(S06E15) Last week's promos showed Paulie in what looked like a rough situation or two, most of which featured Tony's glare right on him. That all started after Paulie made a snide remark, or more specifically was talking about himself, when the guys were toasting to Johnny Sack's life after he had passed away from cancer. As it turned out, he was absolutely in the sights of Tony when it came to life and death. And in an episode when someone is having loose lips and putting the boss in a tough situation as the body of the person that he killed to "make his bones" more than two decades earlier was apparently being dug up by the feds, the focus on Paulie being a chatterbox about his entire life story was more than appropriate.
One of the cooler things we got to see this week was Vincent Pastore's mug, as he was hanging out in the kitchen in Paulie's dream, a dream that made him want to step up to the plate, and realize that he was on his boss' bad side. Whether or not Tony just couldn't do it when it came to whacking his friend and onetime mentor or that he realized he was making a rash decision wasn't quite clear. What did happen was that we got the do-si-do from Chase & Company, who had us flat-out staring at the Jersey Crew while the New York team was about to head in another direction.
For some strange reason, I had thought that Tony and Carm's relationship had improved significantly since last season, but his relations with the woman in Florida told us otherwise. Then again, I guess I should know by now to separate sex and marriage when it comes to The Sopranos, shouldn't I? When Paulie and Tony headed off to Florida for a few days on a road trip, it seemed like the perfect setup to take out one of the main characters of the series, and one that would have surely caused a stir among hardcore fans, irrelevant of how many episodes are left over. But, as they traveled down the East Coast in I-95, it was apparent that one of the things that we were supposed to get out of it all was that they were getting older. Sure, we've seen that for the last few weeks with Phil making lots of comments about health and aging, and Tony has let on about how things are different now, but the motel turning into a full-fledged hotel, valet parking and all, and Paulie's remarks about Pete using a bag to go to the bathroom in, it's almost like a soft, slow way to "say goodbye" to these characters as the show gets closer to finishing up.
All those allusions makes me wonder if we're going to have a much more "open-ended" closing than a violent one. Then again, with Phil seemingly taking control by force in a blatantly ugly way - a gunshot to the eye and everything - on Doc on the city streets, you never know what kind of clashes could cross the Hudson River.
One small item that came up this week that looks like it's going to be a major part at least next week was cash flow for Mr. Soprano. Sure, he said to Carm that she could get whatever she needed, but taking out a bridge loan for the gambling tab, combined with something happening to the spec house next week doesn't look so good, now does it? And on top of that, Junior isn't going to have his life end in such a sorrowful way, is he? I mean, surely Tony's not happy with him for shooting him and all, and it's uncomfortable after AJ's attempt to kill him in the home, but what's going to happen when the boss hears about the fellow home-member attempting to kill this man that was part of his growing up in the family? Maybe nothing, the way Tony looked at the photo of his father and Junior.
In a show like this, everything always "means" something, doesn't it? Maybe Junior's downfall, forgetfulness, and problems with controlling his need to urinate are all just flat out symbolic, as in the end of an era. If that's the
case, might Tony's fighting for himself and his family (the statement to Carmella about Paulie buying them the espresso maker are big here) along with his take-no-prisoners attitude, at least verbally, of late be the start of what could be a fight to the bitter end, or will we go down nice and easily, with the last episode being no different than any other, but without a followup at the end? I think it's still too early to say, either way, what will happen for the rest of this season, and the show is put together brilliantly, and will hopefully end just as solidly as it has run up to this point, even if we do have to forgive a dream sequence.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-22-2007 @ 11:52PM
BigTed said...
Between Junior enacting a Mob version of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Tony deciding whether or not to whack one of his oldest friends and last links to his father, this was an incredibly powerful episode. The tension on the boat was amazing. I have no idea how the show is going to end, but it's clear that it hasn't lost any of its sense of drama after all this time.
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4-23-2007 @ 3:27AM
Borat said...
Truly incredible stuff from Chase and co. I really missed seeing Junior since he also disappeared from the last season quickly...it is sad to see this guy just lose it...and the plot with the Asian kid was pretty interesting too (When my dad said, "What happened to the other 4 points?" FUCK YOU!")
It's pretty obvious that Paulie will still not shut the fuck up, so who knows, he may still end up getting whacked.
I loved how Paulie mentioned "You, me, Ralphie and Pussy" when mentioning one of their earlier retreats...everything is going to catch up eventually and I think they will pay.
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4-23-2007 @ 3:43AM
Dorv said...
Let me preface this post by saying that the connection I'm about to make, or at least this type of connection, has never bothered me before. I posted in the recent Bones thread that the network's decision not to air their college related episode this past week just as much.
