Past Episodes
In a parallel universe, there's a television show centered around Christopher Moltisanti. He's arguably more complex of a character than Tony is. Here's probably the only mafia guy who shows any interest in getting out of the mafia. He has dreams and he has aspirations that exceed what your typical Sopranos character desires.
And yet, I think only Paulie is less talented an individual than Chris is. I get the sense that this is Chris' highest potential in life. Not to mention, Chris is an unhinged person, even by Sopranos standards. He commits heinous acts of violence with little remorse. He shows a temper that would not be permitted in any other facet of life. Anytime I start to want Chris to get out of this life, I pull back and remember that he's seriously not a good person.
However in this episode, Chris does show actual talent for once. I can't remember another episode where this is the case. He displays pretty good acting at his workshop. Of course, in order to achieve this, he needs to access a part of him that he simply has no wish to reveal. He doesn't want to be vulnerable. He doesn't want to show people a soft side to him. He thinks of himself as Joe Pesci.
Christopher Moltisanti is a seemingly sympathetic and relatable character on some level. And for that, I will have to praise Michael Imperioli. If you simply look at the facts of this character and read a description, it makes very little sense for him to be one of the more tragic characters. He has no business being as liked as he is by the viewers. But Imperioli plays him so well that it's impossible not to feel for Chris. This was the episode that opened my eyes to Imperioli's amazing acting ability.*
While Chris loses hope to write a screenplay, Tony and Melfi finish their time apart by having parallel storylines joining them together at the end. The Melfi stuff works about as well as it could. Unfortunately, it's way too obvious that they are getting back together since Melfi serves no purpose in this show without Tony. So her eventual reasoning to take Tony back didn't really resonate. However, it's semi-plausible that she accepts him through guilt on her own part and certainly the most plausible I can come up without damaging her moral center on this show.
Meanwhile, Tony finds a new therapist in Hesh. Hesh is not a good therapist. He's too interested in talking about himself when Tony is spilling out his guts. Make no mistake, I'm not saying Hesh is in the wrong here. Tony is a total dick to Hesh, sharing his feelings while completely ignoring Hesh's stories. He came there to tell Hesh, but he has no interest in reciprocation.
Hesh does reveal one piece of information: Tony's dad also had anxiety attacks. I kind of feel like this was unnecessary. We as an audience already had plenty of information to formulate why Tony had panic attacks. I just don't think knowing this adds anything to the story. We didn't need to add the genetic component to why he had panic attacks when we already had the environmental aspect. By the end, Tony notices Hesh isn't really listening as well as Melfi when he goes on one of his rants and this in turn helps motivate Tony to go back to Melfi if he had any doubts before.
On a plot basis, the most vital piece of information - since let's face it, therapy is completely useless on this show - is the integration of Furio and the slow pushing out of Big Pussy. Tony brings Furio over as per his agreement in "Commendatori." Big Pussy not only gets passed over by Paulie, but by the newcomer Furio.
There's a sense that Big Pussy has been getting screwed for years and it's certainly possible (This is almost entirely perpetrated by Pussy and Skip to be fair). But I think it goes back to the season two premiere when Tony looked at Big Pussy with a watchful, distrusting eye. I think he no longer trusted Big Pussy and at least unconsciously knew intuitively that he was a rat. So he gave less responsibility to Big Pussy than he may have deserved.
Big Pussy gets phased out and Furio gets brought to America. They have a party in his honor and he's charming. Then Tony tells him to intimidate a whorehouse and Furio kicks fucking ass. I mean he hits an innocent guy with a bat, punches a woman in the face, and shoots a guy in the leg so I feel slightly bad about saying that, but that scene is undeniably viscerally exciting.
The show also has one short scene showing Tony finding out that Janice and Richie are back together. He also finds out that Janice took out a loan for the house. Tony's two separate problems just became fused together and created one huge problem. Not like he was allowed to kill Richie before, but he's now almost family. (In hindsight, Janice is probably just as big of a problem with her influence in certain events with Bobby)
Oh yeah and Junior and Bobby go to Furio's party and hilariously get rejected by Carmela. Those guys literally came in for a 10 second scene.
Deaths
The confidence of the Asian woman at the whorehouse after Furio arrived. Alas, no actual deaths happened.
Surprise Guest Appearances
Ajay Naidu, best known for Office Space, is one of the acting students
Quotes
"Sunday. My house. Box of melomosa on the counter. Fucking empty. Think I don't know it was you?" (Paulie shakes head) "I'm kidding you, you fuck."
"You smug cocksucker. Fuck you." - Melfi to Elliot
"I'm making eggs. You want some eggs." - Richie - the death knell of this show
"There are men in the can better looking than my sister." - Tony
"You got a problem besides those fucking pants." - Oh Tony
"Just watch your intake of sugar... and sugar substitutes."
"I want to be in total control." - Tony
Playlist
1. "Ladykiller (Gigamesh Remix)" - White Sea
2. "Deadbeat Summer" - Neon Indian
3. "You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
4. "Low" - Young Fathers
5. "I Saw Her Standing There" - The Beatles
2. "Deadbeat Summer" - Neon Indian
3. "You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
4. "Low" - Young Fathers
5. "I Saw Her Standing There" - The Beatles
melomosa? mallomars
ReplyDelete