Hollywood Deep

Sopranos Episode #85 – “The Blue Comet”
*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t seen the episode yet, GO SEE IT. Any real Sopranos fan would have watched it by now. I do not feel bad discussing plot points on Monday evening.

One of my big criticisms of The Sopranos over the years, is that they would put on stand alone episodes in the middle of a season, that didn’t move the overall story line. I felt that, even in this current season, major parts of some early episodes did not move the story forward. Also, leaving issues lingering and unanswered has become a Sopranos trademark (ala, who raped Dr.Melfi and what happened to the Russian guy in the woods?). I guess the idea is, as in life, somethings just go unresolved. Read Review…

Episode 85, was not one of those episodes. Many issues were addressed, and many questions answered.
It starts with the always symbolic, picking up of the newspaper on the driveway. Tony always did this himself, until he got too paranoid and stopped, thinking some day he would get killed in his driveway. This time it’s someone else, I can’t remember ever seeing this guy before in other episodes, getting the paper in front of his house. We know he’s in trouble as soon as he picks it up and we see it’s not Tony. Silvio pays him a visit, and garrotes him old school style. You know when Silvio is involved it’s serious, he’s taking care of some Jersey Family business. It showed us that Silvio has remained loyal to Tony, and doing it himself, because he wasn’t sure who he can trust. Also it showed how old school Silvio is, using a garrote. This is one of the original methods of mob hits historically, and the most personal way to push a guys button. You can feel his last breath on your cheek as you choke it out of him with all your might. The piano wire usually cuts your hand, that’s why Tony knew what he was up to the moment he saw Sil’s hand bandaged. In the big picture, I think this scene served as a tribute to Silvio Dante, a true capo in every way, Jersey or New York, anywhere. A great scene really captured the brutality of the moment, well shot. Impeccably played by “Little” Steven Van Zandt, as usual.
As we continue Tony appears at Satriale’s, he orders a wedge with gabagoul, provolone and vinegar peppers, for the record a great Italian combo sandwich, I might of gone with roasted peppers and a little mustard, and the bread looked nice, but I like a nice seeded wedge. Tony runs into FBI/ Homeland Security Agent Harris (Matt Servitto), who gives Tony an important tip, that he is on the New York mob hit list. This is the payoff for Tony giving him a couple of names of suspected terrorists. Tony, Bobby Baccala and Silvio then plot to take out Phil Leotardo. In real life I have to say it seems like Tony and his crew acted too slowly, all the plotting and importing guys in from Italy, gave Phil time to disappear. It also gave the New York crew time to put their hits into action. Tony got the tip, and these guys are still walking around the streets. I do love the scene with Tony, Sil, and Baccala (FYI- baccala is an Italian salted cod fish, we usually serve at Christmas Eve dinner) are at the restaurant ready to go to war, and the Raging Bull theme music comes on, they break into slow motion shadow boxing, like Robert DeNiro in the opening of the movie. Classic Sopranos sense of humor, joking around with each other in a crucial tense moment.
More Soprano comedy, Carmella explaining to Artie Bucco and his wife, why it’s a good thing that Meadow doesn’t want to be a doctor, and she’s getting into law. Also, Tony throwing AJ’s new model girlfriend out of the house, and then finally giving AJ a beating after he tells him he’s having a problem “maintaining”. One more, classic Paulie Walnuts helping Tony get some things together in the kitchen and he looks out the window and gets horny over AJ’s girlfriend, “look at the sticks on that one…”
All great Sopranos dark comedy moments. Totally Risoli Film School says, dark comedy is the best comedy.
The dinner scene with Melfi and her colleagues is not a great scene. What happened to Doctor/ Patient confidentiality? I can’t believe a group of Doctors would behave this way. In the big picture, the story point is, Dr.Melfi’s psychiatrist, Elliot (played by film director Peter Bogdonovich), tells her to drop Tony as a patient, basically because she is helping a criminal be a criminal. This is the reason she cuts her relationship with Tony, for good, she closes the door on him. I can buy that. Maybe the last we see of her on the show, always played with class by Loraine Bracco.
So Baccala gets hit buying a stupid model train (The Blue Comet) for 8Gs, in a well done sequence. Silvio gets ambushed, outside of the Bada Bing, but lives, great reaction shots of the stripper extras. Tony is left with Paulie Walnuts and an assault rifle that Bobby gave him, in a house somewhere in Jersey. My hope is that the last episode is as good as this one. I rate this in the top 5 Sopranos episodes of all time, my opinion, James Gandolfini’s best performance as Tony Soprano of the entire series.
Will Tony get that greenhorn guinea bastard Phil Leotardo? Will Paulie stay loyal to Tony? Will the FBI make a final appearance? I can’t wait till Sunday!

Technorati Tags: The Sopranos, Dr.Melfi, Jersey Family business, Silvio Dante, “Little” Steven Van Zandt, FBI, Homeland Security, Agent Harris (Matt Servitto), New York mob, Bobby Baccala, Phil Leotardo, Italy, New York crew, Christmas Eve, Raging Bull, Robert DeNiro, Carmella, Artie Bucco, Meadow, AJ, Paulie Walnuts, Peter Bogdonovich, Loraine Bracco, Bada Bing, Paulie Walnuts, assault rifle, James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano