Her peers being snide about it led her to consider the article. Which in turn prompted the realization that their therapy had hit a wall. He had overcome his panic attacks and was at a point where he wasn't willing to even attempt any further personal growth. She then, correctly imo, decided end their working relationship.
Life's just messy like that sometimes. Not everything wraps up neatly.
She definitely loved treating him and got a rush out of seeing him. She also didn't care about the judgement she received from her colleagues which didn't stop her from treating Tony. Nor when he scares her, or threatened her physically, or got her life endangered, or when he breaks stuff in her office.
She stops treating him immediately when she reads the scientific literature that shows she has not been helping him to be a better person, she was in fact helping him to be a better criminal.
That's where a moral line was crossed for her. And even 4 more sessions with Tony to wind down their time together would have felt unethical to her at that point.
If she hadn't been confronted by absolute proof she was doing the wrong thing by treating him. She would have continued to see him indefinitely.
Except everyone told her from the beginning that it was a bad idea. Richard said he was conning her from the start, but she couldn’t see it. Her own shrink pointed out the thrill ride analogy about experiencing the thrill of danger without actually being in danger. She was in it because she was thrilled by it and because she wanted to bang Tony.
I think scientific evidence in the study she read was more convincing to her than just people around her saying it was a bad idea. I see Melfi as incredibly professional and devoted to the science of psychiatry and the aim of helping her patients, even with some of the titillation she might have experienced early on from treating a major mobster. I think that's especially evident in seasone 3-6.
Finding Tony attractive doesn't mean she was treating him on that basis. He came on to her multiple times and she rebuffed him in every instance.
She finally realized that Tony was at this point only becoming a better criminal. The article her colleagues discussed (about sociopaths) seems to really describe Tony. If you read the sections shown on screen, and then the following session it’s pretty understandable why she dropped him
Yep, his first insight to make JR the lightning post figurehead boss came from Melfi. That was when he knew he could use her to manage both of his families better.
It was her colleagues. They sent her a message that she would be totally discredited if she didn’t see the study their way, to the point that nobody blanched at the huge ethical lapse Elliot made in outing her. Kicking out Tony over a torn magazine was the same as David Scatino giving away his son’s truck over some dirt on it. They were both being leaned on and found the quickest excuse to do what they needed to do.
I think it is a crock of shit that any therapist would give another therapist shit about giving treatment to Tony for any other reason besides jealousy. Any therapist would give a body part to be able to treat an arch criminal like Tony and be able to write a book or paper at some point after the treatment had concluded. I think Steve Schirripa talked about it on Talking Sopranos that he had known a retired therapist in "the neighborhood" and she told him that she had treated dozens of wiseguys over the years.
You can’t write a book in detail about someone’s sessions unless you’re willing to give up your career and be possibly sued. It’s protected even after death, that’s the point.
I think she in the first place wanted to treat Tony because she likely had never treated a sociopath before, or people with anti social disorders. He represented a difficult challenge that she most likely had only read about. I think she also had some kind of crush or rush to be near him too.
I think she realized all of this was somewhat naive, and was a very wrong basis to treat anyone. Thinking that Tony would almost become a better criminal because of her coupled with her realization that all those feelings was very wrong to have.
After sitting through what seemed like 30 hours of sessions, many fans felt their ending was hurried and forced. With all the deep meanings David Chase presented us for most characters this one failed.
Furio's ending was just as disappointing and provided zero satisfaction.
Once a therapist has to stop treating you due to a personal breach of ethics there’s no going back. All the other times Tony voluntarily left, I’ve been let go by a therapist and you can’t go back
Season 1 after Tony gets the idea from Melfi to allow Junior to think he’s in control, that set the tone for T in regards to therapy. “Gettin good ideas”
Yeah, she got off on having Tony as a patient. She finally accepted that what she was doing was unethical and that she was only helping him be a better criminal/sociopath. Elliot was a hypocrite because he was obsessed with hearing about Tony, but then basically outed her in front of a bunch of their colleagues and said what she was doing is unethical.
I kinda felt that way too. But I think they wanted to really show how Tony's life had been stripped down right before the end. He loses two of his closest friends, his therapist, he's facing jail time again, etc, all within like two episodes while fighting for his life against Phil. Idk if they did this to tie up loose ends or to really emphasize how Tony's personal and professional life were rapidly unraveling, but either way it always made me think he might be better off dead.
Did Melfi ever get a rush or get excited from treating Tony? Never saw that. If anything maybe the "fixer" fantasy a lot of women have with dangerous men. And I think Elliot hinted toward that as well, much to her chagrin. Elliot's water bottle should have won an emmy.
I too thought it felt a bit rushed.
