Sopranos (4/29): likely spoilers

I thought last week's episode was pretty genius.

This one, it showed a few chinks in the armor.

Let's face it, all powerful leaders, good and bad, have a great run where they do no wrong. And then, little by little, chinks in the armor and cracks in the facade begin to show themselves.

Habits and hobbies are acquired and dropped throughout many stages of life. If Tony had all the exact same problems in episode one that he does now, that show wouldn't have lasted very long, because there is no growth.

Tony's a different man. He's dealt with loss (the psycho car salesman girlfriend, Pie O' Mine), he's dealt with his kids going in different directions. His marriage has been a rollercoaster. Fuck, folks, this is HBO. If you want tiny character arcs, go TiVo "Leave it to Beaver."

With all that said, I believe A.J.'s the one that's gonna get whacked in the Soprano family (presumably by Puerto Rican gangstas) and that'll drive T to just fade off into the sunset.

 

O-for-Artie Bucco this season.

 

I expected a Pete Rose cameo.

 

Also, I thought Tony asking Carmela to back his action on the Jets was fraudulent.

Tony would have simply taken the cash from outside and done it, and if he had come up short, Carm would have had to pay money to him for some reason.

And, I think, in the end, that's what he did.

He regained his senses and told Carm he bet 10K on that game ... no fucking way, the way he was champing at the bit.

He made a shitload on it, and paid Hesh.

Interesting notes: How tight Bobby is on Tony's shoulder now, and another appearance by the Arabs.

 

Her death makes Hesch more paranoid about Tony. It sets up the Phil v. Tony death match, where Hesch plays a part in luring Tony to get whacked by Phil and his crew.

 

I thought it was pretty clear where Tony got the money to pay Hesh. Carmela just gave it to him after their reconciliation. ("This was all about money?") Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Actually, it's Carmella that has been going on about how worried she is about ending up with nothing when Tony is gone. He's been shot and had to leave town with the threat of the body being found and that has her obsessing. I thought that was pretty clear in their argument before it got truly ugly.

 

That's not his nurse and she's not 30-something. Renata's older, probably in her 50s, and it's a longtime relationship, I think. Tony's not behind her death. She probably had a heart attack. In fact, Tony felt sorry about her death that he paid his debt to Hesh. She died; that's another bullet Tony's avoided. That's why after he paid up he left the house actually looking like he was feeling good.

What he's missing, though is that he's killed another close relationship. He on the path to being alone. What kind of friends does he have anymore. No one will tell him not to make stupid bets. They just sit silently or say, "You gotta play that one." The only one who told him no was Carmella, and look how that turned out.

 

I think the Arabs' reappearance is a nod to the fact that the demographics of the old neighborhood (and therefore Tony's power) are changing for the worse. I don't think it foreshadows anything more than that for the last 5 episodes.

I disagree that the interaction with Carmela over the Jets was fraudulent.

The way things are shaping up, Tony has absolutely no quarter. It's the classic isolated leader storyline.

Look at how many in his inner circle Tony perceives to have "turned" on him one way or another recently (whether it's by his own doing or not is irrelevant, it's his perception) -- Christopher, Paulie, Vito, Bobby, Uncle Junior, AJ & Meadow becoming more independent, now Dr. Melfi. Hesh was a secure connection to his past & someone to whom he could turn for counsel, now he's turned as well. Then, when Tony proposes to chase all his bad decisions with another $100K, Silvio doesn't even look up from the paper before saying, "Good idea, Tone." I saw his interaction with Carmela as a dysfunctional call for help.

I liked how neither Phil nor Tony could really understand where Vito Jr. was coming from, and they both resort to the "You could act like a man" Godfather school of child psychology.

Still, I thought the death of Hesh's girlfriend was uncalled for (and handled really poorly by Tony with Hesh), and some of the dialogue felt really forced, but a good episode, overall.

I saw in the credits Southside Johnny played himself in the episode, but I missed him. Where did he show up?

 

Any chance Tony seeks out the witness protection program for his retirement?

 

Sorry, Charlie Hustle is too busy knockin' boots with some outrageously gorgeous 21-year-old Indian girl. Before that, twin blondes that had to be 18. Yeesh.

 

To add to what BitterYoungMatador said ...

It was probably not a problem before because the money was coming in at a much better rate. His best earner is dead now, and there are other arrangements that are no longer as viable for Tony. If you keep eating the way you've done for years but stop exercising -- boom, big problem. At the risk of using another comparison, it's like a team that had good pitching and hitting to cover up bad defense, but now it's exposed because the pitching and hitting suck.

Also, luck can go bad at the worst times.

I think the clues have been there. We just didn't focus on them because we were chasing shadows -- or Russian interior decorators.