4/22 Sopranos: speculation and eventual spoilers

That was one of several Moe Green references. In the first season, someone called something a "Moe Green special," except they said it wrong. Probably Christopher since he was notorious early on for screwing up movie references, which makes it funny that he considers himself such a film dilettante.

Also, his pal Brendan was shot thorugh the eye while in the bath tub, another Moe Green Special.

 

Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior) will be interviewed by the sultry Alison Stewart (subbing for KO) on tonight's "Countdown." Probably the last segment (around 8:50 ET)

 

Watching the episode again, I think the young man in the home is there for more than inexpensive casting. His visit with his mom was short but telling. He blew up at her because he perceived he couldn't please her no matter what he did.

There are a lot of violent people on this show starved for approval from their parents, whether their parents are dead or still alive.

 

Really enjoyed everything with Uncle Junior. Can't lie, Va. Tech crossed my mind.

I was uneasy when they went out on the boat, but at the same time I thought killing Paulie wouldn't have made any sense. Let's say that Paulie even had admitted about the joke -- would Tony have really killed Paulie for that? That would've been disappointing to me. I thought it was more interesting to see him live and have that little dream about how he'd perform when his time came. I almost thought we were zoning in on some big reveal that Paulie was a cooperator.

The Doc thing could be seen from the bar stool at the end of last week. He was a goner. I'm guessing he didn't help his cause by eating off Phil's plate. Don't ever touch a Don's food.

Tony can say "remember when..." is the lowest form of discussion, but I enjoyed the story about his first kill. I like flashbacks in small doses. That was solid.

Next week will be a little slower I'm guessing. We've dropped a lot of bodies so far, so I can see a weak without a tombstone, possibly setting up some tension between Tony and Phil, who will be more bold than ever.

 

Paulie might end up going down after all, but perhaps in an unexpected way. What I like is seeing Tony wrestling with the decision, especially after the reminders of Paulie's (for the most part) devotion to the family. Carmela's espresso machine is on the fritz, and ... well, you see what Paulie did.

I think a lesser show would go straight for the kill. Chase shows us how not all decisions are easy, and getting to watch Tony go through the range of emotions and thoughts about Paulie is, to me, fascinating.

 

Think the Feds bugged the espresso machine?

 

I thought the show was good. It was funny as hell. The scenes of the poker game in the looney bin were great and the interaction between Uncle Junior and his hyper helper.

That clearly was the end of Junior. He had his last hurrah and the whitecoats muscled him out.

Paulie and Tony had some good scenes, too. Paulie is funny as hell.

 

Did anyone else break out in laughter when Tony asked Paulie if he had Tourette's?

 

Yeah, that was good. I've always gotten a kick out of that 'heh-heh-heh' of Paulie's.

 

You had to respect the way Paulie answered: honest, nothing to hide, admitting it's a defense mechanism. I thought that was a strong scene that I meant to mention earlier.

 

Very strong.

I thought so too.

One of those sort of tiny packed moments that I have only seen on The Sopranos, as much as I love The Wire and think that it holds the top spot overall.