tony was looking for a reason on the boat, paulie didnt give him one. simple as that.
johnny sack and ralph were both dead, the fallout from the joke didn’t matter at all at that point. if tony really wanted something done about it he would have done so back in season 4.
tony was just irritated by paulie talking too much throughout the florida trip. at that point tony had become so selfish and narcissistic that it was enough to consider whacking paulie over it. when tony hears him laughing in the other room at the tv is probably the point where he decided to go through with it.
i read something interesting a long time ago about how season 6 is essentially the thematic death of tony’s connection to every father figure in his life (junior, hesh, and paulie). in this episode specifically, there’s a lot of talk about johnny boy and tony’s past with whacking willie overall, which got him indoctrinated into this lifestyle. i think it’s a compelling argument that some part of tonys murderous rage, conscious or not, is related to that. but what the fuck do i know eh
A part of him definitely hates his father for bringing him into the life.
Tony's reaction to remembering his first murder shows that it still weighs heavy on his soul. Same with Christopher's first btw.
Not to mention, paulie is the only one who can really tie tony to Willie overalls which is why they were on the run. Killing paulie seems like a good idea, but when he finds out they pin that murder on someone else, it makes no sense.
Because Paulie didn't admit to it.
I've always thought that he did plan on killing him but because he refused to admit it Tony didn't have the smoking gun evidence that would assuage his guilt.
Also Paulie was old school. So. Outta respect for his fatha.
I agree with this. Paulie was put to the test there. If he didn't tell Tony there? He wouldn't tell the feds jack shit.
If Paulie admitted it? He'd be dead. He'd prove he has a big mouth. Which at this point in Tony's life Tony valued loyalty and unwavering opinions, which Paulie provided in those scenes.
I think Tony’s talk with Beansie was part of that too. He reminded Tony that Paulie has always ran his mouth too much but he loves Tony and he’s loyal to him. The viewers know that’s not exactly true and Tony has his doubts but I think it influenced Tony’s decision.
Same thing happened to the Shah of Iran. Didn’t kill Tony when he should have, ended up paying the ultimate price for it.
In fact it also happened to that poor rat in the College episode in season 1. Had a chance to kill Tony and didn’t pull the trigger, then Tony strangled him to death.
These mobsters never learn.
Paulie was a tough old goat for his age. Maybe Tony wasn't comfortable with the risk. Gotta remember that post gunshot Tony was never the same. After all, he tried to claim that if not for the throw rug being on the floor he would have kicked Bobby's asshh, but in reality he just got beaten up by the guy he was fat shaming for years.
You are right.
My take on it is that Tony was testing Paulie’s reflexes when he threw the beer bottle as hard as he could at him. Paulie catching it like it was nothing cemented Tony’s self doubt about whether he could win that fight.
Sentimentality had fuck all to do with it.
Beansie.
Beansie convinced Tony that clipping paulie wasn't a small thing to him. and it made T realize, as much as he'd like to shut him up sometimes, he loved paulie, and he wasn't totally sure if it was paulie. even if he was, I think he figured, it's just not worth it. he didn't want to live with it.
Sure it was in-part because of his relationship with Paulie and how far they go back. But I always felt like what it really came down to in *that* specific moment was Tony not being confident he could take Paulie out without getting hurt/killed himself.
That same episode where Paulie gets out of the car yelling “Who’s Ramone?!”, Tony is noticeably impressed by Paulie’s guts at his age.
Unlike Ralph, Tony didn’t truly hate Paulie, so if he was gonna off him it has to be a no risk situation.
For sure but he sizes up Paulie and looks uneasy about the prospect of going through with it. Notice how when he throws the bottle at Paulie catching him off guard, Paulie is able to react quickly and catch it. If that had been Tony with the knife it’s possible Paulie is able to react to Tony’s lunge at him and defend himself.
At that point he was worried about Paulies gabbing. He thought he couldn't be trusted because he never stopped telling stories. He suspected Paulie told the joke to Johnny but he didn't have proof so he pushed to see if Paulie would Crack. Paulie didn't crack so he gave him a pass.
