The Sopranos (TV Series) Chasing It (2007) User Reviews

... beautifully put

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 23 February 2023]

Tony's gambling starts to affect his relationships with various other characters.

This is a difficult but very well made episode with interesting character moments.

There is one aspects of the plot that feels contrived and it's the issue of Tony's gambling problem. It comes relatively out of left field to cause problems for all around him. The writers, filmmakers and James Gandolfini do a fantastic job of showing a character self-destructing. Some aspects were set up nicely in the previous three episodes, but it feels here like he's dropped off a cliff towards rock bottom. All that said, even when character development feels slightly forced, The Sopranos does it incredibly well.

To get the most out of 'Chasing It' you need an interest in the Vito Junior subplot. It can feel like time-passing in moments, but I think it's important to see the fallout from a character's death and the impact it has on families. The writers do it with good character interactions and address issues like tough love camps.

All actors are excellent as always, especially Edie Falco, Jerry Adler, Frank Vincent, and Brandon Hannan.

Visually it's an uncomfortable watch, particularly the handheld cinematography, close up and one gross out moment. As ever though, the story is told very well by the camera.

Good Episode

[ntvnyr30 · 9/10 · 14 April 2008]

My main point in commenting on this episode was a previous poster who wondered why Tony just suddenly started gambling "de novo". David Chase doesn't just pull these plot lines out his arse. As a fan of the series I noticed in Season 5, after Tony and Carm had split, Tony was hanging out at the Bing a lot and there were scenes of him on the phone betting on games. His life started to spin out of control since he didn't have Carm as his anchor--he started gambling, he was doing coke and nearly slept with Adrianna. So trust me, I get paid the big bucks on my job to pay attention to the small details---Tony started gambling heavily in Season 5.

Chasing It (#6.16)

[ComedyFan2010 · 7/10 · 28 March 2014]

Vito's kid is becoming rebellious and getting into a lot of trouble which upsets his mother. Phil and Tony try to talk with him, but this doesn't help. So Tony arranges him being taking in by a camp. Tony gets into problems with his gambling. And AJ's girlfriend leaves him because she doesn't love him.

I must say I was a bit bored. Not much interesting was happening. Vito's son's story was one of the main ones and while the kid acted well there wasn't much that contributed to the story. Just as with AJ's break up. I also have no idea why Tony had gambling problems, we never saw him having an addictive personality. Seems like a filler episode.

Disliked episode initially (Gambling thing again, this time with Tony). Essential bridge in the overall story.

[nlytnd_1 · 20 March 2014]

Prior to seeing the remaining episodes I disliked this episode. The gambling thing already seemed played out through other characters. I now realize that it was an essential bridge to the overall story. The second time I watched this episode it was more then a bridge I actually liked it. It does a really good job of demonstrating a very interesting psychological phenomenon, which is complete hypocrisy on Tony's part. Obviously the gambling hypocrisy, but now he's the one who owe's, rather then shaking down someone who owe's him (when Hesh remind's Tony about the 300k he lent him). The directors did an amazing job demonstrating the Tony/Hesh loan situation...acted out perfectly. The last scene is priceless...Tony maliciously pays back Hesh, while he's grieving over the loss of his girlfriend. It's subtle, but Tony's condolences are brief and disingenuous. I wonder what was in store for Hesh had he left with Tony when he and Bobby came by the house? I'm guessing the loan would have been washed by threatening/Blackmailing Hesh in some way. By not going, it may have led to the death of Hesh's girlfriend, although there are no clues left by the writers to make that case. It's possible they took out a scene which would have linked Tony to her death... Bobby seemed a little defiant towards Hesh at the door, when he says that's too bad about Hesh not being able to go because of his girlfriend having migraines. I lean towards they cut out a scene, maybe because it would have been a hard sell, so they left it as a death by natural causes and focused more on Tony's ego...gloating in the midst of Hesh's loss was worth more than 200k to Tony. This is the last we get to see of Hesh. I've always left open the outside chance that Hesh played a role in Tony's murder (of course Patsy Perisi was in on it). I have a feeling it would have been left in had Chase/writers known that a majority of viewers would have thought the end of the Sopranos was an ambiguous ending, when Tony clearly gets whacked.

