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I liked this episode, but I can see why others didn't. It's highly possible that I've entered that level of fandom where my judgment is clouded, so I enjoyed reading some of the intelligent criticism here.

I loved the scene with Murmur and Chris. Murmur going back and forth between serious advice and jokes about not being able to hook up at meetings was hilarious. I really enjoy his character and see him as a good influence on Chris. Well, as good as you can get from a mafia associate.

Someone mentioned all the sex in the episode. I saw it as a comparison of Chris and AJ's relationships. The Chris scenes seemed a lot more lustful. The first scene ends with a blunt conversation about semen stains, not what I would call romantic. The most affection we see between them is when there high on the couch. While AJ's scene seemed to have deeper emotions, showing AJ and Blanca staring in each others eye from sex to pillow talk. They seemed to highlight Chris and Juliana's impulsive nature as opposed to the emergence of a significant relationship between Blanca and AJ(allegedly).

I wasn't shocked when Agent Harris tipped off Tony. It's not the first time Harris has tried to help Tony out.

Did anyone else find Kelli's outfit bizarre at the end. It looked like something Adrianna would wear. Kelli hasn't been in many scenes but the costume people have always had her in a completely different style then Ade. Usually she is in solid colors with lots of pink. Like those puffy boot things she was wearing when Chris' car got towed. Maybe it's nothing but I found it strange.


</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p098.ezboard.com/bthechaselounge ... store>Pork Store</A> at: 6/6/06 11:18 pm

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Wow! David Chase must be feeling like George Lucas right now. So many people saying, "You've brought us into this wonderful world we could have never hoped to dream of, but you stink." Granted, it wasn't the best ever, but anyone who really cares about this show can't freak out and jump ship. Mr. Chase has a singular vision and the idea of him pleasing 10,000 Sopraniacs at once is folly. I love these characters. Watching any of them do anything is the best part of my day. Lynch Fever is way too high in the lounge right now. I really believe the eventual payoff will be epic. D.C. will get us there. I think.

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After hearing Chris's conversation w/ Murmur, it seems like they are drifting farther apart. Towards the end of their chat, it even appeared as if Murmur was warning Chris about this new girlfriend out of jealousy moreso than concern. So was their relationship stricly professional (sponsor and former addict), or did they become friends/buddies somehow? It seemed like Murmur was always professional throughout season 6 (even up to his second-to-last line "Well I guess we'll just keep an eye on it."), except then with his last line "F'n lucky c@cks@cker!", he lets his guard down and thus his ultimate usefullness.

I was just starting to like his character, too.

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The Catholic culture is such that they stick together even in the face of the ignorance of those who do not understand Catholicism. I realize that you have to be born and raised Catholic to understand it. It's a lot like being a Jew. You cannot explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it. I know that's somewhat nebulous, but when Tony said, "at least she's Catholic," he meant that they shared a lot of cultural experience even if it's not Italian. What underlies the culture of Italians, Irish, Poles, and Hispanics is their similar experience with prejudice towards them, not the least of which is for their religious beliefs--the common denominator--Catholicism.

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<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Wow! David Chase must be feeling like George Lucas right now. So many people saying, "You've brought us into this wonderful world we could have never hoped to dream of, but you stink."<hr></blockquote>

It's a totally wierd phenomenon, isn't it? It's why any artist ultimately should listen only to one voice -- his/her own -- in any creative endeavor. If people like it, fine. If they don't, too bad. And that's from someone who found the finale, and a couple other episodes this season, below par.

While I love to read and write about the show on this forum, I sincerely hope that Chase is well insulated from public opinion and critique of his work, whether offered here or elsewhere. It's an entirely unrealistic wish, but I don't want him influenced in any way by what people think of this season or any other. And that includes being influenced to do something or not do something just to confound expressed viewer expectations.

