History Recap / TheSopranosS3E2ProshaiLivushka

The next morning, Carmela finds Tony unconscious on the kitchen floor. As she asks him what happened, Tony recalls coming downstairs to find Meadow there with her new friend Noah, a half-Jewish and half-black college student. Noah tries to talk about film history with Tony, but Tony quickly changes the subject to his disapproval of interracial relationships, and orders Noah to stay away from his daughter. Noah, taken aback, promptly leaves with an oblivious Meadow. Tony goes to the kitchen and begins scarfing down gabagool, only to see the logo for Uncle Ben's rice in a cabinet and suffer a panic attack.

* TheMole: Raymond Curto is revealed as one.

* FakeShemp: Livia's final scene was cobbled together using voice clips from previous scenes and a CGI head of her character (whose lighting does not match the rest of the scene) pasted onto a body double.

** Chris's high rambling about their being "another Mrs. Soprano" foreshadows elements of both Carmella and Janice's character arcs. [[spoiler: Tony has major breakthrough about both his mother and wife when recalls an incident where Livia nearly died of a miscarriage, and Johnny was too busy with his goomah to visit her until the next day. This is the same issue that leads to Carmella finally having it out with Tony over his various infidelities. And while Janice doesn't have to deal with being cheated on, she comes to sympathize with her mother more in a non-positive way and [[GenerationXerox ends the series just like her..]]]]

* LastDisrespects: {{Deconstructed}}. Upon Livia's death, Janice decides to throw a wake for her despite her mother's own expressed wish not to have one. After many phony expressions of sympathy and mourning from all attendees, it finally takes Carmella to speak up that she was a horribly dysfunctional and manipulative woman who spread misery to everyone who spent time with her and didn't want a funeral because she thought no one would miss her. No one argues with this assessment, least of all Tony (she even gets a hear hear from Barbara's husband Tom).

* StepfordSmiler: Tony notices that Meadow has the smile going at the funeral party, also signifying that [[LikeFatherLikeSon "she's already becoming a robot like the rest of us."]]

* TitleDrop: At Livia's house, Svetlana toasts "Proshai, Livushka," which she explains means "Goodbye, Little Livia."

* WellDoneSonGuy: Tony really struggles with mixed emotions over [[ParentalIssues Livia's]] passing during his therapy session with Dr. Melfi. He goes back and forth between [[MyGreatestFailure overwhelming guilt]] for not being a good son to her, to being [[{{Wrath}} really angry]] at her for her [[AbusiveParents abusive parenting]] of him and other more recent efforts to harm him.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Ralph Cifaretto, made man in the Soprano family and old friend of Tony, is back from Florida after however many years. It's especially jarring to see him introduced teary-eyed, embracing Tony and remarking that he lost his own mother recently as well.

* LastDisrespects: {{Deconstructed}}. Upon Livia's death, Janice decides to throw a wake for her despite her own expressed wish not to have one. After many phony expressions of sympathy and mourning from all attendees, it finally takes Carmella to speak up that she was a horribly dysfunctional and manipulative woman who spread misery to everyone who spent time with her and didn't want a funeral because she thought no one would miss her. No one argues with this assessment, least of all Tony (she even gets a hear hear).

* InnocenceLost: Tony makes this observation of Meadow, who despite their feud is still stoically upholding the masquerade.

** Chris's high rambling about their being "another misses Soprano" foreshadows elements of both Carmella and Janice's character arcs. [[spoiler: Tony has major breakthrough about both his mother and wife when recalls an incident where Livia could have died of a miscarriage and Johnny was too busy with his Goomah to visit her until the next day. This is the same issue that lead to Carmella finally having it with Tony. And while Janice doesn't have to deal with being cheated on, she comes to sympathize with her mother more in a non-positive way and [[GenerationXerox ends the series just like her..]]]]

* RewindGag: The episode starts off with one of these. Carmela walks into the house and finds Tony passed out on the floor. The Gag immediately ensues, briefly showing Tony's interactions with Meadow and Noah after coming down the stairs. It's used to punctuate that Tony [[UpToEleven REALLY]] doesn't like the idea of his beloved daughter dating a "mulignan".

