I'm watching the Sopranos for the first time during quarantine and I'm up to the episode right after this actually but I just wanted to say how surprised I am that this show, with a fanbase of probably straight men, Italians, and people just expecting the show's normal bloody misadventures, delved headfirst into a gay storyline. I was glad to see how fresh and good Vito's actor looked after his weight loss(I wonder if he lost weight for the show or if the show wrote a story for him after seeing him thinner). This entire plot of him being outed and having to maneuver leaving his life, his family, his friends, and starting anew for a little while and face or refuse to face his truth, was so refreshing and impressed me as I hadn't given any thought to Vito's character before this. I know the other user reviews are years old, but there is nothing boring about these new layers to Vito's story. He was given new breath in losing weight, being a new man who seemed now so much more alive and seeing him having to live his life secretly, I gained much more sympathy for him whereas before I thought him skeezy for intimidating Meadow's boyfriend. I see now that he was just trying to survive. It was still skeezy but for him, so necessary though I do think Meadow's boyfriend's the type to just sweep that under the rug, no questions asked bc he himself was so scared and in general, so meek. The constant up and down opinions of him from the crew, the fact that one of the men immediately surprisingly and naturally said, You know ? I really actually don't care that he's gay, the fact that everyone was overcompensatingly furious with him, wanting him dead yet making no effort to find him and face having to hurt a man who's done nothing to them really (really only made them face their insecurity in their manhood), the fact Tony flip-flopped in his opinions bc he's actually quite open minded and swayed by Dr. Melfi's (and other women's) opinions and sayings, the fact that Tony could set the mood towards Vito, bringing up their years of history and the financial success Vito's had for them, the fact that the NY crew was on board generally for any approach Tony decided on, (these men so often seem like grown little boys with their little secret club and traditions and rules, just silly men proving to each other how manly they are) the fact that none of these men could stand when anyone else clowned Vito ?There's a conflict there: Put up a macho front and keep alive that voice of the older generation of men in the family who would not have thought twice about this or admit that the love they have for Vito is still there and look weak, look somehow less than men for sympathizing and getting with the times. (There's a theme in here and the next episode of progression, of this crew becoming old men and having old men problems) Every one of the men and women on the show really showed themselves in how they spoke of Vito, how they treated this news of his fate. It was terribly interesting and let me tell you, nerve-wracking, not knowing if when Vito was packing a gun, whether he was going to kill himself or run away. It was very interesting seeing the different attitudes everyone had, the callousness some people had, the lack of sympathy or reflection and also the hypocrisy. Vito's going to hell but none of these guys, who've killed, who've cheated, who have hurt and stolen and deal with the world in that language, none of them are sinners ? Silly. If you think the show's exploration in homophobia and machismo and denial and gay love is boring, it's because you don't wanna hear it, you don't want to relate. Who can't understand forbidden love ? Who can't understand having lies you tell yourself ? Who can't understand being threatened by some new idea because of your own insecurities in your own self ? These aren't enigmatic concepts ? This story arc was hard to get into but the usual casual violence is relateable ? Tuh !
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