]

@@miciboo9993 I knew it!

[@AdamIsInTheGulag]

‘Join the club’ really got me actually. I recently just finished the sopranos for the first time ever & this episode struck me like no other, mostly due to personal reasons. I had my father die in an accident this past year and it was the worst few nights of my life. He was fighting in hospital for a straight 3 nights but his wounds were too grievous. The acting from James, Edie, Jamie & Robert was so incredible.. so much so it gave me PTSD. Aside from that anecdote.. The more supernatural elements & dream sequences of the sopranos are by far some of my favourite moments. It’s the moments that weave on the brink of life and death that make you think… “who am I…. and where am i going?”

[@Yosef1952]

I am so sorry for your loss and for everything you and your family went through.

[@thedude2916]

My father died from cancer this year too. I feel your pain brother. Crazy how the world just keeps moving right .

[@brando3098]

Gunshot wounds? Or natural causes? Regardless it doesn’t matter. I’m sure It taught you to appreciate life! Be careful eat healthy take care of yourself and family. That’s what your dad would’ve wanted. Turn negative into positive!

[@tonymazz9912]

My deepest sympathy to you and Family. Your Dad is always with you and you with Him. It's the love and memories that will last forever.

[@maskonfilteroff3145]

"so much so it gave me PTSD." I feel you, bro. My Dad died from cancer a couple of months ago, and I was with him the moment he did. Because of that, scenes like Johnny Sac's moment of death really freak me out and are just too much to handle right now. Well, hopefully just right now and not forever; I really hope this hang-up eventually goes away. But points to The Sopranos for realism, I guess.

[@Shooter_McGoo]

When this aired, I thought this was really going to be Tony and he was dreaming of being in the Mob.

[@CyckOne]

Holy shit, thank God you were mistaken. Kinda feel like that would be pretty lame. 😄

[@3headedsnake388]

@@CyckOneTwists like those can be interesting if executed right, but man it would’ve been so bad imo. Undermines every character arc and personal scene we’ve watched to this point

[@Garanon5]

Bruh, that look Tony gives him @ 0:55 says everything without even needing to speak. Stellar acting.

[@johnk.7523]

He'll get his briefcase and wallet back once his time in purgatory (Costa Mesa) is finished. Until then he is stuck there and cannot move on.

[@OGGood-lb7bd]

i was like that in one of my dreams i couldnt move on i was stuck and it was very frustrating

[@deryatanbasi3046]

dont you go to purgatory after you die? he never died right?

[@joshualessore7652]

He'll get his briefcase WHEN YOU FIX THIS DAMN DOOR!!

[@zikosiss]

@@joshualessore7652 Spiderman is that you?

[@p0479]

Great episode. Near death hallucinations are real. Been there and know. Best show ever.

[@andrejz3020]

mind sharing?

[@fedpostah]

story time?

[@joeyyc8515]

I've had them too

[@bruhroof]

Story time?

[@Marksman_12]

I hope you are safe and doing ok now.

[@VegasViking420]

Through this whole scene all I hear is "welcome to the hotel California..."

[@skygriffin1317]

I loved the writing on this show

[@mavne]

1:36 same music plays as when Tony and Jackie junior are at Vesuvio when T tells Jackie about Richie being a rat.

[@countchoculitis1528]

Nice catch!

[@johnrojas9535]

I noticed that too

[@hoodiestimbs2783]

Sharp as a cue ball this one

[@AnCapone1899]

Which song is it?

[@eltonjohnny8156]

@@hoodiestimbs2783That cue, I wonder if it was chalked

[@coreyrardon3011]

2:45 the woman addresses him as “Tone” when she takes the phone from the daughter

[@mikeg2491]

It sounds like Gloria’s voice

[@hari-xo2fm]

Eerie.

[@TimmyMcGowan]

@@mikeg2491I thought it was Charmaine

[@Rogerio-kj5lg]

@@mikeg2491 It's Charmaine

[@Masons4Liberty]

@@mikeg2491it is Gloria’s voice. Also, interestingly, the song Carmela plays in the little stereo while Tony is in the coma is “American Girl” by Tom Petty. The song is rumored to be about a young woman who commits suicide.

[@chrisxavier3147]

Honestly a wicked episode

[@dgsevenyseven]

Clean slate episode..like the coldness..freshness..underrated.

[@brandon11122]

Tony paused and looked like he was having deja-vu after the bartender said the word "dead"

[@Luton-Mick]

That sounded like Gloria on the phone.

[@josephtalmadge3108]

Adrianna

[@christufuhh]

Charmaine

[@Lit_Papi]

Shinebox

[@vastpiano5552]

@@Lit_Papi the real answer

[@kaj7135]

Gabagool.

[@MrLurchMedia]

The discomfiture really starts to set in around 3:36 .

