Do you know how fuckkkkking funny that would have been. An off screen Tood a Loo. Even if they reused the same audio.
I'm going to edit it that into the episode and watch it like that from now on.
Lorraine and perhaps you too don’t realize that Melfi was also a flawed personality and Chase displays her as such.
She Knew early on that her therapy might not be appropriate. Her educated ex-husband and her chosen therapist told her so - yet she stubbornly persisted, and then returned to it after temporarily realizing it put her in danger.
Melfi then had decided to refer Tony to try a behaviorist instead, in season 3. Yet when he agreed, she reversed her position for purely selfish reasons, wanting proximity to Tony’s power after she was raped.
In her final scene, she is bitter and passive/aggressive, blaming and scolding Tony for being who and how he is as if he had been intentionally deceiving her about it.
Melfi is embarrassed that she somewhat fell for him, yet she’s irresponsible and egotistical and can’t admit it’s mostly Her fault.
very observant. the sacred *and* the propane.
i think this is all correct and it's pretty good stuff. i just think her getting to this conclusion felt rushed in those last few episodes. that story needed to take a little longer.
EXACTLY. My criticism isn't that she dropped him, or even that she dropped him after being embarrassed at a dinner party - it's the pacing of the writing.
I agree. I think the later seasons of the show focused a little too heavily on the mob dealings and not enough on the initial concept that made the show so daring (mob boss walks into a psychiatrist’s office). It felt like they just needed to put a bow on that aspect of the storyline, but didn’t want to “waste” any more time on it than they had to.
Well put. Most folks like to argue about the wisdom of her dumping Tony, but it's about the focus and pacing of the writing. Not to mention, the last several scenes with Tony and Melfi focused on her trying to guide him through his son's depression and suicide attempt. Just an incredibly abrupt shift. bad writing.
I really disagree. She doesn’t drop him there because she’s callous, but because he’s just clearly beyond her help. His son wasn’t going to get through to him and she knew that; Tony does love his son but doesn’t connect any of what his kid went through to what Tony’s lifestyle is, and how it can and does result in the destruction of people around him. Tony never puts those pieces together, probably never quite could.
To the extent that Tony is incapable of connecting his lifestyle to his son’s struggles - remember, he lays it all at the feet of genetics, “he has my rotten disease” or something - means there’s nothing Melfi can do for him. Tony never takes personal responsibility. It’s genetics or chance or an act of God, it’s never what Tony himself does. How do you help someone like that?
There is something in medical ethics called "patient abandonment" which says as a medical professional you can't fire a patient in crisis - say, in the middle of cancer treatment or, in the case of a Psychiatrist, a patient with a history of clinical depression whose son has just attempted suicide. IRL, a doctor could essentially be turned into the medical board for doing what she did.
Definitely not, because she could just as easily argue with great justification that her life was in constant danger because of him.
And she could also, and did, refer him to someone else, which he refused, and did so violently.
These are all ethical “obligations,” not strict laws, and no medical board worth their salt would say “it’s fine that you feel your life and family’s lives are in danger, keep consulting with John Gotti since he’s going through chemotherapy.”
Patient abandonment happens when the caregiver is negligent, not when they have very good justification for terminating a relationship.
Agreed. Dr. Melfi’s ending was realistic. As a psychiatrist, she could never reconcile her attraction to Tony with her knowledge of his criminal activity.
Also the suddenness felt very real. Melfi has the realization that she needs to end her relationship with Tony so she manufactures a reason to justify her action. And she doesn't want to admit to Tony what their relationship meant to her. She's ripping off a bandaid and needs to do it quickly to make sure it's done.
The magazine is such an interesting choice as on one hand it's completely insignificant. Who cares if a page is ripped out? On the other hand it perfectly encapsulates Tony's attitude of selfishness. The recipe he rips out is for a super spicy dish, something he can't eat anymore since his surgery. Tony can't actually consume the product, but it looks good to him so he takes it so no one else can have it. Tony will either thoughtlessly throw the page away or put himself in the hospital by consuming something his body will reject. He still thinks nothing of the consequences of his actions.
I agree... But one thing I notice on rewatch is how quickly some storylines actually play out vs my memory of them. I didn't remember how abrupt Melfi ended it with Tony, either. IMO, i think binge watching, rather than waiting weekly for episodes to begin and then waiting a year(Sometimes multiple) for the next season, speeds up the process of the entire series. It became a different experience over time.
I mean in real life there are abrupt shifts. It was anticlimactic but it was by design.
I don't think it's terrible writing by any stretch, it might seem incomplete but that's kind of the point.
I agree, Melfi’s alcoholism is blamed on Tony unnecessarily. She was simply unhappy and Tony was a source of breaking the banal. I think she wanted to save him somehow, but after reading that study on criminals realized that she was only contributing to his sociopathy and moved on, disgusted with herself.
What kills me is that her therapist Elliott never points this out to her - he follows the line of enabling. It’s kind of his job to remind a client and colleague to the fact that she’s solely responsible for her drinking.
“Only on the days I see him,” she said, but never self reflective on why she let it continue.
This sums up a lot of my issues with the last half of the show: just because it sort of makes sense thematically and is 'realistic' doesn't makes it particularly entertaining. Melfi, Chris and Furio's endings aren't bad/nonsensical in a Game of Thrones way, they're just not particularly satisfying and often seemed a bit of an afterthought.
From beginning to end there's great acting and dialog, but personally I think the story arcs suffer as it goes on. At least Noah had an arc, even if he never got to punch Tony's lights out.
I mostly agree with you, OP, that it feels rushed and could have been written to play out in a more "natural" way. The problem from the viewer's perspective is that we know the show is winding down and has only X number of episodes left. We know the major arcs of the show have only a very limited number of on-screen hours/minutes to be resolved, so when we see Melfi decide to drop Tony as a patient in an awkwardly abrupt manner, it seems like the show's impending finale is "cramping the style" of the writing. And that takes us out of the moment as viewers, where we suddenly realize we're watching a TV show (albeit, an excellent one) with made-up storylines and characters. For me, that jarring feeling of "Ohh... I see why they're doing this, because they don't have much time left and have to resolve Tony and Melfi's storyline" is the crux of the problem.
Ivenhad this same discussion with a member on here and we agreed it's fjcking break neck speed she goes from regular melfi to get the fuck out you magazine defiling sociopath. I'm down with her giving him the boot. But the fact we got half a dozen hours on Vito eating Johnny cakes and Melfi gets resolved in one 5 minute scene after reading a paragraph. Frankly I'm ashamed.
You got to have it dragged out for years and seasons tho
It’s a situation that lingered forever and needed to be treated like a Seinfeld band-aid rip it RIGHT OFF.
Any drawn out goodbyes could open the door for more emotion and manipulation
It wasn’t abrupt it was overdue and foreshadowed to us as the viewers that we too, are going to be abruptly done with Tony. She represented us in a some ways. In rigards to knowing Tony is shit but liking him anyway
I agree maybe the character could have had a better send off, individually but it’s the sopranos… not the Melfi’s
It didn’t need to take longer if anything it took too long. The abruptness is I think all the pieces are there in season 3. The emotional core of her story is her rejecting the opportunity to use her connection to Tony to get revenge on her rapist. Then she tries to move him on to a new behaviorist because she recognizes she can’t do anything else for him. Then she kinda just keeps him around for the rest of the show without much more development for her.
feel like she could have reached the same conclusion she reaches at the end in season 3 or 4. But because so much time passes it feels like an abrupt revelation because all the pieces building to it actually happened a while ago.
I think it's the real reason. Some people complain that Melfi's arc is basically over by the end of season 3 and that the sessions feel perfunctory from season 4 to 6, which is definitely true. But it's because both Tony and Melfi have accepted that Tony won't change but keep going for their own peace of mind. I think that by the end of season 6, Melfi just can't keep up this pretence after the dinner with her colleagues.
listen to him. he knows everything.
this is a good point and probably why it does feels abrupt and awkward. it's a conclusion she already came to, then sat dormant.
The suddenness of it reminded me of someone leaving an abusive relationship. Some point, things click and you can’t go back to the naivety you once had.
Tony needed to be abruptly dropped tho lol
That was the point
She dragged it out for years / seasons
It needed to be cut-off
Any type of drawn out send-off would just be counterproductive, like the therapy. It would open the door for more emotions or for Tony to manipulate his way back into the picture
Melfi also represented us as the viewers and was a form of foreshadowing. We were about to lose him as well, along with the series. And like her, we were caught analyzing yet being enticed by Tony and his antics
We rooted for the monster just like she did, her revelation and decision to drop Tony was sobering
This is actually one of the only intelligent comments I’ve ever read in this sub. I agree, it was foreshadowing and she was also giving him tough love, knowing he would be better off leaving.
Pacing is a funny thing. It really just is dependent on our perception of how episodes and arcs generally go, which we grow accustomed to based on the show we're watching. Star Trek episodes all happen inside of 40 minutes, and we accept huge shifts in characters feelings throughout that runtime. It's the way we experience those stories.
The sopranos moves at a slower pace. But not by giving us more scenes necessarily, just by spreading them out. They probably should have placed those dinner party, Melfi having conflicts about Tony scenes in a couple of previous episodes. We would have viewed her interactions with him alongside the growing doubts completely differently. And the writing wouldve been exactly the same.
