The Sopranos: "46 Long"

This is a weekly feature.  I'm reviewing The Sopranos episodes starting from the beginning.  This is the second episode of the first season.

Past Episodes
Pilot

This is a tightly packed, plot-filled episode that works wonderfully.  The first scene features Tony and his fellow mob members counting loads of cash while watching a 60 Minutes-style TV program about a former mafia member who decided to tell all.  He pretty much says the theme of the entire television show by noting that the mob has seen the best of times and is on the decline.

Then Chris and his partner Brandon decide to hijack the wrong truck.  A stubborn Chris shows how he wants to skip the "earning your stripes" stage of being a mafia member and be a made man already.

Junior demands $15,000 from the guys, which of course they have to pay.  But Chris and Brandon aren't happy with this.  Boy, is Brandon an idiot.  First, he says to Tony that everybody knows Tony's the real head of the mafia at this point while insulting Tony's idol, Jackie Aprile.  Then he decides to actually go through with a hijacking of another truck protected by Junior to... prove a point?  I'm not sure how he thought that was a good idea.

The other storyline is Livia Soprano slowly making it impossible to keep her in her house.  She accidentally starts a fire (while displaying some overt racism in the process), basically forces out the maid Tony hires (while displaying some overt racism in the process), and then runs over her friend on accident when dropping her off (no racism here).

There were some good character beats here.  Livia accusing her maid of stealing just because she was black showed a lot of who she is as a person.  Also, she suspected the black mail woman of stealing as well without actually outright saying it.

The more I watch this, the more despicable Livia Soprano is as a person.  It's telling when Tony is barely able to conjure a happy memory of her mother, which consists of his father injuring himself.  Also, she keeps referring to her husband as a "saint," which Tony told us last episode was clearly not the case.

Also, Chris being an entitled prick has continued in this episode.  He thinks everything should just be given to him.  He thinks he deserves to be made.  This does not help his image, which is that he is immature.

I almost forgot to mention the bit where the worker at the strip club is unable to work a basic phone.  It all leads to the last scene where Tony flips out and starts beating him with the phone, which seemed overly dramatic and a gross overreaction.  But, hey, that's what happens when you work for a mob boss.

Surprise Guest Appearances
Mike Epps!  One of the two gay guys who stole the science teacher's car.

Brody from The Wire!  If I didn't already know Brody pretty much never left Baltimore, I'd say this was Brody a few years prior.  (Also he's supposed to be 15 in The Wire)

Quotes (New Feature)

"I phoned your house.  Some operator answered the phone, I couldn't understand a word she was saying" - Livia
"Ma, how many times do I gotta tell you, that's not an operator, that's an answering machine." - Tony

"Fucking expresso, cappuccino - We invented this shit.  And all these other cocksuckers are getting rich off it." - Paulie

"You accord this little old lady an almost mystical ability to wreak havoc." - Dr. Melfi

"This day and age, who wants the fucking job?" - Tony, about being the Head of the mob

"It's too bad they don't have a telethon for fuckface-itis, huh?  They find a cure yet?" - Tony, to Mikey

"These blacks - who knows when they're gonna take it the wrong way?" - Livia displaying some casual racism

"You excited about coming to live with us, hon?" - Retirement community worker
(Long silence)

"He caught some friendly fire or something and he's gone" - Chris
"Oh, fuck" - Tony

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" - Silvio

Grade - A-