OK, first of all, as for the episode title being mispelled--the only thing that I first came up with was the connection between "ham" and the ridiculous name for the "slasher flick" that the gang is considering investing in. Not to mention the fact that everything and everyone around him is falling apart without his leadership and influence.

Consider the three definitions of Mayhem which come from Dictionary.com:

Law. The offense of willfully maiming or crippling a person.

Infliction of violent injury on a person or thing; wanton destruction: children committing mayhem in the flower beds.

A state of violent disorder or riotous confusion; havoc.

But Tony has changed. He has lost and recaptured his identity. He has been metaphorically been hacked into little pieces which have somehow reassembled themselves and are about to come looking for revenge from those who betrayed him. I believe that we are about to see his maxim about family being the only thing that one can trust be tested to the limits.

The questions, "Who am I? Where am I going?" were only the beginning of this quest. Tony's true identity (Kevin Finnerty--did they change the spelling of this since last week?) is under attack from the most peaceful worshippers on earth--all because he failed to provide them heat. And this begs the question of how would a man who had worked so hard to make the world so cold become a flaming sun unto himself, a presence that lit the world on fire and warmed the hearts of his fellow man? Is that not the inner seed and call of every sacred religion before the charlataans, criminals, and salesmen get ahold of them?

One wonders what it would take to light a match and destroy his entire mob family? What would the world be missing out on if Tony Soprano became the Christ figure for decent society--and put out the lights of the vermin he has been supporting his whole life, denying his true nature and refusing to light a fire in the heart of his fellow man? The answer is probably that the New York family would move in to Jersey and business would continue as usual, but Tony and his family might be in a better place.

Or they might be Six Feet Under--but that's another show isn't it?

PS: The highlight of this episode, for me, was the scene where Tony was banging the wall, telling the neighbor to "shut the fuck up!" and we could hear Paulie's voice mumbling from the outside--that was pure genius.

I have a feeling that a lot of people aren't going to be happy with this episode because it wasn't straight forward mob killings and double crossings like last year. But David Chase has never written low-brow television (just watch the last couple seasons of Northern Exposure if you don't believe me). The man has mastered the use of metaphor in the one-hour television drama and he will be remembered as an artist who redefined the medium. He is the William Faulkner of the airwaves and he lives by the Hemingway maxim that you must kill your darlings.

Another fantastic episode. I welcome all comments.

TAGS:
The Sopranos, Mayham, Tony Soprano, Episode 68

First of all, I noticed tonight that thus far this season, there has been a noticeable lack of sexuality dominating Tony's screen thoughts and actions. Of course, he has been in a coma for two out of the four episodes; but even in his fantasies/delusions, there has been a lack of raw sexuality. He did kiss that woman outside the hotel but it was more of a gesture of intimacy than anything.

And intimacy is the buzzword for season 6 of The Sopranos because this the bridge between the sacred and the profane. This is the point where we will see the roots mired in shit reach to the pure and clear blue sky. One organism, good and evil, everything is blended.

And that unitary spiritual viewpoint is beginning to dominate Tony's thoughts as well as the direction that I believe the story arcs are beginning to point towards.

Last week, I said that I believe Tony's two families can no longer coexist. I think tonight's episode further enforced that hypothesis.

First of all, the reintroduction of Erin the narcoleptic Jesus freak back into the show was a stroke of genius. And the lunatic prayer leader who believed the dinosaurs and man coexisted on the earth which was only 6,000 years old as having a greater voice than the scientist who brought a deeper level of the understanding of human existence (and was thus silenced completely by losing his trachea) was a brilliant stroke of irony.

One has to wonder if, even in his silence, he will speak more intimately to Tony than the Bible-thumping lunatic with his hours and hours of narrow-minded foolishness. I believe the scientist has won because Tony stopped at his room out of respect and, seeing him silenced forever, realized that he had told him everything he needed to. In my opinion, the deepest truths of life and existence are those which can be summed up in a five minute conversation--the rest is just window dressing and candy shops.

