The Sopranos: The Top Ten Episodes
Published June 07, 2007
What happens here destroys Tony and Christopher’s relationship, largely because of Christopher’s own weakness. In a devastating scene, he is all set to run away with Adrianna, or at least I think he is, until he sees a white trash family at a gas station. Faced with the possibility of living a normal life, he decides to turn Adrianna over to Tony and Silvio, who kill her in the woods. The tension of this episode comes from the juxtaposition of the inevitable ending and the glimmer of hope we cling on to. Even when she’s in the car, I’m hoping that maybe they weren’t lying, that she’s off to a new life somewhere. But, she’s not and by episode’s end, she’s dead
Join the Club (6x02) — I love the series’ forays into metaphysical weirdness, and few were more satisfying than this trip to a parallel universe where Tony becomes Kevin Finnerty, businessman. The basic conceit of this episode, a man who switches briefcases and becomes someone else, is fascinating and could be a feature right there, but wrapped up in what we know about Tony, it becomes an exciting way to view the man he could have been. Few episode endings are as haunting as Tony sitting alone in his hotel room, looking out at the revolving lighthouse as Moby plays.
On top of that, we get the phenomenal hospital scenes, a showcase for Edie Falco. And, the episode’s importance to the series as a whole was confirmed during Tony’s peyote trip, at which point he realizes that there are other worlds than just this one. Did he remember the Kevin Finnerty experience in that moment? I think he did. The intensity and power of this episode wasn’t matched until the next episode on the top ten list.
Walk Like a Man (6x17) — Before this episode, we’d been in something of a holding pattern for eight or nine episodes. There were great moments, but there wasn’t any sense of urgency. I was thinking that the show would end in a leisurely manner, maybe some people would die, but things would go on as they always had. Then this episode happened and everything changed. As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a big Christopher fan and this is the episode that essentially seals his fate. He has struggled to be what Tony wants him to be, but he just can’t do it. If he’s with them and drinking, then he’s a disgrace, if he’s not, he’s also letting Tony down. It’s a conundrum and there really is no answer. There’s so many brilliant scenes with him here, including the shocking death of JT. Chris is going off the rails and it’s pretty clear he doesn’t have long to live by the end.
- The Sopranos: The Top Ten Episodes
- Published: June 07, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Video
- Writer: Patrick
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Patrick, I tip my hat to you. Nicely done all the way, except that "The Blue Comet" was definitely one of the best episodes ever. I know you thought about that one and even mentioned it, but it should be there.
Oh, and Kevin Finnerty is more important that I think any of us realized at the time. I think we will all find that out tomorrow night.
AJ's arc is actually quite well developed over the course of the series. One of the toughest moments to watch in the entire series is when AJ is forced to wear the military school uniform in the third season finale and just breaks down crying. There, Tony says something like "What are we going to do to save this kid?" That's the core of season 6B, what will happen to him? So, that collapse is critical to setting up the theme of Tony's genes as a curse he's passed on to his son.
I think there's a lot of good stuff with Melfi, but she's mostly only interesting in relation to Tony. I was contemplating putting "Employee of the Month" on the list becuase it is an incredibly powerful episode, but it didn't quite make it.
The Italy episode was up there for me too, it's a really fun episode. Carmela's infatuation with Furio in season four was a great arc, and a great way to show the differing attittudes this world has when it comes to male and female infidelity. The moment where Furio almost pushes Tony into the helicopter blades was one of the tensest in the series.
Yes, that scene with Furio was powerful. Great reaction from Tony too, like "What the...?" and almsot knowing. LAter when Carmela tells him about Furio, it all comes together.
One thing you didn't mention (and I didn't mention in my piece either) is the power of Livia Soprano. Nancy MArchand still haunts this series and rightly so.
When Tony/Kevin doesn't go into the "reunion" I thought it was because he didn't want to see all his victims (Ralph, Pussy, Jackie Jr., etc.) but then I realized it's Livia he is afraid of (has always been too).
Very nicely done Patrick, however, I have to disagree with you on Season I - it is perhaps the single greatest season of any series in television history, IMO.
I am also one of those people who once believed the "dream sequences" greatly detracted from the series. For example, I recall feeling very strongly that season II would have been much better served had it ended one episode earlier. I now realize how wrong I was.
Your insight and comments help bring further meaning to some of the dream episodes I once despised. Thanks for the list.
I like the dream sequences on one level simply because they let the series do really interesting visual stuff. While I've got some issues with "The Test Dream," visually, it's amazing. But, dreams also work together with the Melfi scenes to give us insight into Tony's subjective mental space. Everything in those dream sequences is indicative of the way Tony views the world, and we can understand better what he thinks of other characters by how they're portrayed there. I love that kind of stuff, and I think it's a large part of what makes the show more than just a typical mafia story.
"People who consider the Russian a loose end completely miss the point, it's like saying Pulp Fiction sucked because we never found out what was in the briefcase."
The Russian being alive isn't a loose end. Obviously he never made it back because he would have told Slava what happened. Part of the problem is that Tony made it such a big deal because the Russian mob would have come at them. Was the reason Tony stopped laundering money through them ever dealt with? If they had made that clear, it would have straightened things out.
"While I'm obviously not happy that Nancy Marchand died"
Neither is she.
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Awesome job! I'd like to know your take on the episode when AJ collapses. Now, we, the audience suddenly realize, that this affliction T's been dealing with has a "face" ie it is passed along to his son and its another cross Tony has to bear. Also you barely mention Melfi? There were some extraordinarily cutting edge scenes with her. I thought the whole rape arc was something never before seen on episodic TV. And finally would enjoy your feedback on the a) Furio character and b) the episode when they all went to Italy. Thanks and great job.