The genius of the most shocking episode of The Sopranos

On his Talking Sopranos podcast, Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, said he believed Menken’s quote reflected Chase’s attitude toward consumer culture. This is most evident in Members Only, when Carmella forgives Tony after he buys her a new car, rubbing it in the faces of her friends Jenny Sacrimone (Denis Porrino Quinn) and Angie Bonpensiero (Tony Kalem). The action suddenly shifts to Carmella showing off her new car to Angie shortly after Tony is shot, the painful, bloody reality of his life of crime contrasted with Carmella’s hollow materialism. When Angie then reveals that she bought an expensive car through her hard work, Carmella can’t help but look disappointed.

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Imperioli suggests that Menken’s quote sums up Chase’s thoughts about some viewers, who wanted The Sopranos to experience more deaths. “A lot of fans felt like there should be a killing or beating in every episode, and people got impatient with the episodes that went by [down] Different ways,” says Imperioli. He suggests that the bloodshed that follows in “Members Only” is Chase’s response to those demands. That’s because, in addition to Eugene’s death and Tony’s shooting, the episode also depicts the death of a debt-ridden Teddy Spirodakis (Joe Cagnano), a beaten Hesh Rabkin (Jerry Adler), his brother-in-law Eli Kaplan (Jeffrey Kantor) getting into a car accident, and Ray Curto dying from a stroke.

Menken’s quote has always struck a chord with Chase. He believes it is as visionary as ever—suggesting that Americans are still drawn to the simple and exciting rather than the complex. “I’ve wanted to say that forever. I still want to say that. I was proven right.”

Members Only signals the beginning of the end for The Sopranos. And in the remaining twenty episodes, it gets even more bleak. Darker tones and a cold aesthetic have become so dominant that Seitz says the final episode, “Made in America,” looks like it was filmed in Siberia. This reflects the plight of Tony Soprano, who, having survived a near-death experience, is in no way reformed. “The sick joke here is that Tony doesn’t change at all,” Seitz says. “Except maybe for the worst.”