u/I_love_lucja_1738

Fat dom Gamiello is a seemingly one note character in The Sopranos. He causes tension to rise between New York and New Jersey through his death. But upon reflection, I've noticed deep insecurities within Dominic Gamiello. Insecurities that led him to go on a suicide mission.

Fat dom Gamiello is described as one of Phil Leotardo's "top earners". Yet he still has a mocking nickname. "Fat". Even though he is an extremely powerful man within his family, everyone acknowledges him as a massive fat ass every time they speak of him. This probably drives Dominic Gamiello insane. He's already an antisocial person for being involved in organized crime so It was highly possible that Dominic Gamiello was a narcissist. So being reminded of his short comings (obesity) by everyone in his life must be maddening to him and cause extreme anger. His "equals" have neutral nicknames. "Butchie", "Coco"," Billy"

"Why should my fellow capos get nice nicknames and I get called fat?" He would think, out of jealousy and deep seated insecurity. He's probably been fat his whole life. When he was just a humble associate he was probably treated like the butt of all jokes my the made men of the past. So "fat" being apart of his identity stuck when he had no power. A facial scar that Dominic cannot stand is upon his face, for he is so vain, he sees it as ruining his beauty.

Another example of narcissism and nicknames is Paulie "Walnuts" Gaultieri. He is a clear narcissist, and a long standing man of prominence within his family. As a result, "Walnuts" is no longer a much used nickname in the modern day. The "Walnuts" come from a time where Paulie mistakenly hijacked a truck full of walnuts. That story would be told as a story of mockery. "Aw fangul, this stunad opens the fuckin' doors, an there was nothin' but fuckin walnuts far as the eye can see in truck!" Every time young Paulie would have to explain that story or have someone tell it among a group (e.g in Season 5, episode 1, when Christopher and Paulie were telling the pine barrens story to a large group of made men) so since Paulie is a man of rank, and a very headstrong personality, he probably enforced a removal of the "Walnuts story" from the circulation of acceptable stories and the "Walnuts" nickname removed from the official vocabulary. Paulie being more aggressive and less passively insecure is able to exert so much dominance and respect that his former nickname is not appropriate. Dominic Gamiello is not like this. So, the fat nickname stuck to him even as a capo.

As a result of the obesity related bullying inflicted by his authority figures, he probably became highly susceptible to peer pressure. Although Phil might still be technically on the same level as Gamiello, he follows Phil like a loyal dog. It is Fat dom Gamiello and Gerry "the hairdo" Torciano that are chosen to preform the hit on New Jersey Capo, Vito Spatafore. Funny how the two most loyal followers with mocking names get chosen by Phil. He probably peer pressured him. He probably asked them first because they'd be more likely to answer with a subservient yes.

Gerry Torciano is a second example. "The Hairdo" is a pretty mocking nickname, "his hair is so peculiar". As soon as Phil firmly takes control of New York, and he gets put into a position of great prominence, he gets a complete hair makeover. Style, color, length. So clearly there is precedent for insecure guys removing or attempting to remove unflattering nicknames.

Fat dom Gamiello probably had an internal hatred for Vito. Perhaps even before he was outed as a gay man. Early season 6a Vito was big on the Atkins diet and weight-loss bragging. It was all he talked about basically. Gamiello would know Vito due to his strong relations to the family of New York. All that bragging probably drove Dominic mad. Since he's not on any diet and doesn't want to either, he's mad at himself for not being as mentally strong as Vito. He is also very jealous. Vito may have lost a lot of weight, but he is still an obese man. Gamiello considers Jersey to be a glorified crew, as per the teachings of Boss Carmine I Lupertazzi. So Vito would be beneath Gamiello in his mind. "This fat ass youngster gets treated well and I get shat on?" He would think while murdering Vito.

So after initial the initial high of "one-upping" Vito, Dominic might have reflected on this horrid act of violence. With embarrassment. "Why did Phil bring me and not some young guy? Did he think I'd be the easiest guy he could force into shoving a pool cue up an asshole? That shame would lead to his deadly encounter at Satrialie's. He begins his encounter with Silvio Date and Carlo Gervasi, two men he should really pay respect towards (a consiglieri and a capo with NYC connections) with two insults. "There they are! The pirates of prosciutt'. the brigands of bracioll'."

My personal theory on why he says two insults is because he thought of two Italianesque gay jokes. In his mind he would then compare the quality of each illiterative joke. He would eventually settle on using both.

This is a really big insult if we think about it. He's calling the entire Dimeo family gay. An extremely brazen move for this is a rough subject within the family. This brazeness comes from his need to overpower people. He mistakenly views Silvio and Carlo as beneath him. As a result? He wants to ease the sting of humiliation by boasting on some tethered and defeated underlings.

He mentions his daughter lives in Metuchen, New Jersey. Assuming the Lupertazzi family reside near Mulberry street in New York, Dominic Gamiello lives around 50 minutes away from his daughter. This is pretty vast for such close mafia families. This could allude to potential animosity between father and daughter. Stemming from his need to take out his pain on someone beneath him. But perhaps the fact that he's visiting her now is that he's trying to improve himself.

Him bringing an envelope could cause him to feeling insecure. Kicking up in the mafia is massive. You give an envelope of money to the person above you on the pyramid. Dominic having to give money to guys from Jersey rubs him the wrong way. He should collect their envelopes is what he thinks.

This makes his descent into mockery tragic in a way. Had he stayed on the right path and drop the cash envelope at Satrialie's without causing a scene, he would have lived another day and saw his daughter he brought into the world. Instead, he let his insecurities push him into a suicide mission.

One of the unsolved mysteries that haunts the Sopranos is the question of who sent the note proclaiming a certain "old Ojibwe saying". Tony suspects Janice, or possibly Meadow. But the real culprit is another Woman in Tony's life. Dr Jennifer Melfi.

Proof:

In Season 6a episode 2 there is a scene where Carmela Soprano encounters Dr Melfi in a grocery store. Dr Melfi asks her "did you get my note?" So it is clear Melfi sent a note to either the Sopranos house hold or the hospital. This means the note could be the Ojibwe note. Tony never suspects Melfi because Carmela never told him that she sent a letter.

Dr Melfi is also a studied woman that who would know about proverbs and sayings. Ojibwes hail from the Midwestern portion of the North American continent, so former Seattle resident Janice Soprano would not be familiar with Ojibwe natives.

Melfi is also the most supportive person of his journey into positive behavior. Characters like Janice or Meadow benefit from Tony continuing to be an antisocial personality sociopath monetarily. Dr Melfi, while she does earn profits from the suffering inflicted by Tony Soprano, she does try to change Tony for the better. She would believe that Tony needs to be humbled in this time of need. Becoming less of a narcissistic gangster than before.

What do you think? Was Dr Melfi behind this saying?