[@PlaylistGeneral]

Wait. Oh. Oh FUCK. Costa Mesa comatose I love that this detail isn't just a neat anagram for fans to find, fucking everything in this scene is Tony's brain starting to wake up. It's bouncing back and forward between subtext, metaphor, and just text because these dreams are reflecting his brain self-actualising and realising its true identity. Lost wallet -> the brain realising it has an identity, but it's not Kevin Finnerty. Lost luggage means lots of things but the main thing here is occupation. Because that's not his real job, throw that work uniform away. When he's hoping "the other guy" will show up, he doesn't seem to think there's been a mistake, it's like he's already accepted that those things don't belong to him. When Tony just asks what Kevin's name means, the process of self-actualisation is rapidly accelerating. Dialogue ducks and weaves between this fantasy world and brain functions. "Who am I? Where am I going?" Now he's asking these questions out loud and not just giving these deja-vu-filled glances, he's about to wake up. I also love the little touch where he looks lost without his briefcase, and when he joins the other group he reached down for it again, even though it's gone. Great touch. There's lots of other more obvious things, but it's astounding how these dream sequences have their own logic that makes complete sense. I think this is the only piece of fiction I've seen that really captures how dreams are where our brains seem to basically process things and what we see is a side-effect of the process. The way the show depicts that through low-key surrealism where the meaning of it all is juuuust out of reach...is haunting.

[@THEjoelivingstone]

Yeah.. um, not an anagram. Unless you're hiding that extra A somewhere.

[@ublade82]

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH@@THEjoelivingstone

[@briantclark]

Walt fuckin' Whitman ovah heah.

[@hypnotised-clover]

​@@THEjoelivingstoneAdding an O.

[@agent000000008]

@@hypnotised-cloverremoving the s

[@jamesburke9865]

46 years old, just a kid.

[@dewok2706]

interesting how when Tony sees that religious ad on TV and sees the cross he kind of subtly recoils in fear

[@6equj5_]

blackened grouper and stomach pain, can't help but think of the connection with the funhouse dreams for some reason the quiet realism and dark subtext of the coma dreams just feels so comforting to me, can't explain it

[@jonathandenatale6878]

Even Kevin Finnerty wanted to slap that dude

[@fuosdi64]

Notice how he offers Glenlevit in the alternate universe, while Tony LOVES it in the sopranos universe too

[@ericgoldfarb4870]

Fav episode of entire show.

[@vibezforall99]

“tell me about costa mesa” *giggles in OC*

[@starjun97]

Its funny thats james real voice

[@JakubRosman]

That's the most clear scotch I've seen poured.

[@hammondOT]

"We just sold our gear and coupling unit to Wheela-brator to focus on pumps and compressors." "Interesting"

[@agentstanley29]

Yeah the dialogue is so strange and makes no sense in this scene. Makes it all the more eerie.

[@josephtalmadge3108]

rip Paulie Walnuts

[@SoftDrinksOfChoice]

one of my fav episodes of the series !

[@blobcity3591]

I needed to see this, it's as if the universe was talking to me

[@maxpower2511]

Funny how they got someone who kinda looked like Melfi

[@reallifelebowski4732]

great catch i never thought of that - same voice even

[@maxpower2511]

@@reallifelebowski4732 His wife also called him "Tone"

[@AlphonseWeebay]

@@maxpower2511his wife in the dream was voiced by charmaine

[@jacobhalczak]

Everything in the hotel, all the dialogue. He is in purgatory. Man the Sopranos is fascinating!

[@lincolntc2413]

Mr gandolfini's real voice

[@eh8706]

This episode had such a strong effect on me. I was 20 now Im 36 and feel like Tony "who am I? Where am I going?" I felt like this since I was 12 years old when I saw a documentary about the world and universe how everything eventually will die. Endless black forever. It just made everything so meaningless in my mind even as I kid. I still feel the same no matter what we do eventually we die like everything else.

[@jdlamb4212]

You could say things are meaningless. You could also say that the fact you will die and rejoin the infinite nothingness is the only thing that could give existence meaning. Every moment is infused with substance and value simply because it's happening. Would life become more meaningful if it never had an end? Doubtful. The significance of each moment would be diluted and the choices would have no stakes.

[@jdlamb4212]

@John-Luc Giddings hell because that's where all the fun people will be

[@az_stan]

If you're unable to find or create meaning here and now, you never will. I guess for someone like you, you should be content that you won't have to spend too long in a meaningless existence.

[@Kardaszpm]

I had those panic attacks at about 22

[@windshieldraindrops8228]

A breeze of Eastern wisdom on the issue ....kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIKai6mGnM2Xr5o

[@jamietrev]

Genius writing

[@Cbart23]

I like that T went to Costa Mesa in his fever dream and also stayed at Caesars Palace.

