Nobody ever bring this up. The last scene we see Davy Scartino, he says he is moving a ranch out west. It makes it seem like there is hope that he will start his life over again and get on the right track... until he states that it is only 30 minutes from Las Vegas... so we all know how that is gonna turn out.

"Played by Cyberdyne Systems Model T-1000" 😂

The reason I could never feel sorry for Davey is the way he took his son's car; finding the tiniest thing wrong to make it his son's fault.

Poor Davey, a 44 year old kid with his whole life ahead of him. Couldn't even place his last bet

Carmella didn't blackmail her neighbor's sister, she extorted her. She made her a ricotta pie she couldn't refuse.

"This guy's going to crash and burn anyways. May as well be me." There you go. That's the reason right there.

“This is how a guy like me makes a living.. this is my bread and butter.” -Anthony Soprano

I'm surprised not a lot of people think about the title of the episode and the therapy session Tony had with Melfi. Something about Davey's carelessness that rubbed Tony the wrong way. He says to Melfi that he pretty much feels so miserable and angry that he just wants to bring down someone who seems happier than him, and Davey seemed to be doing pretty okay with his gambling addiction and his store. Something about the way Davey could just gamble so much money and still be a family man really set off Tony and pretty much did nothing to stop him from getting into serious debt with him, and ruined him completely. He was the happy wanderer that Tony hated so much.

Even Richie tried to give him a way out, tried to ban him BEFORE he got in too deep.

Where's da Why You're Wrong About Billy Leotardo video?

45 boxes of ziti

A grown man made a bet, he lost, he made another one and lost again. End of subject!

Despite the t1000 being Robert Patrick's most iconic role and deservingly so, he's actually a talented guy with lots of range, and it was nice to see him do something different. Here he's barely recognizable despite no makeup, really disappeared into his role. Despite his Terminator role being his most well-known, when I see him on screen I don't think of in terms of that role.

I could use a schvitz..

idk he literally lied while tony was asleep and took a shit load more money lol he also told dude many times not to come gamble here until dude literally showed up at the games door so eventually tony said fine then go lose

Tony only ok’d the first five grand. The line Christopher says, “He grabbed them by the ten while you were sleeping…”

“Why’d you let me do it ?” Davey asked . Oh please

David's final scene is where the estimation of him as a man fkin plummets, should have mentioned this. He is divorced and ready to move to a ranch out west. You could actually say he will bounce back, as Tony mentions earlier when they do the bust-out. The problem is, and Tony's face also drops, when he mentions he will be 30 minutes out of Vegas and they should meet up sometimes... LMAO. Yea, Vegas.

Davey Got what he begged for, he was warned, several times. After Richie, he should've stopped

Idk, at the end of the day, Davey’s a grown man. When Davey was winning during the executive game, Tony made it clear that he could cash out if he wanted to. Like T said, if Davey had played it smart it could’ve easily been him paying Dave 45 boxes of ziti. If you’re going to fault Tony, then you have to fault every legitimate casino for being evil because they do the exact same thing; take advantage of peoples gambling addictions

Funnily enough, Richie did more for Davey by banning him from his games than Tony ever did for his supposed friend. Problem gamblers are "similar" in a way to people with OCD but instead of having the need to set straight every single pencil in a desk they have the need to gamble/lose money in chance games, both know its not normal, both know they shouldnt be doing it but they just cant help themselves.

Gambling is an addiction and Tony, the master of psychological manipulation, made the most of Davey's weakness. Tony knew that the more he told Davey to stay away from the high roller games, the more Davey wanted to get in the big league.

If only Davy would have been on as his cyborg character, Tony would have felt the pain. Lol

I really enjoyed how Tony and Ritchie came together during the bust out it was great to see them on the same side for once

Davey shouldn’t have taken that money when Tony was sleeping. Thats the moment

Davey also didn't understand that a Gangster like Tony is going to bleed the business dry. That is what they do.

I'm surprised you didn't mention the Artie Bucco situation. He spells out pretty clearly how Tony's mind works in these situations. He sees someone about to make a stupid mistake (in this case Artie thinking of loaning the guy 50k) and his brain goes into overdrive planning how he can profit from it in the long run. If he can do it to Artie, his oldest friend - he can definitely do it to Davey.

My view of Tony's involvement is somewhere down the middle. I genuinely believe Tony initially had Davey's best interest at heart when refusing to let him join the game. However, once Tony realized that Davey wasn't going to let this go, he then sensed an opportunity in it all. I think of it less as Tony being a master long-term manipulator, and more as an opportunistic snake. He didn't initially intend on slow-rolling Davey for everything he's worth, but he did see an opportunity to do it.

