Weakest episode of the season so far. Both the major storylines - Tony B.'s rise in civilian life and descent back into the mob, and Carmela's dalliance with Mr. Wegler -- seem pretty rushed and wrapped up in too pat a manner. I get. As Silvio might quote, "I try to get out, but they pull me back in." Both Tony B. and Carmela are trying to break away from their old lives but found themselves stained by them to where they're unescapable.
But Tony B's been built up for so long that his breaking point with Mr. Kim, his nigh-instant descent from the moment he finds the bag of money, just feels too sudden to be believable. The Sopranos is a show that's good at the slow burn, and seemed to be working on it with Tony B.'s story. Then, they just sort of hit fast forward until he's back in the gang.
Same for Carmella. Mr. Wegler struck me as a douche from the beginning, but her infatuation, romance, and rejection, all seemed to happen very quickly. As I've said on occasion, it almost felt like something from another show. I liked the sentiment expressed at the end of the episode by Carmela -- her concern that she's always going to be judged by the man she married, that it's something she'll never be able to outrun, but this was a weird path to get there. Wegler seemed to turn on a dime, and his comparing her to Heloise was drawn out pretty blatantly. Father Phil was also doing his jealous routine. I don't know. Just a very compact, rushed story in a show that otherwise likes to let these things play out at a more leisurely pace.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2015-07-29T05:15:06Z
Weakest episode of the season so far. Both the major storylines - Tony B.'s rise in civilian life and descent back into the mob, and Carmela's dalliance with Mr. Wegler -- seem pretty rushed and wrapped up in too pat a manner. I get. As Silvio might quote, "I try to get out, but they pull me back in." Both Tony B. and Carmela are trying to break away from their old lives but found themselves stained by them to where they're unescapable.
But Tony B's been built up for so long that his breaking point with Mr. Kim, his nigh-instant descent from the moment he finds the bag of money, just feels too sudden to be believable. The Sopranos is a show that's good at the slow burn, and seemed to be working on it with Tony B.'s story. Then, they just sort of hit fast forward until he's back in the gang.
Same for Carmella. Mr. Wegler struck me as a douche from the beginning, but her infatuation, romance, and rejection, all seemed to happen very quickly. As I've said on occasion, it almost felt like something from another show. I liked the sentiment expressed at the end of the episode by Carmela -- her concern that she's always going to be judged by the man she married, that it's something she'll never be able to outrun, but this was a weird path to get there. Wegler seemed to turn on a dime, and his comparing her to Heloise was drawn out pretty blatantly. Father Phil was also doing his jealous routine. I don't know. Just a very compact, rushed story in a show that otherwise likes to let these things play out at a more leisurely pace.