The Sopranos: How Christopher's Story Ends
Nov. 6th, 2021 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerFrom the first episode of The Sopranos (link to my blog from several weeks ago) it was obvious that Christopher and his stormy relationship with Tony would be a major element of the saga. And it was. And here's how that part of the story ends.
In season 6B episode 6, "Kennedy and Heidi", Christopher and Tony are in a car accident. Christopher was driving, high on drugs and distracted. Tony was clearly concerned about their safety. Christopher veered into the opposite lane, overcorrected while swerving to avoid an oncoming car, and skidded off the side and down an embankment. The car rolled over multiple times.
Tony, surprisingly, was able to stumble out of the car. Chris was pinned in the driver's seat and, because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, had suffered severe injury. He was barely conscious and started spitting up blood. Tony started to dial 911 but then stops... and suffocates Christopher instead! He pinches Christopher's nose shut. That, plus the way he was already coughing up blood (probably from a pierced lung or two) was enough to suffocate him. Tony then calls 911.
"One man will believe he's better off without the other around," I wrote after watching the series premier. And it happened here, 82 episodes later. Tony, who'd protected and supported Christopher for years, ultimately decided Christopher was more of a liability than a help to him.
Tony's decision hardly came out of the blue. Christopher had been disappointing Tony for quite some time. In the early seasons he was rash and didn't always follow through on his responsibilities. In later seasons his deepening drug use became a big issue. Even after completing a rehab program and supposedly going "clean" he slipped back into heavy use several times. He became undependable. As a drunk and junkie he was also at huge risk of saying or doing the wrong things in front of witnesses.
The thing that put Tony over the edge in his decision to whack Christopher was seeing a child seat in the second row of the SUV. A tree branch crashed through the window when the vehicle tumbled to a stop and pierced the seat. If Christopher's infant daughter had been in the car she would've been killed. The camera lingers on Tony looking at that twice before he decides to finish the job that Christopher's own recklessness started.
In season 6B episode 6, "Kennedy and Heidi", Christopher and Tony are in a car accident. Christopher was driving, high on drugs and distracted. Tony was clearly concerned about their safety. Christopher veered into the opposite lane, overcorrected while swerving to avoid an oncoming car, and skidded off the side and down an embankment. The car rolled over multiple times.
Tony, surprisingly, was able to stumble out of the car. Chris was pinned in the driver's seat and, because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, had suffered severe injury. He was barely conscious and started spitting up blood. Tony started to dial 911 but then stops... and suffocates Christopher instead! He pinches Christopher's nose shut. That, plus the way he was already coughing up blood (probably from a pierced lung or two) was enough to suffocate him. Tony then calls 911.
"One man will believe he's better off without the other around," I wrote after watching the series premier. And it happened here, 82 episodes later. Tony, who'd protected and supported Christopher for years, ultimately decided Christopher was more of a liability than a help to him.
Tony's decision hardly came out of the blue. Christopher had been disappointing Tony for quite some time. In the early seasons he was rash and didn't always follow through on his responsibilities. In later seasons his deepening drug use became a big issue. Even after completing a rehab program and supposedly going "clean" he slipped back into heavy use several times. He became undependable. As a drunk and junkie he was also at huge risk of saying or doing the wrong things in front of witnesses.
The thing that put Tony over the edge in his decision to whack Christopher was seeing a child seat in the second row of the SUV. A tree branch crashed through the window when the vehicle tumbled to a stop and pierced the seat. If Christopher's infant daughter had been in the car she would've been killed. The camera lingers on Tony looking at that twice before he decides to finish the job that Christopher's own recklessness started.
