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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

The Sopranos - Season Six (US and Canada only) (Spoilers!)

  
  

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matthew.
03:07 / 13.03.06
In a phrase: holy shit.

You know, I wouldn't put it past the writers of The Sopranos to kill off their main character. It seems like a ballsy move. At the end of the premiere episode of the sixth season of The Sopranos, Uncle Junior, now senile, shoots his nephew Tony, thinking him to be a dead adversary. Tony dials 911 and loses consciousness... and fade out.

Now let's Tarantino it to the beginning. A montage of events, coupled with a strange spoken-word track from William S Burroughs, tell us that some time has gone by since Johnny Sack was arrested in New Jersey. In Carmella's new house project, Adrianna asks Carmella why she is so worried. Vito has lost a ton of weight. AJ is also thin and is in college. Janice and Bobby have a baby girl named Nica. Uncle Jun is paranoid and delusional.

Ray, a captain and informant for the FBI dies of natural causes.

The episode is framed by one character, Gene, receiving an inheritance and wishing to retire and move to Florida. He is blocked by both Tony (via Silvio) and the FBI (via Robyn Sanseverino). His son is doing hard drugs and his wife is spiraling into depression thanks to Gene's temper and lack of mobility within (and out of) the family. He ultimately commits suicide by hanging, in a very long and graphic death scene.

Hesh's son in law is beaten by one of Phil Leotardo's captains. Phil, acting head of the family, has "buried the hatchet" out of respect for Johnny Sack. Tony contemplates strategies on how to handle Phil and Johnny by proxy, and this strategy basically involves caving in to Phil in order to forget the "bad blood" of Tony B and Phil's brother.

So, that's a summary of the events....
 
 
matthew.
03:21 / 13.03.06
But here's some thoughts.

The Sopranos has three great strengths: the rich psychology of its characters, the rich symbolism, and its great skill at foreshadowing. The William S. Burroughs spoken word piece featured a numbering of people, with characters being shown at the specific spots. I knew watching this montage that I should be paying close attention to it.

Anybody know what the name of the Burroughs piece is so that we can paste the relevant text here and take it apart? [Something about a director of "your" film. The name "Ren" is mentioned, along with some name sounding like/resembling Egyptian Gods' names]

The episode seems to be about delusion if you ask me. Bobby is distracted by his new hobby of models trains and he's even got a stupid little hat for it. Uncle Jun' is deluded by senility, deluded into shooting his own nephew. Gene is deluded into thinking he can actually escape this world. People are delusional in this episode about their own lives, their lovers, their families. But I can't prove this thesis because I don't have the text to quote from.

The Sopranos are back on top, my friends. The long wait is over. One of the US's best shows is back and it's addictive like crazy....
 
 
matthew.
03:24 / 13.03.06
Ah. The Burroughs piece is either:
  
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
03:47 / 13.03.06
No. Possible. Way.

They pulled the same ish with Natey Fisha when he NARMed. No preview, OMFG what happened to him. I hear tell next ep is a full episode Dream Sequence (FUCKING YES, seriously). I saw a lot of things coming in that particular episode, but that was not one of them.

I'll say this, one thing I've learned about Sopranos is that very rarely does action carry over in any significant way between episodes. One of the main points of this episode was to examine the Uncle Ju/Nursing Home scenario and, in closing, it had to escalate that situation to its breaking point. I remember the main reason I was initially turned off by The Sopranos when I tried to get into was "Employee Of The Month", where Melfi was raped and there were zero repercussions. I have since realized that episodes of The Sopranos are by and large, stand alone entities, Seven Soldiers issues if you will. All contributing to the larger whole, but really sticking to their own sixty minute arcs with very little carry over.

Naturally it served a long running dramatic series well to end on a cliffhanger like this, as I don't doubt it will be greeting me from every newsstand on my way to work in the morning. But really, it was about Uncle Ju and putting Tony in a situation where he had no choice but to once again face the demons residing in assisted care.

