Notes on a death

So last night, as part of my immersion into all things "Sopranos," I attended a panel at the Museum of TV & Radio titled, bluntly, "Whacked Sopranos," with writers David Chase and Terry Winter and actors David Proval (Richie Aprile), Vincent Pastore (Big Pussy), Annabella Sciorra (Gloria Trillo), Drea de Matteo (Adriana) and Steve Buscemi (Tony Blundetto) talked about the ins and outs of getting whacked.

Now, I had already written a story on this, but only heard the perspectives of Chase and Winter, so it was illuminating to hear Proval talk about how he coped with his impending unemployment by acting like a jackass on set in the days leading up to Richie's death, or to hear de Matteo talk about how she had to encourage an uncomfortable Steve Van Zandt to pull her by the hair and call her the C-word during her death scene.

I also finally got an answer to a question that's been bothering me for a few years: at what point in that long car ride in "Long-Term Parking" did Adriana know that she was being taken to her own murder? Was it the entire time, only when Silvio stopped the car, or sometime in between?

Drea said that, at least in her mind, it was at the moment when Silvio turned onto the side road into the woods. So now I have to go watch that scene for the 57th time to do another frame-by-frame of one of the great moments in show history.