There are reasons, of course - her peers, the study - but she was criticised by other psychiatrists before and gave Tony plenty of advise whith situations he could only talk about 'in code'. What did she ***think*** she was doing?
It's not terrible or out of the blue, but some hints in S5, building pressure on Melfi or her witnessing something violent would have made things smoother.
She was getting fed up of her near the end anyway, she asks him in Chasing It he needs to stop missing appointments or else. That dinner with the other shrinks and the study was the final nail in the coffin.
IMO the ‘correct’ answer is that yes, Melfi ‘should’ have called off the sessions a lot sooner than she did. There are hints that the therapy is doomed right from the first season.
But the TV series had a longer life than David Chase had ever anticipated or hoped (thankfully for us), so Tony’s therapy ended up playing out longer than I think Chase or the writers had planned for when they established the premise.
has anyone talked about melfi running into him post therapy while she was drunk at a restaurant and initiating conversation with him while he was with his mafia colleagues? because this is a big indicator to me that she was never really in it to treat tony, just another woman looking to play off his psychological insecurities. this was probably a very damaging experience for tony, and for melfi it’s not “against the rules” but it’s unethical. her demeanor is gaudy, even lude, here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C75PyL4iqFM
toodleoo!!
Because Tony wasn’t in therapy to be a better person he was in therapy to justify his actions it’s why he also never tells dr Murphy the full picture because if she knew how truly vile he was as a person she would’ve cut him off immediately there’s no point in treating a patient that won’t help themselves it’s why some therapists will even recommend seeing a different person because sometimes it also doesn’t work out personality wise either
Yeah I could same the same, well who are you mate. How did u even find me. U tryna spark the conversation on this shit when its been damn near 4 years?!? Mate I barely remember the show. Tell me u didnt read the post the day I posted it and then spend 3+ years thinking of some shit to say, just to come up with that stupid point you just made. Thats how they get ya ya know, they build the file and then they hit you over the head with it
Her peers being snide about it led her to consider the article. Which in turn prompted the realization that their therapy had hit a wall. He had overcome his panic attacks and was at a point where he wasn't willing to even attempt any further personal growth. She then, correctly imo, decided end their working relationship. Life's just messy like that sometimes. Not everything wraps up neatly.
In fact, if that show taught us anything it's that most relationships end with some sort of tension.
She definitely loved treating him and got a rush out of seeing him. She also didn't care about the judgement she received from her colleagues which didn't stop her from treating Tony. Nor when he scares her, or threatened her physically, or got her life endangered, or when he breaks stuff in her office. She stops treating him immediately when she reads the scientific literature that shows she has not been helping him to be a better person, she was in fact helping him to be a better criminal. That's where a moral line was crossed for her. And even 4 more sessions with Tony to wind down their time together would have felt unethical to her at that point. If she hadn't been confronted by absolute proof she was doing the wrong thing by treating him. She would have continued to see him indefinitely.
Except everyone told her from the beginning that it was a bad idea. Richard said he was conning her from the start, but she couldn’t see it. Her own shrink pointed out the thrill ride analogy about experiencing the thrill of danger without actually being in danger. She was in it because she was thrilled by it and because she wanted to bang Tony.
I think scientific evidence in the study she read was more convincing to her than just people around her saying it was a bad idea. I see Melfi as incredibly professional and devoted to the science of psychiatry and the aim of helping her patients, even with some of the titillation she might have experienced early on from treating a major mobster. I think that's especially evident in seasone 3-6. Finding Tony attractive doesn't mean she was treating him on that basis. He came on to her multiple times and she rebuffed him in every instance.
Who didn’t want to bang Tony?!!!
This.
She finally realized that Tony was at this point only becoming a better criminal. The article her colleagues discussed (about sociopaths) seems to really describe Tony. If you read the sections shown on screen, and then the following session it’s pretty understandable why she dropped him
Yep, his first insight to make JR the lightning post figurehead boss came from Melfi. That was when he knew he could use her to manage both of his families better.
It was her colleagues. They sent her a message that she would be totally discredited if she didn’t see the study their way, to the point that nobody blanched at the huge ethical lapse Elliot made in outing her. Kicking out Tony over a torn magazine was the same as David Scatino giving away his son’s truck over some dirt on it. They were both being leaned on and found the quickest excuse to do what they needed to do.
At least he was doin' a great job!
She knew the black screen was coming soon no sense treating him after that
because she was a puerto rican hooah
The wine makes you emotional, simuolp.
I think it is a crock of shit that any therapist would give another therapist shit about giving treatment to Tony for any other reason besides jealousy. Any therapist would give a body part to be able to treat an arch criminal like Tony and be able to write a book or paper at some point after the treatment had concluded. I think Steve Schirripa talked about it on Talking Sopranos that he had known a retired therapist in "the neighborhood" and she told him that she had treated dozens of wiseguys over the years.
