Tremendous episode. The scenes with Chris and Tony in particular were striking how much subtext was built in to each and every interaction. It was superbly shot and edited, with some particularly great cuts and sequences and use of music in the background to convey certain moods. The sequence of Chris using again in particular was stellar in how it depicted his trip, and the dog as a stand in for Adriana (both herself and for her dog that he killed).
Paulie may secretly be my favorite character. He's an abominable person--selfish, miserly, cruel--but he's just so damn human, so heart on his sleeve at all times, even when he doesn't realize it, that the times when the show shines the spotlight on him, I'm always compelled, occasionally against my will. Between his struggling to put on the festival, to worrying about his biopsy, to (maybe?) reconciling with his mom(aunt), it was all very interesting to see him strain to balance everything and set his fears that he was getting his comeuppance for his various misdeeds aside. (His look to the rustling in the trees in particular was a nice nod toward his superstitiousness about this kind of thing.)
And there were so many wonderful little touches here. I love how Tony says to Carmela that he doesn't want to setback Chris's progress, while doing the same wine-tasting routine that started Chris slipping in the first place. I love the way Carmela hears Tony's version of the Adrianna events and subtly begins to realize that something is amiss, even if she can't admit it outright to herself yet. I love the awkwardness of Tony and Chris trying to recreate the magic of their post-heist conversation in the Sopranos' basement.
Adrianna is definitely a ghost haunting these proceedings. She hangs in the air in those interactions between Tony and Chris, in the back of Carmela's mind after she talks to Ade's mom, and she lurks in the shadows of the life Chris is trying to make for himself -- the house and the kids to fill the void of his guilt or pain or whatever you want to call what he feels for causing her to be killed. It's in the background of his using again as well.
And I love the theme of boredom that starts to filter in during the second half of the episode. Tony's life is never going to be a calm one, but there's a sense that things are good at the moment despite everything. He's recovering from his injury, he's living well, things are at a detante with Frank, there's no internal agitators like Richie or Ralphie or Feech. So what's there to do? Just kind of fumfer around in the daily grind, even if his grind is a lot better than most people's. The old days are done, and momentary jolts like the wine heist are just faint echoes of it that can't be preserved or recaptured.
The facade of the "new Tony" is beginning to crumble, bit-by-bit, and it's interesting to see the slow burn. Children, a recurring theme in the episode, offer some idea of hope, of something new and different and a reason to make a big change in life, something lots of people in The Sopranos are looking for. It doesn't seem to have changed Janice, Chris's trip doesn't portend great things, and it's doubtful that despite Tony's one-man teacup ride at the end, that hope is likely to be realized.
(Oh yes, and Janice continues, delightfully, to be pure evil. Clearly Livia's strongest inheritor. So much great stuff and wonderful little details built into this episode.)
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2015-08-09T17:57:51Z
Tremendous episode. The scenes with Chris and Tony in particular were striking how much subtext was built in to each and every interaction. It was superbly shot and edited, with some particularly great cuts and sequences and use of music in the background to convey certain moods. The sequence of Chris using again in particular was stellar in how it depicted his trip, and the dog as a stand in for Adriana (both herself and for her dog that he killed).
Paulie may secretly be my favorite character. He's an abominable person--selfish, miserly, cruel--but he's just so damn human, so heart on his sleeve at all times, even when he doesn't realize it, that the times when the show shines the spotlight on him, I'm always compelled, occasionally against my will. Between his struggling to put on the festival, to worrying about his biopsy, to (maybe?) reconciling with his mom(aunt), it was all very interesting to see him strain to balance everything and set his fears that he was getting his comeuppance for his various misdeeds aside. (His look to the rustling in the trees in particular was a nice nod toward his superstitiousness about this kind of thing.)
And there were so many wonderful little touches here. I love how Tony says to Carmela that he doesn't want to setback Chris's progress, while doing the same wine-tasting routine that started Chris slipping in the first place. I love the way Carmela hears Tony's version of the Adrianna events and subtly begins to realize that something is amiss, even if she can't admit it outright to herself yet. I love the awkwardness of Tony and Chris trying to recreate the magic of their post-heist conversation in the Sopranos' basement.
Adrianna is definitely a ghost haunting these proceedings. She hangs in the air in those interactions between Tony and Chris, in the back of Carmela's mind after she talks to Ade's mom, and she lurks in the shadows of the life Chris is trying to make for himself -- the house and the kids to fill the void of his guilt or pain or whatever you want to call what he feels for causing her to be killed. It's in the background of his using again as well.
And I love the theme of boredom that starts to filter in during the second half of the episode. Tony's life is never going to be a calm one, but there's a sense that things are good at the moment despite everything. He's recovering from his injury, he's living well, things are at a detante with Frank, there's no internal agitators like Richie or Ralphie or Feech. So what's there to do? Just kind of fumfer around in the daily grind, even if his grind is a lot better than most people's. The old days are done, and momentary jolts like the wine heist are just faint echoes of it that can't be preserved or recaptured.
The facade of the "new Tony" is beginning to crumble, bit-by-bit, and it's interesting to see the slow burn. Children, a recurring theme in the episode, offer some idea of hope, of something new and different and a reason to make a big change in life, something lots of people in The Sopranos are looking for. It doesn't seem to have changed Janice, Chris's trip doesn't portend great things, and it's doubtful that despite Tony's one-man teacup ride at the end, that hope is likely to be realized.
(Oh yes, and Janice continues, delightfully, to be pure evil. Clearly Livia's strongest inheritor. So much great stuff and wonderful little details built into this episode.)