SOPRANOS

Episode Eleven, Season Six

HBO Production

"Home is where the heart is"
There are times when I grow a little concerned by this series’ willingness to slow things down to a crawl in the middle of season, and this time out the mid-season lull has lingered on a bit too long. I mean I don’t consider myself part of the video game generation, as I can enjoy an episode of the Sopranos that doesn’t feature a shocking death, but I’m less forgiving of writing that seems to be taking it’s sweet time to get to such an obvious destination. I mean I’m a little put out that the "Vito is gay" subplot was resolved in such a telegraphed manner, as if you didn’t see Phil taking the initiative and taking out Vito than you simply haven’t been paying attention over the course of this season where we’ve been treated to numerous scenes where Tony has expressed his annoyance over Phil’s lack of respect for how things get done between the familles. Now Vito’s death does make for a lovely springboard moment to carry us into the final episode, as one of Phil’s underlings gets a little too vocal about Vito’s death, and discovers that Tony’s crew isn’t big when it comes to turning the other cheek. However, while the Vito plot earns itself a pass thanks to the simple fact that it works to build the momentum of story, the other two plots that made up the rest of the episode acted as anchors. I mean Carmela’s vacation to Paris does act as a lovely travelog for the city and her speech about how she enjoys the idea that the city makes her feel insignificant manages to make a novel point, but truth be told the long lingering pauses left me a bit cold. Still, the scene where Carmela tries to discuss Little Jackie’s death with Rosa did a lovely job of selling the wall that this has placed in their relationship, and we also get a lovely blink and you’ll miss it guest-appearance from Adrianna. As for the plot involving AJ, I have to confess I’m a little surprised it took Tony this long to bring the hammer down, as AJ’s sad sack behaviour has been on display for the past few seasons. Still, Tony’s session ending admission that he hates his son did allow Dr. Melfi to make a very astute observation about Tony’s childhood, and it was interesting to note Tony’s response to this insight is to embrace the role his father played in his life.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Ten, Season Six

HBO Production

"And now the end is near, So I face the final curtain"
An episode that won me over with it’s collection of little character moments though I have to say I’m starting to get a little concerned about how the forward momentum that was built up in the opening half of this season looks to have stalled out. I mean there’s some eye opening plot developments in this episode as we see Bobby has a very scary late-night encounter with a group of thugs, and in one of the funniest moments of the entire season we see Vito’s internal clock watching manages to send him racing back to his former life. This episode also does a lovely job of selling the idea that Vito can be a very dangerous player when he feels himself being backed into a corner, and while I saw it coming I can’t deny the impact of the scene where he deals with the man who was trying to do the right thing after Vito slammed into the back of his station wagon. The episode also finally offers up some real insight into Tony’s relationship with his sister Janice as after Dr. Melfi eggs Tony on with suggestions that he might be harbouring a sexual attraction toward his sister, we see an enraged Tony reveals the true source of his animosity toward Janice in one of the more powerful moments of the season. The episode also deals with the Johnny Sack’s plot thread as we see the incarcerated boss accepts a deal and pleads guilty, which sparks a nice range of commentary from the various cast members. Tony’s business dealings with Johnny Sack’s also made it pretty clear that he’s not above taking advantage of a former ally who comes begging at his door. Plus, how can one not love the building tension of the scenes where the lawn maintenance guy tries to weasel his way out of his obligation. There’s also a delightful character moment where we see Tony tries to console an upset Meadow, and his obvious discomfort and attempt to push this problem toward Carmela did a lovely job of selling Tony’s emotional distance from even his own daughter. I mean I don’t have any doubt that he loves her to death, and would do anything to protect her, but he’s not big on warm, fuzzy moments, and I suspect his "living in sin" comment was designed to send her off in a huff so he wouldn’t have to deal with her emotional needs.