[@Jack-ch9zy]

My first time watching the series recently, I didn't know if this was James Gandolfini's real voice or whether the Tony voice was.

[@reallifelebowski4732]

Even under a coma induced dream and different identity he attempts to cheat on his wife

[@ConstantineAndreas]

0:44 I feel like Gandolfini is actually saying "Kev Infinity" here, not Kevin Finnerty. Anyone else hear that or am I just imagining things.

[@bayshile4111]

Actually I thought about it too

[@xtratorque]

I agree.

[@Dale_Blackburn]

@@ConstantineAndreas It is because he wants to live forever. "Infinity." He is in purgatory state in here and tries to decide if he should stay (die) or not.

[@mranderson5791]

The look Tony gives the guy after he tells the car joke is mob boss Tony not brief case carrying after life tony lollol

[@AdamRJ01]

Multiversal sopranos

[@rydawg7629]

Everybody in this scene is somebody from the show. The guy at the bar is Ralphie, the woman is Gloria Trillo.

[@yashthirani6849]

The voice of the wife on the phone is Charmaine's

[@eltonjohnny8156]

Why would that guy be Ralphie and not someone else

[@Jonathan-io2qk]

is the bald guy who invites him to the table Artie? His only friend, insisting that Tony is someone worth being social with, because of his implicit value and NOT his material value or from what can be gained from him (in contrast to all those people who say they're his friends but just want money, or protection)

[@MUFC1933]

2:48 Charmaine

[@agentstanley29]

Join the GROUP (club) and get a GROUPER sandwich, and make it a blackened (DEAD) one. "Round here, it's DEAD"

[@jmason61]

She's a babe being a middle aged business chick out there making a living

[@daguy5000]

the superficial feel of every aspect of this tony’s life is interesting and it feels like this is possibly a deep fantasy of his. to be his definition of a shmuck, an average joe who is still exceptional in some ways (he gets the woman’s heart despite him being married, he’s an upstanding guy, he went from patio salesman to “optics engineer” or whatever). And still, maybe it isn’t a fantasy as much as it is a self-reassurance for Tony. Assurance that the life of the painfully normal (opposite from the way he sees his course of life, despite him actually following tradition and holding great value in it) will end with lack of fulfillment and fear that not enough pleasure has been had. We see this reasoning (again, since this is all in Tony’s mind) with Tony falling down the stairs and getting Alzheimer’s as a results. On top of this, he’s Kevin Finnerty (essentially). In a world where your documentation is the only proof or marker of one’s existence, he might as well be Kevin Finnerty. And Kevin’s identity shows most likely another fear of Tony’s when thinking about a ‘normal’ course of life, that he is a man in a mold, not unique, interchangeable

[@blainepotskin1884]

This reminds me of Robert sepher book! 1666 redemption of sin

[@OldAussieAds]

I need to re-watch this series, because either I forgot what this dream sequence was supposed to represent, or I didn't properly understand in the first place. Was it suppose to be Tony dreaming of an alternate reality, where he was a honest guy with a straight job? If it is, it's a lovely diversion to the usual stuff in this show. Either way, I would have loved a whole new show based around Kevin Finnerty. Same clever writing but different characters.

[@KBillysSoundsOfThe70s-iz3op]

Tony is huge here.

[@DazedInTheDesert]

Rubenesque

[@j_bailey11]

His wife is charmaine in the dream, the distinct sexy rasp in her voice.. noticed right away

[@MGS87273]

Help I'm stuck in soprano clips

[@manvswoodbeam]

Scotch rocks is a bigdog order for one on the house.

[@TheBossssssssssss]

"Sittin' on a park bench; do do do do do..." : …

[@montecarlo4294]

There was an Easter egg in the Many Saints of Newark about this episode

[@VincenzoMGREX]

I don't know if im in a minority but i love the coma scenes. I kinda wish season 6 started with Kevin without any explanation.

[@ma2566]

Around here it’s dead . It’s like a 10 minute drive to Newport Beach. What a place

[@Joeypeeps-le3xw]

You Sopranos fans, you go to far.

[@jamesheath7601]

It sounds like James Gandolfini was using his real voice for this

[@slydEvil35]

If you ever want to know what traveling for work feels like this is it. Hotel bars, BS small talk about sales numbers, and married people making out after a few too many. I’ve been hungover many places. But having a fully packed corporate conference scheduled day was by far the worst

[@mikeg2491]

Sounds fun to me, I spent 15 years stuck in front of a computer all day and wish I could’ve moved around.

[@slydEvil35]

@@mikeg2491 attend 2 days full of “breakout sessions” and tell me if you feel the same way

[@burnlastsunday]

Around here - it's dead.

