The Sopranos 4/8.... spoilers?

A few thoughts:

This was an homage episode if I ever saw one.

Bobby echoes Michael Corleone in dropping the gun on the way out the door rather than where he shot the guy.

"I shoulda pissed before we left." And Tony pulls over.

Phil's homecoming party was right out of Goodfellas, right down to the initial, could-only-be-Scorcese, shot of the bar, pan down, all the way along and the back into the conversation.

As spnited said, the scene where Carmela and Janice are alone waiting for the men to return was simply stellar. They both keep checking their watches. And notice the trouble Carmela still has resolving the two sides of her personality. Tony never raised his hand. Well, he did, once. But he felt terrible. And then the story about Tony's dad comes rushing to her mind, and she lashes out and closes ranks, just as she has always done.

As I said earlier, the birthday blowjob was an homage to the first season.

Janice gave Tony home movies? God, is she a manipulative pussycat.

The use of the water as a reflection device was excellent. Every character looks out over it and has some serious shit to consider. And it looked so dark. Tony gazes at the Canadian flag on the boat and wants to leave it all behind. And then his duck goes flying off across the border.

Chrissy is getting whacked. Missing the boss's coming home get together is a no-no.

The drunk Monopoly scene was tremendously well acted all the way around. And it went out of the way to paint Baccala as the only decent human being in the room. In Sopranos logic, this means he must die.

Phil appears to be turning over control of NY. Wonder how his grudge against Tony comes back into play.

More later, after I have a chance to rewatch it, but here is one prediction: The series will not end with Tony dead or Tony in jail.

He could end up a schnook, as 21 says. Or, we could be left with him lamming it. Which, by the way, would make the Vito subplot from the beginning of this season fit very well.

 

After re-watching it and thinking it over, it seems like Chase is beating us over the head, trying say: LOOK! BACALA LEFT TRACE EVIDENCE! HE'S GONNA GET CAUGHT AND ROLL ON TONY! The DNA line not only instantly popped into my head, but into my pop's head as well, and THAT is news worthy... mostly b/c he was awake when it happened. But that's besides the point...

The point is this: I felt that scene kind of spoon-fed the audience a bit. It starts to narrow down the possibilities of how this could end, though since this show has a deceptive history, it could be a sleight-of-hand device and while we're all looking at Bobby, something out of left field comes back from WhatTheFuck-ville. All in all, a good episode (though I have been spoiled by the incredible level of acting/writing in The Wire) and definitely a great table-setter for the heart of the order coming up.

 

The thing that makes The Sopranos great to me is how during every tense scene there is a feeling someone is about to die.
Like when Carmela and Janice were in the kitchen talking and Janice grabs the bottle of wine and you think to yourself for a moment that she might wack Carmela over the head with it.

Or when Tony and Bobby are out in the boat and I kept waiting for Bobby to randomly kill Tony.

Or for Tony to randomly kill Bobby one of about 8 times during the episode.

And then I was very troubled when Tony kept eye-balling the 3-year-old and thinking, "He surely wouldn't kill a kid would he?"

Also, the Monoply scene was awesome because the people watching it with me and myself all commented that that is what happens when you drink and play Monoply. Maybe most of us don't get into brawls, but generally Monoply ends when someone gets really angry and throws the board on the floor. Just great acting.

This show is the best on television and every moment of every episode is so dramatic because of the random death. The reason, in my mind, it is better than The Wire, is because it has been on so long that we really feel like we know the characters. We've spent 6 or 7 years getting to know these people and now some are going to die and it is going to be very intriguing.

 

Angola, well put. Just about everything that could be said has been said, so I'll just say this ... damn, it's great to have the Sopranos back again.

 

Chase is too subtle for the shooting in this episode to be the linchpin that starts big things rolling. It just doesn't seem to be his style. Same with the person who predicted that Chris would get AIDS from the heroin needle. I just don't think he has a history of planting that sort of stuff. This isn't a daytime soap.

 

after last 1/2 season's wacky shit, I felt last night's episode was a return to The Sopranos of old. the fight scene was so well done and now you're thinking ahead already instead of trying to figure out how the previous season's shit is going to tie in.

from what I've read about the coming episodes from various reviewers, this season is going to have a lot of action but don't count on every storyline, or even half of them, being resolved. some will just spin forever in our minds.

 

I had heard that the reviewers received only this episode and this coming Sunday's in their preview packet this year.

 

i love it when people read spoilers or alleged spoilers and come on here and pretend like they have deep insight into what david chase is going to do.

 

If you're talking about me, I haven't read a single "spoiler." I just have followed the show and how it operates through the years. So try again.

 

simon-this is the one that stuck with me: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/02/DDG9IOUL3Q1.DTL

 

i don't think Bobby is going to get caught. the damage done to Bobby's soul was enough punishment for a guy who until last night was the only good person on the show. He's a murderer now, just like the rest of them. Not sure who said it earleir on this thread but i definitely agree that this was tony soprano at one of his worst, most cruel moments.

 

One thing that I think is unrealistic is that Tony has always talked about "insulating himself" by not doing as much on a day to day basis and only talking business with a couple of people. Yet he meets with the Canadians about a drug deal, which likely would be beneath him as a capo, much less a boss.