Last night’s “Sopranos” episode contained what’s likely to be the most-debated dream sequence on a television drama since Agent Cooper entered the Red Room on “Twin Peaks.” Also having a lot in common with “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Being John Malkovich,” and that weird “is Nate alive or dead?” sequence that opened the most recent season of “Six Feet Under,” the episode has received mix reviews so far, but I liked it. Probably because I really love all those movies/shows.
That said, I really don’t know how anyone without encyclopedic knowledge of all five seasons could’ve possibly understood any of it- I mean, did you recognize Mikey Palmice or Gigi Cestone? But like “Mulholland Drive,” the episode does make sense if you think about it enough, so I’ll take a stab:
Spoilers!
- The last time most of an episode took place as a dream sequence was “Funhouse,” the last episode of the second season, which is best known for the Pussy-as-a-fish scene. In that, a food-poisoned Tony realized (through the hallucination of the talking fish) that Big Pussy was cooperating with the government and that he’d have to kill him; last night’s dream- which also featured an overt “Godfather” reference- made Tony realize he probably has to kill Tony B.
- Great to see the return of some favorite dead characters, even if none of them really did much of note, besides Gloria Trillo. The promotional poster heading into the season featured the current cast standing on top of a boat, with various dead characters from past years (Pussy, Richie, Ralphie, and Gloria) lying on the ground under it. I should’ve known they’d pull something like this, either a dream or flashback, in order to bring all those people back, along with Pie-o-My the horse.
- Perhaps weirdest of all was the return of Det. Vin Mackazian (John Heard) Tony’s cop informant in the first season who jumped off a bridge, and is resurrected here as the Commodores-crooning “father” of Finn. Imagine that phone call from David Chase- “John- we’d like you to come back to the show- you’ll be married to Annette Bening, and you get to sing!”
- Why was Artie Bucco so prominently featured in the dream? Who knows. Possibly because he was with Tony when he got the “Funhouse”-era food poisoning, or maybe because they went to high school together and thinking about both Tony B and the gym teacher brought him back to his days at West Orange High. But it was probably just because he wanted to nail Charmaine, and was guilty about how Artie would react. Going after a buddy’s ex? Sports Guy would NOT approve!
- The Asian hooker was, I believe, the daughter of the Korean guy who was Tony B’s partner in the massage parlor. She was featured for just enough time five weeks ago that we should’ve known she’d be important.
- Also, don’t forget, the Plaza has been important before- Tony and Carmela used to check in there on their anniversary each year, and Carmela and Meadow have tea there once a year, “under Eloise’s picture.” Coupled with the weird appearance in the lobby of Dr. Melfi, do we know Tony even checked in in the first place?
he did check in, but under an assumed name.
Posted by: LilB at May 17, 2004 11:57 PMThis is just a stab in the dark, but the coach was reprimanding Tony for hanging out with the wrong crowd (in school), and mentioned Artie by name. Throughout the dream, Artie was guiding Tony- to do something he felt uncomfortable following through with but was pressured to nonetheless.
Extremely enjoyable episode. And let me interject that my Grandmothers and Aunts said that if you dream your teeth are falling out, some one is going to die. Glad to see it wasn't just my crazy Italian family who believed in that.
Posted by: D'Lish at May 18, 2004 09:06 AMyes, i read it anyway even though i haven't seen the episode...did they actually show WOHS? And was it my alma matter or the old Mountain High, which is now Seton Hall Prep?
Posted by: scully at May 18, 2004 11:32 AM