Paulie is a man without a world or a foothold anymore. His loyalty to his mother was his rock and the foundation of his loyalty to Tony. Now, as we saw with the beating of the Barone kid, Paulie is a total loose cannon who is out for his own good. If you thought he was a selfish prick before, just wait--he's going to paint himself in a corner that only a bullet from those he trusted the most is going to get himself out of.

I loved the scene with Tony sitting in the lounge chair staring at the tree tops swaying in the wind (ala Phenomenon with John Travolta), but it would have been a perfect moment had the ducks come back and landed in the pool before the final cut.

But perhaps I speak too soon. Perhaps Chase is saving that for the final scene of the show next spring.

Thoughts? Comments? Next week I'll get more into the sacred and the profane and where I think this show is going.

LINKS:
The Moderate Voice (thanks for the link)
the busblog

TAGS:
The Sopranos, The Fleshy Part of the Thigh, Tony Soprano, Episode 69

Okay, this was a Steve Buscemi directed episode so you knew the camera angles were going to be a little fugged up and the humor was going to be a little bit dark. But beyond all that, we have now returned the visceral. Tony is now acting on the world around him again, instead of taking it all in.

And while it may seem like a lot of this episode was filler (the Sacrimony wedding with bride played by a young Van Zandt that I assume is related to Richie)--in actuality, we are seeing a consolidation of Tony's power.

Two important things happened in the power structure at this wedding--Tony physically broke down in front of everyone and Johnny Sac emotionally broke down. And while the emotional damage was far worse, the physical breakdown had its own results.

Towards the end of the episode, when Tony got out of the car and started sizing people up--asking Bobby how much he weighed, looking at the fading tattoos of the douche bags and yes men who had become his soldiers in life--I knew exactly what was happening. Obviously, he was asserting his alpha-maleness back into the fold because, like dogs, men in a chain of command must know at all times who the top dog is and what the results will be when going against him.

He chose the new guy to pummel because he knew none of the others would fight back because he was the boss and because they had all seen him break down physically at the wedding. He knew this new muscle man would fight back without thinking and that he wasn't aware of how fragile he was the previous weekend.

Now, here's the million dollar question: did Tony set this up with the guy beforehand or did he set it up from the very beginning when he brought the new guy on? Or was it completely Tony's own doing and the muscle man new nothing about it?

That aside, it doesn't change the fact that Tony is top dog right now. Johnny Sac is going to owe him a huge favor when he takes out "The Mayor of Munchkinville" and Tony has drawn a clear line for Phil Leotardo as to how far he is willing to go--after all, the final deal was made between Johnny and Tony and no one knows is Phil will even know where it came from when the guy gets whacked.

Also, the whole Vito deal--is he dead or is he on the run (ala Big Pussy from the end of Season 1)? Personally, I'm going to withhold my verdict although I suspect he is not dead and that he went after those two soldiers he ran into in the gay bar.

The whole Uncle Junior story arc is coming to an inevitable close. I don't see Tony exacting revenge of any type but just letting the old man rot away and ultimately exposing himself to a major risk of the Feds getting a hold of him and gaining info that, while inadmissible in court, will prove to be very valuable in bringing a RICO case against Tony personally.

We have moved from the sacred back to the profane and I predict a major buildup over two more episodes until some major shit starts flying in the land of the one and only Satriale's pork sandwich.

LINKS:
Tony Pierce on Episode 70


TAGS:
Sopranos, Tony Soprano, Episode 70, Mr. and Mrs. John Sacrimony Request...

I'm making a prophetic prediction about this show: The Sopranos started in the head but it will end in the heart.

This episode, which mainly focused on Vito Spatafore being outed as a homosexual, came at an interesting time for me because I just watched Brokeback Mountain a couple days ago and was profoundly affected by it.

And for those who don't read this blog and are coming to it from a Google search or Technorati, I am a Libertarian which means I believe that the purpose of government is to prevent citizens from infringing upon the lives or property of other citizens.

In other words, I share Tony's perspective of "who gives a shit." The problem is that society, like the mob, runs on the expectations of others above all other things. Tony worked hard last week to gain back the respect of his captains by beating the shit out of the new guy "with red peppa' flakes up his ass." And now, by giving latitude to Vito; even though he is a great earner and very profitable for the family, he could be losing more than just their respect--he could be losing his livelihood.