I assume David Chase's idea for the show obviously got considerably stretched out due to the popularity of the show. Other writers/directors came in wrote/directed most of these episodes throughout. The vast majority of this series was just entertaining filler, occasionally bridging to an episode, which would continue the story David Chase had in mind. This episode comes out of left field and made very little sense to me at first (rightfully so) because why would you want to take your audience on this unnecessary and emotionally draining path of Tony gambling a large portion of his funds away when the show had already demonstrated the whole gambling everything away mentality in the second season? Especially when the series only had 5 episodes left to wrap everything up. Why was this Tony gambling thing necessary? Upon watching Kennedy and Heidi (episode 18), I can see that they wanted to demonstrate the perceived drain Christopher was to Tony (Tony's luck changed once Christopher was out of his life and when he slept with his Vegas fling). After watching Kennedy and Heidi the 6th season of the Sopranos evolved into without a doubt the best season of the Sopranos for me. There's a lot of symbolism and meaning throughout the 6th season particularly in these remaining episodes.

I came to the conclusion that this episode should not be rated on it's own.

Vito Jr.

[MaxBorg89 · 10/10 · 27 May 2008]

In Season Five, Tony was shown gambling in one episode as an attempt to get over Carmela. The sixteenth show of Season Six, Chasing It, returns to that territory in an effort to prove Tony is precisely as flawed as the people (Chris, Bobby, Paulie) he's considered killing in the past few eps. And the effort works.

While hanging out on business with the rest of the crew, Tony keeps playing roulette, confident that his newfound luck won't desert him. The theory is proved to be untrue, as he immediately has to deal with a new problem: Vito Spatafore's widow, Marie, wants to move away from Jersey so that her son Vito Jr. won't be bullied anymore. As it turns out, the kid has become a little monster: he dresses like a Marilyn Manson fan, gets in fights and even vandalizes cemeteries. Only a joined effort on behalf of Tony and Phil can solve the matter for the best.

Chasing It is a rather low key episode, but that doesn't mean it's any less satisfying than others: the lack of meaningful plot developments is compensated by the ever quotable dialogue and the usual solemn acting, especially a fine double act between Gandolfini and Frank Vincent, which is more than enough to prevent the series from slipping into the "average" zone.

Not nearly as bad as people say it is

[jdjc001 · 10/10 · 9 July 2020]

I've seen a lot of people say that Tony's gambling addiction this episode seems out of the blue, however I think that if you look at the overall trajectory of this season it makes perfect sense. He is clearly losing control of himself as seen since 'Soprano Home Movies' and Tony's gambling, to me anyway, signifies that he has decided to let go of the wheel as his philosophy of each day being a blessing has gone out of the window. Whether subconsciously or partially knowingly, Tony is marking the beginning of his own downfall. Props to James Gandolfini (may he rest in peace) for giving it his all in this episode.

Hesh's and Vito Jr's storylines were also quite hauntingly tragic (although I really could've done without the shower scene) and at this point it becomes painstakingly clear that 'The Sopranos' will likely not end well for anyone involved.

On a separate note, I personally didn't find the 'shaky camera' style to be very off-putting. I expected it to be a lot worse after reading the general consensus and, to be honest, I even felt it enhanced some scenes.

Chasing down a dark road

[mattiasflgrtll6 · 9/10 · 10 June 2023]

Chasing It is sort of deceptively filler. It's gotten criticism for the Tony gambling arc, but this is something that did get set up in the previous season and we also saw more hints of in Remember When. If it had come completely out of nowhere I would understand that point more.

Tony succumbing to the dangerous highs of gambling is also interesting because not only did he beat the sh it out of an old friend back in season 2 who got addicted to gambling, but it makes him even more of a hypocrite to make fun of Christopher regularly over his soberism when he struggles with an addiction himself.

The fight between Tony and Carmela is fantastic! We haven't seen them lose their sh it over each other like this since Whitecaps (Which probably remains the most intense of the bunch), and the acting as well as dialogue deserves the highest amount of praise. The scariest part is that Tony doesn't have justifiable motivation for getting mad at her. He literally won the race, just not as much as he wanted to. Carmela was also right to be sceptical given how much more often he has lost at betting. So to see him flip out at her this badly over something that's 100% his own doing is absolutely bone-chilling and selfish, though Carm is the one who tries to hit him with an object from a distance.

