Past Episodes
Big Girls Don't CryHappy Wanderer
D Girl
Full Leather Jacket
After a few episodes of good, but ultimately B quality Sopranos episodes, "From Where to Eternity" is an episode that foreshadows, entertains, and questions. It's a wonderful episode that has all the men with short tempers and little memory pondering life itself and what, if anything, comes after it.
We start where the last episode ended, with Chris in the hospital recovering from his wounds. Chris is too vital a character, too unfinished a story for him to die yet. He dies for one minute and apparently goes to hell. That's... not exactly hard to believe. His version of hell is appropriately dark and funny at the same time. He has a message for Tony and Paulie from Mikey: "Three o'clock." I'm sure if you dissected every episode - and plenty of people have in fact done that - you'd find 3 am or pm is a very important time. I myself am on my second watch through the series so I cannot confirm that.
Tony mostly shrugs this information off, although he does bring it up in therapy meetings. Dr. Melfi uses this opportunity to ask if he thinks Chris will go to hell. Tony says you only go to hell if you're really evil: child molesters, genocidal monsters. Interestingly enough, given the amount of people Tony's killed, manipulated, or affected, I'd say he's in that category. No matter, it's definitely an interesting perspective. I sort of don't believe him though - I think he's more that he doesn't believe in God at all - like he tells Paulie - "none of this matters." (Less interesting: Melfi's guilt at pressing the issue.)
Paulie on the other hand, clearly believes in God. Paulie, you see, is a simple man. And when Chris tells him an ominous message from the dead, he believes him. So that time haunts him throughout the episode. Did he kill Mikey then? No, no he didn't. So he has nightmares over it until his onetime girlfriend - future Scrubs star Judy Reyes - tells him to go see a psychic. The psychic talks of Paulie's first kill - since is The Sopranos, we can pretty much take it at face value I think that this guy actually has a gift. Paulie's worries are seemingly solved when Tony tells him "Why would Mikey be the leader of all the heavy hitters you've killed?"
Anyway, that portion of the episode is largely played for laughs, although I have to say it's a little better than your average overtly comic Sopranos stories if only because it involves a character analyzing himself and death itself. The fact that it's Paulie is why it's hilarious. This is also, I think, one of the first episodes where it seemed like the supernatural would play a part in The Sopranos. I don't think there's been an episode yet that has been so blatantly riddled with supernatural elements that suggest what the characters experience really happened.
Meanwhile the Carmela plotline is fascinating in its portrayal of how Carmela functions. She prays for Chris to live and to have sight if he does live. She also finds out that Ralph (not Cifaretto who doesn't seem to exist yet) has a well-known gumar who has a baby. She chastises Tony for it and asks him to get a vasectomy.
Only she softens when he leaves in the middle of the night from a phone call from Big Pussy. The look on her face as he leaves the house suggest she knows he's killing who was responsible for attempt on Christopher's life. And... when he comes home, she's completely forgiving of everything Tony did. I just find her character fascinating in its contradictions.
Lastly, Big Pussy - who's already worried about Tony treating him differently - and Tony go do the hit on Matt. The hit itself is less interesting than the steak dinner they enjoy afterword. Pussy looks as comfortable as he will ever be in this entire season. Tony makes a funny joke and then he asks Pussy if he believes in God - which isn't exactly a conversation you expect two mobsters to talk about. (This also adds to my belief that Tony doesn't believe or at least is skeptical) And yet for whatever reason, this scene leaves me a little uncomfortable as there seem to be signs of Pussy's impending death.
This episode was unsurprisingly written by the creator himself, David Chase. There are implications and themes that resonate throughout the entire series and only the creator could have written such an episode. It's directed by Henry Bronchtein, his second directorial effort out of four. It's a bit surprising he directed any Sopranos episodes if only because his last two directed shows were Hostages and The Following, both terrible shows.
Grade - A
Surprise Guest Appearance
Judy Reyes, Carla from Scrubs in other words, is Paulie's girlfriend
Deaths
Dumbass #2 dies this week, Matt
Quotes
"Tell Tony and Paulie, 3:00" - Christopher's message from hell - I'm fairly certain this time is important foreshadowing, but not sure of any specific situation
"We're soldiers. Soldiers don't go to hell." - Tony's opinion on hell
"Do what you do with a girl you want to fuck. Make him love you" - Skip with words of advice towards Pussy
"Oh I got balls, and as long as I got balls, they will remain intact." - Tony on getting a vasectomy
Playlist
1. "My Lover's Prayer" - Otis Redding (played throughout episode)
2. "We Move Like the Ocean" - Bad Suns
3. "XXX 88" - MØ feat. Diplo
4. "Wasted Hours" - Arcade Fire
5. "Higher" - Classified feat. B.O.B.
Full Leather Jacket
After a few episodes of good, but ultimately B quality Sopranos episodes, "From Where to Eternity" is an episode that foreshadows, entertains, and questions. It's a wonderful episode that has all the men with short tempers and little memory pondering life itself and what, if anything, comes after it.
