Let's start with this... I read an article comparing The Sopranos to Mad Men around when I was watching the first few episodes of Season 5. Sadly, and this is entirely my fault, they mentioned Adriana dying in S5. So I knew it would happen. Secondly, I had seen the "Awards and nominations" page for the show on Wikipedia, and I clearly remember De Matteo submitting an episode called "Long Term Parking" along with "Irregular around the Margins". Because I saw episode 5 of the season already, I was pretty sure that episode 12 was going to be her last. This brings up problems in many ways. I can imagine the entire episode being a lot more suspenseful had I not known, especially because it's so minimal. It doesn't really revolve entirely on just her, and the circumstances and the writing are very ambiguous. I also didn't have a chance to be surprised (as I hope many were when it first aired).
Now that I have talked about my OWN stupidity, and my total lack of awareness where spoilers may lie, I want to talk about the episode itself. Like I mentioned before, it still surprised me in the way Adriana's storyline ended. Once again, I am completely surprised by the writing and directing. At no point do we get any emotional manipulation. It plays out exactly like many other episodes, there's no obvious lingering on what's about to happen (although we do get a heartbreaking sequence where she is imagining fleeing away, just to find out she's in the car of one of Tony's associates). I can't tell, I expected a lot more, what's the word, emphasis on her death. Because of that, I have to say when it actually happened, it disappointed me. My emotions wanted a sort of more emotional scene where Adriana is pleading, has more time to react to her fate, right before she is killed. The episode's flaw? Not at all, and once again I am reminded that that ISN'T the show I am watching.
Reflecting on the episode now, just 10 minutes after I finished it, cannot say how perfect the execution of it all was. No, it isn't just "some death" to either Tony or Christopher, but it has to be treated that way. The shot of Adriana crawling away, and the camera's movement away from her as we hear the gunshots off screen isn't a scene I will forget easily. Her development over the course of the series is incredible, and one of the truly heartbreaking stories I've seen on television. De Matteo definitely knocked it out of the park, and to date, definitely the toughest death.
Now that I have talked about my OWN stupidity, and my total lack of awareness where spoilers may lie, I want to talk about the episode itself. Like I mentioned before, it still surprised me in the way Adriana's storyline ended. Once again, I am completely surprised by the writing and directing. At no point do we get any emotional manipulation. It plays out exactly like many other episodes, there's no obvious lingering on what's about to happen (although we do get a heartbreaking sequence where she is imagining fleeing away, just to find out she's in the car of one of Tony's associates). I can't tell, I expected a lot more, what's the word, emphasis on her death. Because of that, I have to say when it actually happened, it disappointed me. My emotions wanted a sort of more emotional scene where Adriana is pleading, has more time to react to her fate, right before she is killed. The episode's flaw? Not at all, and once again I am reminded that that ISN'T the show I am watching.
Reflecting on the episode now, just 10 minutes after I finished it, cannot say how perfect the execution of it all was. No, it isn't just "some death" to either Tony or Christopher, but it has to be treated that way. The shot of Adriana crawling away, and the camera's movement away from her as we hear the gunshots off screen isn't a scene I will forget easily. Her development over the course of the series is incredible, and one of the truly heartbreaking stories I've seen on television. De Matteo definitely knocked it out of the park, and to date, definitely the toughest death.