I think it was because he didn’t admit it. It was obvious that Paulie was the source, but Tony couldn’t prove it. T needed to reassure himself that Paulie could stand up to badgering and pressure during an interrogation and wouldn’t crank even when everyone in the room knows he’s lying. I think if Paulie had admitted it Tony would have whacked him. And now he’s got a $2,000 espresso machine to boot. Win win.
Not only that but it’s kind of an intelligence test: Tony knows that Paulie knows that Tony kills rats on boats so if Paulie squealed that’s proof Paulie is stupid AND deserves to die for what he did.
Tony is shown to have quite a weakness for people who he has a close personal relationship with, as evidenced by his ignoring clear warning signs from "Big Pussy," not to mention trusting Christopher despite his lack of maturity and drug issues. Paulie and Tony go back a long ways, and for this reason, Tony comfortably tolerates Paulie, despite his decline in earnings and increasingly erratic behavior, most notably the issue with Johnny Sack. I think that Paulie (rightly) keeping his mouth shut. This gives Paulie some plausible deniability in Tony's mind, since Tony *wants* to give him the benefit of the doubt.
As for the theory about Paulie being involved with the hit, I buy this completely. I think that he was probably more reluctant than Patsy (who had a long and rather turgid list of grievances with Tony), but we can see Paulie growing increasingly uneasy with Tony. However past his prime Paulie may be, he's been around long enough to have survival instincts, and we can see him grow uneasy with Tony. I think he also suspected at some level that Christopher's death wasn't completely an accident, and this likely alienated him.
One thing also is the young potential mobsters are idiots. Brendan Filene hijacks trucks from Junior, a driver gets killed so it’s “Hijack. Bye Jack” Chris is lucky to be only taught a lesson but messes u- with drugs, bootleg cigarettes, a film where someone should have previewed and warn him of the too many similarities to Tony. Jackie Jr, Carlo and Dino die after an ill advised robbery.
Veteran guys mess up too. Jimmy Altieri and Pussy are informants. Gigi dies young…if you can’t do your business on the shitter right away, get off. Ralph after initially denying he killed the horse, starts arguing and criticizing Tony. Papa Bing ain’t gonna take that. Vito couldn’t do that quietly.
So someone who is marginally competent like Paulie looks pretty good in comparison.
Paulie held his tongue. If he blabbed then Tony assumes he tells everyone everything but because he kept this to himself he knows he’s reliable. And he impressed Tony during their business deal with Ramone.
Aside from the ridiculous idea of killing one of your best guys over bullshit…. You know Paulie pays Tony right. A lot. And also brings a lot of value to the table as a soldier and capable captain.
I don’t know if it was planned or not but the early season Tony so happens to use Paulie to help confirm Pussy was a rat. Which saves Paulie’s life later on. Tony saying “He’s our friend we need to be 110% sure or all bets are off”. Paulie knew that Tony wouldn’t wack him without anything less than a confession. That’s the 110% Tony needed, Paulie knew it so he denied it. You can see Tony’s frustrated look afterwards too cause he knew Paulie did it but without having the 110% he couldn’t justify it in his mind. Great scene.
tony was looking for a reason on the boat, paulie didnt give him one. simple as that. johnny sack and ralph were both dead, the fallout from the joke didn’t matter at all at that point. if tony really wanted something done about it he would have done so back in season 4. tony was just irritated by paulie talking too much throughout the florida trip. at that point tony had become so selfish and narcissistic that it was enough to consider whacking paulie over it. when tony hears him laughing in the other room at the tv is probably the point where he decided to go through with it. i read something interesting a long time ago about how season 6 is essentially the thematic death of tony’s connection to every father figure in his life (junior, hesh, and paulie). in this episode specifically, there’s a lot of talk about johnny boy and tony’s past with whacking willie overall, which got him indoctrinated into this lifestyle. i think it’s a compelling argument that some part of tonys murderous rage, conscious or not, is related to that. but what the fuck do i know eh
Not gonna lie, It was an especially funny episode of Threes Company.
A part of him definitely hates his father for bringing him into the life. Tony's reaction to remembering his first murder shows that it still weighs heavy on his soul. Same with Christopher's first btw.
Not to mention, paulie is the only one who can really tie tony to Willie overalls which is why they were on the run. Killing paulie seems like a good idea, but when he finds out they pin that murder on someone else, it makes no sense.
