Well, it’s a long way from running an illegal kegger to loansharking or shaking down massage parlors.
Yeah, but that was fiction! This is The Sopranos! 
The point is, he’s not being raised any differently from any other just-barely-upper-middle-class kid in New Jersey. By the time Tony was AJ’s age, he probably had gotten his knuckles bloody a few times, at the very least.
How are the feds going to explain how Ray kicked the bucket in the agent’s car? What would they do, drop him in front of a hospital and speed away?
The hanging scene was very well done. I’ve never actually witnessed a hanging but that’s what I would expect it to look like. The effects were good, it really looked like the guy was hanging by his neck.
Can you imagine having to scrap all the work already completed on Carm’s house because her father used pine instead of constuction grade lumber? Ouch.
That’s why the keg party was important.
I thought it was shorthand for “AJ is getting into it.”
I can’t think of any other interpretation for that party and the “extortion” scene. It was a complete shift in character in the very last episode of the season. Keep in mind, some time has passed.
Add that to Chris’s question to Tony of why he gave up so much, and I think a Jersey mob led by Chris is quickly going to get into an all out war with the NY mob. Hell, maybe that’s where it is heading to end the series?
Is Little Carmine out of the picture for good? When Johnny Sack got busted in the last episode of Season 5, I speculated that might be his doing, and he would be making a power play next.
AJ is in college now, goofing off as usual, but not in the business as yet. If Tony were to die, I think the power struggle would be between Vito and Chris, though I don’t know what Silvio and Paulie would have to say about it. They have seniority, but that may not matter.
WTF is wrong with Carmela? Pine beams? Does she not care if the house falls down around her ears? Might be a metaphor for what’s going to happen in the coming season. Looks nice on the outside, but it’s rotting from within.
Are Finn and Meadow married yet?
'Bout time they had an actual full-scale gang war on this show! 
As far as I can tell Silvio & Paulie probably would not make a play for the leadership. I think Silvio would dislike the job and Paulie might try it if Tony was dead but he probably knows that not to many would follow him. They would both see Chris as a way to keep and expand their own power without putting their neck on the block.
Carmela is a dumb shallow bitch.
Not yet, the Italian wedding of Meadow should promise to be a good episode. Carmela should go absolutely nuts planning it.
Jim
This scene affirmed that hanging is not on my list of preferred suicide methods.
Nothing wrong with that.
That episode…my god…incredible. I agree it was completely worth the wait and I am right back on the band wagon. When Tony was shot I had to rewind to be sure I had just seen what I had just seen. I know i brought it up in another thread - but i was highly impressed by the Big love following and am looking forward to when Entourage comes on after that. Three hours of my life every week to the TV devils…i love it!!
Here’s something I’d like to see. They made this clear in the first episode of the series, but it hasn’t come up much since: Technically, Tony is only the “Acting Boss” for old Eckley DiMeo, who is doing life in prison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiMeo_Crime_Family Maybe sometime this season, Ecky will finally kick it and Tony will have some kind of investiture ceremony.
Maybe he’ll even start insisting on being called “Don Soprano” – naw, he’s too smart for that.
Loraine Bracco has turned into a porker. With that horrible voice, her only saving grace has been her looks; now that seems to be gone.
The blatant product placement annoyed me (the Nestle’s model train car and the Porche). It’s always been there, especially with cars and SUVs, but it was usually more subtle than this. “Yeah, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo with the 4.8 liter engine blahblahblah.”
well worth the wait. I’d seen Lorraine Braco on Colbert last week and yeah, she definitely plumped out - But I still think she’s a dynamic character and very good for the story lines - like Deus Ex Machina which can come in handy for reminding us of what happened in seasons long past, or to connect a disjointed episode like last night’s.
I can’t wait to see what happens to Uncle June
Good show though I am getting a little tired of shows that focus on an obscure character for one episode and then kill him.
This was the sort of arc that could have lasted a season instead we get the guys entire family and assorted problems in about 20 minutes.
Melfi is huge. Her legs are massive!
And yes, the product placement is a little annoying.
:rolleyes:
VCNJ~
Regarding the product placements, while the Nestle was pretty bad, I’ve met “Carmela”-types who would brag about their expensive purchases and tastes just like she and Angie did, word-for-word. I could see the Porche (and the Corvette and the Maseratti) as nothing more than props to demonstrate both the lifestyle and the shallowness of these people.
I loved this episode. The one thing with the Sopranos is that yes, they take long breaks, and they start off in present time (almost two years later) rather than where they left off. This makes it a little difficult to catch up at the start of each new season, but it’s totally worthwhile. My Sunday nights are complete again (though I miss Deadwood!).
Trunk- I promoted illegal concerts and parties while in High School. Am I mob level? Should I be running a crew.
Great episode.
It looks like the theme of this season will be “getting old”.
Did they write it into a TV show in which your father was a mob boss with no clear successor who did similar things?