411 Retro TV Review: The Sopranos – Episode 24
Posted by Mike Gorman on 03.03.2008
Everyone is under pressure this week as Junior resumes his house arrest and Tony visits the clean side of his business. Things will definitely not be the same once the heat starts rising in all corners of the Sopranos world.
Cast:
James Gandolfini ... Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco ... Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco ... Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli ... Christopher Moltisanti
Drea de Matteo … Adriana La Cerva
Nancy Marchand …Livia Soprano
Dominic Chianese ... Corrado 'Junior' Soprano
Vincent Pastore ... Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero
Steve Van Zandt ... Silvio Dante
Tony Sirico ... Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Jamie-Lynn Sigler ... Meadow Soprano
Aida Turturro …Janice Soprano
David Proval …Richie Aprile
Federico Castelluccio …Furio Giunta
Steve Schirripa …Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri
“Do you know what happens to a shark when it stops swimming?” – Dr. Melfi
Having narrowly escaped the murder charges last week, Tony is encouraged by his lawyer to lay low and focus on some of his legal businesses. The idea being that this will keep Tony off the FBI’s radar and let things cool off all over. Of course since this is The Sopranos we know the opposite if more likely to occur.
Tony decides to visit his office at the center of his garbage removal service. We learn that it has been about eight years since Tony had a real presence in the building and his office has become a storage area. This is quickly rectified and Tony is soon seated at his desk, bored out of his mind. The best way I can describe the mood that this episode develops is that of being in a pressure cooker. The heat and pressure are rising for our entire cast.
Junior has had his house arrest status reinstated and this creates a little havoc when he reconnects at the hospital with a woman from his past. She suggests they go out to dinner and has to make up excuses because he does not want to reveal his legal issues. There is a comical happening with Junior’s situation. One afternoon while Bobby is out, Junior gets his hand trapped in the sink for six hours. It is not until Richie and Janice come to see him that he is able to get free. Junior feels like a caged animal and is angered by their laughter at his expense. It is at this time we also learn that Richie and Janice are engaged and will soon be married. This is sure to affect Tony who is finding no peace in his “new” life. He suffers several panic attacks this week with one directly linked to Richie and Janice’s nuptials.
He looks to Dr. Melfi for assistance but she is no real help as she is experiencing pressure of her own. She is still seeing her own therapist where we learn that her drinking is worsening. She is even drinking before her sessions with Tony to help calm herself. She tells her therapist she wants to end her work with Tony yet when Tony brings this up himself she does all that she can to change his mind. As a result she is ineffective in helping Tony and he picks up on this. He lashes out during one of their talks about how he is making all these changes to help himself yet it seems to be making his condition worse. The pressure builds all over as each character does their best to avoid facing the root problems before them. It is not until they begin to take action that they we see any form of relief.
For Junior this happens when he is finally hanging out with his female friend and admits to her that he cannot leave the house and the details of why he cannot leave. She surprisingly understands and she seems to exert a calming influence on Junior.
Melfi realizes that she was afraid of Tony and that is what was making her wary of leaving him or staying with him as a therapist. In this session she also helps Tony realize that it is by staying in action that he has been able to avoid his feelings and that maybe he needed to slow down for this short time to sort them out. Tony sees something in her words but realizes that for himself he must keep moving as he is not ready to deal with what it would mean to stop. Richie also chooses to keep the pressure on as he moves forward his plans to band together with Junior and take down Tony.
The final scene of the episode is Tony returning to Satriale’s deli where his men await him. He returns like a King who has gone to visit the far reaches of his kingdom. I realized in this moment that we did not see any of Tony’s men this episode until he chooses to return. They of course welcome him back with open arms and we see that Christopher is on the mend. At that moment they hear a car accident out front and go out to see it is a local who has been warned about speeding before. Tony asks Furio to go speak to him and just then Tony is approached by the Federal Agents who observe him. They introduce a new officer and Tony greats him. He seems calm and in control as he makes small talk and lights his cigar. He is back where he belongs, almost rested before a great battle to come. With two more episodes left to the season, said battle is just around the corner.
The 411: The introspective nature of this week's action was an interesting contrast the previous week's episode. With an almost "fish out of water" sensibility we are given insight to the current status quo for many of the major players in this universe. You can almost feel the collective breath taken at episodes end as we prepare for the final two episodes of this season. It was fun to see people shaken up this week and I look forward to what is to come.