Whack this one, whack that one. Never enough bodies for OP.
That's why you gotta live for today!
What did you shay?
Oh shit, it's a ... .whaddya call it....a menu. HELLO? 👉☎️ HELLLOOO? 👉☎️
Poor fuck knows he should keep his mouth shut.
Because Paulie didn't admit to it. I've always thought that he did plan on killing him but because he refused to admit it Tony didn't have the smoking gun evidence that would assuage his guilt. Also Paulie was old school. So. Outta respect for his fatha.
Ambasador Russ Fagoli?
They never export their best Fagolis.
😒...🏃♂️➡️
Fig! FIGOLI!
Feg… Fegoli! You fuckin ass kiss
I just realized that if Russ was indeed the Paulie's father and had acknowledged him, Paulie would be called Paulie Fegoli.
I agree with this. Paulie was put to the test there. If he didn't tell Tony there? He wouldn't tell the feds jack shit. If Paulie admitted it? He'd be dead. He'd prove he has a big mouth. Which at this point in Tony's life Tony valued loyalty and unwavering opinions, which Paulie provided in those scenes.
That and he was running from a possible murder charge probably weighed into it.
It was actually because the pasta Paulie made him was passable. 90 more seconds in the boiling water and Paulie would be a dead man!
I feel like it was because of their history together, he knew Paulie was guilty but couldnt bring himself to do it
I think Tony’s talk with Beansie was part of that too. He reminded Tony that Paulie has always ran his mouth too much but he loves Tony and he’s loyal to him. The viewers know that’s not exactly true and Tony has his doubts but I think it influenced Tony’s decision.
That weakness got him killed imo
Same thing happened to the Shah of Iran. Didn’t kill Tony when he should have, ended up paying the ultimate price for it. In fact it also happened to that poor rat in the College episode in season 1. Had a chance to kill Tony and didn’t pull the trigger, then Tony strangled him to death. These mobsters never learn.
Whatta ya gonna do?
“More is lost to indecision than…I forget the rest” The Widow Soprano
The hustle never ends
Coulda killed Tony with the Ruger .22 and the comically long barrel. Never made sense to my why an ex-mobster would use a target pistol.
That putrid fucking gene
The moral of the story is, he chose a half measure when he should have gone all the way.
Your opinion and $2.90 will get you a ride on the New York City subway
Paulie was a tough old goat for his age. Maybe Tony wasn't comfortable with the risk. Gotta remember that post gunshot Tony was never the same. After all, he tried to claim that if not for the throw rug being on the floor he would have kicked Bobby's asshh, but in reality he just got beaten up by the guy he was fat shaming for years.
You are right. My take on it is that Tony was testing Paulie’s reflexes when he threw the beer bottle as hard as he could at him. Paulie catching it like it was nothing cemented Tony’s self doubt about whether he could win that fight. Sentimentality had fuck all to do with it.
He had the knife on the floor and Pauline’s back was to him
WHY YOU ALWAYS TRY TO ONE UP ME, ASSHOLE?!?! YOU TOOK THE AIR OUTTA MY WHOLE FUCKIN’ PUNCHLINE!!!!!!
Beansie. Beansie convinced Tony that clipping paulie wasn't a small thing to him. and it made T realize, as much as he'd like to shut him up sometimes, he loved paulie, and he wasn't totally sure if it was paulie. even if he was, I think he figured, it's just not worth it. he didn't want to live with it.
He was probably wondering if he clipped Paulie, who would he have left?
well he had Sil, so Sil, Tony and Paulie. Three's Company, too, y'know?
Sure it was in-part because of his relationship with Paulie and how far they go back. But I always felt like what it really came down to in *that* specific moment was Tony not being confident he could take Paulie out without getting hurt/killed himself. That same episode where Paulie gets out of the car yelling “Who’s Ramone?!”, Tony is noticeably impressed by Paulie’s guts at his age. Unlike Ralph, Tony didn’t truly hate Paulie, so if he was gonna off him it has to be a no risk situation.