[@tomblah]

For a moment I thought the bartender was Paul O'Neill

[@reallifelebowski4732]

most underrated Yankee ever

[@AnCapone1899]

1:43 what's that song?

[@caeserornothing]

Sopranos purists love these episodes ❤️

[@caeserornothing]

The casuals hate them

[@kaj7135]

The one and only bad episode in the series is In Camelot. That’s only because of the painfully awkward Happy Birthday song scene with the hot granny. lol

[@Ratchet2431]

@@kaj7135 I mean, that was clearly the intention of that scene.

[@masonf7332]

@@kaj7135 just like the “Happy Birthday Ted Beneke” scene from Breaking Bad! Lmao

[@festyguy7405]

No, some of us hated this part of the show

[@storkksoundmedia7778]

That Lexus joke was buns

[@BanglaDeszcz]

DEATH IS AN ILLUSION!

[@Rasterized1]

“US Drillbit, Aerospace and Industrial Equipment. We just sold or gear and coupling unit to Wheelibrator to focus on pumps and compressors.”

[@ConstantineAndreas]

Interesting!

[@nikitakuznetsov78]

0:48 Bald Ralph from a dream

[@agentstanley29]

Ok this is crazy but at the start the TV behind the bartender seems to be showing footage taken from a helicopter LOOKIN FOR A PERP!

[@mustaqdj]

costa mesa= comatose ! Credit to the guy in the comments discovering this

[@tucko11]

Dude that bartender might be able to scrap Tony up lol he taller

[@jonnysupreme]

The accent drop is top tier acting

[@Di0genes818]

ok watch out, a little theory of mine: This is purgatory (common opinion). I wondered what makes it so "hell" like, i expected some sort of physical torture or smth cause that is how i, a person whose religious knowledge is based only on school lectures, expected purgatory to be. But this type of hell works different for Tone and really similar to his life: 1. Tony is trying to catch the bus (melfi metaphore) in form of a plain, that he can never catch. But he doesnt really know this, until later. 2. Tony is trying to build relationships (like in rl) but gets fucked over or fails: perfect example is the bar scene (the unfunny joke from the other guest and the barman instantly leaving when tony tries to interact on him on an emotional level to build a relationship). 3. Tony losing himself and his personality in form of alzheimer disease (in rl, he becomes numb) Conclusion: Tony´s purgatory is based on failure with humans and emotions, just like his real life. This is the worst for him and the thing he (imo) mostly fears. Being alone, no family, no friends (like he ever had any to begin with) and no knowledge about himself. I think this explains the coma-dream really good, correct me if i am wrong :)

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

The grouper sandwich sounds vile.

[@musicakelo]

At 2:08 the female server is Adrianna (Christopher's girlfriend)

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

So his wife in this parallel world was Charmaine?

[@BELL314159]

I think she’s actually the brunette mistress who threw the slice of meat at him. Was her name Gloria?

[@wilhelmhesse1348]

@@BELL314159 ah yes Gloria, could be

[@EdgieAlias]

I think the fact that those two sound similar is part of it.

[@RoxasXVIII]

I just noticed he dropped his NY accent

[@strothermartin5368]

1:56 Changed his mind quick.

[@MUFC1933]

0:59 ralphy

[@marcvolpe8252]

BORGETTO SICILY COME VISIT US

[@_Wade_]

Damn is that kevin finnerty he burnt my nana's house down those faulty whatevers

[@brando3098]

Where’s Tony’s New Jersey accent

[@James-vc1kc]

Seems that without his briefcase (his identity), he’s lost his accent too

[@daithimurphy6783]

It’s his coma dream

[@Deadman1000]

In this dream Tony sees what his life would've been if he never joined the mob

[@mikala2088]

It’s closer to real voice but still not exactly that. His voice was not as accentuated irl

[@jimijackson]

Omg Gloria is the wife on the phone in the dream sequence!!

[@agentstanley29]

The subtitles incorrecrly say Carm on HBO Max, too.

[@someonewhoexist]

Kevin finnernty found him lol

[@Himurochan599]

Hey the Bartender is that one guy Vince who was Pheobe's BF in Friends Season 3

[@lordmonty9421]

"Tell me about Costa Mesa." "Around here, it's dead." Around here, it's dead. Aha.

[@warprimeminister]

Col. Winters ?

[@allsouls5997]

He was a perfect fit to work for a central bank

[@nncproductionsinc.4077]

Are sin, death, and disease real? Tony literally turns away from redemption

[@agentstanley29]

How does a company called "US Drillbit" start making pumps and compressors. Makes no sense. 😅

[@nagantm441]

The same way the The Connecticut Leather Company (Coleco) ended up building video game consoles.

[@jasonmoran5]

Is it me or did that sound like adrianna on the phone as Tony's wife