AJ and the Bear

[Vesuvio]

AJ's reaction to the bear - the fact that he was petrified and crying and screaming "Mommy, mommy" - reminded me of when Tony was talking to Melfi in Season 4 about having a blood relative as a successor. She said: "Your son?" He said: "AJ, not that kid."

Had Tony, or even Christopher, been AJ's age at the time, they would have reacted differently to the bear. It just reminded me why Tony sees Christopher as a possible successor, but not AJ.

Of course, it also reminded me of when Matt Bevilaqua screamed "Mommy,mommy!" just before Tony and P**sy killed him.

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[eruptus]

Yeah, kind of reminded me about the scene from season 2, where AJ finds "spider" from the pool-cleaning system. AJ is definitely a scared, spoiled little kid.

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[TWO GUNS GIANCARLO]

AJ's reaction to the bear just reaffirmed for me that his character has shown the least amount of growth over the last five seasons. Even before he responded to the bear I knew he would respond in the manner which he did. Its disappointing to watch his character be so naive, scared, and immature when the reality of his life and the business his father is involved in would have taking him in the opposite direction. AJ is the Soprano's equivalent of Urkel, a character that over time also showed no progression whatsoever and continually served as comic fodder. Hopefully AJ won't be regulated to this position until the series end.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/devil.gif ALT=":evil">

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[Soda drink]

dont forget the kids age....isnt he 15-16 now.....still brat days.....when he turns 20 thats when he will most likely get his head out of his a--

meadow was around that age when the season began.

i dont expect AJ to grow up or mature or anything of the sort until something drastic happens to him or his family.

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[TWO GUNS GIANCARLO]

A.J. is fifteen or sixteen and by todays standards or any days standards for that matter sixteen is an age where you should be considerably more knowledgeable about the world around you. A.J. is oblivious to all that happens and this is just not realistic, I know of no fifteen or sixteen year old that acts in the manner that A.J. does and I say this from having a brother who is presently 15 and all of his friends are in the same age group and none of them act as immature, naive, or childish as A.J.<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/devil.gif ALT=":evil">

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[Carmela]

Don't forget the irony of it. AJ was just showing his resentment towards Carmela (the divorce and her authority over him) and the next moment is screaming 'Mommy, Mommy' when seeing the bear in the yard.

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[uncle junior]

now we might not cry out and scream mommy mommy the next time we see a bear in our backyards, but imagine how ur young brother sister would react? give the kid a break. i know he is no where near the toughness of chris or tony (of course the young chris and T) but still, i would be scared out of my ass if i saw a bear as big as the one poor AJ saw, wanderin around in my backyard. i would scream, but i don think ill cry out mommy mommy lol. AJ is just a normal kid. he is naive, sometimes stupid, but also somewhat aware of what's goin on around him. he isnt stupid. remember last season when he took his girl freind to ny and saw all those homeless ppl and how touched he was by the financial gap between his family and those homeless ppl. or the scene in last week's ep when he Carm that she should have 'thought about having a man around before gettin seperated from Tony. he is just a bit slow. plus this kid has never had to work in his life. he has never had to go through any hardship. it'll take him a few years to really come to reality of how this world really works and how messed up thigns really can get and how he should thoughen up and smarten up in order to actually survive in this world. i hope Chase would spend some more time on AJ. Sometimes I think AJ should have his own shrink. he looks more depressed than anyone else in the show

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[amytoilet]

Regarding the bear, here's an interesting analysis I didn't even consider but makes sense to me and adds a whole new depth to Two Tonys:

"The Bear = Tony... the big lumbering beast that poses a threat to Carm's family. Carm asks the wardens if they can do anything remove the bear, and they inform her that they can do nothing as he has not proven aggressive (so far).. which explains why Tony still comes and goes freely into the home.----- Tony even shows up in the next scene wearing black and dark brown... looking almost exactly like the bear.----- Then you get the final scene with Melfy, where she rejects Tony for being what he is... how does he decide to deal with this? He decides to kill the bear (or his "bear-side").---- -Half"


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[harmony2k66]

Carm lost the eastern black bear in her backyard, and gained a lumbering mob boss in her backyard.

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[Lara Tomorrow]

i'd scream like a little girl if i saw a bear in my yard.

</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub132.ezboard.com/bsopranolandforum.showUserPublicProfile?gid=tonyso prano555>tonysoprano555</A> http://www.sopranoland.com/slforum/tonysoprano.jpg at: 3/16/04 9:57 am

[Splishak]

I've read about grown men getting shot in combat and crying out for their mothers. They cry out, "Mommy! Mommy!". I can hardly claim that I would do otherwise without ever having been tested.

[SilvioMancini]

I agree with the idea that we cry out for our "mommy" when in our greatest peril. But I have seen black bears many times in my garbage and compost and to be honest, they are not exactly scary. Impressively large and strong,yes, but not necessarily threatening. I felt the bear has and always been Tony or a metaphor of Tony. And AJ's fear of the bear reflects his fear of Tony...