3
by AJColossal
A "9" for me. Great Sopranos episodes have this propulsive energy--it's one great scene after another, and this one burns through a ton: Chris and Favreau with the gun, Chris's story about the mobster and the acid, the whole confirmation plot ("Can't you be a good Catholic for 15 fuckin' minutes?") Pussy's wire scenes, etc, etc.)
A lot of people hate it when a story strays too far Tony, but the series as a whole is much richer for these side jaunts into the other characters. Plus, I just think it's a very entertaining story, and is one of the funniest episodes in Soprano's history--him calling for Janeane Garafalo "hey pucciach'!'" is up there for me, and there is something so unbelievably perfect about Chris carrying his script around in a Dunkin' Donuts bag. I swear that must be an Italian thing, because that is something I could have seen my father doing. Stupid details like this are thing only The Sopranos can nail.
I think the Christopher movie jaunts work on so many levels. For one they show the audience that wiseguys, especially the newer generation, are almost more enamored with movies about the life than the life itself. This is because they are an idealized, sensational take on a lifestyle that is now nowhere near as glamorous as it once was (if it ever was glamorous to begin with). These movies are a tribute to what Christopher thought his life would become when he joined up with Tony Soprano, but sadly is not.
They also show that with distractions like this, Christopher can never be a successor to Tony. And in last season, I believe that Christopher re-entered the movie business to spite Tony for sleeping with Adrianna (and having her killed). I also think that his re-entering the industry (especially with "Cleaver") is sort of a tribute to Adrianna, because of how supportive she was when he considered it.
Anyways, the last 10 minutes are very touching, and the point when I really think the second season truly began to gain some momentum. Great, great ending.