Then we witness him losing one of his closest friends as he very begrudgingly pays back part of the debt very little at a time, going so far as to mock Hesh over his Jewish heritage.

Only once Hesh's wife dies out of the blue does Tony seem to feel remorse and pays him back the entire debt. But the damage is already done...

I enjoy the Vito Jr. Storyline too, which contains one of the all-time funniest lines from Phil ("You look like a Puerto Rican prostitute"). The kid is bratty, but there's a level of tragedy as well since he's simply lashing out over losing his dad as well as being humiliated by others that he was gay. The conclusion with him being forced off to boot camp is incredibly sad and disturbing.

Finally, A. J. tries to salvage the relationship with Blanca by proposing to her during dinner. She accepts it without really thinking it through. And what do you know, in the next scene between them she coldly gives him his clothes and returns the ring as well. That has to be one of the coldest break-ups I've ever seen onscreen. A. J. Might have been over his head hooking up with an older woman with two kids and even preparing for marriage, but that's no reason for her meanspirited and uncaring behavior towards him. This scene alone makes her one of the most unlikable characters in the series.

As an episode with nice understated tension and the compelling display of a delusional and self-destructive Tony, this is one that deserves a bit more credit than it gets.

Sooooo underrated

[justinpringle-11163 · 10/10 · 21 January 2024]

This episode is epically underrated. When I used to watch it, it was remembered for Vito jr taking a dump in the shower and Phil's epic speech to Vito junior.

Upon multiple rewatches, it's one of my favorite episodes. It shows Tony as the most relatable (to me) person ever. I've lost it on my wife exactly like Tony did in that episode, and had such beautiful makeups as Tony did with carm in the episode.

Even Tony with Hesh... never once does he actually threaten to harm Hesh..... but Tony, blindly, assumes Hesh is family and isn't concerned about the money. "It's a stutter step"... Hesh expects some sort of payment and Tony is embarrassed and hurt by Hesh... then Tony pays Hesh all his money back when his wife dies... cause that's how Tony assumes he shows Hesh he cares... Tony's badly understood and a lot of people use this episode to point to him "breaking bad"... I see this episode as the opposite: it's Tony being himself and hurt by the people who he loves and respects.

Betting on that horse race was one of the most degenerate things Tony ever did imo

[Neptune165 · 6/10 · 25 July 2022]

I think Vito Jr being kidnapped from his home while asleep by guys who are going to beat him is one of the more underrated, tragic moments of the show. It is absolutely heartbreaking. That family is irrevocably destroyed. This was one of the more uncomfortable episodes to watch, and I ain't just talking about Vito Jr dropping a deuce in the shower. Tony brings misery to everyone who's close to him, Vito Jr. Being torn from his family into a boot camp that's going to assuredly scar him for life, Hesh wakes up to find his beloved dead. Just a negative malaise engulfing the whole episode. Never lend money - quickest way to ruin friendships and familial relationships. It was for the best that AJ's girlfriend denied the engagement, she was a Hooah. Plus raising someone else's kid at his age? A total mess. I never get this episode bcz taking care of Vitos family when he left them not in good standing makes no sense. He is not in jail doing a bid for the family while keeping his mouth shut where u would expect Tony to help his family out while He is inside. This wouldn't be happening.

Chasing Lots of Things....

[loudprincess · 6/10 · 29 April 2007]

For the last few weeks, the focus has been on people Tony may have cause to do away with (i.e., Christopher, Bobby, Paulie, etc.) because of their character flaws, as Tony sees them. This week, the focus is on Tony's weaknesses.

Gambling is the theme this week, and it couldn't be a more timely episode airing. Just a few days ago, A&E aired the episode where Tony and Dr. Melfi discuss the time Tony watched his father, Johnny, lop off Mr. Satriale's pinkie finger over a gambling debt. Johnny then told Tony to never start gambling, and that it leads to trouble. Fast forward, and we see Tony betting thousands of dollars on horses, football games, and roulette.

