Another excellent "Sopranos" last night, as the show took the Vito angle in an entirely new direction that almost no one saw coming. He is, after all, a "come-from-behind kind of guy" (heh heh), as Tony called him. But since no one got whacked, I'm sure Jason Whitlock didn't enjoy it. Sorry, big guy. Tony seemed to speaking to him and those like him when he said "some people just want drama like high school girls and some people just whack somebody, anybody..."
A few notes:
- When the guy at the diner in New Hampshire asked Vito where he's from, he said "Scottsdale." Interesting, considering that's where Big Pussy wanted to be placed once he reached witness protection status, and that is where Sammy "The Bull" Gravano really was placed, before he was again busted for selling drugs. Might Vito be considering a call to the feds, so he can achieve the sort of life in New Hampshire (or Scottsdale?) that he never got to enjoy? And Gravano, of course, was himself rumored to be gay...
- And speaking of Big Pussy... would Tony really let the widow of a confirmed rat get into the Family as an employee? You'd think the feds would be pounding her door down.
- What was that noise that Tony heard by the bird-feeder at the beginning? The hinted-at return of The Bear? Or maybe the Ducks?
- Tony may not want to whack Vito now- but once he finds out about Vito's scheming while he was in the coma? Fughettaboutit. And this truly is a case of storylines paying off 2 or 3 years down the line.
- As for the scene with Finn... are we supposed to believe that the Family would essentially make him an accessory to a homicide, knowing that he's a civilian? And Meadow really has become a despicable character, spouting her bleeding-heart nonsense when she likely knows for a fact that her father is about to execute a man just for being gay. And I like the idea of her working for this law center -where her bosses know exactly who her father is- while she's also investigating the exact sort of money-laundering and white-collar crime that Tony is neck-deep in. That thread bears watching.
- I never, in a million years, expected to hear Tony Soprano praise Rick Santorum, as he did in the therapy scene. And I wonder what Santorum himself thinks about it, both the association with a (fictional) mobster and his "man on dog" comments reaching a wider audience than ever before. Maybe Casey will even use it in a campaign ad. Between that and Carmela sharing that she voted for Bush, I can expect the show to lose some liberal fans.
- When Christopher was talking about the two mysterious Arabs, he mentioned that one of them was outraged over the Danish cartoons. How did they get that reference into the episode when the cartoon brouhaha only took place a couple of months ago? This isn't "South Park"- I was under the impression they filmed the episodes six months to a year in advance. And besides- the two Arabs are probably up to something- the guy who sold drugs in Adriana's club had terror connections, and remember Adriana's "he's gotten into his religion- and has been sending money to a boys' school in Pakistan" speech? Chris, of course, is just as dumb as she was...
Posted by Stephen Silver at April 17, 2006 10:50 AMYes, I too was quite surprised and saddened that the Sopranos are Republicans??? I thought Tony was for union guys and well most of them Catholic or not are dems. There were many funny moments last night and I agree that is will lead to Vito getting whacked..if not by Tony then by Phil Leotardo for humiliating his cousin.
Posted by: A at April 17, 2006 05:29 PMI do believe the noise outside was not a birdfeeder, but the air conditioning unit. Not that I can find some hidden metaphor in it, but alas, that was my take on the noise.
Posted by: jessi at April 19, 2006 12:29 AM"I never, in a million years, expected to hear Tony Soprano praise Rick Santorum, as he did in the therapy scene. Between that and Carmela sharing that she voted for Bush, I can expect the show to lose some liberal fans."
Wha?? Did it go completely over your head that the endorsements of "Santorium" and Bush by a mobster and his abetting wife are ringing condemnations of today's rampant right wing moral corruption and hypocrisy?
I thought Vito said he was from "Wisconsin." In any case, great episode - Vito finally found his gay New Hampshire paradise and the final shot of the NH license plate (featuring the slogan "Live Free or Die) was especially poignant. I have a feeling, tho, that Vito will meet the same end as Tony B. did last season and for the same reason. That would probably put an end to the Phil-Tony bad blood ...
Posted by: LilB at April 19, 2006 02:50 PM