That's a lengthy introduction into the third episode of The Sopranos fourth season, but I think it lays some important groundwork. In all honesty, I thought the episode was one of the weaker installments in the series. It was written by Michael Imperioli - the guy who plays Christopher Multisanti in the show. Imperioli also wrote "The Telltale Moozadel" from season three, perhaps the worst episode The Sopranos has yet to produce. Goes to show that perhaps Imperioli should follow the lead of his character, who gave up dreams of screenwriting to stick with what he does best - thuggery.
This week was, basically, an exercise in grudge-settling. It was the Sopranos' finger in the eye to the Italian-American activists (such as the fallen Senator Robert Toricceli, who actually tried to condemn the show by way of a US Senate resolution) who protest the way his show portrays their ancestry - and, more broadly, it was a general middle finger cast in the direction of identity politics. I happen to love the message, but the way it was delivered leaves much to be desired. The entire episode struck me as didactic and polemical. The dialogue was trite and forced (at least by Sopranos standards). There were the usual great lines and outstanding scenes - and the show was still the best thing on TV all week - but on the whole I found it a little wanting.
The plot centers around Columbus Day, and a planned Native American boycott of the town's celebratory parade. The Soprano Family feels that the Italian explorer's being slighted when activists call attention to the fact that he murdered and enslaved thousands of American Indians. Silvio serves as the writers' chief (pardon the pun) representative of Italian-American interests. In one particularly over-the-top scene, Silvio is attempting to persuade Tony that the issue is of grave concern to him - enough so that he'd like Tony to get involved. He mentions that he himself helped start an Italian-American Anti-Defamation organization - but of course, any check Silvio wrote was written with blood money, money garnered by the very means Italian Anti-American Defamation organizations consider defamatory. In another scene, Father Phil arranges a luncheon in which a successful Italian-American woman extols just how far women of her ancestry have come. She scolds stereotyping with uninspired lines such as, "They say John Gotti, we say Rudolph Giuliani." Of course, Carmela and the other wives of the mafiosos are in attendance. Carmela manages to be simultaneously offended by the stereotype that Italian-Americans are mob-connected, and by the assertion that being mob-connected needs to be a negative stereotype.
Article comments
1 - Ryan Olson
Great Lines: You missed one by Janice's Psychiatrist. I'm afraid I'll have to paraphrase now...
"You're just going to have to sit him down, and with the grace and compassion you're so famous for, tell him that it is over."
Ha!
2 - K.A. Hughes RA
A little early with this comment but I'm interested in what others might think anyway.
End of Season 5 - Does Tony "Find God" and enter Witness Protection or does he get knocked off by someone. In either case the show definitely ends with little hope of a sequel (Which is what Chase has said all along).
Any takers?
3 - Jackson Raegen
What I really thought was neat was the parallel that Chase drew between Carmella and Tony. If you watch carefully, you see how Carmella is treated by the other wives like Tony is with his crew. She gets a certain assumed status by virtue of her marriage (i.e. she is driven to and from the lunch, Silvio's wife stands up for her to the priest, she decides who will help out at the Bacala residence). It was subtle, but fun to watch.
4 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassads!
5 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
6 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
7 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
8 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
9 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
10 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
11 - Tony Da Greek
Da whole t'ing is so racis'...I hates youse bigotistic bassids!
12 - Tony
Sorry...I hit da button too many times...I never was good at mat'.
13 - ShoEZ
To the writers: thank you for this critical analysis. As a common viewer of the series, I often notice double meanings and subtleties that I cannot quite verbally define. Redaing your reviews help me to make sense of all the "extra" information and themes that seem to be cleverly hidden with most great works of art particularly, in this case, the Sopranos. Thanks and please keep up the good work.
14 - Luis E. Vargas
It would've certainly been a great twist in the story if Furio finally confessed his love to Carmella. I'm sure some excellent sub-stories could have originated from a confession like that. Moreover, it would've been great if Carmella just for a moment consented to fall on Furio's arms and for one time experience what her Tony does almost every week.
15 - John Taylor
The writer of this article is a closed-minded, opinionated, blanket-statement-throwing pinhead. Open your mind! One small example -- Janice isn't the most irritating character to EVERYONE by a long shot! Your personal issues continually creep into your writing. Why do you assume we're all waiting for her to get knocked off? You reveal more about yourself and your troubled thinking than you realize!
16 - Bobby Bracca
Who is this "Radley" person anyway? We'd ALL like to see "the act" take place between Furio and Carmela? Speak for yourself, pal! Yeeeeeeesh...
17 - joe
Hmmm. I think someone has a different take on your libertarian rant ;):