Shocked the living fuck out of me, though.
 
 
matthew.
04:01 / 13.03.06
I was always disappointed in Melfi's rape scene. It seemed so callous and shocking and there were no consequences. If the show was attempting some sort of socio-political comment on rape, it was lost to me. Ultimately, I saw the incident as a misstep in the show's direction.
 
 
sleazenation
08:36 / 13.03.06
By the by, I expect a fair few posters from outside North America will manage to find a way to watch this by fair means or foul...
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
08:40 / 13.03.06
Um, not to get away from the new season, but apart from anything else, the point of Melfi's assault was ultimately to show that there are some characters who manage to resist the temptation to become part of Tony's world in that "favour for a favour" way. Melfi could have asked Tony to do what the justice system could not, to go beyond that and visit a whole heap of righteous retribution on the guy, and we the audience would have cheered her all the way. But she didn't, and it's important that she didn't. Her relationship with Tony as a therapist, knowing what he does and taking his money, was always a little grey - but there had to be somewhere she drew the line. That it was an incredibly hard decision was the point, too. Hence that steely-faced, resolute "No" that ends the episode.

That's before we get onto the fact that complaining about a lack of consequences a) arguably misses the subtleties of how events affect relationships between characters, and b) most definitely misses "some sort of socio-political comment on rape", in terms of how many reported sexual assaults lead to successful prosecutions. Oh, and that's also leaving out the thematic connection the assault has with all the other misogynistic violence that takes place in season 3 in particular - in many ways season 3 is about showing us just how ugly the world of the Bada Bing is, and how much wider in fact that ugliness is.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
11:30 / 13.03.06
Yeah, exactly. And in retrospect, it worked perfectly in the framework of that episode, the last shot and line being typically understated and spot on.

I've also come to enjoy what used annoy the eff out of me, the editing structure of the show. No breathing room, cuts coming about .005 seconds after someone's done talking. In this episode in particular it showed the greatness of this approach, when cutting from whining Tony to possibly the biggest break of his life. It literally only ever shows you what it needs to, and not a frame too much.
 
 
matthew.
12:16 / 13.03.06
sleaze - The threads on Six Feet Under were divied up by continent. Same with Battlestar Galatica. I just wanted to conform to Barbelith here.

Flyboy - As I said, the comment on rape was lost on me. I never quite thought of it as Melfi drawing a line between her and Tony. Thanks for the info.
 
 
PatrickMM
01:06 / 14.03.06
About the Melfi rape, I'd agree that her saying "No" basically puts all the issues to rest, she's not going to cross the line and seek revenge, no matter how much she wants to. The thing the show does a lot is take what would be ongoing arcs in most shows and compress them into one really packed episode. I think it usually works because they're always aware of the events of these "standalone" episodes, even if they're not directly followed up on in the next episode.

As for the premier itself, I thought it was excellent. There's still a lot of people to catch up with, but Tony getting shot opens up a lot of new possibilities for the rest of the season. I hope we pick up right where this episode ended, and deal with the fallout.

Tony wasn't looking good, so I'm wondering who's going to step up and lead the family? There's no clear second in command, Silvio's got seniority, Christopher's being groomed to take over, and Vito would clearly like the job. I'm sure that will be an issue as we progress.

And just a side note, if you're going to post any spoilers for stuff that hasn't aired, please give some space. The speculation about a dream episode's fine by me, but if it's plot details, give the warning.
 
 
sleazenation
08:33 / 14.03.06
sleaze - The threads on Six Feet Under were divied up by continent. Same with Battlestar Galatica. I just wanted to conform to Barbelith here.

But none of them attempted to exclude viewers in other nations with the word 'only' - that kind of raised my hackles a bit. I realise it's nothing serious, but still...
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
10:06 / 16.03.06
So, can anyone clarify for me exactly how much time has passed since the end of s.5 and the start of s.6? I didn't catch any references in the show.
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
11:29 / 16.03.06
Two years. I believe the interim will be fleshed out in "Sopranos: 104", weekly shorts to be delivered on your cell phone.
 
 
matthew.
11:33 / 16.03.06
I believe Bobby and Janice's baby is 14 months old, so 14 + 9 = 23. So about two years. And I believe that Carmela makes a reference to the time when commenting on Adriana's absence.
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
09:35 / 17.03.06
She says "what, and not call anyone for over a year?" Script carelesness perhaps?
 
