“Hey, take it easy.
You’re a grown man already — watch out or you’ll hurt the kid.”
Most of the food is already on the table when Vito Corleone walks out of the study.
The moment he steps out, he sees Fredo messing around with his grandson and immediately speaks up.
The Godfather’s name is Vito Corleone.
“Don Corleone” is simply the respectful title that Italian people use for him.
His original name, however, isn’t Corleone at all.
He is born as Vito Andolini.
And that…
is a very long story.
Back in 1901 — the same year a certain failed Austrian art student is still in school, the same year revolutionary unrest erupts in Russia, and the same year plenty of outlaws in the American Wild West are probably brainstorming ways to rob banks —
Vito Corleone is only nine years old.
Back then, he is still Vito Andolini, living in the small Sicilian town of Corleone, a place where everyone smiles at each other while quietly carrying guns behind their backs.
His father is murdered after offending a local Mafia boss.
Then during the funeral procession, his older brother loses his temper, mouths off to the killers, and gets shot dead too.
Afterward, Vito’s mother personally takes him to negotiate with the enemy family.
Unfortunately, Sicilian gangsters understand one principle very well:
If you leave roots behind, trouble grows back later.
The enemy family intends to wipe them out completely.
In the end, Vito’s mother sacrifices her own life to protect her son, while the villagers risk retaliation against their entire families to secretly help nine-year-old Vito escape Corleone, escape Sicily, and flee to America.
And from that moment on…
the legend of the Godfather begins.
When Vito Andolini arrives in America alongside a wave of immigrants, the immigration officer unknowingly gives a future Mafia kingpin a new name:
Vito Corleone.
From then on, people call him Don Corleone.
Or more respectfully—
The Godfather.
Vito Corleone slowly walks forward.
Even at his age, his eyes remain sharp and intimidating.
Time leaves marks across his face, but those years also forge an unmistakable aura of authority.
That unique presence belongs to the Godfather alone.
Wise.
Calm.
Collected.
Unshakable.
At the same time, he’s also a gentleman, a loving father, and a man who values family above everything else.
Following the memories in his head, Fredo greets his bargain-bin father exactly the way he remembers.
Just one simple word.
“Dad.”
Then a hug.
Sometimes affection doesn’t need to be spoken aloud.
Besides, Fredo doesn’t feel awkward calling him that.
After all, he’s living in somebody else’s son’s body now.
Even if he isn’t directly responsible, he still benefits from the original Fredo’s death.
Calling the man “Dad” is the bare minimum.
Afterward, he greets his older brother Sonny Corleone and chats with him for a while.
Sonny hears Fredo recently starts training, boxing, and learning hand-to-hand combat, and even suggests they spar someday.
Michael Corleone isn’t home right now, so Fredo goes over to hug the family’s adopted son, Tom Hagen, before everyone finally takes their seats for dinner.
The Corleone Family has one strict rule:
No Mafia business at the dinner table.
Discussing work during meals brings nothing except stress for the family and indigestion for everybody else.
So dinner remains lively and cheerful.
Especially since the family’s little princess is about to get married.
Although Don Corleone never openly objects, Fredo can clearly tell the old man doesn’t really like the future son-in-law.
Unfortunately, Connie is spoiled rotten.
And once daughters grow up, fathers stop getting a vote.
“I hear you change your lifestyle after leaving the hospital,” Don Corleone says in his gravelly voice while cutting into a piece of meat.
“No more partying every night.
Now you’re exercising, training, and even learning how to shoot?”
Fredo answers honestly.
“Yes, Dad.
I realize even partying hard requires a healthy body.
So now I work out, train in boxing and combat, and honestly…
I start liking guns too.”
“That’s…” Don Corleone looks genuinely surprised before giving a helpless smile.
“And how’s the training going?”
Everyone continues eating and drinking while listening to the conversation.
Fredo nods confidently.
“Dad, not to brag, but I think I actually have talent for this stuff.
Right now, Sonny probably can’t beat me anymore — whether it’s boxing or shooting.”
The whole table bursts into laughter.
Nobody believes him.
Especially not the Godfather.
Thankfully, Sonny jumps in to smooth things over.
“Alright then,” Sonny says with a grin.
