I Can't Have This Conversation Again

Submission 2,177

Part of a series on The Sopranos. [View Related Entries]

About

I Can't Have This Conversation Again refers to a series of exploitable image macros based on a scene from The Sopranos where Tony Soprano tells Paulie Gualtieri he can't have this conversation again after Paulie asks him what is his favorite scene in The Godfather. The scene comes from season 2 episode 4 of The Sopranos and was first used as a meme on Reddit in 2018, becoming further popularized throughout the 2020s. The meme is somewhat related to the Ay, Tone format.

Origin

On February 6th, 2000, season 2 episode 4 of The Sopranos aired. During the episode, Paulie asks Tony what his favorite scene from The Godfather is. Tony responds, "I can't have this conversation again."^[1] On June 5th, 2018, Redditor u/Omar_Isaiah_Betts posted an image macro of Tony saying the line to /r/CirclejerkSopranos,^[2] titling the post, "When you go to r/thesopranos and see another 'Is The Sopranos the greatest TV show ever?' discussion post," garnering over 60 upvotes in five years (shown below). This is the earliest known meme to use the format.

Spread

The meme format gained viral spread throughout the 2020s. On July 29th, 2020, Facebook^[3] page Socialist Sopranos Memes posted an image macro using the meme, garnering over 360 reactions and 80 shares in three years. On November 25th, 2021, X^[4] user @sopranos_vibes posted the image under the caption, "When my family asks me, once again, why I’m single," which was reposted by Instagram^[5] user sopranos_vibes on June 17th, 2022, garnering over 4,400 likes in two years (shown below).

On September 18th, 2022, iFunny^[6] user Emma1805_2022 posted an edited version of the format adding a top panel where Paulie asks Tony, "Ton', if ya toilet was sentient, would ya rather it crave ya bodily waste or hate ya for it?" (shown below). The meme was gained viral spread and was reposted by Instagram^[7] user inhalemybees on September 19th, garnering over 32,000 likes in a year and by Facebook^[8] page Do Androids Dream of Electric Memes? The Director's Cut on December 3rd, garnering over 1,200 shares in a year.

Throughout 2023, several new examples of the meme were posted to social media. On October 7th, Facebook^[9] page Socialist Sopranos Memes posted a version of the meme that gained over 20,000 reactions and 10,000 shres in two weeks (shown below, left). On October 22nd, X^[10] user @millennialsoprn posted a version of the meme that gained over 800 likes in two days (shown below, right). On October 24th, X^[11] user @shitpostgate reposted the "sentient toilet" version of the meme, garnering over 4,500 likes in under 24 hours.