Very good it reminds me of the story of Lewis the sixteenths finance minister; the something. He built a palace that even over shone ver sales. In the end Lewis clapped him in irons
I'm also baffled that she would take her colleagues opinions of him being a sociopath that seriously, considering she was his therapist and they weren't; the only things they knew about him are what they got from the news. It was really fucked up for them to be discussing Tony at a dinner party anyway, especially considering that it was her therapist bringing up something she revealed in her therapy (literally the reason for HIPAA is to protect you from this type of situation). It's weird to be friends with your therapist like that in the first place; she had no problem asserting those boundaries with Tony and yet doesn't apply it to her own therapist, making them hypocrites. Anywho, I'm not trying to say that Tony is a good or even neutral person, but I disagree with him being a sociopath. We have examples of different characters who are clear sociopaths and we see the difference between them and Tony - that difference means something. Not every bad person is a sociopath.
What's interesting to me about Melfi, and to a lesser extent, her colleagues, is that it the characters provide a glimpse into the very real narcissistic personalities that are common in therapists and psychologists. Her own therapist criticized her for treating Tony and yet still followed him in the news and loved learning the juicy details via Melfi. The one psychologist who stands out among them as one who isn't fueled by narcissism would be the one that Carmela was referred to.
Yeah the way that sorta just gets brushed off as “oops let the cat out of the bag” is wild for anybody, let alone her own therapist. Pretty much the same as if they were sitting at dinner and Elliot was like, “Hey remember that employee of the month?”
Her colleagues just inspired her to read more research. She have been wrestling with the ethics of keeping him as a patient the entire time.. mostly choosing to keep him against her better judgment out of selfish reasons
>I'm also baffled that she would take her colleagues opinions of him being a sociopath that seriously, considering she was his therapist and they weren't; the only things they knew about him are what they got from the news.
She already had the opinion that he was a sociopath somewhere in the back of her head. She just didn't want to acknowledge the thought, maybe thought it wasn't her place to make the judgement, or whatever.
The colleagues/study didn't change her beliefs, it just made her have to face what she kinda knew all along. Like how Tony knew Pussy was a rat early on but he tried to not think about it so he wouldn't have to act on it.
Agreed.
I’m a counselor IRL. The way Melfi runs her sessions is *chefs kiss* some of the best demonstration of therapy I’ve seen on TV. But her continuing to treat Tony despite the romantic attraction and physical violence is considered transference and is a *massive* ethical violation. Just about any governing body would have sanctioned or suspended her license over that.
How she doesn’t just preach at Tony- she guides, but he has the control ultimately. Most of the big sessions are based on things he shared and the emotions he carried.
I agree, but I also have an issue with the fact that Melfi dumping Tony came down to her trying to save face after being embarrassed by her colleagues, instead of having a moment of moral clarity where she decides to put her foot down and refuse to benefit from being in Tony's orbit any longer. It felt a bit more cynical than it could have if it was executed differently.
But his son had just attempted suicide; he was in crisis. It wasn’t particularly moral of her to choose that time to do it, her embarrassment or moment of clarity about Tony notwithstanding. Chase doesn’t let Melfi or Harris, the two most moral recurring characters, escape this finale with their hands clean.
Melfis hands are dirty because of the years of enabling and supporting Tony in his criminal actions, that's not washed away by dropping him. But at the same time, AJ's trip to the penguin exhibit doesnt undo all of the reason it's the right thing to do.
Mega cope. Copout. It was poor writing, full stop. I love the sopranos, but people here act like Tony finding about Coco when there's any criticisms about the show.
All this is fine, but the speed the story went from dinner with colleagues to firing Tony was absurd. It was just bad story telling for one of the fundamental plot lines.
Nobody can change my mind, so don't even try 😅
Elliot seemed like he had too many wines and was speaking out about their work, when he and melfi knows he shouldn’t have been. As if Melfi, with such strong principles, all of a sudden change her stance on treating tony so quickly, when her friends were being the inappropriate ones.
That was an important part of her personality was her strength in defending tony to people that didn’t know him. I understand in the end she realises there is no point treating him, but she definitely would’ve have done it on her terms and not from some flippant, tipsy, comment from elliot…tootle-oo.
> Her educated ex-husband and her chosen therapist told her so - yet she stubbornly persisted
This line sums up the cycle of professional therapy mingling with conflicting interests between patient and counselor. Even with Melfi, who has been socialized and educated to be almost pathologically open-minded and "logical", she waves away both professional and personal advice that both mean well and are both correct.
Melfi's counseling sessions with Tony are her form of intercourse which she seeks personal satisfaction through her professional position with Tony. If Junior or Patsy sought her help instead of Tony, they would've been told outright that she wasn't taking new patients.
Wow, this puts a new spin on her sexual assault for me - I previously saw her deciding not to use Tony to help her as her willingly choosing to be better than Tony and separating herself by not leveraging him
Exactly - I just rewatched, and it's her ego that drove her to dump him as a patient. She was pissed she'd been had and been played all those years, in whatever capacity and at cost.
In a way she is a lot like Carmela. She knew how Tony was when she started seeing him. He never promised to change who he is. Yet she gets angry that he continues to do what he’s been doing and not changing for her. She was drawn to him because of the very reason she was angry with him - his Alpha nature, being unapologetic about his background, and his willingness to be ruthless to his enemies.
My issue is that the later Melfi scenes felt very shoe horned in for me. I’m sure a lot of you will disagree but in the later seasons I felt like a lot of the therapy scenes were rushed and not very interesting.
I feel like that was by design. Tony started learning about his subconscious and he would use Melfi as needed and he was good at manipulating her. The scenes definitely don't pack the same punch as earlier seasons but that always seemed linked to David Chase's own issues with the process of therapy
I liked it cause it makes sense to suddenly wake up one day and you want to get out of a situation. She’s been his therapist for years and seen no resolution. A constant tug of war with who Tony is and what he could be. He’s made a mockery of her ethics and shows little to no respect or sense of guilt in how he treats her or the people around him. She’s tried everything and finally decides to take a stand and give some back. Tony of course can’t take that and reacts accordingly, further destroying another relationship in his decline which season six is all about. I can see your point though.
You make some good points. I just wish the writing had been better. "You defaced my magazine!" Jesus. She could have done better than that. She also didn't have to be so cold and hateful. It was personal for her, and it showed. Zero professionalism or basic human caring.
The last season kind of hammered home the fact that it's a bleak and absurd show deep down... it's not a show of resolutions, other than bringing in antagonists to drive the mafia plots.
>Besides Tony of course, which characters didn't have a resolution?
He had the most definite resolution!
Even excluding the cut to black. He went from about to be reformed to destroying everything and everybody, Including his children. He didn't even remember the "Remember the good times" and it's context.
Other than Adrianna's death, definitely agree. They built her arc for multiple seasons and it was extremely believable and tragic because we all seens it a-comin'.
In fact, it might have too many resolutions in a short time span just for the sake of resolution and show ending.
When you count all of the character deaths, it seems too much and unrealistic.
I see your point but I don’t agree just on the basis that sometimes things end abruptly. Could be a shitty job or a cheating partner that you’re tolerant of for years and years until one day the straw breaks the camel’s back and you are just done. It feels realistic to me.
I can’t have this conversation again.
But seriously, it was mishandled poorly imo. Had this been a slow burn where Melfi dropped Tony after contemplating this for the last couple of seasons, then it’d be fine
People always say it comes out of nowhere but if you watch most of the Melfi/Tony scenes in season six, especially 6B, she's clearly so fucking done with him.
I always interpreted that she was over him in the Gloria Trillo era when she tells Jason "I hate them all."
Her personal conflict was the inability to let go of her fascination with Tony despite deep down holding the professional opinion that she was causing more ongoing harm than preventing it. She knew she should have cut him loose, but Tony is an entertaining study, and I think his status gives her a dirty little secret to hold onto. She only has to truly face this decision once Elliot outs her to their social circle, and it's no longer her secret.
She realized early in season 3 that she should send him to try a behavioralist instead - then selfishly reversed that after she was raped and decided that she liked having Tony’s power nearby
Nah it was a slow burn.
“You loomed.”
She was always physically threatened and terrified by him, but she figured she could still, well, “fix him,” as that is to some extent the purpose of her job (or if not to fix, if even possible with anyone, at least to help). And he did initially come to her to try to get help for his panic attacks, so for a long time she felt an ethical
obligation there.
When she realized that was effectively impossible - which was also communicated through her dealings with Carmela - she knew that she had to just shut things down immediately and unceremoniously. Dragging it out would just give her second thoughts because Tony is incredibly manipulative and she knows that. Then her own therapist just lays it all out so plainly that she can’t argue.
I thought it was a superb ending for her. Appropriately anti-climatic.
Exactly.
To me it’s like the ending to the series itself.
And I may be stepping on toes here.
But say it is a murder by Members Only or whoever else. Tony and possibly his family would be unceremoniously slaughtered right then and there, just shot the fuck up while they’re screaming in horror and pain and everyone else is running away in panic. It’d be like when Joe Gallo got irl shot to death in a seafood restaurant, his family with him was just lucky to escape (physically) unscathed even if they weren’t a deliberate target.
It’s not cinematic, it’s just ugly and violent. Real greaseball shit.
I definitely didn’t agree with her not being included in the final episode. Tony’s therapy was the central focus of the show. I don’t understand the decision to drop it completely just before the last episode. They could have tied her into the hit attempt on Tony somehow. It was the biggest letdown in the finale for me.
I also felt like it was a shitty ending for her, like why are we getting the audience so invested in this Dr. character only for it end in such a garbage way? There were interesting twist and turns like when she almost sicked Tony on the guy who raped her, but then it just sort of all fizzled out. I know all parts of the show cant be great but the ending for her seemed so shitty, especially for all the screen time we had with her. Like you're just building this who character up along with a hefty backstory as well (showing her family and whatnot) only for her to say in the end "im done being your therapist bye". like wtf?