So Vito has to go--even though it's in Tony's best interest (both financially and spiritually) to keep him around despite his "weakness."

It was very interesting to see a disarmed Vito, in scenes of social tranquility (not domestic), pondering an open and free life for himself in an environment where homosexuality is accepted in the community running along side the tense (but funny) deliberations going on back at Satriales and the Bada Bing over whether he will live or die for being nothing more than what he is.

Expand the scenario to female infanticide in China, abortions in Alabama, or the Jews, Gypsies, (and homosexuals) in Auschwitz and we can see the entire issue in clear perspective. What right does the society we create have to dictate to individuals how to live their lives, providing they are not harming another person or their property? The easy answer is that we have no right to do so--but again, society runs off of the expectations of others and homosexuality is (perhaps for biological reasons) inherently viewed as a serious moral (if not spiritual) weakness. For better or worse, this is the world we live in and the one in which Tony must abide by the rules or be left out in the cold with the law breathing in one ear while the disapproval and loss of cash flow tears apart the foundations of his existence in the other.

Tony is still fighting for his soul, even though he's in the pink of recovery and with Vito he is now caught between doing what's fundamentally right versus what's practically right.

The question is: will Tony choose to store his treasure in heaven or will he take the lump sum now?

Next week should be interesting.

LINKS:
Photo by The Anti Akademie
BWP on Brokeback Mountain

TAGS:
Sopranos, Tony Soprano, Episode 71, Live Free or Die, Brokeback Mountain

This episode was a bit disappointing to me, but all Artie Buco story arcs ultimately end up reinforcing something we already know about Tony--he's loyal to his friends. I will say that it was nice to see Artie get some of his manhood back after getting the shizz kicked out of him by that French scam artist back in season 5. Outside of that, Artie storylines bore me.

It's obvious that there is going to be a build up to some Al Queda subplot but if someone out there missed the obvious, the writers showed us money changing hands from the douche bag Arab terrorist to the douche bag thug to the douche bag Jew hotel owner (I couldn't tell if this was Schlomo's Son-in-Law from the first and second seasons or not, but I don't think it was). It's all about the money, regardless of what race, sect, or particular thuggish ruggish terrorist organization one happens to belong to. The dollar is the common denominator and, as the two Italian assassins said at the end, the American dollar ain't what it used to be.

There wasn't anything too deep in this episode but I would like to make one point about Tony's transformation of character. If you consider The Police song "Wrapped Around Your Finger," there is a student who comes to a teacher with a magnetic personality and becomes totally absorbed in the teacher, actually becoming the teacher's slave. But in the last stanza of that song, the servant becomes the master by disappearing from the master's life, reinforcing the image the teacher had constructed of himself as a dominating power.

Now, if we were to apply this scenario to Tony's relationship with those in his family or organization during seasons 1-5, I think we would say it was valid--his self-worth was validated through what others thought about him. Tony was defined by his reflection and saw his life as a passive observer, an image that would not exist without the mirror to see it in. This is purely a metaphysical issue and one which affects each of us as individuals--it touches on the difference between true power and the ephemeral illusion of power that mortal men often fall for; it's the Faust conundrum and it is still playing out in Tony's head. This is the same character arc that the Vampire Lestat took from his relationship with Louis in Interview with a Vampire to the legend he became after Queen of the Damned and on through Memnoch the Devil.

Kevin Finnerty is not gone from the picture and I have a feeling he's much stronger than anyone in Tony's family or his crew.

LINKS:
Photo by We Were All Trying to Just Not Care

TAGS:
The Sopranos, Episode 72, Tony Soprano, Luxury Lounge

Kevin Finnerty lives!

While on the surface it doesn't seem like a lot happened here in the world of mafia madness, internally a major shit storm just blew over and a bright ray of sunshine has peaked the surface of Tony's withered heart.

He didn't do it. He didn't sleep with her. Carmella's love was enough to make him say no. Fantastic.

And A.J. is the anti-Tony right now--he's good and wants to be bad. Whereas Tony is bad and wants to be good.

