hmm...
thought the dream sequences were \'meh\', per usual.. but the rest of the ep was pretty strong and moving. a lot of setup going on. not sure how i feel about a tony-less sopranos though. Anakin Soprano anyone? i think it became clear last night that AJ is gonna follow in Tony\'s footsteps - first with the comment about putting a bullet in June\'s head, then with the flunking out of school.. not sure how much they can do with that in the remaining 18 episodes though..
next week looks promising. i think all hell is gonna break loose with Tony out of the picture for a while.. it\'ll be interesting to see what Vito has in store for Meadow\'s boyfriend when he comes back as well..
Van Helsing :lol:
Obviously, leaps and bounds above the previous week. An emotional powerhouse. Edie Falco earns the Emmy. However, the dream sequences hampered continuity and weren\'t funny enough to make the episode an all-time classic. But at least we\'re back in the ballpark now. There was more juice in the first 20 minutes of this episode than all of the previous one.
IT\'S NOT a dream. It\'s Purgatory.
When I had my annual summit with "Sopranos" creator David Chase a few weeks ago, I complimented him on having the onions to put a major dream sequence like this so early in the season, considering how many fans complain about the dreams.
"I, frankly, would not call those (episode two scenes) dreams," he said, which sent me scurrying back to watch my DVD over and over again, until (with some help from my wife) I got it.
Here Tony\'s stuck in Orange County, quite possibly the most personality-free corner of the world, with no way to leave (a k a Purgatory). On one end of town is a shining beacon (Heaven), on the other, a raging forest fire (Hell). Over and over, he stops to assess the worth of his own life, asking, "Who am I? Where am I going?"
Then he steals the identity (sin) of Kevin Finnerty -- a heating salesman who lives in one of the hottest states of the union (Arizona) -- checks into another hotel, and falls down a red staircase, at which point he learns he has Alzheimer\'s (eternal damnation). And while Carmela\'s busy in the real world telling him he\'s not going to Hell, Tony\'s in Purgatory debating whether to tell his wife this is exactly the fate he has in store.
It may be hair-splitting to call this something other than a dream, but Tony\'s misadventures in Costa Mesa were much more linear and coherent than his regular dreams have ever been. There were important details scribbled in the margins (the bartender joking, "Around here, it\'s dead," or the "Are sin, disease and death real?" commercial on the TV), but there was an actual story here instead of Tony bouncing from one surreal tableau to another.
Still, Chase followed last week\'s watercooler cliffhanger with an 11-minute opening sequence set in a world that\'s not our own, with a Tony who wasn\'t quite right (it\'s startling to hear James Gandolfini\'s natural speaking voice), and only one split-second nod to the shooting (the brief flash of the doctor shining a light in Tony\'s eye mixed in with the chopper spotlight).
For years, most of "Sopranos" fandom has been divided into two intersecting sets: those who watch for the whacking and crude humor, and those who watch for the psychiatry and art-house storytelling. By putting the shooting right next to Tony\'s afterlife business trip, Chase is pushing his chips to the center of the table and telling the audience they had better go all in -- murder and therapy, flatulence jokes and metaphysics -- if they intend to stay at the table for this final season.
So will Tony ever get to check out of this hotel, and, if so, where will he end up? Again, I can\'t say, but if this season is going to be about a moral accounting for all of Tony\'s sins, then there\'s no better place to start.
There is no way freddie wrote that.
i didn\'t dig this episode that much. i noticed the purgatory symbolism and thats all well and good but this episode was not that interesting for me. looking forward to next sunday.
Carmela turns to an unexpected source for help with AJ
that could be interesting. best part of last week\'s episode was when aj says something along the lines of "i\'m gonna put a bullet in that
**** mummy\'s head"
interesting episode.. an intense moment with Tony deciding whether or not to go into the Finnerty Family Reunion. i wonder how much hes going to remember and talk about as he heals. he mightve missed his only chance for heaven, and was Buscemi the host b/c they were just showing him as the best example (of all previously wacked/part of the business) that actually had a ticket to heaven? and pauly\'s voice being the reason for him touching death? hmmm...
im excited to see where tony\'s psyche goes from here.
:banghead: so pissed i missed tonights episode. better then last week?
:banghead: so pissed i missed tonights episode. better then last week?
Yeah it was. P.S. We live in the wonderful age of On Demand. It\'s not like you missed the episode forever like with most shows. You can watch this episode whenever you want. If you don\'t have HBO find someone who does and borrow their TV for an hour.
yeah dude that was the plan, to go to my friends house who has the headie hbo hookup. thats what i did for the last two episodes, but the
**** wouldn\'t answer his phone today. guess he didn\'t feel like sharing tonight
thought it was a great episode. great to see everything in the dream sequence become more clear, confirming the purpose of the monks, the light, the briefcase, etc. *really* enjoyed the dream portion this week.
everyone\'s actions while tony was laid up were very telling. what with the jab chris took at tony (boss porking the guy\'s fiance), paulie & vito\'s (and even bobby\'s) selfishness.. hell, seems like sil\'s the only truely loyal one of the bunch..
tony\'s \'vegetable\' state was great, and edie falco had another fantastic performance.
while i don\'t know if i really agree with tony popping back after 2 weeks, the show needs him. there\'s just a certain edge that isn\'t there when he\'s not in action.
as for the "reunion" - awesome. though buscemi was listed in the credits as "man", i believe his role was "Death", and it was great to see him trying to talk tony into giving him the briefcase, since tony basically took
his briefcase when he pulled the trigger of that shotgun.
the fleeting glimpse of livia at the reunion was also a great touch. the whole reunion thing could have been great season finale material, but being so early in the season, you just knew tony wasn\'t going inside.
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
edit: oh yeah, paulie clipping coupons = rotfl
"Ghostbusters! Another **** money machine!""My fuckin\' BALLS!!" 
the whole moive speech/discussion was amazing, i hadnt laughed that hard since the 2 hour AD finale!
great episode... Really thought they were gonnna kill him off for a second there,(yelling at the TV don\'t give the briefcase Tony nooooooo!) I would have been so pissed @ HBO/David Chase, I agree the show is missin somehting without Tiny, Paulie sucks, Bobbi sucks, Vito sucks, Sil is the man!