But I've got to say that Junior's plot line with the kid in therapy just hit a little to close to home in light of what happened this week. I'm not arguing that HBO should have held off a couple of weeks, or that they should have aired the episode with a disclaimer or anything. However, I couldn't watch any of those scenes without seeing or thinking about Seung-Hui Cho. Being that neither the original post or any of the comments have mentioned it yet, maybe I'm the only one that's made that connection...
Like I said, I've always felt that changes made in Movies and Television after a tragedy such as the events at Tech or 9/11 should be left to the network or the artists, and that they are under no obligation to change their work, but for once in my life, I kind of wish they had...
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4-23-2007 @ 5:51AM
Media Glutton said...
Dorv, it seems to me just because the guy with anger issues was Asian made you think that way. There was no reference to any shooting or guns. So... I don't know quite what to say but, I'm glad they didn't make that chance because of racism.
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4-23-2007 @ 5:52AM
Media Glutton said...
*chance = change
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4-23-2007 @ 6:49AM
Angel said...
@3 - You sound too oversensitive and a tad bit racist.
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4-23-2007 @ 8:41AM
Ellen said...
The Asian kid's name was Anthony...his problems with his father kind of mirrored Tony's own re: his own father, as he mentions to Paulie in the car....I still think Junior is in, he's a tough bastard...My main impression from this week is that everyone is getting weary. Carm asking Tony if it's still like this after all these years, for instance. I think the mention to Frank Vincent's character about the envelopes being light is just part of what will be a big money problem for Tony. And I would never underestimate Hesh. Strange episode, but good as ever.
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4-23-2007 @ 9:23AM
David said...
I was bored through much of the episode. Over the past few seasons Sopranos has become too cerebral and less plot driven. The whole Paulie plotline was completely non-sequitur to the dozen+ episodes around it. Yes, it built off an earlier episode, but it felt like the writers just "threw it in" because they had nothing else to write about. The seasons have become less and less about Tony and his families and their will to survive and dominate, and more about Tony and his families and their dysfunction and neuroses. If you re-watch the first few seasons, you'll see Chase and the writers balanced the two. Now it's too one-sided.
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4-23-2007 @ 9:45AM
ferley said...
A 7 OUT OF 7!!!!!!! You are all still high from Friday. All these episodes stink, my eyes bleed when I watch. Six left and they are all goin to be a bunch of nothing.
When I saw the kid in the home go nuts for the first time I started to think about VT and was this really a smart thing to have this week, but I still watched it and moved on. Chase wrote that scene more then 4 days ago. What is wrong with you #3 that you can not watch those scenes. YOU ARE A RACIST! Last week could have been done by any race.
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4-23-2007 @ 10:20AM
Al said...
The asian kid's name was Carter not Anthony - that was just jr. getting confused. does anybody know the name of that actor 'cause he looked so familiar but i couldn't remember what else he's been in.
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4-23-2007 @ 10:32AM
Lee said...
#8. While I disagree with your review, I want to say that it was nice to see a negative review of this series that was well thought out & written, for a change, & not a screaming rant about how the show isn't violent enough. You have a valid arguement about this series becoming "too cerebral". That being said, I still enjoy it more so than half the shows on TV. The Sopranos becoming cerebral to me has been an interesting touch that shows how uncompromising the show is. An interesting way to end this series: The characters are forced to think about themselves & we are forced to think about them. Either way, it's not a very pretty or romantic picture.
I for one loved the episode. And it wasn't about a bunch of nothing to address other complaints. If anything, we got to see Uncle Junior return from a long absence. In a sense, I think last night's episode may have been the last we see of him. If that is the case, what a way to end his story line. Junior has lost his mind, his power, & his family. He is alone & his punishment for his actions is to just sit & rot away heavily medicated. The last shot of him was a sad, maybe even darker, homage to The Godfather. Very deep stuff.
Once again, can't see why people are complaining about the lack of violence. Every episode since it's return has had either one violent episode or a murder (last night's murder of Doc Santuro was pretty gruesome). That moved the New York storyline right along. That's was all the time it needed. More will come of this. Be Patient. I know it doesn't seem like it, but 6 episodes are more than enough the finish what is being set up.
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4-23-2007 @ 10:47AM
MacGuffin said...
I'm sure I'm not the only one here wondering how all the plot lines in this show are going to be resolved.
I'm not sure where they are going but I know whatever happens, it's going to be great. Will it be to prison? Will there be a huge masacre? Or was it all a dream?
We shall see.
P.S. It is sad to see Junior going out the was he is.