Tony was just pissed off because Davey didn't have the makings of a varsity athlete...

I think just like we can’t blame Dave for gambling we can’t blame Tony for eventually taking advantage of him.

So are you going to pretend Tony is a normal human being and not a violent sociopath who has no real friends. Tony did warn him which is probably more than he does for any of his other victims. Thats why Artie’s wife is constantly reminding him who his childhood friend really is. Artie hangs around him and still manages to stay out of the bust out by not owing Tony anything. Davie did that to himself, he knew who and what Tony was and even went further down the rabbit hole after Richie (king of the dead eyes) told him not to take it personal but when the envelope is light its a sign of more excuses and stopped him from participating in any more of his games till he caught up. Yes Davie had an addiction but expecting a Mafia guy to respect his mental health is like expecting a shark not to bite you with blood in the water.

Always wished that Davey made a cameo in Tony’s season six trip to Vegas. Something subtle like working as a janitor or security guard

You nailed it. Tony is a predator. That’s how he makes his living in his own words. Davey was an easy target for Tony. Davey was weak and Tony preys on that and says so. “Scorpion and the frog…” I know people love Tony but he was a POS of course, all mobsters are. Their talk of honor is all BS, they shoot each other at the drop of a hat if someone gets busted, just in case. There’s no honor in it at all BUT it’s fun to watch.

If you take Tony out of the equation... things wouldn't have gone any different for Davey, except maybe he would have been killed as a statement and example by Richie.

I've known a few addicted gamblers, and the portrayal of Davie was perfect. They try to manipulate and nothing is ever their fault. It was bad luck, the person who won't help them out, etc., etc.

The way Tony did Davey so dirty is really one of the best portrayals of how willing gangsters are to prey on anyone who gives them the opportunity. Definitely one of my favorite subplots from the entire series, My only complaint is that it didn't stretch out longer.

i had an addiction problem with drugs and binge drinking. "a grown man made a decision, he lost"- Tony. i dont blame the dealer i blame myself.

Tony also resents that Davey seems to be a respectable businessman in the community but yet he's a gambling addict.

Tony told him multiple times no he kept pressing, Davey got what he asked for

The addiction with the highest suicide rate is gambling.

Get Pudgy Walsh on the horn, He'll straighten this out

Tony even says that he knew Davey had the store and that it’s in his nature I.e. the scorpion and the frog. That’s the overarching parable.

If it wasn't to Tony, he would have gambled it off somewhere else. They always do.

One big point here..... Tony had to come out of pocket the 44k the night of the poker game. So getting paid back for the losses at the poker game would be a higher priority than say, David had lost a sports bet with Tony.

When it comes to Davey Furio says it best. “Don’t bitch to me!”

Old Davey had a window more than once.. Tony kept on telling him that the game was out of his league.. he got involved, and at one stage, he's well in front, could have paid his debts.. Ritchie, Tony..but no..and the rest was down hill.

Tony is a kind of Iago figure; he looks for a weakness and works on it until it destroys the victim.

It is continuously disappointing that fans think Tony hadn't zeroed in on him like a hawk. Tony even admits it!

The one thing that makes me think Tony did this grudgingly, but still needed to hold up appearances, is right before he goes into Davy’s office to shake him down. He was dreading what he was about to do, because at that point it was probably different for him when they were friends.

You missed the part where Tony has a grin of sheer pleasure as he beats up Davey. You can see he really enjoys hurting Davey.

Even after Davey has lost his store and is going to leave New Jersey to go to work on a ranch out west he says they have planes to Vegas regularly . So clearly he didn't seem to learn anything. There's no helping him , if it wasn't Tony benefitting from him it would be someone else , or he'd owe credit cards , bank loans , whatever else.

Davey doesnt realized he easily could had been clipped had he not known tony from childhood.

Davey was complicit in his own downfall, yes. But if you had a friend who was a heroin addict, you wouldn’t hand him a loaded spike, no matter how many times he asked. What Tony did was no different than exactly that.

The cause of Davey's downfall is obviously Frank Sinatra Jr.. He knows the Dealer controls the game.

awesome video per usual keep it up

I think Tony would have been equally fine with him walking away versus talking his way into the game.