4 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Nine, Season Six

HBO Production

"So long sad times, go long bad times"
One of those episodes where one can’t help but feel something bad is about to happen, and this feeling was so pervasive that I found myself cringing when Tony was spinning baby Nica around on his bum ankle. However, we made it out the other side of this episode in relatively good shape, as while Christopher looks to have fallen off the wagon when it comes to his drug and alcohol consumption, a greater cause for concern is that Tony and Christopher share a moment where they discuss how much they mean to each other, and if one was looking for moment that foreshadows a looming conflict between these two in a future episode than this scene can’t help but leave you concerned for Christopher’s ability to make it out of this season alive. Now Christopher’s battle with his demons did produce a rather lengthy sequence where we see the drugs were hitting him far harder thanks to his lengthy spell away from them, and the very awkward scene in the basement where him and Tony try to recapture the camaraderie that they shared earlier in the episode made it pretty obvious that Christopher is walking a very thin line. In fact if I had to guess at the development that would send Christopher headlong into his downward spiral it will probably involved Adriana’s mother either confronting him about the death of her daughter, or warning his new wife about Adriana’s disappearance. In any event this episode makes things look pretty bad for Christopher. The other main plot involves Paulie, as we see his frugal nature makes him extremely reluctant to part with the extra funds needed to pull off the annual Feast of St. Elzear celebration, and this behaviour earns him an unlikely enemy when Bobby discovers Paulie’s penny pinching ways were indirectly responsible for a ride accident that endangered his wife and children. The accident also managed to give the much neglected Janice something to do as how can one not love the scene where she comes to realize that there’s more to gain from this accident that simply the harrowing survivor story, as faster that you can say lawsuit Janice is sporting a neck brace.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Eight, Season Six

HBO Production

"Here I am, rock you like a hurricane"
Easily the weakest episode of the season thanks in large part to the heavy focus on AJ. Now I don’t dislike the character of AJ, nor do I have any real problems with the performance of the young actor playing him, but the simple truth of the matter is that AJ is one of the dullest members of the cast as he’s a bit of a one-trick pony. I mean he’s an angry young man whose scenes over the past couple seasons have been limited to shouting matches with his parents, and as such his scenes have quickly taken on a been there, done that feel. Now the heavy focus that he receives in this episode has to give him a little more to do, so we follow him as he acts all moody and sullen sitting around a night club, while spending a small fortune on a group of friends who are clearly only hanging around with him because he’s the son of the infamous Tony Soprano. I mean this idea is pretty much run into the ground over the course of the episode, and the only good thing to come out of these scenes is that AJ is quick to realize the truth about the people around him. We than see AJ decides to do something about Junior, and while there was a brief moment where I thought the writing might actually have AJ do something truly noteworthy, it became pretty clear that he wasn’t going to be able to pull it off. Still, the parking lot scene between Aj and Tony held my attention, and Robert Iler holds his own with James Gandolfini which is actually harder than it looks as the latter is able to grab your full attention simply by walking in the room. We also look in on Vito who is settling into his new life, and he manages to inexplicably earn the interest of the town’s hottest gay bachelor, but even a slugfest between these two wasn’t enough to inject some life into this rather lifeless plot. I did enjoy the scene where Vito calls home though, as the actress playing his wife does a lovely job of selling the idea that she genuinely wants him to come home. The final plot thread was my personal favourite though as we see Tony’s wandering eye settles upon an attractive real-estate agent, and we see him start to backslide into the very behaviour that put him on the outs with Carmela in the pervious season, but this time he makes a very un-Tony like choice.

3 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Seven, Season Six

HBO Production

"If you can't stand the heat, get out the kitchen"
A bit of an odd episode as just when the Vito plot looked to be developing a nice head of steam we get this episode which expends it’s energy on a couple done-in-one throwaway plot threads. However, both plots managed to hold my interest, and I have to give the writer full marks for actually making Artie into a sympathetic character, as up until this episode I never much cared for the guy. However this episode makes it pretty obvious that much like most civilians that get caught up in Tony’s world, Artie is not going to emerge out of the other side a happy camper, as he becomes embroiled in a pissing contest with Benny, a lower rung thug in Tony’s organization, nearly gets himself killed as a result. This plot also does a pretty nice job of selling the fact that running a restaurant is a very tough gig, and needless to say Artie doesn’t seem to work all that well under pressure, though to be fair the hits do keep on coming over the course of this episode. In the end I can’t say that I want to see more episodes centred around Artie’s struggles to keep his restaurant from going belly up but this episode was far more engaging than I expected it to be. The episode also offers up a more self indulgent plot involving Christopher’s visit to Hollywood as he’s looking to land Ben Kingsley for a role in his zombie mobster film. Now while there were a few too many wink, wink, nudge, nudge moments offered up during this plot I have to say Sir Ben Kingsley turned in a lovely performance, with the highlight being the uncomfortable elevator ride that he takes with Christopher and Murmur. Screen legend Lauren Bacall also makes a fun guest-appearance, and she becomes involved in a "did they really just do that" moment as Christopher steals her gift basket. In the end it was a cute throwaway plot, that did manage to offer up a couple developments that could resurface as we see Christopher falls off the wagon briefly when we see him doing lines of coke, and we also get a nice uncomfortable moment where Tony expresses his annoyance that Christopher is playing the Adriana card once again.