 
ShadowSax
19:46 / 17.03.06
it would be a copout to have tony die in the last episode, i think, because of the necessary story of the power struggle would be way too interesting. so my prediction is either he dies here or he doesnt die during the show's progression.

it's possible that jun has killed him, but that he lays in a hospital bed for a while. we can look at some clues, much (if not all?) of the lines tony had in previews were already spoken in that first episode ("you took an oath"), and some scenes of his family were in desparation, i think of aj running at a window in a door, like in a hospital? full of anger, a shot of melfi looking surprised...

tony could go slow like jackie did, and this would give new life to the new york/nj plotline, struggle for control, with sacks in jail and obviously an idiot (not wanting to look weak in court...wouldnt looking weak in court be a good thing for him?), and philly wanting revenge still on tony's family.

obviously, the possibilities are endless. i did read that chase is going to go full on with the dream sequences this time, or at least not shy from them. and i cant remember, but did previous episodes focus so much on his crew, as much as this (another clue that the crew, not tony, will be the lead this time?)?

i heard from an guy who worked with jamie lynn discalia that this might not be the last season. anyone else hear anything like that?

anyway, great episode. the next episode's plot (based on the summary from directtv): "'Tony suffers case of mistaken identity during business trip'

not that it matters. last week was just about a scavenger hunt in uncle jun's backyard, and hesh seeking retribution for something.

that was funny, tho, when tony shouted to his uncle's neighbor that the moles were getting into the sprinkler system (her seeing them digging holes), not thinking about the fact that 10x10 backyards dont generally have sprinkler systems.
 
 
matthew.
03:40 / 18.03.06
According to Wikipedia, ShadowSax, there will be an eight-episode bonus season after this particular season.

Personally, I'm betting that the next episode will be an extended dream sequence so that the writers can go non-stop on the symbols, no matter how obvious or subtle (talking fish, anyone?)
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
13:43 / 18.03.06
Maybe we'll find out what that time from Chris' shooting dream meant.
 
 
Spaniel
17:14 / 18.03.06
A eight episode bonus season? Okay, I love the Soprano's but enough is enough. The show needs to end.
 
 
PatrickMM
18:53 / 18.03.06
The eight episode "bonus" season was announced a while ago, and has been part of the conception of this last run of episodes for at least most of the time that Chase has been writing the final season. So, it's not like they just decided to do some more, it's been the plan, do these twelve, those eight and that's it. There's certainly enough plot issues remaining to support those episodes.

I would love to see Tony die at the end of this chunk of episodes, and then have the last eight deal with life without him. But I'm assuming even Chase wouldn't risk doing that.
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
19:38 / 18.03.06
plus, you know: Six Feet Under did that.
 
 
ShadowSax
21:40 / 18.03.06
as to the fish, an almost dead tony suddenly overinterested in sushi?

actually i hadnt heard about the "bonus" episodes; i usually intentionally stay away from too much reading about shows like this in order to keep the narrative clean for me. that might be what my friend was referring to. all i knew was that around last summer, one of the actors was happy because more shows were being considered.
 
 
Spaniel
22:58 / 18.03.06
There's certainly enough plot issues remaining to support those episodes.

Ya think?
 
 
matthew.
23:32 / 18.03.06
The show needs to end.

May I ask why you think that? I thought that the fifth season was an excellent return to form considering the (non)events of season four. This sixth-season premiere was better than any episode in the fourth season (other than Chris' "intervention" (if that was in the 4th)).

Unless the show bombs in the next few episodes, I'm more than happy to have a "bonus" season AS LONG AS it doesn't take six years to film.
 
 
matthew.
03:21 / 20.03.06
Second episode.

A good episode. Not the greatest. I don't think it's great because the symbolism gets a little obvious in this one. Tony, in a coma from the gunshot, has a very lucid dream in which he is a salesman (i think) on a trip to another city for a seminar. He loses his wallet and his briefcase (AKA his identity) and he struggles to cope with it. He becomes Kevin Finnerty by getting a hotel room with that name. He then falls down a flight of stairs and gets a concussion. At the hospital, the doctor gets an MRI done and Tony has the onset of Alzeimer's. He reveals to the doctor that he's not Kevin Finnerty.
"So what's your name?"
"What does it matter? I'm not even going to know soon."
First he loses his name and assumes another, but retains the first one. Now he is going to fully lose both names. As with Gaddis' The Recognitions (and other works), losing a name is tantamount to losing your soul.

While at the real hospital, Tony comes out his coma long enough to ask Carmella who he is and where he is going. The doctors then replace the feeding tube and induce a coma in order to fight the sepsis caused by the bullet. Nurses come in often to change the dressing and the wound is still gaping. According to the team of doctors (headed up by Rachel Green's father), there is a strong probability of a negative outcome. Even if he comes out of the coma, there is still the question of what degree of brain damage has Tony suffered.

Carmela sits by his side all the time, interrupted only by visits from other family members and trips home to shower. AJ avoids seeing his father and Meadow is helping by talking to Tony.