If there's one thing I hate about offering a negative critique, it's the inevitable whiff of "entitlement" that comes with it. It starts to sound like I think I'm entitled to or owed something more pleasing, which is certainly not the case. None of us are. There's a plate of drama being offered to us every week, with eight more meals to be served, and none of us are forced to buy it or to eat it and none of us are entitled to have it satisfy any particular taste or appetite.

On the other hand, we can certainly sound off about whether or why we do or don't like the dish served. That's just part and parcel of offering something -- anything -- for public consumption.

Speaking only for myself, nothing David Chase does from now on would diminish my estimation of his genius. What he did through the first 3 seasons alone was enough to gain my unwavering trust. And if he never wrote another script in his life, he should earn immortality for what he did in Test Dream, Join the Club, and Mayham.

Doesn't mean I won't vocalize distaste for future episodes if I feel it, but, if I do, I hope it won't come across as an accusation that Chase broke some contract with the viewers or otherwise failed on some obligation to the viewing public. He has no obligation beyond being true to his own vision and creative instincts. That was good enough for all of us up until now and should continue to be so.

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Fly absolutely nailed it when she wrote this: "And that includes being influenced to do something or not do something just to confound expressed viewer expectations."

I admire the heck out of David Chase; look at my screen name. But there were several times this year when I felt he and the others were writing as if someone were looking over their shoulders.

It's one thing to zig when everyone expects you to zag. That makes the show interesting. But it's another thing to promise drama -- by building up plot strands, and through the various trailers -- and then not delivering. Then it becomes manipulative.

To me, Johnny Sack getting arrested at the end of last season, and Phil's heart attack this season, are both classic examples of what's called deus ex machina -- "any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of the plot."

Yes, sure, Johnny could have gotten arrested, and Phil could have had a heart attack. These things happen. But for plot purposes, what both of those episodes did was remove the need for a showdown between NY and NJ, which had been one of the central plot engines during both seasons. Just like that, Tony's problems went away (at least temporarily, in Phil's case.)

Of course viewers are going to be disappointed. They had been led to believe there would be a dramatic payoff and they didn't get it.

Other things troubled me this year. Gene has a family? That had never even been hinted at before. Syl has a breathing problem? OK, he spends a lof of time in a smoky bar, that's certainly believable. But we never saw any sign of it before or, more importantly, afterward. You telling me he wouldn't be reaching for the breathalyzer after that fight with the Fat Don -- or struggling for breath during the fight? That, to me, makes the breathing problem a cheap plot device, not an organic part of his character. At least with Vito we knew his character had gay tendencies. It wasn't a total surprise.

As much as I like this show, it just feels to me that they didn't have enough material for this final season. So we got what amounted to guest appearances -- here's a show for Paulie, here's one for Artie, here's one where Christopher goes back to Hollywood, here's one where Carm goes to Paris. If it began to feel like deja vu, it's because we had pretty much been there before, with all of these plots. Just substitute Italy for Paris.

I expect the final eight show to be amazing, but I'm not going to apologize for being somewhat disappointed with this year's effort. It's Chase's fault. He's trained me to expect unprecedented excellence every time I hear that theme song.







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<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Homage to Hitch: ...really got a kick out of DC's homage to AH by use of the McGuffin (Kaisha) and pieces of Vertigo (muscial) soundtrack.<hr></blockquote>
Thanks for identifying 'Vertigo.' I was going to ask here what it was because the music sounded so familiar yet I couldn't place it.

It's been a while since I've seen it. Was there also the cinematic device in that movie as in this ep's scene, where we see Chris and Julianna in the theatre with overlays of them doing drugs?

Back to Phil's heart attack -- I don't see this as coming out of the blue. I think the murder of Vito has a lot to do with it. As much as he raved about Vito and wanting him dead, in several scenes you see him get all tense, like during Vito's actual murder when Phil is clutching the bedsheets. As much as he hated Vito, they were still brothers-in-law, and Phil's sister loved Vito. I'm sure Phil had a lot of guilt over this.

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