Sopranos Creator David Chase Reveals Secret For Final Podcast Episode – The Hollywood Reporter
The second era of Sopranos finished. Talking Sopranos, the popular podcast by show alumni Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa started as a project to help alleviate fan stress during the pandemic, concluded Monday. It premiered in April 2020.
The duo thanked fans from the bottom of their hearts for their tremendous support of the project, which resulted in 91 episodes and a bestseller, Woke Up This Morning: The Sure Oral History of Sopranos.
The showrunners didn’t go into specifics as to why they ended up, but it seems pretty clear that they’ve dealt with nearly all they can with every actor and some non-fiction. The crew is related to the series. Plus, both actors are juggling other projects.
Their final guest was none other than the creator himself: David Chase. The writer-director has visited podcasts in the past, but he rarely appears in the finale, immediately answering lengthy questions.
To let the ball roll, Schirripa asked Chase if there was a character he regretted killing. After thinking for a while, Chase came up with his answer: Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, who was played by Vincent Pastore.
“It’s too early because we both love that guy, and we love the actor too,” Chase said. “But, it makes for a great story. What can I say?” Bonpensiero was killed by the gang at the end of season two after Tony (James Gandolfini) deduced (and later confirmed) he was an informant for the FBI (“Funhouse,” volume two. 13 of part two.)
Chase then finally confirms that yes, Ralph (Joe Pantoliano) did in fact kill his racehorse, Pie-o-My; an animal that Tony loves very much and earns a lot of money from the track. Tony then strangled Ralph to death worrying about whether the fire killed the horse by accident (“Who did this,” episode nine of season four.)
“Tony was right,” Chase said of the doubt. “But the thing is, when he hit Ralphie for killing Pie-o-My, it was really about the girl he killed, Tracee (Ariel Kiley).” Tracee is a young dancer in Bada Bing who is in a relationship with Ralph and shows affection for Tony the way a friend or daughter would, largely due to Tony’s rejection. However, when Ralph beat Tracee to death in “University,” the sixth episode of season three, Tony went on a rampage and assaulted Ralph for his act of cold-blooded murder.
Chase also agrees with Schirripa, saying that, in his opinion, Janice (Aida Turturro) is more evil than Livia (Nancy Marchand), her mother, and Tony. “Livia comes from a not very enlightened time and place in New Jersey. Not much money, but they are working class people. So there were a lot of things Livia didn’t know. Janice had every chance. She is a Hindu, she has traveled all over the world. And she’s still very spoiled. In a way, Livia has a criminal mind. “
Schirripa also asked for the meaning of the canned ham that Tony was carrying when he returned home from the safe house in the series finale, “Made in America”. Chase admits it means something, but it’s not that deep. “They were in the other house and there was a canned ham, and ‘We can’t leave that! We have to get the ham. To waste? ‘”
Chase concluded his time with, “I appreciate it when people ask me about the ending; that there is still interest in it. It’s hard to feel appreciated, like when you’re talking to a reporter, but just the whole thing. Personally, I’m just a really lucky person, mainly because I get to work with so many talented people. It is a phenomenon. How often does that happen? There are millions of them [fans], and I thank them for their interest. ”
There are several other topics to be addressed in the finals Talking Sopranos episode, which can be found below.