On my initial watch I felt bad for Davey but thought it was his own fault. But after I rewatched the series I felt he was a victim. I also didn’t think he was actually Tony’s friend. When Arty tries to borrow money from Ralph, Ralph declines because he’s Tony’s friend and he can’t be hurt to recover the money. Remember, you don’t sh!t where you eat, and you definitely don’t sh!t where Tony eats. But given Tony/Richie relationship it’s likely Richie just didn’t care about the friendship. Who knows

i just wanna say thank you for not stooping to the level of making "what if" videos

I don’t gamble, but I’ve spend the last month trying to understand gambling addiction and the minds of addicts. I now understand how little control they have. Tony too knew. He knew what he was doing and what would happen to David, Eric and Christine when he let David into the game. This episode showed how little regard he had for those he called friends. Gamblers should face their consequences, but at the same time, friends of gamblers should not let them dig their own graves, especially while profiting from it. Had Tony been a friend, he would have placed David in a rehabilitation program, not a high stakes executive game.

In the real world, there are plenty of individuals who are really good at borrowing money but are really bad at returning them on time, returning the whole amount, or returning them at all. So in this fictional world of the Sopranos, witnessing one of those bad barrowers getting what they deserve by the hands of the wise guys, is satisfying especially considering the fact that the paths of most people do not cross with the real life wise guys but do cross with the bad barrowers a lot

The way you punctuated it with the coffee machine really was beast AF! 😂😂😂

The actor Robert Patrick typically plays the old school man's man. Tough. No nonsense but with problems of his own. I think his role in the Sopranos is probably his best because its such an antithesis of what he typically plays. That & it showcases a range that we don't typically see from him.

Why are we debating this? Tony admitted to Davey what he did - Tony was a predator who saw someone with a weakness and worked out a way to exploit that weakness for money. Tony justifies it by saying that it's not even intentional, it's just his nature to be a predator.

Telling Davey not to come to the game might have also been a ploy - convince Davey that Tony cares about his well-being and won’t treat him harshly if he goes into his debt.

The future was not Bowden well for Davey

Even through I was excepting it, fully but the fact you used a clip for the “end of story” still made me jump lol

Love your videos bro

I always saw Davey as another way that Tony paralleled his own father, Johnny Boy. As we find out in the series, young Tony saw his father and uncle attack a man who owed them money; the first time he had seen that side of his father's life. Later, the same man who Johnny Boy and Junior had beaten up, offers Johnny Boy the chance to move out to Nevada with him to run a legal gambling operation. Livia says 'no' to moving the family to Nevada and Tony sees that as another way Livia held his father back by the denying him the opportunity to "go straight." While in the Davey Scatino storyline, Davey is busted out by Tony, but in the end he offers Tony the chance to follow him to Nevada to start over.

Good analysis 👍🏻

Lol. I did not know that was Robert Patrick, it's amazing what 10 years will do to a guy.

I respect your analysis but disagree. I think Tony was genuinely upset that David went behind his back to take more chips. I’m sure he sized David up early on, but I really do think that Tony didn’t want to have to start threatening David to pay his debt. I think he actually did like David. I also think that Tony’s attitude toward David change, first because David took chips behind Tony’s back, and second, after Tony learned that David was in debt to Richie as well. I think that made Tony then feel justified in busting David out. I also think you’re a bit too harsh on David. He was a successful guy who had an addiction that dragged him down. He ran a store so he had to have some level of intelligence

Spot! Spot on it! Excellent analysis. Artie said pretty much the same thing in "Everybody Hurts."

Tony said that bleeding guys like Davie was his “bread and butter”, “that’s how I make a living”. It was still on Davie. He fell for the con and he paid for his actions. End of subject.

It baffles me that people view Tony as some boo boo face when he literally explains to Davey he planned it out from the beginning.

Tony is very much like The Devil in this Storyline. He doesn’t MAKE Davey join the game in fact he warns him off several times but Tony ALLOWS Davey to join in the end. This storyline is very much like how the Devil doesn’t MAKE us sin or commit evil deeds but ALLOWS us to follow our own free will and feeds into our own wrong choices which all to often leads to our downfall.

I like that you take a different view on this topic especially when people think Tony is blameless. However I don't personally think Tony baited him - in my opinion Tony earnestly tried to keep him away in the beginning and only changed his mind when he saw him for the gambling addict he really was. Still great video.

I'm surprised more people don't look at this situation the way you've presented it. Tony admitted as much after Dr Melfi came to the same conclusion.