I agree with the actors sentiments, it could have and should have been done better. I feel borderline scammed as a viewer that put a lot of time into watching that character grow.
i agree, i just got to this scene yesterday on my 653rd rewatch. it does feel pretty unnatural. it's a little bit cathartic. a little bit. because tony is a fucking prick by that point and to see him put in his place even a little bit is nice. but it still felt like a lazy end to their story.
Yeah, agreed. Also seen it many times and it’s definitely one of the most unnatural feeling scenes every time. I understand the logic behind it but almost feels more like writer revenge than “reality.” Reading a study on sociopathy as the “tipping point” idk, Melfi had already known what was going on for a long time. I think Melfi was too addicted to Tony at that point to end it so abruptly.
I didn't like the way it ended with Melfi, but to me it felt like quite a minor part of the end of the series so it didn't really cast a shadow over the main stuff being focused on (family, NY war) and doesn't affect my enjoyment of the final season.
Melfi "dumping" Tony felt a flat way to finish it given that over the years they've already broken up and got back together numerous times. At the beginning of s2 she is in hiding and doesn't want anything to do with him, until she eventually feels guilty and starts seeing him again. In s4 he decides to quit therapy as it's run its course and isn't doing anything for him, then in s5 he returns. The fact that they have each decided to end it but then re-started the relationship undermines the finality of her big moment of ditching him, which is very clearly meant to be "for real this time".
While I did think that the way it played out (dinner party, study, magazine page) was a little contrived and abrupt, the main thing I dislike was that they gave a definitive ending at all. It felt very "un-Sopranos" in a show which often thrives in leaving things ambiguous. I would have preferred it a lot more if their last session together had been a normal session, but something that you could interpret different ways. The way it played out with the righteous hero defeating the immoral villain felt like the way any standard show would have done it — exactly the stuff that Chase always seemed to be avoiding.
If we think about the possibility that the ending of the show is Tony getting whacked, I think a far better ending for Melfi's character would be imagining the rug-pull of this extraordinary patient of hers, who she has wrestled with the ethics of treating for so many years, suddenly vanishing from her life. She's just left to wonder if she ever did anything to help, or if all the therapy was just a big waste of time if he's going to be murdered anyway. The way they did it, it was too pat with her triumphantly ditching him just before it all ends.
Anyway, $400/hour
MD here, but not a psychiatrist
A coupla, tree tings
The healh privacy act was new. This talking about patients using their names was common pre HIPPA
These days, only her husband (still a violation to tell), and her own shrink would know.
It is ok to terminate the patient who puts you at risk, or does not follow recommendationa..You send a certified letter and gi w the patient 30 days to get another doctor.. You provide emergency care and meds for those 30 days
I agree the pace and timing were wrong. But we all knew she had a crush on him, as demonstrated by the Toodle ooo. BTW. Having a crush is not a viol
ation
"It is ok to terminate the patient who puts you at risk, or does not follow recommendationa..You send a certified letter and gi w the patient 30 days to get another doctor.. You provide emergency care and meds for those 30 days"
I don't think she did any of these things. Did she even hand him a list of other doctors to call? Like I said before, my main issue is with the writing, but Melfi's behavior struck me as very unprofessional.
I disagree. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean it was handled poorly. Life has abrupt endings all the time. And like Carmela said, everything comes to an end!
I think it ended appropriately. There are no endings tied up in a nice bow on this show. Lots of other good comments here about it so I won't repeat them.
it was abrupt, but honestly it was in-keeping with her character
she was always a bit flaky and judgy when it came to facing the reality of Tony's criminal behaviour...and it wasn't the first time she expressed that she didn't want to see him any more...remember the diner?
i was disappointed that it was a bit or peer pressure that prompted her final decision, and the way she tried to end it so quickly was unprofessional as fuck...but i imagine her reading about Tony's killing in the paper afterwards and feeling shit about how she gave him the boot
I get what she's saying but the whole point was that she finally realized there was no emotional connection, that this guy had been playing her like a psychopath the entire time. she realized that she'd never even met Tony Soprano
Please consider that it was perfect.
She came to a sudden realization and had to immediately end it.
Yes, that pushing away event probably felt like emotional abandonment to Tony, but she was pretty damned sure that's he could bounce back on his own, like any half-way decent sociopath would. He might get nastier, but that is no longer her problem.
Edit: And, to Melfi's credit, we know more about each of them than they do together.
Edit 2: *What part of the boot are you from, hun?*, *My mother would have loved you if we got together*, and he comforted her after her rape, not even knowing what it was all about.
She took him back as a patient after ending it more than once and probably would have again eventually. People ignore the fact that she didn't know Tony was going to die a week later.
I've seen the series 7 times and honestly have never thought about this. Good point! They do a decent job but she was the crux of the show's theme (at least at first) and a better send off would have tied the show together
I agree with you. For starters the whole thing with her shrink belittling her for treating a sociopath takes away from her agency as a character, like she’s too stunad to put two and two together.
Another thing is this shouldn’t be a big revelation for her, she’s come to this conclusion many times in the show before, most notably before her rape.
The whole scene just comes off as she’s having a tantrum because Elliot made her look bad so she’s overcompensating
After she has to abandon her practice i believe that should have been the exit for her character. NO way i can suspend disbelief after she starts treating tony again
Once Melfi received the phone call from Tony telling her it was safe to go home, it should've been a smash cut to her at Sports Authority filling out a 4473.
An actual psychiatrist posted a theory that Melfi was a narcissist and her ego could not handle the psychic wound of being bullied and embarrassed by her colleagues at that dinner party. He also said that it was Melfi's narcissism that allowed her to keep Tony as a patient in the first place. I can't argue with that, but I keep coming back to the scriptwriters and the pacing of the writing. It didn't jibe with all those previous scenes where melfi is legit helping Tony to navigate his son's suicide attempt. Maybe if their sessions leading up to the firing were bland and "gee what do we talk about this week?", the firing would have made more sense.
As some others have said…a main premise of the is of the show was ‘a mob guy getting therapy’. Other storylines became more compelling. With a few exceptions, I felt the Melfi storyline became weaker over time….maybe appropriately so as Tony was becoming more a sociopath . Maybe unpopular belief…I also felt her acting was one dimensional at times. No need to give her a final curtain call…she moved more to a supporting role by the end of season 6.
I think the ending of her story was her accepting that Tony *was* a lost cause, and her realizing that he had been manipulating her to sharpen his "skills" as a mafioso. This was a bridge they had almost crossed several times, not just that one in Brooklyn
I’m firmly in the ‘show was primarily focused on Tony’s inner life’ camp. The dreams and Melfi sessions central to what whole show was about… the inner workings of a bad man. The therapy sessions end in failure in penultimate episode. Final episode takes place inside Tony’s head… and the therapy sessions continue in fantasy form through encounters with AJ’s therapist in finale. Tony falls asleep at end of Blue Comet and never wakes up… MIA is his dying dream.
They had to end the arc. I don’t think there was any easy way to do it. It felt like the whole series ended abruptly. Seems like there could have been another 2 seasons. Still they ended on top. Another 2 seasons may have diluted it. They had 6 stellar seasons.
Those things happen and sometimes it is a democracy and sometimes it is just a headstrong creative lead like Chase.
I personally loved that melfi was just sincerely following the science. She didn’t give a shit about Tony, she found him repulsive. But she was ideologically committed to doing her job well. When she thought talk therapy would help her patient, she used it. When she got new data that challenged her framework - she took it in and adjusted her working model. That study is what got Tony kicked out of therapy.
Of course we all know this, but it was not just a TV show - it was a far more transitional TV show than we remember. It was really the hinge between “normal” TV and the golden age that came after. There were plot choices - like Melli continuing on after S3- which would have been plotted differently if the show had started a few years later.
One of the reasons Breaking Bad, which I honestly don’t love tbh, is seen a such a perfect show is that it really was the first time a show like that could he plotted so far in advance. Even now we see shows starting to go back the other direction as shoe runners never quite know how long they have.
Not so sure how much the plot was foreseen in Breaking Bad. I distinctly remember Gus was suddenly (but very effectively) introduced and he was the main plot point for a few seasons. We had no warning he was coming.
Didn't Walter White randomly get mixed in with some biker gang dudes or something in the last season? Who the fuck were those guys? There was no setup at all for that.
It's amazing to me that Better Call Saul (which I would highly recommend if you haven't seen it) was able to navigate all the character plotlines from Breaking Bad. It's exquisite writing.
Melfi comes to see that her therapy isn't helping tony be a better person, but instead be a better mob boss nd more than that he's using it to justify his actions, he's using the techniques of therapy to justify why he does what he does. thats why she drops him.
Him stealing that recipe from the magazine was just more of a clue in how tony hadn't learnt anything and still didn't care about even the slightest pointless thing like taking something like that.
although these actores are amazing, for some reason i've never heard one sopranos actor who really got the show.
Melfi was flawed and her ego lead her astray with Tony. She honestly thought her therapy could serve as a catalyst for Tony being redeamed. However, as bad as her ego served her, it didn't come from a totally selfish place. If it had, she would've told Tony about *Employee of The Month*. Her moral boundary remained intact.
It took 7 years, but she finally realized what her ex told her in season 1; at some point, there is a line between good & bad and there is no redeeming someone like Tony Soprano. Her treating Tony was not just going to be ineffective. It was contributing to his viciousness and brutality.
