For the last few weeks, the focus has been on people Tony may have cause to do away with (i.e., Christopher, Bobby, Paulie, etc.) because of their character flaws, as Tony sees them. This week, the focus is on Tony's weaknesses.
Gambling is the theme this week, and it couldn't be a more timely episode airing. Just a few days ago, A&E aired the episode where Tony and Dr. Melfi discuss the time Tony watched his father, Johnny, lop off Mr. Satriale's pinkie finger over a gambling debt. Johnny then told Tony to never start gambling, and that it leads to trouble. Fast forward, and we see Tony betting thousands of dollars on horses, football games, and roulette.
I'm not sure what enlightening thing I have to say about that point, but I guess it explains my rating on this episode. So far, we've been party to a lot of tension and climactic events, but this one really doesn't have many moments that left me holding my breath. There's even another scene with Dr. Melfi telling Tony that if he doesn't follow her psychiatric protocol, she'll have to drop him as a patient. Haven't we heard that one about ninety times before? There's a small sub-story with Vito Jr. acting out, but I'm not sure that I care a whole lot about where it's going. A.J.'s relationship takes an interesting turn, but A.J.'s story lines have made such jerks and bumps over the last season or so that I'm left not caring what happens to him.
This seems to be the "slop" episode so far. The Sopranos has been praised for it's tight storytelling and intricate threads, but this installment is pretty forgettable. Let's hope next week's episode is more satisfying.
Gambling is the theme this week, and it couldn't be a more timely episode airing. Just a few days ago, A&E aired the episode where Tony and Dr. Melfi discuss the time Tony watched his father, Johnny, lop off Mr. Satriale's pinkie finger over a gambling debt. Johnny then told Tony to never start gambling, and that it leads to trouble. Fast forward, and we see Tony betting thousands of dollars on horses, football games, and roulette.
I'm not sure what enlightening thing I have to say about that point, but I guess it explains my rating on this episode. So far, we've been party to a lot of tension and climactic events, but this one really doesn't have many moments that left me holding my breath. There's even another scene with Dr. Melfi telling Tony that if he doesn't follow her psychiatric protocol, she'll have to drop him as a patient. Haven't we heard that one about ninety times before? There's a small sub-story with Vito Jr. acting out, but I'm not sure that I care a whole lot about where it's going. A.J.'s relationship takes an interesting turn, but A.J.'s story lines have made such jerks and bumps over the last season or so that I'm left not caring what happens to him.
This seems to be the "slop" episode so far. The Sopranos has been praised for it's tight storytelling and intricate threads, but this installment is pretty forgettable. Let's hope next week's episode is more satisfying.