History Recap / TheSopranosS2E9FromWhereToEternity

* {{Catchphrase}}: "I'm sorry T" is the very first thing the audience hears from Chris after he wakes. If there were any doubts that it was going to solidify as his catchphrase for the series, they were definitely removed afterward.

** Paulie also comforts his goomah's children when they are awakened by his night terror.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Chris' [[NearDeathExperience Near-Death Experience]] and vision of a [[MundaneAfterlife Mundane Afterlife]] after getting shot will resonate with Tony going through very similar things in a future season when he gets shot.

* AssholeVictim: After all the crap he's pulled over the second season, nobody in universe or among the audience is going to shed a tear for Matthew.

'''Tony:''' What? Hell? You been listening to me? No, for the same reasons. We're soldiers. Soldiers don't go to hell. It's war. Soldiers they kill other soldiers. We're in a situation where everyone involved knows the stakes and if your gonna accept those stakes you gotta do certain things. It's business. Soldiers. We follow codes, orders.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "I'm sorry T" is the very first thing the audience hears from Chris after he wakes. If there were any doubts that it was going to solidify as his catchphrase for the series, they were definitely removed afterwards.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Tony and Big Pussy reduce Matthew to a collection of cuts and bruises through an [[GoryDiscretionShot offscreen]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown No Holds Barred Beatdown]] combined with [[{{JackBauerInterrogationTechnique}} Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]. Tony then manufactures the [[HopeSpot Hope Spot]] noted below, refrains from pulling the trigger for a few moments to [[{{Sadist}} savor]] Matthew's terror, before he and Big Pussy finally fill him up with bullets.
* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: Matthew desperately tries to talk his way out of his pending execution by placing all the blame for shooting Chris on the now dead Sean. It goes without saying that it doesn't work.

* FromBadToWorse: Played with when Chris' heart stops and we see a team of doctors and nurses performing emergency surgery on him. Subverted in that Chris recovers soon thereafter. But while it lasted, it did keep the audience anxious about Chris' fate, and also acted as a set up for his [[NearDeathExperience Near-Death Experience]] and view of a [[MundaneAfterlife Mundane Afterlife]].

* {{Hypocrite}}: Tony and Carmela accused each other of hypocrisy during their argument. Tony accused Carmela of being religious only when it's convenient for her. Carmela in turn calls Tony out on trying to justify to avoid a vasectomy by invoking Catholicism's prohibition against birth control measures (condoms included).

** A lot of viewers believe that the psychic scene confirms the existence of the supernatural in the ''Sopranos'' world, but the psychic could be using [[https://www.thrillist.com/culture/7-tricks-psychics-and-mediums-use-how-psychics-use-cold-reading-the-forer-effect simple techniques]] to get information out of Paulie. It wouldn't be hard to assume, from Paulie's affect and general bearing, that he was connected to the mob, especially in Jersey. Also note how the psychic pivots from talking about a son to someone named "Sonny" based on Paulie's reactions. And while knowing the detail about the poison ivy Paulie contracted seems like the most convincing argument for the Magic side, poison ivy can leave scars on people's skin after the initial rash heals, sometimes for months. Particularly if they scratch it a lot, and Paulie isn't known for his restraint. The psychic might have noticed the scarring and brought it up to see how Paulie would react.

* NearDeathExperience: Chris has one during his heart attack and being technically dead. The description of a tunnel of white light before seeing not so pleasant visions of the afterlife is actually a pretty common theme in several documented Near-Death Experiences.

** Pussy, Silvio and Paulie do this when they console Adriana over Chris getting hospitalized.

* RedemptionRejection: Carmela tries to convince Chris that his recovery and NearDeathExperience were DivineIntervention to give him a chance for redemption. She takes it further by stressing the need for Chris to come back to Christ, and inviting him to join her in prayer to begin his redemption. Chris, who still [[{{DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster}} likes being a Mafiaso]] [[{{DeconstructedTrope}} even after getting shot up]], responds by taking another hit of morphine to make himself pass out.

'''Season 2, Episode 09'''

!From Where To Eternity

Carmella visits Christopher under the false belief that he saw Heaven rather than Hell, as this was what Tony told her. Christopher reveals the truth and Carmella sees it as an opportunity for him to repent, but Christopher is not receptive and ups his morphine dosage, passing out. At home, Carmella gets into an argument with Tony about the vasectomy, and he berates AJ for dropping a plate of food, shaming him for overeating and disparaging him as an unsatisfactory "male heir".

Tony returns home to find Carmella in bed. Following the brutal killing of Matthew, he seems more open to the idea of getting a vasectomy. Carmella tells him he doesn't have to, and asks instead that he simply remain faithful to her. They then make love.

* IWantMyMommy: Once it's clear that Tony and Pussy are going to kill Matthew, he begins to break down and cry for his mother before desperately begging to Tony one more futile time.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Tony and Carmela accused each other of hypocrisy during their argument. Tony accused Carmela of being religious only when it's convenient for her. Carmela in turn calls Tony out on trying to justify to avoid a vasectomy by invoking [[RaisedCatholic Catholicism's]] prohibition against birth control measures (condoms included).

* RaisedCatholic: Shows up more than once.
** Carmela when she prays for Chris' life, even as she acknowledges the [[{{Hypocrite}} Hypocrisy]] of enjoying the Mafia lifestyle and practicing Catholicism at the same time.
** Paulie, in response to getting spooked by Chris' visions of long-dead Mikey Palmice and his perceived 3:00 a.m. hauntings, expresses his own belief that he won't actually go to hell for his many crimes. It'll just lengthen his stay in Purgatory before going to heaven.
** Paulie also tells a priest he was hoping that his donations of tithes to the church would immunize him from any repercussions for his crimes, both in the afterlife and his present hauntings.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Tony and Big Pussy completely empty their guns into Matthew.

* InnBetweenTheWorlds: Chris dreams that Hell or Purgatory is an Irish bar where he'll spend eternity getting beaten in card games.