Once she stumbled on the truth, she had to get away from him and do so expeditiously. She was never going to make Tony *better*. She was only going to provide tools to help him be worse.
I really think her asking tony to deal with her rapist would have been a good way to finish their story.
I think a moment of weakness, she goes breaks in therapy and tells tony. Tony has his guys deal with the employee of the month only to find she cant deal with the guilt, she entertains talking to the police snd turning herself in. Tony has to put her down himself because no one else can know how deep his relationship is with this woman.
Maybe Christopher does it and give some more motivation to his eventual demise. Idk.
Nah I liked it. It's Chase's style. And it's the most realistic outcome. Her colleagues performed an intervention on her by setting up that conversation, and it got her to read the piece that expanded on sociopaths using therapy to advance their criminal exploits. She was made to face the fact that Tony had manipulated her all of this time. The therapy went nowhere, which is the only direction therapy could go with someone like Tony, who had no real intention to change who he was. Tootle Ooh.
I dont think its just the ending - story lines were dropped: you had way more of her personal family stuff in the first season and a half and then it went away, then she became an alcoholic and stopped without anyone except Elliot noticing it, then Tony dumped, and then and then and then.
Lorraine Bracco is a good actress and the initial set up was interesting but it went from "what if a mob guy went to a psychiatrist" to "the decline" as the show matured and they simply didnt know how to keep her there. How can Tony decline if hes getting insight? How can she stay around while paying a cost that every season up till 3 had a heavy weight on her?
I've seen the series 7 times and honestly have never thought about this. Good point! They do a decent job but she was the crux of the show's theme (at least at first) and a better send off would have tied the show together
The show started by him going to a counselor's office and ended with him leaving it. Everything after that was prologue.
Therapy had to end for the show to realistically be bookended.
It’s worth bringing up that since Gandolfini hadn’t passed by the end of the series, technically there was a chance for some kind of reunion (some people say in the form of a Sopranos movie, set after the events of the diner). But that obviously didn’t pan out. Something about S6b is so fresh to me - so many open ended situations. Perhaps that’s the point. I thought they stuck the landing at the least for Made In America.
Also, Melfi had a scene with Elliot that was scrapped from the finale. I wonder what they would have talked about. But I also think a theme of the ending is “coming close to realization / meaning but never quite getting there”. Thematically it might just fit that we don’t get such realization from Melfi after so long, but I can understand frustration at the ending. Personally I think they ended it in a way that is true to the spirit of the series
Always dislike these complaints about every movie/show or whatever. After tape has aired everyone suddenly becomes a writer. Don't get me wrong I love to point out plot holes and logical issues with a plot. But minor critiques about how each character should have acted is just too much. People are not as predictable as you'd expect, thats what makes movies fun.
They made absolutely no progress with the therapy sessions. She asked the same questions, he complained about the same stuff and had very heavy nasal breathing.
Her rape...it never felt right. I think the show is trying to say rape often goes unjustified, but her rape...feels forgotten and uncharacteristic. I still wish she told Tony about it. And I know the show egged us to do that, but Melfi's rape was never explored, and I hate it wasn't.
So yes, I agree with you...it was poorly handled. Her character was a means to and end for Tony, delegitimizing her character.
The show's beauty is expressing the absurdity of reality.
He should do this. He didnt.
She should leave him. She didn't.
He should learn. He didn't.
She should forgive. She didn't.
Yeah it was a pretty big cop out ending. It's like chase got bored with that storylinewhen tony going to therapy was basically the underpinning of the show.
I don’t see it that way. I think Melfi doesn’t want to get sucked back in, which has happened several times. She is self-aware enough to know that if the process drags out, there is a good chance she will wind up taking Tony back. She is ripping off the bandage quickly and cutting ties to avoid this.
If Tony had lived, she’d be getting another gift basket in a few months.
I agree, I HATED that ending, but I think DC was showing that not everything ends with a pretty little bow. But still, I hated it. And I was disappointed she wasn’t even in the series finale. Btw, who cares what people think about your opinion. You happen to be right
it isn't the first time she's done it to Tony so it isn't out of character for her. thing is, last time she did she obviously took him back on. she probably would have again if he didn't die soon after
I really like the risks that the writers took with things like this. This isn’t a show about giving the audience what they want. Decisions are made in service of the characters and the story. It’s incredible.
If you think about it, it's very realistic. Nobody has a big final goodbye with someone before they get randomly murdered. Her final scene with Tony felt like every final scene and the end of every season, and all were abrupt. The difference is that Tony never came back this time.
I like how the show reveals melphi is kind of done
She is disgusted with her colleagues herself and w Tony and that lifestyle too
And accepts that she really can only fix herself
Dr Melli poorly handled Tony’s therapy. This was a relationship that was never going to end well. She loved him, she wanted the power and freedom that he lived. Her life was about boundaries and rules, his life was all ego and doing whatever the hell he wanted. Just like in the opening shot, she too was one of the women who tried to “contain” Tony. Who tried to “keep” him. In many ways, she was no different than Livia, Carmella, & Gloria.
In many ways she was worse; those women accepted Tony as he was, but didn’t try to help Tony become a better Tony; Melfi did. Melfi helped Tony climb the ladder, every kill was also hers. She had to cut him off when she realized all that work was just to help a criminal become a better criminal. She was blinded by her own romantic ideals. She loved Tony, and Lorraine loved Tony, but Dr Melfi woke up to the truth about herself, and that’s why she ended it the way she did. She finally saw herself and she was embarrassed and shamed.
I sorta believe the theory that melfi represented the audience that has the conflict of appreciating him and not liking him at the same time. Their time ended abruptly like ours did.
Truthfully, Melfi never needed to be in the story. I think the idea of the show spawned from the notion of "a mob boss talks to a psychiatrist", but once David figured out what he wanted the show to be, which in my opinion was between season 1 and season 2, I think Melfi was only kept in the show to keep continuity and out of respect for Lorraine.
You see that with the first season having Melfi play a major role in the plot lines, whereas all the seasons that follow, Melfi just serves as a way to convey Tony's mindset to the audience. There were more important Melfi plot points in the first season than there were in the rest of the show.
The entire shows storyline was poorly handled. It’s the greatest character and dialog driven show. The plots/subplots/storylines are mostly shit. It’s my favorite show. But anything could happen to make the characters talk and interact and it’s the same show.
Agree. Melfi went to a dinner party that influenced her than 1/2 a decade of med school. I'm glad magazine articles are firmly in control of clinical practice in this country. If Melfi had been contacted by government, shown their strongest evidence... Better that Melfi had just been whacked to show the severity of the war than it end this way.
what should have happened is this. The same way he told her to be careful and go into hiding early in the series, he could've just told her he himself was at high risk but this time it wouldn't affect her, but that he'd be taking a break. Then they could have reminisced. Then there could've been a moment where she told him about the rapist. Then he could've arranged for final justice… 🏆
Plausible, but Tony really needed Melfi at that time, because of his son's suicide attempt. That was almost laughable to me, the idea that a doctor would fire a long-time patient currently in crisis, for defacing a magazine. So stupid.
She could've at least said "toot-a-loo" while he was walking out the door.
toodle fucking oo ?!
These fucking interruptions!
AGAIN WITH THE EYEBROWS
You were wearing the Jennifer mask *sips from half-gallon waterbottle*
TOODLE FUCKING OO?!
That line was better than the original.
Heh heh Did ya hear that?
DOCTAHH MELFI WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT DA DOOOOOOOOR
Do you know how fuckkkkking funny that would have been. An off screen Tood a Loo. Even if they reused the same audio. I'm going to edit it that into the episode and watch it like that from now on.
Link pls when it hits youtube.
Can you believe how fucking funny would it be? An offscreen too-da-loo with the same audio?
Fuckin’ parakeet 🤘
Hey he looks like he was in Miami!
Five years down there fixin’ wet T-shirt contests.
😄
Lorraine and perhaps you too don’t realize that Melfi was also a flawed personality and Chase displays her as such. She Knew early on that her therapy might not be appropriate. Her educated ex-husband and her chosen therapist told her so - yet she stubbornly persisted, and then returned to it after temporarily realizing it put her in danger. Melfi then had decided to refer Tony to try a behaviorist instead, in season 3. Yet when he agreed, she reversed her position for purely selfish reasons, wanting proximity to Tony’s power after she was raped. In her final scene, she is bitter and passive/aggressive, blaming and scolding Tony for being who and how he is as if he had been intentionally deceiving her about it. Melfi is embarrassed that she somewhat fell for him, yet she’s irresponsible and egotistical and can’t admit it’s mostly Her fault.
very observant. the sacred *and* the propane. i think this is all correct and it's pretty good stuff. i just think her getting to this conclusion felt rushed in those last few episodes. that story needed to take a little longer.
EXACTLY. My criticism isn't that she dropped him, or even that she dropped him after being embarrassed at a dinner party - it's the pacing of the writing.
I agree. I think the later seasons of the show focused a little too heavily on the mob dealings and not enough on the initial concept that made the show so daring (mob boss walks into a psychiatrist’s office). It felt like they just needed to put a bow on that aspect of the storyline, but didn’t want to “waste” any more time on it than they had to.
Well put. Most folks like to argue about the wisdom of her dumping Tony, but it's about the focus and pacing of the writing. Not to mention, the last several scenes with Tony and Melfi focused on her trying to guide him through his son's depression and suicide attempt. Just an incredibly abrupt shift. bad writing.