I loved the whole production of Tony walking around the neighborhood like he was a protector of the people--about as amusing as his captains calling their business "protection" and shaking their heads at what was happening to their neighborhood. And I love the comment about "the little guy" not having a chance--in other words, it's a shame that coporations have taken over the mom and pop shops these assholes have been robbing and extorting from for years. The poor gangsters don't have a chance in a Starbucks world--that is unless they own the buildings that Starbucks buys the Mom and Pop shops out from under.

Don't think this is going to lay over on Philly--he still hasn't forgiven Tony for ordering the murder of his twin brother in season 2. I predict this will be a point of contention.

And Vito, ah Vito. I couldn't resist it. When he was in the parking lot, with his new boyfriend, right before he got the shit beat out of him by said new boyfriend--Vito asked him what kind of motorcycle he had. And the guy said "Fatboy." My brother-in-law and I looked at each other and at the same time said, "That ain't the only fat boy he'll be riding tonight."

Now, I don't care who you are--that's just funny right there.

Thoughts? Comments?

TAGS:
The Sopranos, Episode 74, Johnny Cakes, Tony Soprano, Kevin Finnerty

The Sopranos is like one of those multi-layered plastic pictures where each layer adds another piece to the photo and when it's done, it looks like one piece despite the fact that it is composed of many layers. Well, it's a bit frustrating because this show is also like a driving range where each episode sets another ball on a tee until every stall is filled with teed up balls. You never know which ball is going to be hit at the end of the season. At since this season is the end of the series, one would hope (against experience) that all the balls would get hit. I predict right now that there will be many balls left to rot in the stands by the end of the series.

It's like that old Jungian distinction between symbols and signs. He said that symbols are metaphors that have one leg in time and space and another in the transcendent (beyond all knowledge and experience). Whereas signs, he says, have both legs here and point to something within time and space. This show is like that--there are symbols and signs. There are skeletons that fall out of the closet and there are secrets that go in the vault forever--like what happened to the Russian "interior decorator" that Chrissy and Paulie left for dead out in the woods during season 3. One has to wonder what symbols are going to be left out and what signs are going to be sewn together for the big sleep.

This episode held the most touching moment I've ever seen in the show--when Tony and Chrissy shared a rare moment of truth (albeit on the alter of murder and theft, but all groups have their rituals of atonement). Christopher is a sad individual, a never-reformed junkie, a compulsive liar (I believe that outside of his relationship with Tony, he actually believes that Adrianna left him); but his relationship with Tony is as pure as that of Sam's for Frodo.

Tony Pierce will probably get his Bush-hating rocks off on the "Heck of a job, Brownie" comment from Tony to Paulie, but I thought it was one more example of brilliant name and placing the show for posterity's sake.

Did anyone note the reference, at the end of the episode when Tony approaches his niece by the fence, to the scene in the Godfather where Don Corleone is chasing his grandson around the tomatoes (right before he dies). Could this be a bit of foreshadowing? Let's hope not because as terrible as Tony is, we need him in our world to keep it in balance from the really bad guys sitting at the throne of power in the capital, the courts, and the churches.

LINKS:
Photo by Destroy everything you touch

TAGS: The Sopranos, The Ride, Tony Soprano, Episode 74, Tony Pierce

If The Sopranos was a game of checkers, Tony just got kinged. A lot of positioning took place in this episode. For one, we finally hit a little meat with Tony's relationship with Janice. He admitted that she was the only one who ever stood up to his mother, something he was rarely ever able to muster the will to do. Melfi also hinted at a Freudian sexual deal which is frankly a little too disturbing to dwell very long on. But the real reveal came when he finally saw clearly how much power his sister wielded and, possibly, what a valuable asset she could be. It is a well know cliche that Italian women are matriarchs who control the neck which turns the heads of the Italian men, but Janice wields dictatorial control over her household and is unafraid to confront Tony. So, he took advantage of Johnny Sac's weakness to put his sister into a recessive position using the only weakness she has--the kindness of the people she loves. See, Janice learned from her mother the art of torturing the ones she loves in a way to keep the close to her (by distancing them as far as possible with personal loathing but always ready to push the "family" button when necessary to keep them from flying off altogether). Perhaps Tony finally sees the benefits of a woman boss and is thinking of making Janice a captain in place of her clearly emasculated train-hat sporting husband.

