Yes, I know we have 13 more episodes of meandering, pointless plots and random character sketches, but this all has to end when David Chase’s HBO contract does. So whadda youse guys think?
It seems obvious that Tony himself is going to sleep with the fishes. Every time we’ve thought that a whacking was too obvious, it’s happened anyway, and why should this be different, huh?
So here’s how it’s gonna go down: The NJ family is weakened from the untimely entrances into the “Witness Protection Program” of too many of its leaders. Pussy and Ralph are dead, Christopher’s in rehab (and may never regain Tony’s trust), Furio is out of the country (and Tony no longer can trust him either), Dante is not a participant outside of the Bada Bing, Junior’s ineffective even if he doesn’t go to prison, Bobby is useless.
So we’re left with Paulie, who Tony may have questions about, and who Carmine already knows is wavering. Carmine knows the Soprano operation is weak and is already muscling in. He still trusts Johnny Sack, who will lead the incursion, and who is smart enough not to defect to the losing side. Paulie will defect, though, and Tony will take him out near the end of the season. He’ll have to do the hit in person, unless Christopher is back in time. But together they’ll be too weak.
Tony strikes out at Carmine himself in a rage, like he’s been doing lately, and Carmine’s people do the job. Carmela hooks up with Furio, Meadow and AJ slide into yuppiedom unconnected to the Outfit, and the closing shot shows those damn ducks in the pool again.
I thought Carmella really came off as a whiney, hypocritical, self-absorbed bitch. She’s always known that Tony was a womanizer, why is she so shocked now? She’s just bitter because SHE didn’t get to bang Furio.
And also, why does it bother her that her husband is an adulterer but not that he is a MURDERER?
I was greatly impressed with the scenes between Tony and Carmella. When Carmella confronted him the first time, I said, “If Edie Falco doesn’t get the Emmy for her category, I want to see who does.” It was a brilliant performance; I could absolutely feel it. Then when she and Tony went off on each other, there were so many angles that it was impossible to say who I favored.
[spoiler]I also said, “[Russian bitch] should be dead. Not Gloria.” And did you notice how, for once, they made Svetlana really beautiful?
And that lawyer! Fucking prick! “Uh, sorry friends…There’s this mob boss I pissed off…”
I thought for sure that Junior was going to die on the couch. That would have been so powerful.[/spoiler]
MOTHER FUCKING COCKSUCKING CHASE!!! All this time, I’m waiting to see who gets whacked, what long-term character we’re never going to see again after tonight…and instead, it ends with a DIVORCE??? What the FUCK is this now, All My Goomahs???
All I wanted was one, just ONE major death. If Junior had died quietly on the couch, that would have been enough. If J. Sack had taken a pop to the back of the head and THEN rolled the credits, that would have been fine. But noooooo. I can’t believe these last few episodes have been nothing but a cock-tease.
That’s it. This show has definitely jumped the shark. Kersplash. Thank God next year is the final season. (It better be!!)
[SPOILER WARNING: The preceding paragraphs contained major spoilers and should not have been read by anyone who wished to avoid being spoiled.]
Because a show like this can’t be good unless someone routinely dies at the end of every season. :rolleyes:
I for one liked that no one important died. It’s such a gimmick. Only a show with no content would rely on a death EVERY SEASON FINAL… and season starters.
That’s not saying that this season was the best ever, I just don’t think it has to do with a body count of ONLY 3, 4 or 5.
I think the Marriage friction was a good alternative, (although it wasn’t played out perfectly/realistically IMHO).
I think many here are too caught up in the violence of “The Sopranos” when, in reality, the show has always been a psychological study of the Mafia.
This season was almost entirely an exploration of the psychological sides of the characters. Feelings of abandonment, intimacy, detachment were all covered.
It’s just those issues weren’t covered necessarily by having a lot of people killed.
Was it me or did it look like Carmella and AJ lost weight since last week’s ep?
The main thing that disappointed me was the overall lack of Silvio and Paulie. For my money, there can’t be enough of those two in an episode. I think they should have a spin-off with these two. Maybe have them go into the witness relocation program together, showing them adjust to life on a South Dakota farm.
Paulie: ‘Ey, did you feed the fuckin’ goats? They almost knocked me over walkin’ to the barn.
Sil: I don’t think them almost knockin’ you over has anything to do with them being hungry.
Paulie: What the fuck does that mean?
Sil: I don’t know, there’s just been some talk lately. You ain’t been treatin’ the goats so good, an’ there’s just been some talk, that’s all.
Paulie: What the fuck? I never go anywhere near them filthy fuckin things.
Sil: I’m just saying…
Paulie: You’re just trying to stir up trouble.
Sil: Hey, settle down.
Paulie: Maybe it’s you the goats are pissed at, you sheep rapin’ mutherfucker!
Sil: standing up HEYYYYYY!
[spoiler]Oh, and if Tony had admitted that the fingernail actually belonged to the horse trainer—a third woman—Carmela would have done her best to kill him. Can’t say she would have succeeded, but knowing that, she would have been driven to murder.
And I can see how it’s going to be with Christopher and Adriana. Before, it was all about the dope. Now, it will all be about his sobriety. I don’t see a future for them.[/spoiler]
Friend and I were a bit at odds about Christopher. I said I felt sorry for him; Friend said he didn’t feel sorry for any junkie. I disagree. I’ve never done heroin or cocaine, but from what I’ve heard, heroin is your friend for a long time. Cocaine never is (and I’ve never known a cocaine user with whom I did not have a problem): you’re always chasing that rush, and you’re never really satisfied because nothing’s ever quite as good as that very first rush. But with smack, each high makes up for how much worse you’re getting when you’re not high. Until it doesn’t.
Lendervedder: Fuckin’ funny! (Can I say that in the Cafe?)
It wasn’t the horse trainer. It was Ralph’s girlfriend that Tony stole.
Diogenes
Carmella was bad. She knew it was happening, but she felt she lost face in front of AJ (perhaps she was kidding herself that they didn’t know). I got a vibe that Meadow was less concerned about her parents breaking up than about how she would be perceived coming from a separated family.
I got the impression this episode was all about going to the brink and then pulling back. I mean,
:spoilers:
Everybody thought Paulie or Carmine or Johnny would get whacked, but the only guys who did were the two would-be assassins, and they even showed one telling the other not to tell Keisha about the money so that she wouldn’t bug him about child support which shows they were evil and we shouldn’t worry about them. We all thought full-out-war would break out between NY and NJ–it was averted. I at least thought that Meadow or AJ would come in in the middle of all this with their own Movie o’ the Week teen crisis–unwanted pregnancy, drug problem, etc. Nope. The way they filmed Junior so that it looked like he’d just die peacefully in the couch–ha ha, gotcha. (And he is SO onto Janice and her schemes.)
But the one thing we could count on before is Carmela. She’d be there, faithful and centered in the home, Tony’s refuge, no matter what. Sure she’d grumble and bitch and occasionally work up to screaming, and honestly who could blame her, but she was always there.
Now Tony’s lost the main support, and the tent may collapse. Next year should be interesting.
That said, I did sorta feel an anticlimax at the climax too.
Umm… the show is called The Sopranos. That refers to the family unit, Tony/Carm/Meadow/AJ. That died last night.
If you want shoot em ups and gangsters, watch Goodfellas or Scarface. That’s not what The Sopranos has ever been about.
Since when does a show have to have a cliff hanger anyway? When did that become a requirement? Last night’s episode had good writing, good acting, and was tense.