A very dense episode, with a lot of character stuff going on. Nice to see that Big Pussy’s death still looms over Tony and his world. The use of the Big Mouth Billy Bass (definitely a touchstone for the era the show was filmed in)—and Tony’s violent reaction to it—is a nice touch.

Of course, Tony continues to grapple with his guilt over Pussy’s death, Angie makes things worse by causing Carmella to start asking questions. The scene where Tony intimidates Angie into only mentioning her financial problems to him manages to be both funny and disturbing. He’s willing to continue to guilt-pay her, but he doesn’t want to have to think about why he’s paying her.

Meanwhile, we also another funny intimidation scene, as Tony and Furio press down on Dr. Kennedy to answer Uncle Junior’s calls. It’s very in-character to have the paranoid Junior suggest that Tony might be trying to steer him toward inferior cancer care just so he can take full control of the family. The irony, of course, is that Tony is going out of his way to flex his muscles at Kennedy just for the sake of Junior’s peace of mind.

The plot line with Chris enduring his probationary period under Paulie’s thumb continues to be amusing. Tony Sirico is always a joy to watch, man. And the shadow of Big Pussy’s death certainly extends to Chris’ humiliating strip-search for a wire.

Edie Falco really shines in this episode, and, subsequent to my viewing, I read that her performance in this episode led to her winning the Emmy for Best Lead Actress. She knocks this one out of the parks, since she veers effortlessly from concerned mother to vulnerable therapy patient to emotionally-drained wife (who calmly asks her mobster husband for one small allowance of $50,000 as payment for years of infidelity and lying). 

Yeah, he feels like Angie is unnecessarily hitting him up for extra cash, but also he takes a (relatively) softer touch with her than he normally might when he confronts her. There’s a sense of conflict in Gandolfini’s performance. It’s not purely anger and frustration over her encounter with Carmella. It almost reads to me like he’s more mad at her for making him think about Pussy and his death than it is about her and her behavior.

A very entertaining episode focused primarily on the tension between Tony and Ralphie. Joey Pants is always fun to watch, and he gets some good moments in this one, particularly when he awkwardly supplicates to Tony. Very amusing to see Johnny Sack trying to play Mafia matchmaker between Tony and Ralphie, too. And it’s perhaps a convenient plot contrivance to have Gigi die on the toilet, thus forcing Tony to bump Richie up to capo, but it works well in context, I think.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Meadow and Jackie Jr. is proceeding. No good can come of it, I’m sure. As is par for the course, Tony’s personal and professional lives are constantly being intermingled, often due to the actions of the people around him, rather than his own.

And, speaking of intermingled relationships, it’s interesting to see Dr. Melfi still grappling with her rape-trauma and her mixed feelings about Tony. She’s gone from considering using him to punish/murder her rapist to actually desiring comfort from him. The fascinating thing about their relationship is that so much of it is subtextual. It’s even gotten to a point where’s he’s all but openly talking about the nasty life he leads, but avoids hitting the nail on the head via the use of white lies and phrases like “put him out to pasture”.

The vocal cameo by Joe “Fat Tony” Mantegna was a nice touch, too. 

Another Michael Imperioli script, and it’s quite good. Lots of plot juggling in this episode, particularly centered around Jackie Jr., who is getting himself into all sorts of trouble. This is a kid who wants it all, and is willing to put his finger into any number of dangerous pies to make himself look good.

Lots of laughs in this one, too, such as Tony signaling Janice to wipe the excess cocaine from her nose, the hysterical meeting between the Sopranos and AJ’s principal, and Jackie using his “A” grade on his literature paper grade (a paper actually written by Meadow) as justification for his continuing to date Meadow. The funniest scene has to be the DRAGNET-style interrogation at the pizza parlor. Great stuff, man.

We also have an exploration of Tony’s full-blown affair with Gloria, which is clearly beyond anything he’s ever done before. Casually banging hookers and mistresses is one thing, but this is a legitimate affair, with dates, dancing, and gifts. Of course, Gloria is revealed to have attempted suicide after her last relationship failed, which does not bode well. Meanwhile, Dr. Melfi has clearly figured out what’s going on, and her reaction is an interesting mix of professional frustration...and perhaps jealousy.

A very enjoyable Christmas episode. Well, at least as enjoyable as a holiday can be for Tony and his crew. The Ghost of Christmas Past—Big Pussy—looms large over this episode. This season has already hinted that Tony is still grappling with his guilt and mixed feelings over Pussy’s death, and now we see that the rest of the core crew are also still dealing with it (Paulie, in particular). Of course, the punchline to this episode is Meadow’s Big Mouth Billy Bass, which is a fine symbol of the fact that Tony Soprano can’t escape his sins.

Speaking of which, the biggest laugh in the episode—and there are many—has to be when Tony and Furio (wearing Santa hats and about to bestow the oh-so-thoughtful gift of a Christmas beating)—having finally tracked down Janice’s Russian attacker, go for a ride in his limo. The mob-Santa scene, with the shy Bacala getting cursed-out by a kid, is also a hoot.

There’s also the irony of Tony’s racism costing Meadow her relationship with Noah (a decent kid who was actually going somewhere), which was traded for her relationship with Jackie, Jr., who does nothing but lie and scheme. It’s one of Tony’s more subtle-yet-interesting character flaws that he is too often prone to blindly trusting people within his various families, be it his literal blood, his mob crew, or Italian-Americans in general. His particular code of ethics, his casual racism, and his expectation that his blood family will obey him has caused more than a few problems, after all.

Even before I’d started watching the show, this was the one episode I’d always heard about, and which seems to be generally regarded as the series’ best.

It’s masterful piece of black comedy, that’s for sure. A perfect summation of what makes the show great: that deft blend of mob horror with absurdist humor. And it all boils down to Paulie’s arrogance and stupidity. Paulie is always a joy to watch. Paulie interacting with Christopher is that much better. Paulie and Chris getting lost in the woods and making complete fools of themselves? Pure gold.

SO many darkly hilarious moments in this episode, from Paulie executing his improvised carpet-shoe to Paulie and Chris devouring ketchup packets in the abandoned truck. The escalating ridiculousness of their predicament makes the episode fly by, that’s for sure.

And, of course, there’s the big loose end regarding the Russian’s whereabouts. My research indicates some pushback over the ambiguity, but I’m not bothered by it. That one bird’s eye POV shot and Paulie’s missing car are enough to indicate that he survived...for awhile, at least. I’ve read that this thread was never followed up on, and so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a well-told and highly-amusing one-off, and it works well in that context. 

The Pine Barrens does have one
major lasting consequence, but
it would be a spoiler to
reveal it.
(Though the Russian thread is
never again touched on)