Johnny Sac is out. He's weak in the eyes of his own crew and Tony is positioned to take it all. There are three moves that Tony needs to make to clear himself and his family for life.

1. He needs to kill Phil Leotardo and get his crew under control, securing Johnny Sac's entire New York domain and sewing North Jersey and the Sac empire into one coherent unit run from Satriales.

2. He needs to fully move Christopher into place as an acting boss reporting to him only through verbal meetings which take place on the Stugots II or other locations which are not bugged or monitored in any way.

3. He needs to move the hell out of North Jersey and insulate himself as much as possible from the day to day dealings of his crew.

If he can do these things, Tony can avoid the fate of John Sacrimony--if he can't, he will either suffer alongside John in Federal prison or get a bullet in the back of his head for his troubles.

And I believe Vito's return (and possible murder at the hands of Phil Leotardo) will be the breaking point which can give Tony the opportunity to complete this triple jump and secure the game.

But this is The Sopranos and anything can happen.

TAGS:
The Sopranos, Moe'N'Joe, Tony Soprano, Episode 75

Well, well, well--it looks like my little predication last week played out. Vito would be the spark that would ignite the war between Tony and Phil/Johnny Sac. Next week should be interesting but I have no idea how they are going to set this up for eight more episodes.

It was about time Tony gave an ultimatum to A.J.--the little prick. It's just funny that it took Carmella and Meadow leaving before he stepped in and became his father instead of backup when Carmella's placating stopped working. It was a long time coming.

Even though two people were killed in this episode, not much really happened and most of the episode felt like filler. Carmella in France was a big waste of time in my opinion because it didn't really move her character anyway (at least that we could tell at this point). One thing to note was that Heloise and Abelard was the book that teacher she had an affair with gave her to read and she made a remark about Heloise and Abelard when she was eating with Roe in the cafe.

To be honest, I was kind of hoping that Furio would "show up" and they'd have a fling but I forgot that it was The Sopranos and not As the World Turns.

Tony has to kill Phil and his other Captains, right now. He has to take control. You saw how one of Tony's captains praised Phil for his ability to take action--the New York crew will respect the power and balls move of cutting the head of their crew and taking over.

It's put up or shut up time for Tony and his pissant crew from North Jersey...

LINKS:
Peter Abelard and Heloise

TAGS:
The Sopranos, Tony Sopranos, Cold Stones, Episode 76

I was so disgusted with last night's "series finale" that I couldn't post. Now, I know you're going to tell me that there are still eight more episodes (to be aired in January, 2007) but these were touted as "bonus" episodes which, to me, means that the series should have wrapped up last night and the bonus episodes would show us the aftermath and new beginnings of what happened last night.

But that's the problem--nothing happened last night. There should have been a devil-drop cliff hanger that sent shockwaves throughout the audience, making them say, "Holy shit! I can't wait until January to see what happens!"

Need I say it plainly? Christopher should have been killed last night along with Juliana as they made their way out of the diner to their respective cars to go to the AA meeting. They should have both been killed and Tony should have been left to pick up the pieces of his shattered empire, waging a war against a New York mob boss who is losing control with a rabid Capo slobbering on the bit to be let loose from the gate and wreak total destruction on North Jersey.

See, that's compelling. That's why I watch The Sopranos. I don't watch them to see poignant moments where Tony bites at Christopher for taking too much ice when what he really wants to say is, "I can't believe you've been sleeping with my real estate agent behind my back." I watch because Tony Soprano always says what he wants when he wants.

That all being said, the best moment of the show was when Tony touched Phil's hand in the hospital bed and told him to live for his granchildren, for the things that matter and urged him not to let this war go too far, to let his brother go as Tony has let his cousin go.

But the cliffhanger we were left with is, what is happening at all, not a specific--will Tony retaliate?

And, while Tony may have come two steps forward to go one step back--the only other character that really made any arc progress this season was A.J. who I was pleased to see is finally stepping up to become a man.

As always, I welcome all comments.

TAGS:
Sopranos, Episode 77, Kaisha, Tony Soprano