I don't get the impression that Davey HAD to gamble in order to square his debt with Richie. I get the impression that the debt was modest, and that Richies reaction to receiving a light envelope was reflective of that. Davey isn't telling Richie he can't have his 100 000. Hes telling Richie he can't have his 10 000. And Richie is not a beginner in the loan shark business, he knows how to keep a guy borrowing and repaying at the correct pace. In fact, i have seen many comment on how amicable Richie is in the scene with Davey where he tells him he is banned from his poker table until he is 'caught up'. Richie doesn't even want the full amount before fronting him more gambling debt, he merely wants Davey to catch up with where he is supposed to be. He could have stopped at any time. Tended to his business. Paid back Richie. And continued on with his life. But he didn't.

Tony's upset reaction to Davey being so down at the poker game is the only counter I'd have to it.

“Yeah Dave’s come along” oh sounding like a stranger danger commercial over here! 😂

This was a good one @CineRanter - I do love the parallel you made with Davey Scatino and Christopher (You have to imagine I said it with Adriana's inflections) when it came to them going to support groups and how somehow Tony took that comfort from them. But let us never forget the incredible performance of the superb of the Cyberdyne Systems Model T-1000 aka Robert Patrick. He is what made the character - I mean he hit all the elements that - even if he was wronged, you still sort of supported what Tony did to him...until much later you realized you cheered for the devil. And you now kind of hate yourself for backing Tony. Just good writing, but better performances.

You make a great point.Much as we love the characters, they are in no way role models. You mentioned Sal vitro. Who got a "favour" from Paulie. You mentioned Artie, who got his resturant burnt down. What about the appraiser who took a beating? Everyone Tony interacted with was worse of. He was a toxic person and everyone was worse off for knowing him.

I know you are a gen Younger than me. I love the coverage that you do. you should check out the HBO series OZ. I’d love to hear you analyze that.

Davey was not a victim of anyone but himself. He knew better than to mess with tony and his money but could not stop himself. Tony was even ok about the fact that he lied to chris about tony saying he could get the money. That alone could have got him killed, but davey insisted on ruining his life

Nah, i disagree. He did not want him at the game. He slept during the second loan. He only defended him from Richie for optics. When Tony told him he did it for his business, it was out of annoyance.

I met Robert Patrick, and I told him he was doing a good job. Complete with a thumbs up. He laughed. I felt proud of myself that day.

I think Davey hurt Tony's ego and that's when he chose to rob him blind. It lines up with his pathology as a narcissist and almost every horrible thing Tony does to hurt somebody else ties back to his ego. Which is the monstrous thing about Tony in this situation. A bruised ego can make him ruin your life.

That location of Ramsey Outdoor did close for real about 5-10 years ago. It's a shame, that was a great store.

Fantastic analysis of one of my favorite episodes. This episode beautifully illustrates how a civilian becomes a business opportunity for a mobster. Whoever came up with the plot had a stroke of genius.

True that scene in store is low key very scary

The way I interp;reted Tony's attempts to keep Davey out of the game was that Tony was intentionally making the game look even MORE alluring by banning Davey from it. Davey's persistence would also mirror his willingness to go into debt. If Davey had given up on trying to get into the Executive Game after one or two attempts, he might have known when to stop. But his persistence meant to Tony "Hey, if this guy wins, he wins. But if he loses, he's going to lose BIG." From where Tony's standing, nobody forced Davey to gamble. He made token attempts to keep Davey out of the big game. If Davey chooses to gamble it's his fault. After all, a restaurant doesn't cut off a fat guy who wants another plate of linguini, does it?

I love your videos. I always thought Robert Downey Jr was being too tough on you when you interviewed him.

I don’t think Tony baited Davy I personally feel like in Tony’s mind he warned him and kept asking so the consequences are on him

The difference was that Tony warns him quite a few times and appears not to know that Davey asked for thousands more because he was asleep. All in all, not Tony's most malicious moment.

Tony is a professional. He knew the whole time.

If it wasn’t Tony, it would’ve been another criminal or the IRS. He was on the path to disaster

Can’t unsee the t-1000 reference and didn’t realize that until he said it 😂😂😂😂

Did Artie want a mobster's brains on fellow regulars? It wasnt the 1940s, his career was over if that had gone down in his place.

one of the best lines in the show to me will always be "Davey....you're doing a good job!" but nothing beats Phil's "ho - ho!!!" to Angie at the body shop

At the end he was so deep in debt he had to sell his entire body to military technological corporations, where it was stored in a database for "human likeness" for machines to build androids from