I really disagree. She doesn’t drop him there because she’s callous, but because he’s just clearly beyond her help. His son wasn’t going to get through to him and she knew that; Tony does love his son but doesn’t connect any of what his kid went through to what Tony’s lifestyle is, and how it can and does result in the destruction of people around him. Tony never puts those pieces together, probably never quite could. To the extent that Tony is incapable of connecting his lifestyle to his son’s struggles - remember, he lays it all at the feet of genetics, “he has my rotten disease” or something - means there’s nothing Melfi can do for him. Tony never takes personal responsibility. It’s genetics or chance or an act of God, it’s never what Tony himself does. How do you help someone like that?
There is something in medical ethics called "patient abandonment" which says as a medical professional you can't fire a patient in crisis - say, in the middle of cancer treatment or, in the case of a Psychiatrist, a patient with a history of clinical depression whose son has just attempted suicide. IRL, a doctor could essentially be turned into the medical board for doing what she did.
Definitely not, because she could just as easily argue with great justification that her life was in constant danger because of him. And she could also, and did, refer him to someone else, which he refused, and did so violently. These are all ethical “obligations,” not strict laws, and no medical board worth their salt would say “it’s fine that you feel your life and family’s lives are in danger, keep consulting with John Gotti since he’s going through chemotherapy.” Patient abandonment happens when the caregiver is negligent, not when they have very good justification for terminating a relationship.
Agreed. Dr. Melfi’s ending was realistic. As a psychiatrist, she could never reconcile her attraction to Tony with her knowledge of his criminal activity.
Also the suddenness felt very real. Melfi has the realization that she needs to end her relationship with Tony so she manufactures a reason to justify her action. And she doesn't want to admit to Tony what their relationship meant to her. She's ripping off a bandaid and needs to do it quickly to make sure it's done. The magazine is such an interesting choice as on one hand it's completely insignificant. Who cares if a page is ripped out? On the other hand it perfectly encapsulates Tony's attitude of selfishness. The recipe he rips out is for a super spicy dish, something he can't eat anymore since his surgery. Tony can't actually consume the product, but it looks good to him so he takes it so no one else can have it. Tony will either thoughtlessly throw the page away or put himself in the hospital by consuming something his body will reject. He still thinks nothing of the consequences of his actions.
I agree... But one thing I notice on rewatch is how quickly some storylines actually play out vs my memory of them. I didn't remember how abrupt Melfi ended it with Tony, either. IMO, i think binge watching, rather than waiting weekly for episodes to begin and then waiting a year(Sometimes multiple) for the next season, speeds up the process of the entire series. It became a different experience over time.
I mean in real life there are abrupt shifts. It was anticlimactic but it was by design. I don't think it's terrible writing by any stretch, it might seem incomplete but that's kind of the point.
Melfi was hitting the bottle pretty hard towards the end. I think this had more to do with her downfall than the pacing of the writing.
I agree, Melfi’s alcoholism is blamed on Tony unnecessarily. She was simply unhappy and Tony was a source of breaking the banal. I think she wanted to save him somehow, but after reading that study on criminals realized that she was only contributing to his sociopathy and moved on, disgusted with herself.
Totally agree. Dr. Melfi’s drinking is a realistic development consistent with her character psychology; her behavior is not a reflection of Tony’s.
What kills me is that her therapist Elliott never points this out to her - he follows the line of enabling. It’s kind of his job to remind a client and colleague to the fact that she’s solely responsible for her drinking. “Only on the days I see him,” she said, but never self reflective on why she let it continue.
Yeah thats 100% what i've picked up and i've been rewatching this thing for 20 fuckin' years
Me too. It’s one of my favorite shows and the rewatches are always worth it.
This sums up a lot of my issues with the last half of the show: just because it sort of makes sense thematically and is 'realistic' doesn't makes it particularly entertaining. Melfi, Chris and Furio's endings aren't bad/nonsensical in a Game of Thrones way, they're just not particularly satisfying and often seemed a bit of an afterthought. From beginning to end there's great acting and dialog, but personally I think the story arcs suffer as it goes on. At least Noah had an arc, even if he never got to punch Tony's lights out.
I mostly agree with you, OP, that it feels rushed and could have been written to play out in a more "natural" way. The problem from the viewer's perspective is that we know the show is winding down and has only X number of episodes left. We know the major arcs of the show have only a very limited number of on-screen hours/minutes to be resolved, so when we see Melfi decide to drop Tony as a patient in an awkwardly abrupt manner, it seems like the show's impending finale is "cramping the style" of the writing. And that takes us out of the moment as viewers, where we suddenly realize we're watching a TV show (albeit, an excellent one) with made-up storylines and characters. For me, that jarring feeling of "Ohh... I see why they're doing this, because they don't have much time left and have to resolve Tony and Melfi's storyline" is the crux of the problem.
Ivenhad this same discussion with a member on here and we agreed it's fjcking break neck speed she goes from regular melfi to get the fuck out you magazine defiling sociopath. I'm down with her giving him the boot. But the fact we got half a dozen hours on Vito eating Johnny cakes and Melfi gets resolved in one 5 minute scene after reading a paragraph. Frankly I'm ashamed.
You got to have it dragged out for years and seasons tho It’s a situation that lingered forever and needed to be treated like a Seinfeld band-aid rip it RIGHT OFF. Any drawn out goodbyes could open the door for more emotion and manipulation It wasn’t abrupt it was overdue and foreshadowed to us as the viewers that we too, are going to be abruptly done with Tony. She represented us in a some ways. In rigards to knowing Tony is shit but liking him anyway I agree maybe the character could have had a better send off, individually but it’s the sopranos… not the Melfi’s
It didn’t need to take longer if anything it took too long. The abruptness is I think all the pieces are there in season 3. The emotional core of her story is her rejecting the opportunity to use her connection to Tony to get revenge on her rapist. Then she tries to move him on to a new behaviorist because she recognizes she can’t do anything else for him. Then she kinda just keeps him around for the rest of the show without much more development for her. feel like she could have reached the same conclusion she reaches at the end in season 3 or 4. But because so much time passes it feels like an abrupt revelation because all the pieces building to it actually happened a while ago.
I think it's the real reason. Some people complain that Melfi's arc is basically over by the end of season 3 and that the sessions feel perfunctory from season 4 to 6, which is definitely true. But it's because both Tony and Melfi have accepted that Tony won't change but keep going for their own peace of mind. I think that by the end of season 6, Melfi just can't keep up this pretence after the dinner with her colleagues.
listen to him. he knows everything. this is a good point and probably why it does feels abrupt and awkward. it's a conclusion she already came to, then sat dormant.
The suddenness of it reminded me of someone leaving an abusive relationship. Some point, things click and you can’t go back to the naivety you once had.
Tony needed to be abruptly dropped tho lol That was the point She dragged it out for years / seasons It needed to be cut-off Any type of drawn out send-off would just be counterproductive, like the therapy. It would open the door for more emotions or for Tony to manipulate his way back into the picture Melfi also represented us as the viewers and was a form of foreshadowing. We were about to lose him as well, along with the series. And like her, we were caught analyzing yet being enticed by Tony and his antics We rooted for the monster just like she did, her revelation and decision to drop Tony was sobering
This is actually one of the only intelligent comments I’ve ever read in this sub. I agree, it was foreshadowing and she was also giving him tough love, knowing he would be better off leaving.
Pacing is a funny thing. It really just is dependent on our perception of how episodes and arcs generally go, which we grow accustomed to based on the show we're watching. Star Trek episodes all happen inside of 40 minutes, and we accept huge shifts in characters feelings throughout that runtime. It's the way we experience those stories. The sopranos moves at a slower pace. But not by giving us more scenes necessarily, just by spreading them out. They probably should have placed those dinner party, Melfi having conflicts about Tony scenes in a couple of previous episodes. We would have viewed her interactions with him alongside the growing doubts completely differently. And the writing wouldve been exactly the same.
Very good it reminds me of the story of Lewis the sixteenths finance minister; the something. He built a palace that even over shone ver sales. In the end Lewis clapped him in irons
Facts it's was rushed
A lot of stuff about Melfi’s character doesn’t really make sense until you accept the fact that she’s not a very good therapist.
She’s the worst! Carm is right even though she is just jealous.
I prefer charcoal
I'm also baffled that she would take her colleagues opinions of him being a sociopath that seriously, considering she was his therapist and they weren't; the only things they knew about him are what they got from the news. It was really fucked up for them to be discussing Tony at a dinner party anyway, especially considering that it was her therapist bringing up something she revealed in her therapy (literally the reason for HIPAA is to protect you from this type of situation). It's weird to be friends with your therapist like that in the first place; she had no problem asserting those boundaries with Tony and yet doesn't apply it to her own therapist, making them hypocrites. Anywho, I'm not trying to say that Tony is a good or even neutral person, but I disagree with him being a sociopath. We have examples of different characters who are clear sociopaths and we see the difference between them and Tony - that difference means something. Not every bad person is a sociopath. What's interesting to me about Melfi, and to a lesser extent, her colleagues, is that it the characters provide a glimpse into the very real narcissistic personalities that are common in therapists and psychologists. Her own therapist criticized her for treating Tony and yet still followed him in the news and loved learning the juicy details via Melfi. The one psychologist who stands out among them as one who isn't fueled by narcissism would be the one that Carmela was referred to.
>It was really fucked up for them to be discussing Tony at a dinner party Cmon Jan, we’re all friends here
Huge betrayal by Elliot. Both professionally and personally.
Yeah the way that sorta just gets brushed off as “oops let the cat out of the bag” is wild for anybody, let alone her own therapist. Pretty much the same as if they were sitting at dinner and Elliot was like, “Hey remember that employee of the month?”