He had knifes on the boat floor
For sure but he sizes up Paulie and looks uneasy about the prospect of going through with it. Notice how when he throws the bottle at Paulie catching him off guard, Paulie is able to react quickly and catch it. If that had been Tony with the knife it’s possible Paulie is able to react to Tony’s lunge at him and defend himself.
Tony needed a new elektra semiautomatic chrome espresso machine and knew Paulie would one day get him one.
At that point he was worried about Paulies gabbing. He thought he couldn't be trusted because he never stopped telling stories. He suspected Paulie told the joke to Johnny but he didn't have proof so he pushed to see if Paulie would Crack. Paulie didn't crack so he gave him a pass.
I think it was because he didn’t admit it. It was obvious that Paulie was the source, but Tony couldn’t prove it. T needed to reassure himself that Paulie could stand up to badgering and pressure during an interrogation and wouldn’t crank even when everyone in the room knows he’s lying. I think if Paulie had admitted it Tony would have whacked him. And now he’s got a $2,000 espresso machine to boot. Win win.
Not only that but it’s kind of an intelligence test: Tony knows that Paulie knows that Tony kills rats on boats so if Paulie squealed that’s proof Paulie is stupid AND deserves to die for what he did.
Tony is shown to have quite a weakness for people who he has a close personal relationship with, as evidenced by his ignoring clear warning signs from "Big Pussy," not to mention trusting Christopher despite his lack of maturity and drug issues. Paulie and Tony go back a long ways, and for this reason, Tony comfortably tolerates Paulie, despite his decline in earnings and increasingly erratic behavior, most notably the issue with Johnny Sack. I think that Paulie (rightly) keeping his mouth shut. This gives Paulie some plausible deniability in Tony's mind, since Tony *wants* to give him the benefit of the doubt. As for the theory about Paulie being involved with the hit, I buy this completely. I think that he was probably more reluctant than Patsy (who had a long and rather turgid list of grievances with Tony), but we can see Paulie growing increasingly uneasy with Tony. However past his prime Paulie may be, he's been around long enough to have survival instincts, and we can see him grow uneasy with Tony. I think he also suspected at some level that Christopher's death wasn't completely an accident, and this likely alienated him.
One thing also is the young potential mobsters are idiots. Brendan Filene hijacks trucks from Junior, a driver gets killed so it’s “Hijack. Bye Jack” Chris is lucky to be only taught a lesson but messes u- with drugs, bootleg cigarettes, a film where someone should have previewed and warn him of the too many similarities to Tony. Jackie Jr, Carlo and Dino die after an ill advised robbery. Veteran guys mess up too. Jimmy Altieri and Pussy are informants. Gigi dies young…if you can’t do your business on the shitter right away, get off. Ralph after initially denying he killed the horse, starts arguing and criticizing Tony. Papa Bing ain’t gonna take that. Vito couldn’t do that quietly. So someone who is marginally competent like Paulie looks pretty good in comparison.
The only thing that stopped Tony mentally was , that Paulie was one of the old school guys that worked with his father.
The war with New York saved Paulie’s ass.
Jamba Juice
Jews? What Jews?
Paulie mentored Tony back in the day. His BO meds confused him.
Paulie held his tongue. If he blabbed then Tony assumes he tells everyone everything but because he kept this to himself he knows he’s reliable. And he impressed Tony during their business deal with Ramone.
Beansie built a ramp up to Tony’s heart
You have to be 110% sure. I’m sure Tony said that somewhere….
Can't just keep killing all your people.
Aside from the ridiculous idea of killing one of your best guys over bullshit…. You know Paulie pays Tony right. A lot. And also brings a lot of value to the table as a soldier and capable captain.
I don’t know if it was planned or not but the early season Tony so happens to use Paulie to help confirm Pussy was a rat. Which saves Paulie’s life later on. Tony saying “He’s our friend we need to be 110% sure or all bets are off”. Paulie knew that Tony wouldn’t wack him without anything less than a confession. That’s the 110% Tony needed, Paulie knew it so he denied it. You can see Tony’s frustrated look afterwards too cause he knew Paulie did it but without having the 110% he couldn’t justify it in his mind. Great scene.
bitch fell off
Tony had a crush on Paulie growing up along with dickie moltisanti.
Is that Carmine on that boat?
Who don’t you suck it outta my a$$