There's this wonderful scene in which Carmela puts on a CD for Tony and remembers Tony when he had hair. She tells him that he will be okay, that he will pull through. People love him, his family his friends. Then she apologizes for telling him that he will go to hell (when he got the MRI waaaaaaay back in Season 1). It's not too maudlin, not overly dramatic. It just reminds me that Carmela does love Tony.

Back in the dream, Tony looks out the window at the city skyline and sees the lighthouse far in the distance. He reaches for the phone and decides not to call anybody. End of episode.

So... will he come out of the coma? I don't know. I can't figure it out. It's a ballsy move keeping your main character in a coma for a season. Perhaps he'll stay comatose until the "bonus" season...

What did you 'lithers think of this episode?
 
 
sleazenation
07:54 / 20.03.06
I was hoping that they'd just kill Tony off in the first episode and have done with it, but I guess they wanted to keep him around on the periphery of the story, possibly even commenting on it...
 
 
Yotsuba & Benjamin!
10:24 / 20.03.06
I'm glad they're taking this approach. Really bring things to a boil in the family (both) and then dump Tony back into it with possibly diminished capacity.

I dug Tony's coma sequence a lot. The lighthouse/searchlight wasn't too anvil and Gandolf played the whole thing really well.

AJ declaring a Gaspare Malanga of his own? A little much.
 
 
ShadowSax
12:36 / 20.03.06
any thoughts on who the wife/daughter voices were on the phone with tony in his dream?

i thought the scene with christopher at satrialis talking to the feds was great, that imperioli played that really well.

the final scene, where tony decides not to pick up the phone and call (his fake family? his real family?). it didnt seem like he had forgotten anything, but that he had simply made the choice not to contact them. i wonder if now he simply dies.

looking out his hotel window, was that a sunrise or a sunset? (i took it as a sunrise.) and is that simply his interpretation of the "light" that people claim to see as theyre dying?
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
13:34 / 20.03.06
the vista out the window read as Tony misintepreting the monitor next to his bed. The "pulsing light" being his life signs. i believe he also looked to his side and saw that scene when he woke up at the beginning of the episode, as well.
 
 
matthew.
14:47 / 20.03.06
it didnt seem like he had forgotten anything, but that he had simply made the choice not to contact them. i wonder if now he simply dies

I would say that that intrepretation of the final scene is the safest. Or even more safe is that Tony chooses to stay in the coma.

he vista out the window read as Tony misintepreting the monitor next to his bed. The "pulsing light" being his life signs. i believe he also looked to his side and saw that scene when he woke up at the beginning of the episode, as well.

I think it's a double symbol. Yes, it represents the monitor. (Stop me if this is too obvious) I also think it represents a lighthouse, AKA the way home, the shore, land, soil, the real world.
 
 
ShadowSax
14:58 / 20.03.06
interpretations are putting tony in purgatory, trapped between heaven (the light) and the wildfires of costa mesa.

sil (dante) taking control of the business, hm.

i only read "inferno," not the other two, so is there anyone who can put tony's dream last nite into whatever travels there were thru purgatory?
 
 
matthew.
15:22 / 20.03.06
If I took a Joycean intrepretation, the fall down the stairs represents the descent into hell.
(Grace from Dubliners)
Searching for his Beatrice? Maybe that's the real Carmela.
 
 
ShadowSax
15:53 / 20.03.06
i was thinking that maybe the voice of his wife on the phone was that of charmaine, but today i found an article that said it wasnt, that the voices of his dream family were meaningless.

altho i thought i recognized the voice of his daughter on the phone.

i'm such a loser.
 
 
matthew.
13:34 / 21.03.06
i'm such a loser.

Here is an interesting and short essay by Richard K. Morgan on the word "loser".
 
 
Our Lady Has Left the Building
19:02 / 26.03.06
I'm only half way through catching up with series 4 but I've just seen the episode where Tony tells Chris he's going to step back and run more stuff through Chris, that Sil's a good consigliere but not blood, I don't know whether Chris' addiction story line in the second half of s.4 puts an absolute kibosh on that or whether this is just Sil being efficient.

But putting Tony in a position where he's helpless and forced to watch everything crash down around him would be a particularly nasty form of hell for him. After all, 'his' FBI agents have been drafted into the War Against Terror, they aren't interested in him any more. They've got bigger fish to fry than the silly old Mafia.

And Janice, wailing and weeping. Her mother's daughter!
 
  

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