Another great episode. I had a feeling about this one when I saw that David Chase had a story credit. I was not disappointed, since the opening scene—with a heroin-addled Christopher sitting on and killing Adriana’s beloved dog—features the sort of gleefully macabre humor which is a trademark of the show. A horrible moment which also somehow manages to be shockingly funny.

Speaking of which, Paulie's appropriation of the painting of Tony and Pie-O-My, only to have it repainted so as to assuage his guilt, is also quite hilarious. Tony repainted in Napoleonic garb and hanging on Paulie’s wall is one of the most gloriously absurd images that the show has yet produced.

Meanwhile, the Carmella-Furio flirtation is heating up. I continue to be amazed at how much depth that Furio—introduced seasons ago as a mere thug—has been given by this subplot. And of course, this episode also has Tony’s bizarre tryst with, of all people, Svetlana. It’s a nice study in contrasts, what with Tony having casual affair after casual affair, whereas Carmella has struggled for episode after episode regarding whether or not to seal the deal with Furio. And very possibly seal Furio’s fate by doing so.

We also have Tony grappling with the aftermath of his murdering Ralphie. Clever move to turn the suspicions of his crew against Johnny Sack and the New York crew after Sack threatens him over the HUD scam. 

And then there’s Christopher and his drug addiction. The intervention is a highlight of the episode, and features a fun bit part by the great Elias Koteas. In proper SOPRANOS fashion, the intervention ends with Chris cursing out his own mother, and then being beaten to the point of a skull fracture by his own friends and partners. Yeah, there’s always that extra twinkle of dark humor in the episodes which Chase takes a more direct hand in.

And of course there was that little tidbit of Tony getting incensed upon hearing the Chris killed Adriana's dog. There wasn't too much to it, but it was a reminder of Tony's affinity for animals.

A solid episode which is clearly doing the job of moving chess pieces into place before the final two episodes of the season. It’s nice to see Tony’s relationship with Dr. Melfi moving back to the forefront after such a long period of relative inactivity. And we get two properly surreal dream sequences in the style that the show has established so well. I’m glad that they brought back Joey Pants and Annabella Sciorra for just a handful of shots. Unlike the (of course) necessary use of a body-double for the second dream, which features the shadowy image of Tony’s mother.

The show’s depiction of the weirdness of human behavior and relationships is definitely a factor which elevates it into the pantheon of all-time greats. Bobby buying and burying a cake at his wife’s gravesite is simultaneously bizarre, pathetic, and yet poignantly human. And, of course, professional victim/grifter Janice uses deceit—and Bobby’s own children—to get him to accelerate his mourning process so that she can latch onto him. Despite AJ’s earlier seance prank, which freaked Bobby’s kids out, Janice’s more subtle manipulation of the kids’ grief is much, much worse.

And the plot threads are definitely coming together regarding the HUD scheme. Listen, I know very little about where the show is going, but...the situation is stacking up against Paulie, since Tony is now suspicious of him. I don’t yet know if Paulie makes it to the end of the series or not, but losing him would be a crushing blow! I don’t think it’s likely, but one of the great joys of this show is that no one is safe, and relationships can quickly take a turn for the worse.

Lots of moving parts in this buildup to the fourth season finale. After several episodes which have heavily focused on Tony, Carmella now gets the spotlight. Her emotional affair with Furio has reached a boiling point...only to end(?) with the crushing anticlimax of Furio abruptly leaving the country. Of course, prior to that, we get the great moment where Furio very nearly thrusts the drunken Tony into the helicopter’s spinning rotor.

Some great laughs with Paulie in this episode. Just as I’d love to watch a miniseries about Paulie’s adventures in prison, I’d also love to see Paulie’s adventures while driving his mother and her friends around. Comedy gold. Another big comedy moment would be the (again, anticlimactic) pay-off to the subplot of Paulie maneuvering around Tony to possibly try to take charge of the crew. But, when he speaks with Carmine, not only has Johnny Sack NOT been buttering up Carmine with the idea of Paulie getting promoted, but Carmine barely knows who Paulie is. Tony Sirico’s facial expressions and reaction to this realization are priceless.

On a much darker note, we then see Paulie break into Minn’s home to rob her and in order to give the impression of being a big “earner” and thus slyly smooth over his relationship with Tony. And then he ends up murdering her with a pillow when she surprises him in the act. Dark, yes, but still grotesquely funny, in the way that only Paulie can be. 

Meanwhile, we get to catch up with Meadow, and I appreciate how the ever-rocky Carmella/Meadow relationship is used to crystallize just where Carmella’s head is at. She’s basically sublimating her pain and anger over Furio’s departure into her relationship with Meadow, and it ends up throwing a huge wrench into their traditional mother-daughter lunch. Meadow then quickly puts the clues (which AJ is, typically, completely oblivious to) together, and realizes that Carmella feels miserable enough to nearly fall into an affair with Furio.

Big shock to see Johnny Sack not-so-subtly indicate that he and Tony should whack Carmine for the sake of both their crews. Looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

Man, what a powerhouse episode, and a great season finale. I see that both Gandolfini and Falco won Emmys for their performances, here, and they’re richly deserved. 

Lots of payoffs, in this one. It’s a near-feature-length episode, but it flies by at a rapid clip. Christopher finally gets out of rehab. Junior gets his mistrial. And, most centrally, the simmering tensions between Tony and Carmella finally explode into confrontation and separation, which was long in coming. We get several fantastic scenes between them where all the cards are laid on the table, from Carmella’s emotional affair with Furio to Tony calling out Carmella for her materialism and willful ignorance about his mob life and his family background. 