We start where the last episode ended, with Chris in the hospital recovering from his wounds. Chris is too vital a character, too unfinished a story for him to die yet. He dies for one minute and apparently goes to hell. That's... not exactly hard to believe. His version of hell is appropriately dark and funny at the same time. He has a message for Tony and Paulie from Mikey: "Three o'clock." I'm sure if you dissected every episode - and plenty of people have in fact done that - you'd find 3 am or pm is a very important time. I myself am on my second watch through the series so I cannot confirm that.
Tony mostly shrugs this information off, although he does bring it up in therapy meetings. Dr. Melfi uses this opportunity to ask if he thinks Chris will go to hell. Tony says you only go to hell if you're really evil: child molesters, genocidal monsters. Interestingly enough, given the amount of people Tony's killed, manipulated, or affected, I'd say he's in that category. No matter, it's definitely an interesting perspective. I sort of don't believe him though - I think he's more that he doesn't believe in God at all - like he tells Paulie - "none of this matters." (Less interesting: Melfi's guilt at pressing the issue.)
Paulie on the other hand, clearly believes in God. Paulie, you see, is a simple man. And when Chris tells him an ominous message from the dead, he believes him. So that time haunts him throughout the episode. Did he kill Mikey then? No, no he didn't. So he has nightmares over it until his onetime girlfriend - future Scrubs star Judy Reyes - tells him to go see a psychic. The psychic talks of Paulie's first kill - since is The Sopranos, we can pretty much take it at face value I think that this guy actually has a gift. Paulie's worries are seemingly solved when Tony tells him "Why would Mikey be the leader of all the heavy hitters you've killed?"
Anyway, that portion of the episode is largely played for laughs, although I have to say it's a little better than your average overtly comic Sopranos stories if only because it involves a character analyzing himself and death itself. The fact that it's Paulie is why it's hilarious. This is also, I think, one of the first episodes where it seemed like the supernatural would play a part in The Sopranos. I don't think there's been an episode yet that has been so blatantly riddled with supernatural elements that suggest what the characters experience really happened.
Meanwhile the Carmela plotline is fascinating in its portrayal of how Carmela functions. She prays for Chris to live and to have sight if he does live. She also finds out that Ralph (not Cifaretto who doesn't seem to exist yet) has a well-known gumar who has a baby. She chastises Tony for it and asks him to get a vasectomy.
Only she softens when he leaves in the middle of the night from a phone call from Big Pussy. The look on her face as he leaves the house suggest she knows he's killing who was responsible for attempt on Christopher's life. And... when he comes home, she's completely forgiving of everything Tony did. I just find her character fascinating in its contradictions.
Lastly, Big Pussy - who's already worried about Tony treating him differently - and Tony go do the hit on Matt. The hit itself is less interesting than the steak dinner they enjoy afterword. Pussy looks as comfortable as he will ever be in this entire season. Tony makes a funny joke and then he asks Pussy if he believes in God - which isn't exactly a conversation you expect two mobsters to talk about. (This also adds to my belief that Tony doesn't believe or at least is skeptical) And yet for whatever reason, this scene leaves me a little uncomfortable as there seem to be signs of Pussy's impending death.
This episode was unsurprisingly written by the creator himself, David Chase. There are implications and themes that resonate throughout the entire series and only the creator could have written such an episode. It's directed by Henry Bronchtein, his second directorial effort out of four. It's a bit surprising he directed any Sopranos episodes if only because his last two directed shows were Hostages and The Following, both terrible shows.
Grade - A
Surprise Guest Appearance
Judy Reyes, Carla from Scrubs in other words, is Paulie's girlfriend
Deaths
Dumbass #2 dies this week, Matt
Quotes
"Tell Tony and Paulie, 3:00" - Christopher's message from hell - I'm fairly certain this time is important foreshadowing, but not sure of any specific situation
"We're soldiers. Soldiers don't go to hell." - Tony's opinion on hell
"Do what you do with a girl you want to fuck. Make him love you" - Skip with words of advice towards Pussy
"Oh I got balls, and as long as I got balls, they will remain intact." - Tony on getting a vasectomy
Playlist
1. "My Lover's Prayer" - Otis Redding (played throughout episode)
2. "We Move Like the Ocean" - Bad Suns
3. "XXX 88" - MØ feat. Diplo
4. "Wasted Hours" - Arcade Fire
5. "Higher" - Classified feat. B.O.B.
Chase was the judge, jury, and executioner of any episode, any script that would make it to the show. If he wrote this, it's got levels of detail he worked on for dozens of hours. Nothing was allowed through except what met his standards, because he even had high ones for himself.
ReplyDeleteSince this is a Chase script, we can believe that the supernatural/religious stuff is real in The Sopranos. It's blatant but questioned in several episodes.
The point about this episode, is it talks about who goes to hell. Tony is of the opinion, the worst of the worst are who go to hell (as long as HE isn't the worst of the worst, he's safe, in his mind), and discussed is child rapists/torturers. Later on with Paulie, he tells Paulie if he were in India he'd go to hell for eating steak. The vision Christopher had was hell, it was an irish bar.
Tony and Pussy go eat at the Stockyard Inn (an irish bar), order steaks, after kind of feebly torturing a kid who still yells out for mommy. Tony is going to hell in every way he can conceive of.