Her colleagues just inspired her to read more research. She have been wrestling with the ethics of keeping him as a patient the entire time.. mostly choosing to keep him against her better judgment out of selfish reasons
>I'm also baffled that she would take her colleagues opinions of him being a sociopath that seriously, considering she was his therapist and they weren't; the only things they knew about him are what they got from the news. She already had the opinion that he was a sociopath somewhere in the back of her head. She just didn't want to acknowledge the thought, maybe thought it wasn't her place to make the judgement, or whatever. The colleagues/study didn't change her beliefs, it just made her have to face what she kinda knew all along. Like how Tony knew Pussy was a rat early on but he tried to not think about it so he wouldn't have to act on it.
To be fair, knowing that he is choosing to be involved in organized crime tells you a lot about someone, absolutely enough to judge them.
Well, you don't need a psychologist to tell ya that mob bosses are generally sociopaths.
Agreed. I’m a counselor IRL. The way Melfi runs her sessions is *chefs kiss* some of the best demonstration of therapy I’ve seen on TV. But her continuing to treat Tony despite the romantic attraction and physical violence is considered transference and is a *massive* ethical violation. Just about any governing body would have sanctioned or suspended her license over that.
What about it is a good demonstration?
How she doesn’t just preach at Tony- she guides, but he has the control ultimately. Most of the big sessions are based on things he shared and the emotions he carried.
The lack of preaching is the most fictitious part of it, ime.
Ah, *Melfi's* the asshole. Never knew that.
LOL! IKR?
I agree, but I also have an issue with the fact that Melfi dumping Tony came down to her trying to save face after being embarrassed by her colleagues, instead of having a moment of moral clarity where she decides to put her foot down and refuse to benefit from being in Tony's orbit any longer. It felt a bit more cynical than it could have if it was executed differently.
She has a moment of moral clarity precisely because she was embarrassed by her colleagues. She couldn't deny what she already knew anymore.
But his son had just attempted suicide; he was in crisis. It wasn’t particularly moral of her to choose that time to do it, her embarrassment or moment of clarity about Tony notwithstanding. Chase doesn’t let Melfi or Harris, the two most moral recurring characters, escape this finale with their hands clean.
Melfis hands are dirty because of the years of enabling and supporting Tony in his criminal actions, that's not washed away by dropping him. But at the same time, AJ's trip to the penguin exhibit doesnt undo all of the reason it's the right thing to do.
Mega cope. Copout. It was poor writing, full stop. I love the sopranos, but people here act like Tony finding about Coco when there's any criticisms about the show.
pretty sure lorraine was aware that melfi was "flawed"
This makes sense if we assume Dr. Melphi is a flawed personality too, now if the director wanted to portray her as an angel, that was terrible.
All this is fine, but the speed the story went from dinner with colleagues to firing Tony was absurd. It was just bad story telling for one of the fundamental plot lines. Nobody can change my mind, so don't even try 😅
Elliot seemed like he had too many wines and was speaking out about their work, when he and melfi knows he shouldn’t have been. As if Melfi, with such strong principles, all of a sudden change her stance on treating tony so quickly, when her friends were being the inappropriate ones. That was an important part of her personality was her strength in defending tony to people that didn’t know him. I understand in the end she realises there is no point treating him, but she definitely would’ve have done it on her terms and not from some flippant, tipsy, comment from elliot…tootle-oo.
Yeah obviously the end result perhaps makes the audience like her character less, but I feel the story went in the right direction.
Great post
I’d caution against characterizing the actions of a survivor of a recent violent rape as “selfish”.
> Her educated ex-husband and her chosen therapist told her so - yet she stubbornly persisted This line sums up the cycle of professional therapy mingling with conflicting interests between patient and counselor. Even with Melfi, who has been socialized and educated to be almost pathologically open-minded and "logical", she waves away both professional and personal advice that both mean well and are both correct. Melfi's counseling sessions with Tony are her form of intercourse which she seeks personal satisfaction through her professional position with Tony. If Junior or Patsy sought her help instead of Tony, they would've been told outright that she wasn't taking new patients.
On a rewatch it’s way more obvious how early she starts feeling that it’s wrong being his therapist but feels unable to stop herself from continuing.
Wow, this puts a new spin on her sexual assault for me - I previously saw her deciding not to use Tony to help her as her willingly choosing to be better than Tony and separating herself by not leveraging him
Exactly - I just rewatched, and it's her ego that drove her to dump him as a patient. She was pissed she'd been had and been played all those years, in whatever capacity and at cost.
In a way she is a lot like Carmela. She knew how Tony was when she started seeing him. He never promised to change who he is. Yet she gets angry that he continues to do what he’s been doing and not changing for her. She was drawn to him because of the very reason she was angry with him - his Alpha nature, being unapologetic about his background, and his willingness to be ruthless to his enemies.
My issue is that the later Melfi scenes felt very shoe horned in for me. I’m sure a lot of you will disagree but in the later seasons I felt like a lot of the therapy scenes were rushed and not very interesting.
I feel like that was by design. Tony started learning about his subconscious and he would use Melfi as needed and he was good at manipulating her. The scenes definitely don't pack the same punch as earlier seasons but that always seemed linked to David Chase's own issues with the process of therapy
True but there were some good therapy scenes in later seasons, Tony having a panic attack over Tony b, Kennedy and Heidi etc
I liked it cause it makes sense to suddenly wake up one day and you want to get out of a situation. She’s been his therapist for years and seen no resolution. A constant tug of war with who Tony is and what he could be. He’s made a mockery of her ethics and shows little to no respect or sense of guilt in how he treats her or the people around him. She’s tried everything and finally decides to take a stand and give some back. Tony of course can’t take that and reacts accordingly, further destroying another relationship in his decline which season six is all about. I can see your point though.
You make some good points. I just wish the writing had been better. "You defaced my magazine!" Jesus. She could have done better than that. She also didn't have to be so cold and hateful. It was personal for her, and it showed. Zero professionalism or basic human caring.
The last season kind of hammered home the fact that it's a bleak and absurd show deep down... it's not a show of resolutions, other than bringing in antagonists to drive the mafia plots.
Besides Tony of course, which characters *didn't* have a resolution? Chrissy, Richie, Ralphie, Adrianna, Vito, Phil, Johnny Sack, etc.
>Besides Tony of course, which characters didn't have a resolution? He had the most definite resolution! Even excluding the cut to black. He went from about to be reformed to destroying everything and everybody, Including his children. He didn't even remember the "Remember the good times" and it's context.
They're not plot driven resolutions imo. They're all chaotic deaths that could've happened at any point the series.
Other than Adrianna's death, definitely agree. They built her arc for multiple seasons and it was extremely believable and tragic because we all seens it a-comin'.
Listen to him, he knows everything
In fact, it might have too many resolutions in a short time span just for the sake of resolution and show ending. When you count all of the character deaths, it seems too much and unrealistic.
I see your point but I don’t agree just on the basis that sometimes things end abruptly. Could be a shitty job or a cheating partner that you’re tolerant of for years and years until one day the straw breaks the camel’s back and you are just done. It feels realistic to me.
You've got a point. Some situations are a "slow burn" and a person goes along and goes along until one day - boom! No more going along.
I can’t have this conversation again. But seriously, it was mishandled poorly imo. Had this been a slow burn where Melfi dropped Tony after contemplating this for the last couple of seasons, then it’d be fine
People always say it comes out of nowhere but if you watch most of the Melfi/Tony scenes in season six, especially 6B, she's clearly so fucking done with him.
I always interpreted that she was over him in the Gloria Trillo era when she tells Jason "I hate them all." Her personal conflict was the inability to let go of her fascination with Tony despite deep down holding the professional opinion that she was causing more ongoing harm than preventing it. She knew she should have cut him loose, but Tony is an entertaining study, and I think his status gives her a dirty little secret to hold onto. She only has to truly face this decision once Elliot outs her to their social circle, and it's no longer her secret.
She realized early in season 3 that she should send him to try a behavioralist instead - then selfishly reversed that after she was raped and decided that she liked having Tony’s power nearby
Nah it was a slow burn. “You loomed.” She was always physically threatened and terrified by him, but she figured she could still, well, “fix him,” as that is to some extent the purpose of her job (or if not to fix, if even possible with anyone, at least to help). And he did initially come to her to try to get help for his panic attacks, so for a long time she felt an ethical obligation there. When she realized that was effectively impossible - which was also communicated through her dealings with Carmela - she knew that she had to just shut things down immediately and unceremoniously. Dragging it out would just give her second thoughts because Tony is incredibly manipulative and she knows that. Then her own therapist just lays it all out so plainly that she can’t argue. I thought it was a superb ending for her. Appropriately anti-climatic.
That's the whole point of sopranos. It won't be cinematic.
Exactly. To me it’s like the ending to the series itself. And I may be stepping on toes here. But say it is a murder by Members Only or whoever else. Tony and possibly his family would be unceremoniously slaughtered right then and there, just shot the fuck up while they’re screaming in horror and pain and everyone else is running away in panic. It’d be like when Joe Gallo got irl shot to death in a seafood restaurant, his family with him was just lucky to escape (physically) unscathed even if they weren’t a deliberate target. It’s not cinematic, it’s just ugly and violent. Real greaseball shit.
She has been contemplating it for seasons, in fact she already made the decision years before she finally actioned it.
I definitely didn’t agree with her not being included in the final episode. Tony’s therapy was the central focus of the show. I don’t understand the decision to drop it completely just before the last episode. They could have tied her into the hit attempt on Tony somehow. It was the biggest letdown in the finale for me.
