I first want to extend a big FUCK YOU to Google News; I hadn't watched this episode on Sunday, opting instead to DVR it and watch the finale of Survivor. Not necessarily a bad idea, but in checking Google News @ work the following Monday morning, I see a picture of Chrissy, with links saying "fans shocked over death of Sopranos character", and a host of other links. My mom then proceeds to call me, and even though I said "I DID NOT SEE THIS EPISODE, BUT I KNOW THAT CHRISSY DIED", she proceeded to run down to me the whole scene. So, basically, when I saw Chrissy fiddling with the soundtrack to The Departed, I knew what it was...
In any case, that shit was done beautifully. From Chris' almost nodding off behind the wheel to Kennedy & Heidi's split second reasoning ("I'm driving after hours with only a permit"), and Tony's coldheart, that just spoke volumes. He didn't shed one tear. He didn't even react. I was surprised that the early scene with Melfi was a dream: I was almost waiting for him to lay it on the line with her later on in the episode, but he kept up the facade. Normal, but damn. The one thing he slipped on was trying to get Carm to say she was relieved that Chrissy was now dead. She was his blood, and in any case her heart is not that cold. Tony's life has always been like that; he received the programming that AJ never got, which lets you understand why, when AJ tries to put up that front, he realizes that he truly just wants everyone to Rodney King it. You feel for him, because he got the worst of both parents: he got Carmela's sensitivity, which can shut you down when it gets tough, and that "disgusting Soprano gene" that Tony has spoken on over the course of six seasons of The Sopranos...
Were any of you busting a gut when you saw Tony, high on peyote, WINNING in Vegas? Things like that pay off. I read a pretty awesome write up on this episode, and they said he was saying "he's gone!" while on the floor of the casino, but I didn't catch that. Its fitting, though: Tony might have been speaking on the fact at hand, that Chrissy, the only guy (he knows about) that would have good reason to flip and fuck up his couch; he could have been talking about some "plague" that was causing his string of terrible gambling luck; or he could have just been talking about himself, or his tough-guy, sad-clown facade. He was letting his insides out during that whole sequence, and he loved it. Maybe he was tapping into his inner-Christopher? T has dabbled in drugs before, but we only really saw him do a few lines of coke. "Killer pot" and peyote? What's this, a Hunter Thompson novel? It all works, though.
One other thing my mom mentioned to me was her concern for AJ: she swears dude is going to kill himself. I would sure as shit hope not, but I would not be surprised. Unless he realizes that he is agood kid, and needs to be in school, getting his learn on, he will continue to go down that destructive path, and either bury all of his emotions, like his father, and become a heartless man, or he will consume himself.
Weren't you just waiting for the shit to hit the fan when Carm was introduced to Julianna? And wasn't seeing Kelli throwing teat to baby mouth one of the sexiest non-sex scenes in Sopranos history?
I do also want to send a shout out to Paulie Walnuts on the loss of his aunt/moms. You just KNEW that he only had the attendance to money spent ratio on his brain. Kind of sad, but he should have known from the tiffs at the nursing home: she didn't get along with many people her age, esp. since most of the people her age are dead. Damn that was cold...
With this show now like 4 or 5 episodes left (I lost count...), I find myself trying to piecemeal WTF is going to happen with the rest of the cast. I'm interested to see where Meadow will end up. Phil Leotardo, too. I have a feeling he won't make it. And Vesuvio's, what's going to happen to that spot? Silvio, where will he end up?
I can't keep doing that to myself. So, I watch reruns on A&E. Last night was Season 3's "He Is Risen", and during one scene I realized that Jackie Jr., Chrissy AND Adrianna were in it, and are now dead. Kind of odd when you think of it.
If you are looking to feed your Sopranos jones, you should check out Slate's article about where they think T will end up. MSN always provides quick, sometimes humorous recaps of each show. Idolator posted about the music featured in that episode, and provides MP3s. And when all else fails, check out HBO.com's growing synopsis of this episode.
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