4 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Six, Season Six

HBO Production

"You'll have a gay old time."
Easily my favourite episode of the season as Tony and his crew deal with the knowledge that Vito is gay, and most of the episode surrounds that various reactions of Tony and his supporting cast. Now this doesn’t sound like the basis for much of an episode but thanks to an equal mix of strong performances and writing this is far and away one of the more engaging episodes since Paulie and Christopher’s adventures in the Pine Barrens. I mean Tony’s conversation with Dr. Melfi about this development alone would’ve earned this episode a glowing review, from it’s clever breaching of the fourth wall when Tony complains about how every show on television is dealing with homosexuals, to the laugh aloud moment where Tony takes a moment to re-establish the idea that he wasn’t in prison long enough to need the free pass that is given out for man an man loving that occurs when one is incarcerated. However, the real enjoyment that one draws from this episode is watching the various character’s react to the news, and what these reactions reveal about their characters. I mean Paulie’s extreme hostility would seem to suggest there’s something more going on beyond simple homophobia, and Christopher’s sadistic streak is alive and well when it come to his finding the entire situation a source for comedy. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that this situation allows Christopher to offer up some of his funniest lines of the season, from the exchange about this possibly being a mid-life crisis, to his ability to put a new spin on pretty much every comment that is made about Vito’s job performance. However the biggest surprise of the episode would have to be Tony ambivalence on the matter, as while he offers up the cookie cutter arguments about how he finds the homosexual lifestyle disgusting, he also questions why should it be such a big deal, and later in the episode one can’t help but get the sense that Tony is extremely reluctant to cut such a good earner loose. The final conversation between Tony and Silvio about why Tony’s going to have to deal with this situation also does a lovely job of pointing out the potential fallout that this situation could cause.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Five, Season Six

HBO Production

"All the men just call him Sir"
The bulk of this episode plays out at a lavish wedding ceremony as we see Johnny Sack’s daughter is getting married, and Johnny Sack earns himself a six hour reprieve from jail to attend the wedding. Now Steve Buscemi once again proves his director chops on this series, as he does an amazing job capturing the visual impact of this celebration, and while there’s not much forward plot progression taking place at this ceremony it was a visual feast. Now of course a happy occasion on the Sopranos can’t help but make one nervous, as this series has made a habit out of doing something awful when everyone looks to be a little too pleased with how their life is going, and if one entered this episode looking for the dark storm clouds looming on the horizon than you really don’t need to look any further that Tony agreeing to take on the job of retiring Rusty Milio as you just know this job is going to go badly. This episode also deals with the idea that Tony is still recovering from the injury, and we see that Tony can’t help notice that his underlings have picked up a new habit of questioning his judgements which he wisely takes as a sign that perhaps the more ambitious members of his family might be testing to see how far they can push him in his current state. This naturally produces the most dramatic moment of the episode as we see Tony decides that he needs to establish his authority by picking a fight with the biggest thug in the room, and I have to say it’s nice to be reminded every so often that Tony is the boss, which this fight manages to do ever so effectively. The episode also offers up an interesting development involving Vito who is pulled out of the closet when he’s spotted by a couple members of the family enjoying himself at a gay bar, and they don’t appear to buy the explanation he provides. However, I have to confess I’m not quite sure what to make of the final scene involving the gun as there’s two paths this story could travel down, and this scene doesn’t really make it clear which one Vito’s decided upon. Finally, as always seems to be the case Christopher provides the biggest laugh of the episode, as he notes that Johnny Sack’s daughter has a familiar sounding name, and the exchange that this observation produced was hilarious.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Four, Season Six

HBO Production

"Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so"
This episode splits it’s time fairly evenly between two characters, as while Tony is steadily getting himself back on his feet in the hospital, dealing with a string of generally amusing encounters with a steady stream of people that come to visit his room, we also follow Paulie who’s made aware of a family secret involving him that leaves him reeling. Now Tony’s various encounters make it pretty clear that he’s back in the game, as we see him deal with a potential sticky situation with a rival mob boss who was looking to take advantage of the fact that Tony was out of the game, and in a final move that nicely ties Paulie’s plight to Tony’s return we see Paulie decides to adopt a little side business that could complicate matters for Tony. In fact since Paulie was in the room when Tony made the promise to the sobbing mother about how no harm would come to her son, one has to look upon his side business as a rather telling glimpse at Paulie’s wavering loyalty to Tony. In fact as much as I like Paulie I can’t help but feel that this new side business is going to be the thing that earns him a one way trip out to the Pine Barrens. In any event Tony’s string of guests also offers up a several laugh aloud exchanges with the 6000 year old Earth discussion being the highlight. Plus, the episode also manages to give viewers a pretty good look at the invaluable role insurance providers play in keeping the hospital beds empty, and how can one not love the scene where Tony’s interest turns into outright annoyance when he figures out who the target of his flirting is. Now the other plot involving Paulie’s discovery is a lovely character study, as we see him made aware of a family secret that completely changes his view of his happy family. This story also provides one of the most powerful moments of this season we see him pay a visit to the room of the woman he discovers is not his biological mother and he makes it all too clear that the gravy train is no longer pulling into her station. One also has to smile at how Paulie manages to come up with a solution that will appease his guilt while at the same time address his reluctance to pay $4000 a month for the rent on the retirement home.