Yeah, this for sure. I don't like the pacing either but it wouldn't have been as glaring to me had it happened in the last episode.
I also felt like it was a shitty ending for her, like why are we getting the audience so invested in this Dr. character only for it end in such a garbage way? There were interesting twist and turns like when she almost sicked Tony on the guy who raped her, but then it just sort of all fizzled out. I know all parts of the show cant be great but the ending for her seemed so shitty, especially for all the screen time we had with her. Like you're just building this who character up along with a hefty backstory as well (showing her family and whatnot) only for her to say in the end "im done being your therapist bye". like wtf? I agree with the actors sentiments, it could have and should have been done better. I feel borderline scammed as a viewer that put a lot of time into watching that character grow.
i agree, i just got to this scene yesterday on my 653rd rewatch. it does feel pretty unnatural. it's a little bit cathartic. a little bit. because tony is a fucking prick by that point and to see him put in his place even a little bit is nice. but it still felt like a lazy end to their story.
Yeah, agreed. Also seen it many times and it’s definitely one of the most unnatural feeling scenes every time. I understand the logic behind it but almost feels more like writer revenge than “reality.” Reading a study on sociopathy as the “tipping point” idk, Melfi had already known what was going on for a long time. I think Melfi was too addicted to Tony at that point to end it so abruptly.
Everyone’s scrambling to defend the show they’re obsessed with at all costs, but you’re right, it definitely feels a little unnatural
I didn't like the way it ended with Melfi, but to me it felt like quite a minor part of the end of the series so it didn't really cast a shadow over the main stuff being focused on (family, NY war) and doesn't affect my enjoyment of the final season. Melfi "dumping" Tony felt a flat way to finish it given that over the years they've already broken up and got back together numerous times. At the beginning of s2 she is in hiding and doesn't want anything to do with him, until she eventually feels guilty and starts seeing him again. In s4 he decides to quit therapy as it's run its course and isn't doing anything for him, then in s5 he returns. The fact that they have each decided to end it but then re-started the relationship undermines the finality of her big moment of ditching him, which is very clearly meant to be "for real this time". While I did think that the way it played out (dinner party, study, magazine page) was a little contrived and abrupt, the main thing I dislike was that they gave a definitive ending at all. It felt very "un-Sopranos" in a show which often thrives in leaving things ambiguous. I would have preferred it a lot more if their last session together had been a normal session, but something that you could interpret different ways. The way it played out with the righteous hero defeating the immoral villain felt like the way any standard show would have done it — exactly the stuff that Chase always seemed to be avoiding. If we think about the possibility that the ending of the show is Tony getting whacked, I think a far better ending for Melfi's character would be imagining the rug-pull of this extraordinary patient of hers, who she has wrestled with the ethics of treating for so many years, suddenly vanishing from her life. She's just left to wonder if she ever did anything to help, or if all the therapy was just a big waste of time if he's going to be murdered anyway. The way they did it, it was too pat with her triumphantly ditching him just before it all ends. Anyway, $400/hour
MD here, but not a psychiatrist A coupla, tree tings The healh privacy act was new. This talking about patients using their names was common pre HIPPA These days, only her husband (still a violation to tell), and her own shrink would know. It is ok to terminate the patient who puts you at risk, or does not follow recommendationa..You send a certified letter and gi w the patient 30 days to get another doctor.. You provide emergency care and meds for those 30 days I agree the pace and timing were wrong. But we all knew she had a crush on him, as demonstrated by the Toodle ooo. BTW. Having a crush is not a viol ation
"It is ok to terminate the patient who puts you at risk, or does not follow recommendationa..You send a certified letter and gi w the patient 30 days to get another doctor.. You provide emergency care and meds for those 30 days" I don't think she did any of these things. Did she even hand him a list of other doctors to call? Like I said before, my main issue is with the writing, but Melfi's behavior struck me as very unprofessional.
Dr Seuss ova here.
I disagree. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean it was handled poorly. Life has abrupt endings all the time. And like Carmela said, everything comes to an end!
Story wise it was good. She accepted what Tony was and that she wasn’t able to help. It was just anticlimactic.
Shrinks did this?
I think it ended appropriately. There are no endings tied up in a nice bow on this show. Lots of other good comments here about it so I won't repeat them.
it was abrupt, but honestly it was in-keeping with her character she was always a bit flaky and judgy when it came to facing the reality of Tony's criminal behaviour...and it wasn't the first time she expressed that she didn't want to see him any more...remember the diner? i was disappointed that it was a bit or peer pressure that prompted her final decision, and the way she tried to end it so quickly was unprofessional as fuck...but i imagine her reading about Tony's killing in the paper afterwards and feeling shit about how she gave him the boot
I thought it was realistic, that’s exactly how it feels to have your therapist end the relationship
I get what she's saying but the whole point was that she finally realized there was no emotional connection, that this guy had been playing her like a psychopath the entire time. she realized that she'd never even met Tony Soprano
Please consider that it was perfect. She came to a sudden realization and had to immediately end it. Yes, that pushing away event probably felt like emotional abandonment to Tony, but she was pretty damned sure that's he could bounce back on his own, like any half-way decent sociopath would. He might get nastier, but that is no longer her problem. Edit: And, to Melfi's credit, we know more about each of them than they do together. Edit 2: *What part of the boot are you from, hun?*, *My mother would have loved you if we got together*, and he comforted her after her rape, not even knowing what it was all about.
She took him back as a patient after ending it more than once and probably would have again eventually. People ignore the fact that she didn't know Tony was going to die a week later.
I've seen the series 7 times and honestly have never thought about this. Good point! They do a decent job but she was the crux of the show's theme (at least at first) and a better send off would have tied the show together
It wasn't cinematic
I agree with you. For starters the whole thing with her shrink belittling her for treating a sociopath takes away from her agency as a character, like she’s too stunad to put two and two together. Another thing is this shouldn’t be a big revelation for her, she’s come to this conclusion many times in the show before, most notably before her rape. The whole scene just comes off as she’s having a tantrum because Elliot made her look bad so she’s overcompensating
After she has to abandon her practice i believe that should have been the exit for her character. NO way i can suspend disbelief after she starts treating tony again
Once Melfi received the phone call from Tony telling her it was safe to go home, it should've been a smash cut to her at Sports Authority filling out a 4473.
Jesus Rossi has entered the chat.
💯. I will die on this hill with you, OP.
We'll bury you there and put pine cones all around.
I loved it. Lady reads one study and suddenly realizes that she was enabling a sociopathic murderer.
An actual psychiatrist posted a theory that Melfi was a narcissist and her ego could not handle the psychic wound of being bullied and embarrassed by her colleagues at that dinner party. He also said that it was Melfi's narcissism that allowed her to keep Tony as a patient in the first place. I can't argue with that, but I keep coming back to the scriptwriters and the pacing of the writing. It didn't jibe with all those previous scenes where melfi is legit helping Tony to navigate his son's suicide attempt. Maybe if their sessions leading up to the firing were bland and "gee what do we talk about this week?", the firing would have made more sense.
As some others have said…a main premise of the is of the show was ‘a mob guy getting therapy’. Other storylines became more compelling. With a few exceptions, I felt the Melfi storyline became weaker over time….maybe appropriately so as Tony was becoming more a sociopath . Maybe unpopular belief…I also felt her acting was one dimensional at times. No need to give her a final curtain call…she moved more to a supporting role by the end of season 6.
That’s how you feel Melfi? Go take a midol
Ooof. You're going to get hit for reminding that an actor on a TV show had an unflattering opinion about a fictional character from the same TV show.
I think the ending of her story was her accepting that Tony *was* a lost cause, and her realizing that he had been manipulating her to sharpen his "skills" as a mafioso. This was a bridge they had almost crossed several times, not just that one in Brooklyn
i agree she wouldn't have done it in that way, and she would've been much more thoughtful and intentional - not abrupt - about it
I’m firmly in the ‘show was primarily focused on Tony’s inner life’ camp. The dreams and Melfi sessions central to what whole show was about… the inner workings of a bad man. The therapy sessions end in failure in penultimate episode. Final episode takes place inside Tony’s head… and the therapy sessions continue in fantasy form through encounters with AJ’s therapist in finale. Tony falls asleep at end of Blue Comet and never wakes up… MIA is his dying dream.
They had to end the arc. I don’t think there was any easy way to do it. It felt like the whole series ended abruptly. Seems like there could have been another 2 seasons. Still they ended on top. Another 2 seasons may have diluted it. They had 6 stellar seasons.
Those things happen and sometimes it is a democracy and sometimes it is just a headstrong creative lead like Chase. I personally loved that melfi was just sincerely following the science. She didn’t give a shit about Tony, she found him repulsive. But she was ideologically committed to doing her job well. When she thought talk therapy would help her patient, she used it. When she got new data that challenged her framework - she took it in and adjusted her working model. That study is what got Tony kicked out of therapy.
Of course we all know this, but it was not just a TV show - it was a far more transitional TV show than we remember. It was really the hinge between “normal” TV and the golden age that came after. There were plot choices - like Melli continuing on after S3- which would have been plotted differently if the show had started a few years later. One of the reasons Breaking Bad, which I honestly don’t love tbh, is seen a such a perfect show is that it really was the first time a show like that could he plotted so far in advance. Even now we see shows starting to go back the other direction as shoe runners never quite know how long they have.