“We’ll pick a day and test that claim.”
Fredo can only sigh internally.
He’s telling the truth, but nobody buys it.
Then again, the original Fredo spends years acting like a complete clown, so honestly, he can’t blame them.
Besides, mastering combat and firearms in such a short amount of time does sound ridiculous.
For ordinary people, anyway.
But nowadays Fredo?
This guy literally has cheats enabled.
A hacked life needs no explanation.
Fredo nods and smiles.
“Sounds good, Sonny.
Oh, right, Dad — I seriously get addicted to boxing and firearms lately.
Could you maybe increase my allowance a little?
I’m thinking about opening a boxing gym or something, and guns aren’t cheap.”
Don Corleone nods calmly.
“Fine.
Ask Sonny for the money later.”
At the dinner table, Don Corleone chats casually with everyone, carefully paying attention to each person’s emotions and reactions.
That alone says everything about the kind of man he is.
The Godfather values family more than anything else.
And so, amid laughter and clinking glasses, Fredo finishes dinner with the family.
After the servants clear the table, Don Corleone, Mrs.
Corleone, Sonny, Tom, Connie, and Fredo all head into the Godfather’s study and sit down on the couches.
Tonight’s topic is obvious:
The marriage of the family’s hopelessly lovestruck little princess.
Don Corleone first asks his wife, Carmela Corleone, followed by Sonny and Tom.
None of them object.
But who exactly is Don Corleone?
At nine years old, he arrives alone from Sicily to New York with absolutely nothing.
Now he stands at the top of one of the Five Families.
A man like that has seen every type of person imaginable.
As for what kind of man Connie’s fiancé, Carlo Rizzi, really is…
The Godfather sees through him long ago.
To sum it up in eight words:
Bad character.
Small-minded.
Never destined for greatness.
That’s why, at the beginning of the original The Godfather story, on Connie’s wedding day, the Godfather specifically tells his consigliere and adopted son Tom Hagen:
Do not let Carlo get involved in the family business.
“And what do you think?” Don Corleone suddenly asks while looking directly at Fredo.
The moment Fredo hears that, his eyes practically light up.
Boss…
there’s definitely something suspicious going on here.
…Wait, wrong script.
Fredo clears his throat, nods slightly, then looks toward Connie.
“Connie, it’s not that your brother wants to interfere with your marriage.
But as your brother, there are some things I have to say.”
Everyone nods, clearly interested to hear where this is going.
Fredo shakes his head lightly before continuing.
“As for your boyfriend Carlo…
I actually have someone look into him a few days ago.
Honestly?
The guy’s pretty average.”
He casually flips a lighter around in his hand before continuing.
“Yeah, I party a lot, but one thing that lifestyle teaches you is how to read people.
When judging someone, you don’t look at how they treat you — you look at how they treat everyone else.
Don’t listen to what they say.
Watch what they do.”
At that point, the Godfather becomes visibly interested.
Everyone else stares at Fredo too.
Nobody expects the usually unreliable Fredo to suddenly start sounding insightful.
Switching into a more comfortable position on the couch, Fredo keeps talking.
“One time at a bar, Carlo drinks a little too much.
Somebody accidentally bumps into him and spills alcohol on his clothes.
The guy apologizes immediately, but instead of handling it like a gentleman, Carlo gets physical right away.”
“That tells me two things.
First, he has violent tendencies.
Second, alcohol reveals a person’s true nature, and his nature is narrow-minded and aggressive.”
Fredo looks directly at Connie.
“Think about it.
One day he drinks too much and starts hitting you — then what?
Do we send Sonny to beat the hell out of him?
Or do I go crack his skull myself?”
“Marriage requires patience because couples are always going to clash eventually.
But a guy like that doesn’t change easily.
I don’t know what he acts like around you, but I guarantee he’s not the version you see.”
“I’m not trying to sabotage your marriage.
I just want you to learn how to observe people properly and see who they really are.
Otherwise, after the wedding, you’ll end up running back home crying every other week.”
“And honestly?
The best-case scenario at that point is divorce.”
“If violence exists inside a marriage, it’ll never become a happy one.”
“…”
Shout out to Arnaud for becoming my P Knight, my cats eat fish tonight.
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