* DamnedByFaintPraised: Pressed to say a few words at Livia's wake, Hesh can only say she [[BrutalHonestly didn't mince words]].

Tony starts watching ''Film/ThePublicEnemy'' that night. Meadow drops by again for laundry, and seems suspicious of Tony, having noticed a change in Noah's behavior since meeting him. Tony is evasive. He later goes outside to move a sprinkler in his backyard. Returning inside he finds Carmela, Meadow, and AJ all waiting for him. Carmela informs Tony that his mother has died in her sleep. Tony is blindsided, at first incredulous, then begins showing early signs of another panic attack but settles down. They go to Livia's house, arriving just as the ambulance pulls away. Speaking to Svetlana, they learn Livia suffered a massive stroke. Svetlana offers the toast "Proshai, Livushka" meaning "Goodbye, Little Livia".

** Combined with more than one ShoutOut to ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Tony sees the movie playing on his TV when he comes down and sees Meadow and Noah together. Tony also watches the movie at various points throughout the episode. It foreshadows more than one turn in the episode.

* AbortedArc: The original intended storyline of Tony trying to get back into Livia's good graces in order to prevent her testimony against him over the airline scam plays out on its last legs, and gets wound up in this episode.

* BookDumb: A.J. And what better way to show that up then by having Meadow the BrainyBrunette helping him with his homework?
* BotheringByTheBook: Ralph won't set anymore fires, but he will do basically everything else Tony doesn't specifically order him not to do in the conflict with Albert Barese.

** Adriana, Chris and Furio are getting stoned with bongs to help get through a boring event they wished they didn't have to attend.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Ambiguous. The scene where the family informs Tony of Livia's death zigzags all over the trope. Tony is initially relieved, since Livia can no longer act as a witness against him, which gives it shades of IWishedYouWereDead. But he almost has another panic attack once it really sinks in, partly because he is genuinely sad because his mother died, but also because he still has unresolved MommyIssues.

** Tony finds his varsity logo in Livia's basement. The theme of Tony's high-school athletic past will rear its head more than once afterwards.
** Hesh cracks a [[SelfDeprecation Self-Deprecating joke]] that plays into GreedyJew stereotypes, the substance of which is nobody can say anything positive about a now deceased Jewish man at his funeral. Want to guess how Livia's funeral plays out?

** The episode ends with Tony watching the scenes of Tommy's mom visiting him in the hospital, and preparing excitedly for his return home. Tommy having a genuinely loving relationship with his mother could not provide a starker contrast to Tony's unresolved MommyIssues on account of the [[AbusiveParents abusive]] Livia. The scenes bring ManlyTears to Tony's eyes, and indicate that his MommyIssues will remain unresolved for some time yet.

* LastDisrespects: {{Deconstructed}}. Upon Livia's death, Janice decides to throw a wake for her despite her own expressed wish not to have one. After much phoney expressions of sympathy and mourning from all attendees, it finally takes Carmella to speak up that she was a horribly dysfunctional and manipulative woman who spread misery to everyone who spent time with her, and didn't want a funeral because she thought no-one would miss her. No-one argues with this assessment, least of all Tony (she even gets a hear hear).

* ManipulativeBitch: Combined with GoldDigger. No sooner has Janice stepped off the plane than she immediately sets her sights on Livia's estate. She begins by trying to cultivate a [[{{VillainWithGoodPublicity}} positive image of herself]] with over the top funerary arrangements that are meant to appear selfless on the surface, and all about properly honoring Livia. Tony even calls her on it over the phone.

* SelfDeprecation: Hesh cracks a joke that plays into GreedyJew steretypes, because he knows his Italian [[TheMafia Mafiaso]] friends will enjoy it. Also provides an instance of {{Foreshadowing}}.
* SpottingTheThread: Meadow almost instantly figures out that Assemblyman Zellman and Reverend James are two public figures that Tony frequently collaborates with in his criminal activities.