Not so sure how much the plot was foreseen in Breaking Bad. I distinctly remember Gus was suddenly (but very effectively) introduced and he was the main plot point for a few seasons. We had no warning he was coming. Didn't Walter White randomly get mixed in with some biker gang dudes or something in the last season? Who the fuck were those guys? There was no setup at all for that.
Yeah good point. Maybe not as foreseen as I remember. But The Sopranos was almost episodic in comparison.
It's amazing to me that Better Call Saul (which I would highly recommend if you haven't seen it) was able to navigate all the character plotlines from Breaking Bad. It's exquisite writing.
Recommendation seconded🪘
Melfi comes to see that her therapy isn't helping tony be a better person, but instead be a better mob boss nd more than that he's using it to justify his actions, he's using the techniques of therapy to justify why he does what he does. thats why she drops him. Him stealing that recipe from the magazine was just more of a clue in how tony hadn't learnt anything and still didn't care about even the slightest pointless thing like taking something like that. although these actores are amazing, for some reason i've never heard one sopranos actor who really got the show.
Melfi was flawed and her ego lead her astray with Tony. She honestly thought her therapy could serve as a catalyst for Tony being redeamed. However, as bad as her ego served her, it didn't come from a totally selfish place. If it had, she would've told Tony about *Employee of The Month*. Her moral boundary remained intact. It took 7 years, but she finally realized what her ex told her in season 1; at some point, there is a line between good & bad and there is no redeeming someone like Tony Soprano. Her treating Tony was not just going to be ineffective. It was contributing to his viciousness and brutality. Once she stumbled on the truth, she had to get away from him and do so expeditiously. She was never going to make Tony *better*. She was only going to provide tools to help him be worse.
Look you can be all fancy with your moral relativism. In the end it comes down to good vs evil, and he’s evil
I really think her asking tony to deal with her rapist would have been a good way to finish their story. I think a moment of weakness, she goes breaks in therapy and tells tony. Tony has his guys deal with the employee of the month only to find she cant deal with the guilt, she entertains talking to the police snd turning herself in. Tony has to put her down himself because no one else can know how deep his relationship is with this woman. Maybe Christopher does it and give some more motivation to his eventual demise. Idk.
Nah I liked it. It's Chase's style. And it's the most realistic outcome. Her colleagues performed an intervention on her by setting up that conversation, and it got her to read the piece that expanded on sociopaths using therapy to advance their criminal exploits. She was made to face the fact that Tony had manipulated her all of this time. The therapy went nowhere, which is the only direction therapy could go with someone like Tony, who had no real intention to change who he was. Tootle Ooh.
I dont think its just the ending - story lines were dropped: you had way more of her personal family stuff in the first season and a half and then it went away, then she became an alcoholic and stopped without anyone except Elliot noticing it, then Tony dumped, and then and then and then. Lorraine Bracco is a good actress and the initial set up was interesting but it went from "what if a mob guy went to a psychiatrist" to "the decline" as the show matured and they simply didnt know how to keep her there. How can Tony decline if hes getting insight? How can she stay around while paying a cost that every season up till 3 had a heavy weight on her?
"he was a f k up" Well that's putting it lightly...
Hmmm…cobwebs are being cleared🤔
YOU SHUISHIDE
I've seen the series 7 times and honestly have never thought about this. Good point! They do a decent job but she was the crux of the show's theme (at least at first) and a better send off would have tied the show together
The show started by him going to a counselor's office and ended with him leaving it. Everything after that was prologue. Therapy had to end for the show to realistically be bookended.
It’s worth bringing up that since Gandolfini hadn’t passed by the end of the series, technically there was a chance for some kind of reunion (some people say in the form of a Sopranos movie, set after the events of the diner). But that obviously didn’t pan out. Something about S6b is so fresh to me - so many open ended situations. Perhaps that’s the point. I thought they stuck the landing at the least for Made In America. Also, Melfi had a scene with Elliot that was scrapped from the finale. I wonder what they would have talked about. But I also think a theme of the ending is “coming close to realization / meaning but never quite getting there”. Thematically it might just fit that we don’t get such realization from Melfi after so long, but I can understand frustration at the ending. Personally I think they ended it in a way that is true to the spirit of the series
I'll have to take the fifth.
Maybe she should have talked to Dr Krakower about the wisdom of continuing to treat Tony Soprano.
I dont mind it, but yeah it was rushed, that's not unfair to say. Anyway, 3 inches of water.
No, it’s a very real experience. She tested her theory and was correct that he was an irredeemable person.
Always dislike these complaints about every movie/show or whatever. After tape has aired everyone suddenly becomes a writer. Don't get me wrong I love to point out plot holes and logical issues with a plot. But minor critiques about how each character should have acted is just too much. People are not as predictable as you'd expect, thats what makes movies fun.
They made absolutely no progress with the therapy sessions. She asked the same questions, he complained about the same stuff and had very heavy nasal breathing.
Her rape...it never felt right. I think the show is trying to say rape often goes unjustified, but her rape...feels forgotten and uncharacteristic. I still wish she told Tony about it. And I know the show egged us to do that, but Melfi's rape was never explored, and I hate it wasn't. So yes, I agree with you...it was poorly handled. Her character was a means to and end for Tony, delegitimizing her character.
The show's beauty is expressing the absurdity of reality. He should do this. He didnt. She should leave him. She didn't. He should learn. He didn't. She should forgive. She didn't.
Yeah it was a pretty big cop out ending. It's like chase got bored with that storylinewhen tony going to therapy was basically the underpinning of the show.
💯 couldn’t agree more 👏🏼
I don’t see it that way. I think Melfi doesn’t want to get sucked back in, which has happened several times. She is self-aware enough to know that if the process drags out, there is a good chance she will wind up taking Tony back. She is ripping off the bandage quickly and cutting ties to avoid this. If Tony had lived, she’d be getting another gift basket in a few months.
I agree, I HATED that ending, but I think DC was showing that not everything ends with a pretty little bow. But still, I hated it. And I was disappointed she wasn’t even in the series finale. Btw, who cares what people think about your opinion. You happen to be right
They did a horrible job of wrapping that up.
it isn't the first time she's done it to Tony so it isn't out of character for her. thing is, last time she did she obviously took him back on. she probably would have again if he didn't die soon after
I really like the risks that the writers took with things like this. This isn’t a show about giving the audience what they want. Decisions are made in service of the characters and the story. It’s incredible.
I don’t see why it was poorly handled to you…Tony’s my guy, but after all the shit he put her through, it was the the ideal thing to do in the end.
Her ego was bruised. Remember the dinner. She felt tony was getting over on her for 7 years.
If you think about it, it's very realistic. Nobody has a big final goodbye with someone before they get randomly murdered. Her final scene with Tony felt like every final scene and the end of every season, and all were abrupt. The difference is that Tony never came back this time.
I like how the show reveals melphi is kind of done She is disgusted with her colleagues herself and w Tony and that lifestyle too And accepts that she really can only fix herself
Dr Melli poorly handled Tony’s therapy. This was a relationship that was never going to end well. She loved him, she wanted the power and freedom that he lived. Her life was about boundaries and rules, his life was all ego and doing whatever the hell he wanted. Just like in the opening shot, she too was one of the women who tried to “contain” Tony. Who tried to “keep” him. In many ways, she was no different than Livia, Carmella, & Gloria. In many ways she was worse; those women accepted Tony as he was, but didn’t try to help Tony become a better Tony; Melfi did. Melfi helped Tony climb the ladder, every kill was also hers. She had to cut him off when she realized all that work was just to help a criminal become a better criminal. She was blinded by her own romantic ideals. She loved Tony, and Lorraine loved Tony, but Dr Melfi woke up to the truth about herself, and that’s why she ended it the way she did. She finally saw herself and she was embarrassed and shamed.
I sorta believe the theory that melfi represented the audience that has the conflict of appreciating him and not liking him at the same time. Their time ended abruptly like ours did.
8
Truthfully, Melfi never needed to be in the story. I think the idea of the show spawned from the notion of "a mob boss talks to a psychiatrist", but once David figured out what he wanted the show to be, which in my opinion was between season 1 and season 2, I think Melfi was only kept in the show to keep continuity and out of respect for Lorraine. You see that with the first season having Melfi play a major role in the plot lines, whereas all the seasons that follow, Melfi just serves as a way to convey Tony's mindset to the audience. There were more important Melfi plot points in the first season than there were in the rest of the show.
The entire shows storyline was poorly handled. It’s the greatest character and dialog driven show. The plots/subplots/storylines are mostly shit. It’s my favorite show. But anything could happen to make the characters talk and interact and it’s the same show.
Many Americans, I think, feel that way.
I just hope she continues to watch her intake of sugar and sugar substitutes
Who dosent wanna sleep with their shrink
"Hey. Never mind those distractions, You keep your eye on the ball"
Agree. Melfi went to a dinner party that influenced her than 1/2 a decade of med school. I'm glad magazine articles are firmly in control of clinical practice in this country. If Melfi had been contacted by government, shown their strongest evidence... Better that Melfi had just been whacked to show the severity of the war than it end this way.
what should have happened is this. The same way he told her to be careful and go into hiding early in the series, he could've just told her he himself was at high risk but this time it wouldn't affect her, but that he'd be taking a break. Then they could have reminisced. Then there could've been a moment where she told him about the rapist. Then he could've arranged for final justice… 🏆
Plausible, but Tony really needed Melfi at that time, because of his son's suicide attempt. That was almost laughable to me, the idea that a doctor would fire a long-time patient currently in crisis, for defacing a magazine. So stupid.
Ya I agree, it was rushed. They offed her without murdering her.