The Sopranos Returns

Firefly. Thats the whole point, the mob isnt made up of Nobel Laureates. If the season goes on with Tony becoming the meeting place rather than the central character, Id see Christopher taking on AJ with some minor duties, which he will no doubt, screw up and make things spiral even further out of control. I did not notice the differing voices in the call sequences.

I think this is definitely the beginning of a power struggle within the family; both his actual family and the mob family. The whole thing with Vito, AJ threatening to kill Uncle June, the part where Paulie and Vito were arguing over who should drop AJ off at home, Carmelas conversation with Charmaine about AJ's misbehavior, Meadows new grown up personality....I seriously think there will be some changes to the family structure very soon.

I keep thinking that Tony will never come out of the coma and that this season will revolve around flash backs and the family falling apart slowly. I think Tony will die in the end, killed in true mob fashion: by someone he trusted.


And while it raised a lot of questions I thought it was a little boring, actually.

True, BD. Last nights show was a throwaway that was needed as a sort of transition into the power struggle that we all see coming.

I know...those damn necessary episodes... But still, it just wasn't exciting.

I agree with the bored but necessary episode. To start out the new season with Tony being shot by Uncle Jr. followed by last night's less than exciting episode, well yeah... I was a bit bored.

So, will AJ kill Uncle Jr.? Will he step up as his father's son by the end, carrying on the Soprano legacy? I think it would be an interesting storyline.

I also believe that Tony will die at the end. I can't wait to see how all of this plays out.

I didn't find it exciting by a very methodical examination of where Tony is in his life. Tony is dreaming of a "straight life" as a traveling business person and the only excitment in his world now is losing his briefcase and wallet, living on another man's credit card. The Monks clobering him was hilarious -- Tony is even dreaming that he is injured. The lights of the helicopters in the beginning morphing into the operating room lights was brilliant. Ya have to pay attention!

I missed the first 10 minutes cause I forgot and was doing A2K posting. Theres a bunch of encores al week so,

I don't think there is much left of a Soprano legacy. The mob itself doesn't seem to be in that much better shape than Tony at the moment. The real power struggle is less within the mob than it is between the FBI and the mob, and the feds seem to be winning at the moment.
If the grim reaper doesn't claim Tony now, the feds will get him. One way or another, his life, as he knew it, is over. And that's at least partly what his dream was about--his identity and his sense of powerlessness. He's in limbo, literally and figuratively, as his life hangs in the balance. Even if he survives, considerable brain damage is a real possibility. Would surviving this gun shot wound leave him with a life that was a living hell for him?

This show has always been as much about Tony's mind and his anxieties as about anything else. So, last night's episode made a great deal of sense, particularly considering he may be near death. I found it much more exciting and creative than watching the mob whacking each other or jockeying for power.
After all these years, I really care much more about Tony, and what goes on inside of him, than I do about any of the other characters. Facing possible imminent death, what sense can he make of his life? Does he believe he is finally going to have to answer to a higher power for the life he has led? Does he have regrets about not having taken other options with his life? Does he even really want to go on living?

In many ways Tony just didn't want to face the reality about his family. He didn't have reason to trust them. Dr Melfi recently had to remind him his mother didn't love him, and, in fact wanted him killed, with good old uncle Junior's help. So Tony had no reason to trust uncle Junior, and certainly not once the man was paranoid, delusional, and demented. But it was Tony who used the misguided (in his case) argument for family loyalty to avoid putting the old man in an assisted living facility. He wasn't facing the reality of the situation, and he paid the price by getting shot. Tony had also killed his own cousin last season, so his comments to A.J. about only being able to trust your own family were also lies, and he knew that first hand. But Tony's main blind spot comes from his own use of denial to block out what he can't deal with, and that's one of his main character flaws.
Dealing with all of this stuff is what sets the Sopranos apart from all the other mob dramas and movies. How do people manage to psychologically cope with this kind of mob life style, and personal family life, where you really can't ever trust anyone? And I think that's what Tony's dream was about. In the dream he said he really didn't know who he was or where he was going at this point in his life.
Nothing was certain, nothing was predictable in the dream. He couldn't validate himself without any ID. He had to pretend to be someone he was not just to get what he needed in the dream--and is that what Tony had really been doing all of his life, pretending to be someone he was not? And the diagnosis of Alzheimer's in the dream meant he would lose his sense of self identity too. All in all, it was an existentially terrifying dream. Tony is facing death. His persona, and power, is being stripped away and we don't know what will happen next.

I find this sort of thing intellectually exciting, because it is being done so well and so creatively, and on so many levels. I didn't need any jolting plot twists to hold my interest last night. I was riveted by the existential drama of both Tony's comatose dream and the real life anguish of his family in his hospital room. And by the superb acting all around.

Firefly, I agree completely. The psychology of Tony. The anguish of the family. Wrenching and thought-provoking. Edie Falco was brilliant. When the doctor mentioned the possibility of brain damage, I was reminded of how the series started. Emotional damage. And I thought of the ducks. I wonder whether the final episode will be of Tony in the pool waiting for the ducks to return.

The intelligence in the writing of this show takes my breath away. Absolutely the best show I have ever seen.

Wow, firefly! That was such a wonderful, insightful analysis! Many thanks!

Well, Tony isn't dead and from the "on the next episode" we know he isn't brain damaged either.

So, what did the last 3 episodes have to do with the way this is going to end?

We know that Silvio can't handle being a Boss. That Vito is after Boss. That Paulie is still worried about his mother being taken care of. That AJ is still a huge f*ckup.

This episode was better but I am looking forward to the classic Sporanos action.

I really loved the scene with Tony going to the reunion, that was a great idea.

It'll be interesting to see if Tony's the same guy after this.

I don't know swimpy...did you see the look he have Christopher when chrissy told him about the new movie thing?

Well Chrissy IS an idiot.

No he's not...he's just....special. That's all.

I'm still not convinced that Tony won't somehow still die at the end. His coma induced alternative lifestyle, that of an average guy trapped with a suitcase that isn't his, might influence how he thinks or reacts to what is coming.

That was pretty cool when he was coding and arrived at the reunion then chose to stay alive and return to his family instead.

How great was it to see Carmela in Dr. Melfi's office?

Great episode!

I'm still withholding judgement on this seqason. I found the first three episodes a little gimmicky, but the symbolism was good.

The show is in the process of "Jumping the Shark" when gimmicks rule its time to pull in the Fonz.

huh?