4 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Three, Season Six

HBO Production

"I am not dead yet, I can do the Highland Fling"
If one was worried that this season was going to consist of Tony Soprano lying in a hospital bed, with his only scenes consisting of visits to a dream reality you can put these concerns to rest, as this episode has Tony waking up, and while he’s far from being back on his feet, one has to imagine he’ll be back in action before too long. Now the episode did manage to offer up a nice moment of dramatic tension as we found Tony standing quite literally in front of the white light, and this scene is helped considerably by a surprise guest-appearance. I also have to say Paulie is one of my favourite members of the cast so I was quite pleased to see the character given such a substantial role in this episode, as not only is he involved in a comical comedy of errors where he receives an injury that is sure to make all the male viewers squirm in discomfort, but one has to love the fact that it’s Paulie’s incessant ranting that brings Tony out of his coma. One has to give the writing credit for not taking the predictable path when it came to a couple plot threads, as A.J.’s vendetta is brought to a rather abrupt halt, and we see the man filling Tony’s shoes discovers that he’s much more comfortable being the number two guy, so I don’t expect he’ll be looking to advance up the ladder in the near future after his taste of the top dog position. This episode also manages to find something for Doctor Melfi to do with Tony in the hospital as she offers her services to a visually distraught Carmela, and their session is a wonderful character building moment, as we see Carmela discusses the early days with Tony, and we see her tremendous sense of guilt as her children are starting to be pulled into Tony’s world. The episode also manages to bring in some welcome comedy relief as we see Christopher has decided to try once again for his dream of making it big in Hollywood and one has to love the goofy plot premise for his film as well as the strong-arm tactics that he employs to secure the services of a writer. In fact I’m hoping Tony gives a thumbs up the Christopher’s latest effort, as I love the scenes where the various characters discuss the merits of the slasher film, and debate the plausibility of a reanimated dismembered corpse.

4 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode Two, Season Six

HBO Production

"Distorient the senses, Loss of identity, No one to trust"
Tony’s dream got the episode off to a rather curious start though the writing managed to establish rather quickly that this was a dream when we were treated to that first blinding flash of light. It’s also worth noting that Tony’s dream brought a much needed sense of levity to a rather heavy hearted episode, as watching Tony dealing with the less than helpful hotel clerks, and a pair of indignant monks in his quest to locate the man with his wallet made for a very entertaining diversion from the whole dying in a hospital bed section of the plot. Also given James Gandolfini’s performance is one of the main reasons I watch this series, the dream gives the actor something more to do that lie in a hospital bed. One has to give the writers credit for not taking the easy way out when it comes to selling the idea that the bullet did considerable damage to Tony, as we have a number of rather distressing conversations where brain damage is discussed, and it’s even suggested that having the character die from these injuries is a very real possibility. Now logic would seem to suggest that Tony Soprano can’t die as he’s the entire centre of the series, and his death would leave a void that the surrounding players simply couldn’t fill. However, I have to say with Tony off in his little dream reality, this episode does give several characters the opportunity to step out of the shadows, as all the members of Tony’s family get some much needed screen time, from Carmela’s bedside profession of love, to the ominous expression of anger from AJ. The episode also offers up a couple fun reminders of why Christopher remains one of my favourites, from the way he manages to send the best gift to Tony’s hospital room, to his conversation with the two FBI agents about the good old days. In fact this episode is full of some rich character moments as Tony’s situation allows the show to look in on almost all the members of the cast, and we get a glimpse at their various reactions, from Janice’s sobbing, to Junior’s rather harsh assessment of who he suspects shot his nephew. Still, here’s hoping that Tony is back on his feet soon, as having him lying in hospital bed for the entire season sounds like a recipe for disaster, no matter how entertaining I found his dream sequence to be in this episode.

4 out of 5 Stars

SOPRANOS

Episode One, Season Six

HBO Production

4 out of 5 Stars