My favorite funny part was when Jun was beating on that old guy and he kicked him and his slipper flew off. I was cracking up. I hate seeing Jun in the nut house too though. I miss him being a bigger part of the picture back when he used to fart into his couch cushions. He has always cracked me up.

Universal Polymath wrote:On the topic of the music in this episode, though, as well as on the topic of Junior, I thought the use of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was the perfect song, during the scene in which Carter turns on Junior. I rewatched that scene, and I'm not sure why I like it so much, but it really got to me. It starts with all the patients singing that song, and then as Junior shows disdain towards Carter's antics, and the camera slowly pushes in on Carter's face as his smile fades - The immediate rejection and abandonment that kid is feeling is just written so clearly in his expression, right before it turns to rage. I really feel bad for that character, to think he'd live his whole life without ever really finding any peace or stable relationships.

Assuming Carter is meant to be Tony as a troubled youngster looking up to a (gangster) father figure, Carter's decision to attack Junior for his betrayal stands in sharp contrast to Tony's decision to control his anger and not off Paulie for his perceived betrayal (i.e. Tony knows Paulie told the 'fat' joke). While Tony is still seeking therapy and mental treatment for what troubles him with Dr. Melfi (on his own) Carter's violent outburst presumably got him kicked from that hospital, and likely on a path of self-destruction and violence that young Tony took early on. I was also reminded of the last "Star Wars" movie when Anakin Skywalker gives in to the dark side and turns bad. Carter is a lost cause and, ironically, what kept him from going completely bonkers was his looking up to a gangster father figure. It's as if Chase is saying that having thugs and criminals as positive role models for an impressionable young man (especially one with mental problems) is bad, but not having any male role models to look up to is even worse.

And thanks to whoever pointed out the similarities between "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and this episode with the Junior/Carter scenes. It completely went over my head the first time, but on repeat viewing it stands out more clearly.

Well, I watched it again last night, and I now think that Tony's actions were those of a changed man, albeit one who is changing very, very slowly. He still seems to be on a self-destructive bent, with booze, food, girls and gambling, but he refrained from killing Paulie. What was Paulie's crime? OK, he's got a big mouth, but, really, he was guilty of annoying Tony. And the old Tony -- immature, compulsive, selfish -- might have seen that as reason enough to whack him. He could have rationalized it to himself later that Paulie had it coming. At least in this case, he was able to exhibit a little self-restraint. That's progress, isn't it?

On a different subject, Beansie is not a made guy. Would Tony really seek the counsel of someone outside the family? (That leads to another question -- is Hesh a made guy?)

For Junior, "Jameel" equals "Hormel." LOL.

Im surprised nobody mentioned the similarity between Paulie cacklin at threes Company and AJ giggling like a schoolgirl in his chatroom last season. Both had a profound effect on Tony, and both sent him over the edge.

My favorite funny part was when Jun was beating on that old guy and he kicked him and his slipper flew off. I was cracking up.

That was great.

Another small bit that was good was when Junior met the mother of his young friend. Junior kisses her hand and then says that his new medication makes him salivate. I thought that was a dirty-old-man come-on, esp considering all the dirty jokes he'd been telling. But when he repeats the exact same thing, because of his Alzheimer's, it sounds like a real complaint. So sad. I wonder if anyone else saw it that way.

Universal Polymath wrote:I agree, though I hadn't noticed the lack of prominent background music until you mentioned it. I think the choice to use less music may be to help build the tension, the silent calm of the show can become quite unnerving.

I was just going to say the same thing. I think DetectiveHunt might be right, there is less music, and the music on The Sopranos is one of the things that makes it the special show that it is. However, these episodes have cast such a sense of unease, and maybe the lack of music is enhancing it.

Whatever the show is now doing, I really wouldn't want them to change it.

I give it an 8.

Yes, the boat scene had the great tension of previous instances in the show (will Melfi tell T about the rape, Adriana almost spilling the beans at movie night, Ade kneeling in front o' T to pick up the darts). That wonderful frozen moment in time where your mind considers all the wacked out possibilities that DC & Co. could inflict on us. It's our own "Is this IT?" moment. They're rare and beautiful.

But even without that, this episode was worth the price of admission just to see JUNIOR KICK THE PROFESSOR'S ASS! AWESOME! A seventy-five year old man acting like he was twenty again. It's good to be reminded that despite the unmedicated knucklehead-smithery, he's still one tough prick at heart.

Then, just when you think they can't pack any more into it, Jr. gets beat by Carter. It's another frozen-in-time moment for me where I was genuinely concerned that it could have been fatal for Junior. I've been a believer that if he doesn't die from natural causes it would be some off-the-wall accidental thing. It was a very real possibility that Junior could have gone out like that.

Loved the episode.

chaseisgod wrote:
On a different subject, Beansie is not a made guy. Would Tony really seek the counsel of someone outside the family? (That leads to another question -- is Hesh a made guy?)

Hesh is Jewish and thus cannot be a made guy. You have to be 100% Italian for that. But he has plenty of protection from Tony regardless.

Detective Hunt wrote:Hesh is Jewish and thus cannot be a made guy. You have to be 100% Italian for that. But he has plenty of protection from Tony regardless.

Interesting. That means that, if Phil wanted to get back at Tony and really hurt him, all he'd have to do was get Hess killed. That would surely provoke the wrath of Tony's anger at losing the closest thing to a positive father figure he's ever had. Maybe the end of the series deals with how Tony uses his newfound ability to control/channel his anger at Phil and those that have wronged him by screwing them from where they least expect it (i.e. taking them down without actually killing them). If this brings an end to his life in the OC then the better for it.

So round two of watching this episode, one moment stuck out to me:

Tony and Paulie are talking about Tony's first hit and how Paulie told T's dad Johnny Boy that he did a good job. Tony tells Paulie that he remembers (there's that word again) that when he was bad as a kid, his dad always said that he would sent Uncle Paulie out to "get him". Now they joked and smiled about, but think....if you were a kid who saw your own Dad chop of the pinky-finger of the local butcher for not paying a gambling debt, you had to be really scared when your dad threatened to sick his hitman (guessing that was one of Paulie's role in Johnny Boy's crew) on you.

Not sure how solid this is, but it seems like Tony might have some unrecognized anger towards both his father and Paulie for their part in making him a mob guy. He can't take it out on his dad now b/c (1) he is dead and (2) he is still on "stand-up" guy on Tony's pedestal. Paulie, on the other hand....Do you think a bit of Tony wanted to kill Paulie for payback for all the years Tony's life has suffered from now being in the mafia - not consciously, but sub-consciously?