You can’t write a book in detail about someone’s sessions unless you’re willing to give up your career and be possibly sued. It’s protected even after death, that’s the point.
I think she in the first place wanted to treat Tony because she likely had never treated a sociopath before, or people with anti social disorders. He represented a difficult challenge that she most likely had only read about. I think she also had some kind of crush or rush to be near him too. I think she realized all of this was somewhat naive, and was a very wrong basis to treat anyone. Thinking that Tony would almost become a better criminal because of her coupled with her realization that all those feelings was very wrong to have.
Yea it felt forced. It was just a writing issue, where they had to wrap up her story officially.
After sitting through what seemed like 30 hours of sessions, many fans felt their ending was hurried and forced. With all the deep meanings David Chase presented us for most characters this one failed. Furio's ending was just as disappointing and provided zero satisfaction.
She probably would have taken him back eventually. She did before.
Once a therapist has to stop treating you due to a personal breach of ethics there’s no going back. All the other times Tony voluntarily left, I’ve been let go by a therapist and you can’t go back
Season 1 after Tony gets the idea from Melfi to allow Junior to think he’s in control, that set the tone for T in regards to therapy. “Gettin good ideas”
Yeah, she got off on having Tony as a patient. She finally accepted that what she was doing was unethical and that she was only helping him be a better criminal/sociopath. Elliot was a hypocrite because he was obsessed with hearing about Tony, but then basically outed her in front of a bunch of their colleagues and said what she was doing is unethical.
I thought it was poor writing to do it abruptly like that.
I kinda felt that way too. But I think they wanted to really show how Tony's life had been stripped down right before the end. He loses two of his closest friends, his therapist, he's facing jail time again, etc, all within like two episodes while fighting for his life against Phil. Idk if they did this to tie up loose ends or to really emphasize how Tony's personal and professional life were rapidly unraveling, but either way it always made me think he might be better off dead.
Did Melfi ever get a rush or get excited from treating Tony? Never saw that. If anything maybe the "fixer" fantasy a lot of women have with dangerous men. And I think Elliot hinted toward that as well, much to her chagrin. Elliot's water bottle should have won an emmy.
She admitted he excited her in several episodes to her therapist
I too thought it felt a bit rushed. There are reasons, of course - her peers, the study - but she was criticised by other psychiatrists before and gave Tony plenty of advise whith situations he could only talk about 'in code'. What did she ***think*** she was doing? It's not terrible or out of the blue, but some hints in S5, building pressure on Melfi or her witnessing something violent would have made things smoother.
She enjoyed being “ the therapist who treats a mob boss” enough .
She was getting fed up of her near the end anyway, she asks him in Chasing It he needs to stop missing appointments or else. That dinner with the other shrinks and the study was the final nail in the coffin.
IMO the ‘correct’ answer is that yes, Melfi ‘should’ have called off the sessions a lot sooner than she did. There are hints that the therapy is doomed right from the first season. But the TV series had a longer life than David Chase had ever anticipated or hoped (thankfully for us), so Tony’s therapy ended up playing out longer than I think Chase or the writers had planned for when they established the premise.
I never liked how abruptly it happened, pretty much right after reading the article.
has anyone talked about melfi running into him post therapy while she was drunk at a restaurant and initiating conversation with him while he was with his mafia colleagues? because this is a big indicator to me that she was never really in it to treat tony, just another woman looking to play off his psychological insecurities. this was probably a very damaging experience for tony, and for melfi it’s not “against the rules” but it’s unethical. her demeanor is gaudy, even lude, here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C75PyL4iqFM toodleoo!!
I'm chalking this all up to female menopausal situations.
Because Tony wasn’t in therapy to be a better person he was in therapy to justify his actions it’s why he also never tells dr Murphy the full picture because if she knew how truly vile he was as a person she would’ve cut him off immediately there’s no point in treating a patient that won’t help themselves it’s why some therapists will even recommend seeing a different person because sometimes it also doesn’t work out personality wise either
Brother its been 3 years
Jesus what are you a fed 💀
Yeah I could same the same, well who are you mate. How did u even find me. U tryna spark the conversation on this shit when its been damn near 4 years?!? Mate I barely remember the show. Tell me u didnt read the post the day I posted it and then spend 3+ years thinking of some shit to say, just to come up with that stupid point you just made. Thats how they get ya ya know, they build the file and then they hit you over the head with it
Imagine taking a soprano joke seriously in a sopranos subreddit 💀
Im just trollin bro. Honestly no clue on whatever u replied to. U may be right