The big fight between them is a staggering and immensely satisfying scene, and, as noted, most definitely Emmy-worthy. And the later scenes between them are less heated, but no less incisive. And then there’s that moment where Tony very nearly hauls off and punches Carmella square in the face, only to BARELY contain himself enough to punch holes in the drywall, instead. 

The subplot with Johnny Sack plotting to murder Carmine also comes to a head in a satisfactory manner, while clearly setting up conflict for the next season. Christopher’s cold orchestration of the hit on Carmine’s would-be assassins (in order to silence them after the contract is terminated) is a shocking and well-executed sequence. This being the same Christopher who is still working on the whole “apologizing to people he’s wronged” step of his 12-step program.

The other big subplot, with Tony buying-then-not-buying Alan Sepinsly’s house, is a lot of fun. Torturing Sepinsly and his wife with Sinatra and Martin songs might just be one of the best (and most non-lethal) jokes in the entire series, because it’s so ridiculously tame (yet effective) in comparison to Tony’s many, many other intimidation tactics. 

Fantastic episode. One of the best in the whole run.

The fifth season premiere picks up on numerous plot threads from the end of the prior season. It’s darkly humorous that, after all of Tony and Johnny’s plotting to whack Carmine at the end of last season (and Tony backing off, much to Johnny’s frustration), the old man just stokes out at lunch and ends up on a ventilator. 

Meanwhile, Tony and Carmella’s separation has had inevitable repercussions regarding Tony’s relationship with Dr. Melfi. It’s no surprise that he makes bold romantic moves toward her, just as it’s no surprise that she rebuffs him. The show has teased that “will they/won’t they”-type tension from the start, and it’s refreshing to see both characters remaining in-character after four seasons, rather than suffering from the sort of tension-destroying, “Let’s finally get these two together!” erosion which has damaged other, lesser shows. I also fully expected Tony to go home, grab that AK-47, and blow the bear away, because that’s how he (predictably) rolls. Of course, the episode didn’t take it quite that far, but the intent was clearly there on his part.

Speaking of the bear, it’s a funny and unsubtle (yet satisfying) bit of symbolism for both the “other Tony”—the bad Tony who puts Dr. Melfi off—and for Carmella’s feelings regarding Tony’s continued presence in her life. Also, AJ’s reaction to finding the bear in the backyard (“Mommy! Mommy!”) is hilarious.

Tension had been growing between Christopher and Paulie for quite some time, and this episode (seemingly) brings it to a head. Of course, in proper SOPRANOS fashion, it’s horrifying, with Chris and Paulie deciding to bury the hatchet only after they senselessly murder a waiter who just wanted a better tip. But, I must say that Paulie’s incredible pettiness (going out of his way to punish Chris for his insolence with a huge dinner bill) is always amusing to watch.

A low-key episode, but one simmering with undercurrents of tension. It’s a pleasure to finally meet Steve Buscemi as Tony B, and a delightful subversion to learn that he’s a rather meek fellow who just wants to work a straight job and get a massage license. Perhaps my favorite joke in this episode is Gandolfini underplaying Tony’s crushing disappointment over this revelation, which later leads Tony to bemoan the fact that Tony B is “useless” to him. There’s an interesting dynamic here, given the established history between the cousins, and I look forward to seeing it play out.

Meanwhile, the subplot with Jack Massarone and his serving as an FBI informant is quite fun, too. His obviously-wired hat and his twitch demeanor are just under the wire of over-the-top, but they really pay off later on, when Tony attempts to determine whether or not he’s a rat. Perhaps the most ominous shot in the episode is Tony examining his paunch and silently making his choice regarding Jack, based on Jack’s earlier compliment about his weight. Cut to Tony throwing the photo of the actual Rat  Pack out of his car window. Cut to Jack being found dead in a trunk by the feds. Subtle, funny, and to the point. Great little mini-story,

The scenes with Carmella’s little film club and watching CITIZEN KANE are also fun. Very meta-ish deep cut with Janice making a reference to Bobby not being able to find her “rosebud”, since Charles Foster Kane was based on William Randolph Hearst, and Hearst nicknamed a certain part of Marion Davies’ anatomy “rosebud”. And the ladies’ reaction to THE GODFATHER being next on the viewing list is also a nice touch. 

Adriana’s subplot continues to be a slow burn, and watching her slowly crack is kinda tough to watch. Her strange relationship with Agent Sanseverino is always entertaining. And her throwing Tina—her maid of honor—under the bus for flirting with Christopher as a pressure valve for her stress is a nice punchline for the episode.

A fun episode which mainly focuses on the power vaccum resulting from Carmine’s death. The great Robert Loggia really paints Feech as a vicious and stubborn S.O.B. when he beats poor Sal Vitro to a pulp. Of course, Sal’s condition and his quiet suffering as he gets caught between Feech and Silvio. Some of the funniest moments of the episode include Sal walking around with his cast, and later mowing Johnny Sack’s huge lawn for free at Paulie’s order.

The Paulie stuff in this episode is great fun, too, with him listening to The Art of War in his car before he assaults Feech’s landscapers.

Meanwhile, Junior’s dementia continues to worsen, a subplot which lends itself to both humor and pathos. Junior is one of my favorite characters, and it’s a shame (yet amusing, as when he wanders into what is now a black storefront church, looking for his dead brother) to watch him deteriorating.  And watching Tony and Janice literally come to blows over Tony’s refusal to help is strangely satisfying, since Janice is so inherently loathsome.