* VengefulGhost: Downplayed. In [[FreezeFrameBonus blink and you'll miss it moments]], the spirits of Big Pussy and a younger Uncle Junior (or maybe Tony's father) both make appearances at Livia's funeral, staring rather unhappily at Tony. They don't wreak earthly havoc like you would expect in supernatural horror movies, and don't have any impact on the storylines themselves. Their appearances imply that, aside from the stresses of Tony's lifestyle [[BeingEvilSucks outweighing]] whatever earthly benefits he gets from it, he'll also have debts to answer to in the afterlife.

-->-- '''Carmella Soprano'''

'''Season 3, Episode 02'''
!Proshai, Livushka

Tony visits Livia, broaching the subject of his upcoming trial related to the stolen airplane tickets he had given her previously. Livia is largely incoherent and demented during this exchange, and Tony discovers that her caretaker, Svetlana, has found "Granny Remembers" cards Livia was meant to fill out for her grandchildren, but has left blank. Growing impatient with his inability to speak to Livia, Tony storms out saying "do what you want".

Tony starts watching ''Film/ThePublicEnemy'' that night. Meadow drops by again for laundry, and seems suspicious of Tony, having noticed a change in Noah's behavior since meeting him. Tony is evasive. He later goes outside to move a sprinkler in his backyard. Returning inside he finds Carmela, Meadow and AJ all waiting for him. Carmela informs Tony that his mother has died in her sleep. Tony is blindsided, at first incredulous, then begins showing early signs of another panic attack but settles down. They go to Livia's house, arriving just as the ambulance pulls away. Speaking to Svetlana, they learn Livia suffered a massive stroke. Svetlana offers the toast "Proshai, Livushka" meaning "Goodbye, Little Livia".

Livia's wake is held and Tony seems uncomfortable when he witnesses Ralph chatting in a friendly manner across the room. Meadow gives Tony a similar judgmental look when she spots him talking to a black business associate. Tony continues watching ''The Public Enemy'' that night, enjoying it but becoming visibly uncomfortable when the character of Tom Powers' mother appears on screen. Livia's funeral is held the next day. Next to her grave, Janice begins a dispute with Svetlana over the inheritance of Livia's valuable record collection. Svetlana informs her that Livia bequeathed the records to her, while Janice insists, as Livia's daughter, she has more of a claim to them.

A post-funeral gathering is held in the Soprano home. Tony briefly sees what appears to be an apparition of Big Pussy Bonpensiero in a mirror. Later, against everybody's wishes, Janice organizes a "remembrance" in the living room, where people who knew Livia can describe their memories of her. The guests have little to say, with Janice attempting to unsuccessfully goad Hesh Rabkin, then AJ, into making speeches. The woman who Livia ran over in "[[Recap/TheSopranosS1E246Long 46 Long]]" turns out to be a guest, and reminisces that Livia was her best friend, always calling her when someone died. Christopher Moltisanti, who smoked from a bong and sniffed cocaine before the event, pipes up and begins a long, rambling and incoherent monologue about clones and possible other "Livia Sopranos" in the world.

Artie Bucco goes outside in a huff. Tony confronts him and Artie reminds Tony that Livia informed him about the fire at the original Vesuvio's, having accused Tony. Meanwhile Ralph Cifaretto, taking Tony's orders literally, has an associate of Albert Barese beaten by two goons while insisting on "no fires".

At the wake, remembrances of Livia turn into an airing of grievances. First Hugh [=DeAngelis=], Carmela's father, rants about the constant frustrations and toxic personality of Livia. Tom Giglione, Barbara's husband, responds "hear hear". Carmela herself then calls out the senselessness of the remembrance ceremony, citing that Livia likely did not want a funeral because she knew nobody would have anything good to say. Carmela concludes "She knew there was a problem".

* VengefulGhost: Downplayed. In [[FreezeFrameBonus blink and you'll miss it moments]], the spirits of Big Pussy and a younger Uncle Junior both make appearances at Livia's funeral, staring rather unhappily at Tony. They don't wreak earthly havoc like you would expect in supernatural horror movies, and don't have any impact on the storylines themselves. Their appearances imply that, aside from the stresses of Tony's lifestyle [[BeingEvilSucks outweighing]] whatever earthly benefits he gets from it, he'll also have debts to answer to in the afterlife.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Tony's racism flares up when he sees Meadow hanging out with a black guy. For her part, Carmela indicates that she's not pleased about the situation either, but believes she can handle it better.

