Maybe there was one one-on-one, if I’m thinking of the right guy. Wasn’t Raymond the one who lost a twin brother? Tony had a confrontation with him about whether he was going to keep on mourning his brother, or keep on working for the family. Now there’s a motive for flipping…
I don’t know. I made a bet with my mother that it was Patsy in the car. Guess I lose.
Thank God the “Raymond Curto” wearing a wire story line came back. I was wondering if it ever would. I was shocked when I first saw him talking to the feds in Season 3, I was waiting for it to come in to play.
But yea he’s been a non-entity for a season and a half now, I don’t know why they are bringing back that story line.
I love the Sopranos, but am very disappointed about real cool storylines that just get dropped. Some examples:
[ul]
[li]Raymond Curto wearing a wire[/li][li]Adriana getting taught tennis by a lesbian[/li][li]The Russian that Paulie and Christopher took out to the woods to whack[/li][li]Meadow working with that FBI guys daughter[/li][/ul]
MtM
Oh you had to remind me of that didn’t you! Excuse me, I need a few moments personal time. Alone. In the bathroom. ahem :o
MeanJoe
Patsy had his twin brother Philly killed on orders from Tony. Patsy hasn’t been the picture of a loyal soldier since, but he hasn’t started snitching.
Maybe they should wear name tags… 
I personally thought it was in very poor judgement for Johnny Sack to have Carmine buried with an Opus Dei medal when Carmine wasn’t into that whole gig. Very selfish and really done just to please Ginny Sack. If I were Carmine Jr., I would have tossed a fit too.
Is Tony being so awful to Tony B. because he feels guilty? Because Tony B. got sent up while Tony S. got to stay home and become boss? I really did think he was far too hard on Tony B. for no good (on the surface) reason. Thoughts?
It may be a combonation of Tony B, trying to go straight (Tony S, seemed really looking foward to working with Tony B), and I think he was annoyed with trying to save face in front of his friends while Tony B kept making fun of him, he wanted to be absolutly sure that stopped NOW.
Of course I could be wrong. As much as I love this show, I’ve always had trouble following the 800 plotlines, and who’s cousin is who’s, and this and that…
One more thing, even though I’m Italian myself, this show would be a lot easier if they all had names like Tony Smith and Ralphie Johnson, Jones, Lucas, Shoemaker…etc… they 5 syllable italian names make it hard to keep track of who’s who. But I still like the show.
Then you shouldn’t try watching The Wire. You’ll never figure out who all the characters are in that one.
Actually, it was the “Museum of Science and Trucking”, which I find hilarious.
My thinking about the probably arc of this season is that it is going to be characterized by Tony’s guilt starting to consume him. Tony’s always had some residual guilt about what he’s doing, and it seems to be peaking now. And the thing is, he’s now had TWO people claim the moral high ground over him - Melfi, and Tony B. And in both cases, he severely overreacted to it. I think the conflict he went through last night in deciding to whack that guy was a sign of his growing dilemma.
And in true classic style, it’ll be Tony’s rediscovering a conscience that will be his undoing.
Up until your post, Sam Stone, I was going to reply about Tony’s motivation so far this season. As you’ve made my points (very well, I might add), I’ll just note again that guilt is a very large part of the character of Tony Soprano.
Besides what you mentioned, my guess is that Tony’s inability to cope with guilt will be enough reason for Dr. Melfi to accept Tony as a client again.
Slate Magazine has a couple of serious Mafia journalists discussing the episodes each week. It’s great reading.
There are so many great storylines this season. Adriana is starting to realize the reality of her situation, in that there are only three ways she can come out of this: 1.) in the Witness Protection Program with Christopher, 2.) in the WPP without Christopher, or 3.) dead.
That raises a great side question–would they let Christopher into the WPP? I think so, if he agreed to flip Tony, but that’s a great big “if”.
I’m not sure about Tony B’s motivations. I get the feeling that he really does want to be a straight guy, but he still wants to hang out with the crew, since it’s the only world he really knows on the outside. It’s obviously not going to work. I can’t wait to hear more about the back story between him and Tony S.
The scene at the party where the whole family came together for a few uncomfortable seconds was great. I also thought of the very line that Artie used when he saw Tony B’s suit: “Where’s Tubbs?”
Oh, and if this show keeps parading out this endless succession of ridiculously sexy Italian women, I’m going to have to start watching it in the shower.
Dr. J
I don’t think you’re reading too far into it, but then, it would be pretty perplexing if I did. 
The wardrobe choice seemed a little telegraphed to me in the series opener, as Tony was making his “Two Tonys” pitch to Dr. Melfi. I didn’t expect to see it literalized in the next episode, with a white-suited Tony making an effort to tread the straight-and-narrow. Too funny.
Great episode, from start to finish.
I hope Adrienne doesn’t get done in. I can see her finding a plausible explanation for her movie-night breakdown, people are starting to go down around her. She might be alright with the guy she gave up in the beginning, but grassing on someone that you have an obvious grudge against is not exactly prudent. Eesh.
I love all the sly little jokes. “The Rat Pack.” Perfect gift from an informant.
The naive yet “on the button” comment about Citizen Kane was good for a larf, too. Heh.