Episode 3: Mayham
We are introduced, at the beginning of this episode, to Cagney Jr.'s 59th Cadillac of the series. No shit. He has had a Seville (with a Godfather horn, no less), multiple Devilles with various ragtops depending on mood at time of "purchase," an El Dorado, probably a Catera (I'm sure he tells everybody it's his ma's) and now a CTS. This son of a bitch goes through Cadillacs like The Matrix Reloaded.
As for the episode itself, it hit the Sopranos trifecta. Started with a score, the likes of which we haven't seen since Cagney, Jr., separated Juan Valdez from his donkey in Season One. Come to think of it, we haven't seen any of the name players get his hands dirty over a score like this, with the possible exception of Chrissy, since that episode. You remember it, right? Paulie and Pussy dressed up like Mario and Luigi and pretended to deliver a refigerator to the Colombian's apartment and delivered a message instead.
The next crucial element of this successful Sopranos episode was scatological humor. Star Ledger? 50 cents. Cup of hospital coffee? 1 dollar. Sil, the acting "king," making rulings from the "throne?" Priceless. We haven't seen bathroom situational humor like that since GiGi died in the can trying to pass a turkey after Thanksgiving a few seasons ago, which I'm still kinda pissed about, no pun intended. I liked GiGi. He really looked the part without being as stereotypically cartoonish as Bacala or the squarehead who played Albert Barese. Yeah, I know my man-crush on Cagney, Jr., is inconsistent with that last statement, but he's a good actor and some of that goombah stuff is necessary for realism. Plus he gets all the good lines and he got to bang Turkleton's wife from Scrubs.
Finally, the third element of the Sopranos trifecta is a well executed (i.e., non-laborious) dream sequence. I'm not as anti-dream as a lot of people I know, but the ol' patience was starting to wear a little thin with (kev)IN FINNE(r)TY. Yeah, I typed it like that on purpose. If you give accent to the capital letters (or just pronounce his name like a New Jersey Italian), the word INFINITY definitely jumps out at you. However, two of the dream sequences in this episode were flawless. First, paralleling Tony's Cagney-Jr.-induced blood pressure spike with Infinnety banging on the wall in his room at Cagney, Jr.'s, muffled voice was pure genius. Cagney, Jr., has always been the lovable, punch-lining, painfully blunt, OCD homicidal maniac we can't help but love, but remember Tony's bitching to Melfi about the Christmas newsletter he puts out every year with updates on his nieces and nephews? That was immediately following another Tony dream where he shot Paulie as they were playing cards in a warehouse. If Tony comes out of this coma with any sort of clear memory of whose voice he heard on the other side of that hotel room wall, it could spell oogats for Paulie.
And then there's the masterfully done scene at the Infinnety Family Reunion. Tony B. as the gate-keeper, the threat of Livia in the doorway and Maedo's voice in the trees calling Tony home. Almost enough to make the Captain mist up at the thought of Tony actually letting go of the briefcase and following Livia into the "reunion." The conflicted why-don't-you-love-me-because-I-love-you-even-though-
you-tried-to-have-me-whacked look that Gandolfini patented while Livia was still alive came out of retirement. I'm telling you, if the big one hit and all I could take into a bunker with me was my TV/DVD combo and my Sopranos DVDs, I wouldn't miss a single thing from the outside world. Well, maybe stuffed crust pizza, but I could get over that before I could get over not seeing Tony, Carm and Christafuh "I Though You Said 'I Was Alright, Spider'" Moltisanti ever again.
As for the episode itself, it hit the Sopranos trifecta. Started with a score, the likes of which we haven't seen since Cagney, Jr., separated Juan Valdez from his donkey in Season One. Come to think of it, we haven't seen any of the name players get his hands dirty over a score like this, with the possible exception of Chrissy, since that episode. You remember it, right? Paulie and Pussy dressed up like Mario and Luigi and pretended to deliver a refigerator to the Colombian's apartment and delivered a message instead.
The next crucial element of this successful Sopranos episode was scatological humor. Star Ledger? 50 cents. Cup of hospital coffee? 1 dollar. Sil, the acting "king," making rulings from the "throne?" Priceless. We haven't seen bathroom situational humor like that since GiGi died in the can trying to pass a turkey after Thanksgiving a few seasons ago, which I'm still kinda pissed about, no pun intended. I liked GiGi. He really looked the part without being as stereotypically cartoonish as Bacala or the squarehead who played Albert Barese. Yeah, I know my man-crush on Cagney, Jr., is inconsistent with that last statement, but he's a good actor and some of that goombah stuff is necessary for realism. Plus he gets all the good lines and he got to bang Turkleton's wife from Scrubs.
Finally, the third element of the Sopranos trifecta is a well executed (i.e., non-laborious) dream sequence. I'm not as anti-dream as a lot of people I know, but the ol' patience was starting to wear a little thin with (kev)IN FINNE(r)TY. Yeah, I typed it like that on purpose. If you give accent to the capital letters (or just pronounce his name like a New Jersey Italian), the word INFINITY definitely jumps out at you. However, two of the dream sequences in this episode were flawless. First, paralleling Tony's Cagney-Jr.-induced blood pressure spike with Infinnety banging on the wall in his room at Cagney, Jr.'s, muffled voice was pure genius. Cagney, Jr., has always been the lovable, punch-lining, painfully blunt, OCD homicidal maniac we can't help but love, but remember Tony's bitching to Melfi about the Christmas newsletter he puts out every year with updates on his nieces and nephews? That was immediately following another Tony dream where he shot Paulie as they were playing cards in a warehouse. If Tony comes out of this coma with any sort of clear memory of whose voice he heard on the other side of that hotel room wall, it could spell oogats for Paulie.
And then there's the masterfully done scene at the Infinnety Family Reunion. Tony B. as the gate-keeper, the threat of Livia in the doorway and Maedo's voice in the trees calling Tony home. Almost enough to make the Captain mist up at the thought of Tony actually letting go of the briefcase and following Livia into the "reunion." The conflicted why-don't-you-love-me-because-I-love-you-even-though-
you-tried-to-have-me-whacked look that Gandolfini patented while Livia was still alive came out of retirement. I'm telling you, if the big one hit and all I could take into a bunker with me was my TV/DVD combo and my Sopranos DVDs, I wouldn't miss a single thing from the outside world. Well, maybe stuffed crust pizza, but I could get over that before I could get over not seeing Tony, Carm and Christafuh "I Though You Said 'I Was Alright, Spider'" Moltisanti ever again.
One final note... I think this episode handled very realistically people's short-lived sympathy and tendency to begin to look past someone once they are out of commission for just a few days. Vito, with his machinations on the top spot. Cagney, Jr., taking Carmela's name in vain. Chrissy telling Tony he is owed another shot at the movie biz. It not only illustrated the normal person's tendency to focus on themselves even in the midst of someone else's crisis but also underscored the truly greedy and selfish nature of these guys we see in a romantic light week in and week out.
Looks like Tony comes out of his state with a vengeance next week, though... Can't wait.
If you don't know, now you know...
