Carmella again flirts with adultery. First season, it was the creepy Father Phil; last season, the hunky house painter. This year, it's Fiorio, the muscle Tony brought back with him from Italy. In episode one, I found it odd that when Christopher came to pick up Tony, Carmella's first reaction was, "Where's Fiorio?" Now we see why. This week, when Fiorio announces himself at the door, Carmella makes a quick stop at the mirror to primp. She throws open the door and greets Tony's driver with wide bedroom eyes. She's got a crush. The question: Is Fiorio smart enough to keep his hands off of her?
Adrianna gets pinched. The vomit-on-the-feds scene was classic. Note how the producers made undercover agent Deborah Ciccerone into a bombshell while she's befriending Arianna, but once she's in the office, she's remade as an icy, calculating federal agent. More of the way they manipulate our loyalties - trick us into pulling for the morally midgeted mafiosos over the feds, even though we all know better. Not to mention the seedy treachery Deborah shows in showering Adrianna with fake sympathy over the prospect that she's barren. Deborah even goes so far as to give Adrianna false hope - "an OB-GYN I know" - who she implies might be able to help Adrianna have children. We're seduced to sympathize with the mob slut over the federal agent.
Adrianna's an interesting contrast to Meadow, too. At first blush, the two appear to be polar opposites. Meadow's a student at Columbia. Adrianna's dumb as nails. But both have long reaped the benefits of blood money - Adrianna openly, and by choice; Meadow passively, and by birth. Both are just now coming to grips with the repercussions of living high on the mob hog - Adrianna's life will never be the same (she's either going to jail, or she's going into witness protection); Meadow's still coming to grips with the death of her first love (though she has no problem exploiting it to get what she wants). Meadow of course is a far more complex character. But look for Chase to shatter the stereotype we have of Adrianna as her stint with the feds plays itself out. Coming questions: Will Adrianna cooperate with the feds? Will she get Christopher pinched? What if Christopher finds out she's been pinched before the feds can act? Will he off his own fiancé to protect the family? Will he flip?
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Nice, Rad, I don't even have to watch it anymore.
2 - Kenan Hebert
Nice. Insightful. Good writing. Thank you.
3 - Boris Timanovsky
Just what this pathetic Sopranos addict needed:
some accessible post-game analysis to kill time
over while waiting for the next episode. Now, if
only this could become a daily column!
4 - Sabo
Ditto to Boris's post. Your commentary has helped out big time considering I was out of TV range for the first episode.
5 - Greg
Thanks for the great site. It's nice to have a place where all Sopranos addicts can come and read some insightful analysis into a this incredible show. But, I heard recently that the Sopranos might get cancelled, si this true?
6 - Brendon W
wow, season four......
can't wait for it come to Australia.............
Considering the 'Pay T.V.' channels are only showing Series One I will have a long wait...
Hope they put it out on VHS here....
Have managed to purchase one-two & three on VHS
7 - Rasin
Hello
whats this place then
um...
do you know whats going on with the sopranos?
i'm stoned at the moment so i;m not good at this time
do you belive that 1 skunk joint gets me high.
8 - James Isom
I was wondering if you could find out the song playing at furio's house party where he and carmela dance.
Thank you.....
9 - Laura
could anyone tell me the name of the song/singer in Sopranos Season 4 - Episode #4 (The Weight) - where Carmella and pony-tail dude are dancing.... what's the name of the song / singer? Thank you!
10 - MrMOB
>But Christopher isn't blood - he's related to Tony by marriage.
It has also hasn't rang true to me that Tony's plan to keep things in the "blood family" would be by using Christopher, who isn't his blood family at all. So here's an idea: perhaps Tony knows more than we do. Perhaps Chris isn't his nephew by marriage at all, but actually his son! Far-fetched, but does explain a few things.
Case for:
*Tony keeps harking on about blood, and Chris isn't officially blood by any definition.
*Tony is extraordinarily close to his nephew-by-marriage, cuts him some extraordinary slack at times, and seems blind to failings that he wouldn't with his other underlings.
*Chris has called his mother a "F#@*ing whore" on occasions; perhaps she was as he was growing up, and maybe even before she slept around. Tony would have been about 18 when Chris was conceived, I'm guessing Chris's mother is a bit older. In a similar circumstance in season 1 Uncle Junior remarks at a funeral of a very old, seemingly respectable woman how she went with him when he was a youngster.
*Perhaps the corrupt retired cop Tony tells Chris is his father's killer, also knew the real secret of Chris's paternity?
Case against:
*The pic of Chris's dad in the Navy uniform looks a heck of a lot like him (same big nose). On the other hand Chris's mother also has a pretty big nose.
*Tony and Chris's mother have exchanged so much as a single glance.
I'm guessing that at some point down the track Chris is going to find out that Adriana is grassing to the Feds and face the choice of whacking her or going into witness protection and ratting on Tony. At about this point Tony will spill the beans that they are closer than Chris ever thought.
Pretty out there perhaps, but I have just watched seasons 1-4 over the last couple of weeks and its been burbling in my head for this time.
11 - Eric Olsen
Spam aside - Rad, where've you been, bro?