Birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and death. Those are the five stages of life, and the fact that this episode's title is Stage 5 is a clear sign of the direction these last few shows are headed towards.
Death inhabits the script like never before, mostly because a large section of the story revolves around the awaited release of Cleaver, the horror movie Christopher and Little Carmine are producing. In fact, the opening scene of the episode is revealed to be the climax of Cleaver, where the undead protagonist finally gives mob boss Sally Boy (Stephen Baldwin) what he deserves. The movie premieres and is a huge hit, but Carmela finds it offensive as Sally Boy is blatantly based on Tony: the temper, the bathrobe, the alleged affair he had with the other guy's girl (Adriana, anyone?) - it's all Soprano stuff.
The ultimate end of things is also present in a much bleaker environment: Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola) is told he has cancer and approximately three more months to live. It actually turns out he has been granted much less time, but before he dies he befriends a fellow inmate, oncologist-turned-killer Warren Feldman (Sydney Pollack). The latter is a particularly enjoyable character, all thanks to Pollack, who sometimes gives greater satisfaction as an actor than as a director: while most people would play the role in an obviously psychotic way, the Tootsie director goes for a more realistic approach, portraying Warren as a normal guy who just happened to lose it one morning. His cameo is also drenched in a lot of irony, most notably when he refreshes the old "I killed my wife and her lover" cliché by adding the mailman and a few other people, seeing as he already was in the mood.
So, a convict who seems to be taken straight out of a slasher movie, and a horror film that, in some people's opinion, borrows too heavily from real life. Interesting parallel, huh?
Death inhabits the script like never before, mostly because a large section of the story revolves around the awaited release of Cleaver, the horror movie Christopher and Little Carmine are producing. In fact, the opening scene of the episode is revealed to be the climax of Cleaver, where the undead protagonist finally gives mob boss Sally Boy (Stephen Baldwin) what he deserves. The movie premieres and is a huge hit, but Carmela finds it offensive as Sally Boy is blatantly based on Tony: the temper, the bathrobe, the alleged affair he had with the other guy's girl (Adriana, anyone?) - it's all Soprano stuff.
The ultimate end of things is also present in a much bleaker environment: Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola) is told he has cancer and approximately three more months to live. It actually turns out he has been granted much less time, but before he dies he befriends a fellow inmate, oncologist-turned-killer Warren Feldman (Sydney Pollack). The latter is a particularly enjoyable character, all thanks to Pollack, who sometimes gives greater satisfaction as an actor than as a director: while most people would play the role in an obviously psychotic way, the Tootsie director goes for a more realistic approach, portraying Warren as a normal guy who just happened to lose it one morning. His cameo is also drenched in a lot of irony, most notably when he refreshes the old "I killed my wife and her lover" cliché by adding the mailman and a few other people, seeing as he already was in the mood.
So, a convict who seems to be taken straight out of a slasher movie, and a horror film that, in some people's opinion, borrows too heavily from real life. Interesting parallel, huh?