Rarely in the course of human events has so short a joke met with so tortured a fate. We know little about
Donna Parisi, but we know this: in matters of communication, she is one challenged individual.
Tony: Speaking of jokers, where's that other son of yours today?
Donna: I didn't think he was invited.
Carmela: I just thought with all the wedding talk, you know...
Tony: No no, really... That pal of his, the other Jason, I heard he ran into some trouble. Carlo's Jason.
Donna: He's a mess.
Patsy: All right. [forcefully]
When we consider the prospect of communication-challenged Donna navigating the minefield that is the subject of
Jason Gervasi, we can't help but cringe in explosive anticipation. Patsy, acting on the knowledge of his wife's
limitations, puts an immediate and unambiguous end to her attempt at contributing to the conversation. Of course,
the most important question remains unanswered: to what extent is Jason Parisi involved in Jason Gervasi's legal
problems? If nothing else, we've learned that Donna is well aware of the situation.
Tony: Of course, this one here would only take the case for free [referring to Meadow].
Patrick: That's why we want her over at Grubman, Grubman, and Curcio. Actually, Mead and I have had some
conversations and we may still snag her over at the firm, when she's done with law school.
Carmela: No kidding?
Meadow: We went out to dinner with Steven Grubman and the subject came up.
Patrick: Steven was very impressed with her work at the Poverty Law Center. He even got into starting
salaries. He was talking 170.
Tony: Jesus, sweetheart, that's fantastic.
Meadow: He had had too much Gevrey.
Patrick: Don't devalue yourself. We've got a really interesting case right now. We're defending James
Trefoglio, the county commissioner, on those corruption charges.
Donna: That's your case, honey?
Patrick: Bid rigging. It's got bagmen, whores. It's fascinating.
The point here is that despite Tony's and Carmela's previous aspirations for Meadow in terms of having a
successful life outside of the family "business," she's clearly on a path that would land her right in the middle
it. Were it not for the impending catastrophic events, Meadow soon would be pursuing a career as a criminal
defense attorney defending the likes of the county commissioner. This is part of a Mafia self-perpetuation theme.
Despite Meadow's initially altruistic character, as evidenced by her previous desire to become a Pediatrician and
her work with the "Poverty Law Center," her experiences and relationships are slowly but surely corrupting her
values. In short order she will be in the realm of "bagmen" and "whores". A similar theme exists with AJ.
Regardless of whatever questions may exist regarding the morality of Patrick's and Meadow's chosen line of
work, the love they have for each other appears to be authentic. This is important for two reasons. (1) When
Patsy decides to betray Tony, he is unlikely to involve his son Patrick even though Patrick likely will be privy
to information that might prove to be useful. (2) Patsy will likely take extra precaution to insure that Meadow
is not harmed in any way.
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