The Patsy Parisi Sopranos Theory
Illustration by yanikoshe.Patsy Parisi is one of the only supporting characters in the Sopranos to appear in more than half the episodes. He may not have many lines compared to the main members of the cast but he possibly had a bigger impact than we ever realized.
[SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT]
Blog updated - 11/27/2023 - In the infamous last scene of the Sopranos, where it cuts to black, I am of the belief that Tony gets shot by the man in the members only jacket at the very moment the screen turns black. Ultimately, nobody really knows what happened but there is a floating theory that Patsy Parisi is the one that hired the man in the members only jacket.
Related: The Motives of Uncle Junior and Patsy Parisi from The Sopranos
Who is Patsy Parisi?
His first role of being a loyal soldier, capo, and accountant to the Junior crew and then to the Tony crew without having too much backstory makes this character particularly interesting because the viewer doesn’t know everything about him.
Patsy looks less intimidating, he never smokes, he's in shape, and he's the only one that wears eyeglasses. He has two sons - Patrick and Jason.
The older Patrick, ends up engaged to Tony's daughter Meadow Soprano and is learning law while his younger son, Jason is sports betting, gambling, and going to carry on the Dimeo Crime Family.
Venn diagram added to this blog - 11/27/2023
He’s Well Respected Among the Crew
In general, Patsy's character is trusted more or less by everyone and is given important tasks by the Sopranos. There are many pivotal scenes he’s the center of, most notably, and one of the most memorable for me personally, is his conversation with Gloria Trillo in the car. Tony sent him to threaten her in hopes of scaring her from ever contacting Tony or his family again.
Patsy delivers a cold-blooded line to Gloria that drives the message home and it also is a moment that sheds light on how sinister and terrifying Tony and his murderous network are.
“It wont be cinematic” (in reference to him murdering her) is what Patsy says to her.
It’s a Powerful Line
The cut to black is what it is like to get shot and have your lights turned off in the final moments of your life, or at least what it was like for Tony. It’s what he saw in his final moments. It was a glance at his daughter Meadow running into the diner. It wasn’t a bloody murder scene with the rest of the Soprano family screaming and crying in terror.
The show subtly refutes the idea of unnecessary violence mainly with the use of irony and comedy early on, and then at the final scene with an unexpected cut to black that is not “cinematic” or satisfying.
All the while Patsy Parisi is used as a subtle tool for David Chase to illuminate this message in the most genius and understated way. He’s the one that is used to deliver the line that I look at as hidden foreshadowing of Tony’s death, “it won’t be cinematic”. How much more meaningful is that line is Patsy is indeed the one who killed Tony?
Patsy's Scholarly Intimidation Style
Despite not looking intimidating most of the time Patsy does have a skill for intimidating other people. Parisi can also speak fluent Italian and English and has a scholarly air about him so he is respectable. He has shown his dangerous side on multiple occasions, like when he helped Angie Bonpernero with her stolen parts autobody repair shop or the aforementioned threats to Gloria Trillo.
Patsy is never shown whacking anyone but Tony has ordered him to murder before if Patsy thought it was necessary. Patsy is around most of the time but Tony never really brings him into his inner circle.
Possible Motive
Revenge for the Murder of His Brother
When Patsy and his identical twin brother Phillip (Philly Spoons) were working for Junior's crew there was a fight between Junior and Tony. Philip would talk to Junior about what Tony was doing. When Tony found out about this he put a hit out on Phillip. Soon thereafter Philly Spoons was dead and Patsy was devastated.
Patsy could never prove that Tony had him killed but he always knew deep down. Not being able to cope with his emotions he went to alcohol and started heavy drinking. One day in September 2000 he was outside of the Sopranos family home drunk and with a gun.
Meanwhile, FBI agents that were tracking the Sopranos house were disguised as landscapers. Patsy was back by the pool having an emotional breakdown, filled with rage and sadness about his brother he was contemplating killing Tony. The FBI agents were by the bushes with binoculars watching everything.
Eventually, Parisi broke down and decided to pee in Tony's pool as a way to chicken out and still get some drunken revenge.
Not Being Given Bobby Bacala’s Job
When Bobby is killed Tony gives his duties to Paulie Walnuts over Patsy. There is no indication that Patsy feels slighted by this shown on screen, but one can only imagine how it could feel given the fact that Tony and Patsy are becoming in-laws and also Patsy and the rest of the crew have been fearing for their lives looking over their shoulders for Phil Leotardo for weeks all because Tony is hesitant to give up the location of his out-of-line cousin, Tony Blundetto.
So frustration has been building in Patsy Parisi for quite some time now and he knew Tony was in a vulnerable spot.
Who Killed Tony?
In the final episode, if it is presumed Tony was killed in a final shot of the black screen, there is no way to prove who is responsible for it. There are many possible candidates including the Lupertazzi family, Paulie Walnuts, Uncle Junior (my favorite theory, although maybe too much of a stretch), and Patsy Parisi, as we’ve gone over in detail.