Sopranos Writer Reveals What Almost Happened To The Russian From 'Pine Barrens'

"I pitched David [Chase] on the idea of Christopher going to see Slava two years later where he sees the Russian (Valery) sweeping the floor and they meet eyes and Christopher says 'Holy Shit, he knows me' to himself and then Valery turns around and half the back of his head is gone, clearly brain damaged, a vegetable who keeps looking at Christopher like he knows who he is, but he just can't communicate it. David was on board, but then I made the fatal error in saying that the audience is going to love it where David replied that that was the worst reason in the world to do it so it never happened"

"What happened to the Russian in the woods?" is usually one of the first five questions that's asked by someone who just watched 'The Sopranos' for the first time. There's been answers that range from he just died to he was found by Boy Scouts to who cares what happened to him, but this is the first time we've heard about what almost happened and I gotta say that it would've been awesome. The look on Christopher's face when he saw him sweeping would've just been an all-timer.

But, of course fucking David Chase refuses to give the people what they want! You actually gotta respect how stuck in his ways he is. There's that famous Vince McMahon quote where he says "I know what the audience wants more than what the audience thinks they want". Something tells me that Vince & David would be great friends and bond over that.

I'm also not actually mad at David. He created the best show of all time and did it his way without an ounce of pandering which is insanely impressive. It's also actually very amusing seeing how unapologetic he's been about the whole thing since the show ended in 2007. If you didn't like something or want something flushed out more then too bad. It's David's fucking show and that's all there is to it.

P.S. - 'Talking Sopranos' with Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa has just gotten better and better. They seemed kinda timid at first, but now I love that they're busting balls and letting it rip freely without worrying about people getting mad at them. Terry Winters the writer from the clip above was my favorite guest that they've had on as well. Highly recommend that episode because his story about how he became a writer is phenomenal.