I'm not sure what enlightening thing I have to say about that point, but I guess it explains my rating on this episode. So far, we've been party to a lot of tension and climactic events, but this one really doesn't have many moments that left me holding my breath. There's even another scene with Dr. Melfi telling Tony that if he doesn't follow her psychiatric protocol, she'll have to drop him as a patient. Haven't we heard that one about ninety times before? There's a small sub-story with Vito Jr. acting out, but I'm not sure that I care a whole lot about where it's going. A.J.'s relationship takes an interesting turn, but A.J.'s story lines have made such jerks and bumps over the last season or so that I'm left not caring what happens to him.

This seems to be the "slop" episode so far. The Sopranos has been praised for it's tight storytelling and intricate threads, but this installment is pretty forgettable. Let's hope next week's episode is more satisfying.

Shaky Cam?

[vaultoverseer_15 · 6/10 · 11 May 2021]

Great show, but, who decides to employ shaky cam for this episode? Most scenes are either shot by hand or deliberately shaken. It's a weird decision that doesn't enhance the plot, but rather makes you nauseous. Fine story and all but if you value your eyes, look up the plot and skip this episode.

Tony's new gambling problem

[sroakes · 5/10 · 30 April 2007]

This episode highlights on Tony's gambling problem. My question is: What gambling problem? We have never heard about this problem before and all of a sudden Tony is infatuated with betting. This doesn't make sense with his character's previous behavior. Where is this coming from? More importantly, where is this going? Watch the scene where mob boss Phil Leotardo takes Vito Jr. (with the black lipstick and black nail polish) to get ice cream. The ice cream place is called Applegate, on Grove Street in Upper Montclair, N. J. Overall, kinda a "downer" of an episode with not much happening. Other highlights include Nancy Sinatra sings, Vito Jr. Gets in trouble, Anthony Jr. Breaks up with his (muy caliente) Puerto Rican girlfriend and more trouble brewing with Phil Leotardo's crew.

Forced Episode

[solis-ivan · 6/10 · 15 January 2022]

Top many things happen out of nowhere and i hate to admit It, but its true. The gambling problem its just totally undeveloped, i know the arguments are there, Its not weird that Tony has addictions, its just they only talked about this once before. Tony and Carmela were perfect and suddenly its season 5 again. Vitos son has sense, but its boring. Lazy writing.

Not bad but well below the standard

[helenahandbasket-93734 · 4/10 · 6 August 2020]

My third time re-watching the series-there's just nothing remotely close to the (mostly) quality of Sopranos, but this is one of my least favorite episodes.

A few of the reasons:

1. Nancy Sinatra cannot act. Was it just 'oh Nancy Sinatra wants to be on, let's give her a role!' or did someone actually pursue her?

2. Tony's 'gambling problem' comes out of nowhere. Literally have seen him heavily gambling once before when he and Carm split. This device seems way too lazy.

3. Vito Jr., seriously? Yes kids will act out during their teens, and especially after losing his father then learning he was gay, it was inevitable. But due to the supposedly close relationship and the 'personal shame' Phil felt over Vito Sr., it's incredibly unlikely that this family would have been cast to the wind. Again, lazy plot development.

4. Suddenly Hesh has been telling Tony all along that his purchases were wrong? And apparently Hesh is also the only person who ever knew Tony was an habitual gambler with a problem. Funny how Hesh didn't seem to have a problem with Tony when his son-in-law was getting his face smashed in. That alone should more than cover the 200k that was borrowed.

These things and a few others have bothered me since the original airing of the episode- a considerably weak link in an otherwise most superb chain of episodes.

Sloppy editing and play

[pavlomir · 5/10 · 7 April 2023]

Like I'm watching season 1, the actors make mistakes all of the time, the director is cutting the camera angle at the wrong moments and all is glued at the worst moments possible when the transition is not matching. The changed the Antony's character like they want some quick end of this 6 season soap drama. Gambling addiction? That simple huh? How about the other characters, why Paulie is not planning something, Chris not being addicted anymore? His psychiatrist use to be a major part, even she had her own crisis, now she is okay with him stopping coming? You can tell the writers just want to wrap this up with the lowest effort possible.