On his podcast Talking Sopranos, Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, said he believes Mencken’s quote reflects Chase’s attitude towards consumer culture. This is at its most prominent in Members Only, when Carmela forgives Tony after he buys her a new car, which she rubs in the faces of her friends Ginny Sacrimoni (Denise Borino-Quinn) and Angie Bonpensiero (Toni Kalem). The action abruptly cuts to Carmela showing off her new car to Angie shortly after Tony has been shot, as the painful and bloody reality of his criminal life is juxtaposed against Carmela’s hollow materialism. When Angie then reveals that she bought a more expensive car through her own hard work, Carmela can’t help but look disappointed.
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Imperioli suggests that Mencken’s quote sums up Chase’s thoughts on some of the viewers, who wanted The Sopranos to have more deaths. “A lot of fans felt there should be a killing or beating every episode and people lost patience with episodes that went [down] different avenues,” Imperioli says. 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 murder of debt-ridden Teddy Spirodakis (Joe Caniano), Hesh Rabkin (Jerry Adler) being beaten, his son-in-law Eli Kaplan (Geoffrey Cantor) getting hit by a car, and Ray Curto dying of a stroke.
Mencken’s quote has always struck a chord with Chase. He believes it’s as prescient as ever – suggesting that Americans continue to be drawn to the simple and sensationalist over the complex. “I wanted to say that forever. I still want to say it. I’ve been proven right.”
Members Only signifies the beginning of the end for The Sopranos. Over the remaining 20 episodes, its bleakness intensifies. The murkier tones and colder aesthetic become so dominant that Seitz says its final episode, Made in America, looks like it was shot in Siberia. This mirrors the plight of Tony Soprano, who, after surviving a near-death experience, isn’t reformed in any way. “The whole sick joke here is that Tony doesn’t really change at all,” says Seitz. “Except perhaps for the worse.”