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4-23-2007 @ 11:22AM
robert said...
Al the actor is Ken Leung who i remember being in Rush Hour, X-Men 3, Inside Man and Saw.
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4-23-2007 @ 11:46AM
kel said...
I think a few of you are being a bit harsh in flinging racism charges at Dorv there. I'll admit that I thought of the VA Tech shooter too when I saw Carter during one of his rages. I also thought "hey, it's that kid from X-Men 3!" It wasn't until Carter flew into a rage when the image of Cho in the video he sent to NBC came to my mind. There weren't enough similarities, however that HBO should have considered pulling the episode, although they could have left the Junior piece out for entirely different reasons (let's focus on Tony please?)
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4-23-2007 @ 12:18PM
agentmichaelscarn said...
While I did enjoy the episode and found the plot to be interesting....
I believe that a few of the stories in this episode didn't need to be told. Once Jr. got put away we didn't see him for the rest of the half season -- I figured that his story was complete. What did his story have to do with the plotline? I understand that this episode was an ode to age and the struggle for survival, let alone dominance, in this world; but there is only five or six episodes left and at this point I would like to see more stories relevant to the Jersey boys and the Sopranos. I'm not asking for a blood-bath, I'm asking for resolution.
Two weeks ago Tony and Bobby got into a huge fight, leaving both (or Tony at least) unsatisfied with the outcome. Ever since then, nothing. Christopher released his movie, leaving Tony and Carm pissed at him for his portrayl of Tony's possible affair with Aide. Again, nothing. The gun charge, same.
I love this show and love the single episodes, but I'm not sure where the show is intending to go with only six episodes left. I feel as though we didn't need several plot-lines throughout the season (i.e. -- "I love you Jonny Cakes!"). Some seemingly irrelevant stories actually do become important, like the trip with Tony and Christopher when they stole those cases of wine from "The Vipers", it caused Tony to rexamine how he felt about Christopher and to remember how much he loved him. This week was simmilar to Paulie's and I felt that it was a little repetitive (despite the fact that the Tony/Christopher thing happend about a year ago in real-time).
I can't wait till next week's episode and can't wait to see what/how the creative staff will choose to end this series.
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4-23-2007 @ 12:29PM
jvvv said...
Any1 counted the number of times Paulie said "héhé" in this episode? I think it must be a seriously big number. It's a bit his "you know what i'm sayin?" :-)
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4-23-2007 @ 12:48PM
Borat said...
The Asian guy was in X-men 3, and the black guy (Jameel) was very familiar too....after thinking hard I realized that I had see him as the crazy brother from Desperate Housewives.
I don't really know what the people are complaining...it was funny, touching, tense, thoughtful, etc. etc. The Sopranos really is something amazing.
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4-23-2007 @ 1:38PM
Marlon said...
I have a big problem with the Tony is a gambler storyline. I mean for 6 seasons we have never seen him place a bet and now he owes money for gambling? This doesn't make sense on so many levels. 1.) Doesn't Tony own a Sports book? 2.) Who can force Tony Soprano to pay off a gambling debt and 3.) When did he start gambling besides this season? It just doesn't make any sense and the one thing Tony always had was cash. Wasn't he going to buy that boat house with cash? Didn't he pay cash for the Spec House? I wish they didn't invent things for characters 8 years in.
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4-23-2007 @ 2:02PM
John Howard said...
"Being that neither the original post or any of the comments have mentioned it yet, maybe I'm the only one that's made that connection..."
Actually, as soon as the kid mentioned MIT, I thought to myself, "Great, with an Asian college kid, some moron is going to connect this to the VT shootings and be offended by it." I was hoping I was wrong, but I guess not.
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4-23-2007 @ 2:40PM
Dorv said...
Wow. First off, I have to say, I'm not a racist. Not that I should have to defend myself, or explain myself, but I'm not. Mine was more a reaction to a young man with mental health and rage problems, not necessarily an Asian man. In fact, my first reaction was similar to others... "Hey, that's the kid with the spiky face from X-Men." I even went back and reread my post, and consulted dictionary.com's definition of racism, just to be sure.
To the person who person who said I am a bit oversensitive about the whole thing, I would agree with you 100%. I grew up in Virginia, (basically) just got out of college (in Virginia), and I spent most of Monday calling friends to make sure that they were ok and waiting for the media to release a list of names. So yeah, guilty as charged there.
For the rest of you, instead of just railing on what I said because you expected some PC Jerk to complain, why don't you go and actually READ what I said. I've been reading/posting on this website for a long time, and I've never seen someone flamed so quickly than this post.
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