At the wake, remembrances of Livia turn into an airing of grievances. First Hugh DeAngelis, Carmela's father, rants about the constant frustrations and toxic personality of Livia. Tom Giglione, Barbara's husband, responds "hear hear". Carmela herself then calls out the senselessness of the remembrance ceremony, citing that Livia likely did not want a funeral because she knew nobody would have anything good to say. Carmela concludes "She knew there was a problem".

Soprano family and friends gather at the house. Tony learns that Janice intends to stay in Seattle - where she is shown to be sleeping with a much younger coworker - because she fears returning to Jersey after having killed Richie Aprile. Tony has an outburst but offers to pay for her ticket back to Jersey, to which she agrees. Gigi Cestone's crew arrives, among them Ralph Cifaretto, a made man newly returned from Florida. Tony takes Ralph to the backyard along with Albert Barese, attempting to settle a dispute between them in which Ralph has been setting fire to Albert's garbage trucks. Tony is more concerned that Ralph seems to be acting with the authority of a capo when Tony has not yet designated him the captain of the Aprile crew.

Livia's wake is held and Tony seems uncomfortable when he witnesses Ralph chatting in a friendly manner across the room. Meadow gives Tony a similar judgmental look when she spots him talking to a black business associate. Tony continues watching ''The Public Enemy'' that night, enjoying it but becoming uncomfortable when the character of Tom Powers' mother appears on screen. Livia's funeral is held the next day. Next to her grave, Janice begins a dispute with Svetlana over the inheritance of Livia's valuable record collection.

Tony finishes ''The Public Enemy'' that night, and witnessing the final scene - Tom Powers' corpse showing up at his doorstep while his mother obliviously sings and fluffs the pillows to welcome him back - he begins to weep.

!Tropes:

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Combined with more than one ShoutOut to ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Tony sees the movie playing on his TV when he comes down and sees Meadow and Noah together. Tony also watches the movie at various points throughout the episode. It foreshadows more than one turn in the episode.

* FauxSymbolism: Just in case the audience doesn't yet get it that the thought of his beloved daughter sleeping with a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain "mulignan"]] was what brought on his latest [[NervousWreck panic attack]], guess what is the last thing that Tony sees before he passes out? A box of Uncle Ben's rice.

* RewindGag: The episode starts off with one of these. Carmela walks into the house and finds Tony passed out on the floor. The Gag immediately ensues, briefly showing Tony's interactions with Meadow and Noah after coming down the stairs. It's used to punctuate that Tony [[UpToEleven REALLY]] doesn't like the idea of his beloved daughter dating a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain "mulignan"]].

* WhamEpisode: If you hadn't known that Livia's actress had passed away before this season aired, her sudden death would have been a surprise.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Combined with ShoutOuts to ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Tony sees the movie playing on his TV when he comes down and sees Meadow and Noah together. Tony also watches the movie at various points throughout the episode. It foreshadows more than one turn in the episode.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Combined with [[ShoutOut]]s to ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Tony sees the movie playing on his TV when he comes down and sees Meadow and Noah together. Tony also watches the movie at various points throughout the episode. It foreshadows more than one turn in the episode.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Combined with {{Shout-Out}}s to ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Tony sees the movie playing on his TV when he comes down and sees Meadow and Noah together. Tony also watches the movie at various points throughout the episode. It foreshadows more than one turn in the episode.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Ambiguous. The scene where the family informs Tony of Livia's death zigzags all over the trope. Tony is initially relieved, since Livia can no longer act as a witness against him, which gives it shades of IWishedYouWereDead}} I Wished You Were Dead]. But he almost has another panic attack once it really sinks in, partly because he is genuinely sad because his mother died, but also because he still has unresolved MommyIssues.