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Marco Polo is the fifth and last episode of The Sopranos that was written by actor Michael Imperioli, and in a way it represents a perfect closure for his "arc": the first show he wrote, From Where to Eternity, had a certain poetic beauty married to harrowing violence, and his final 52 minutes of screen writing for the best drama series ever produced combine the same two factors in that unique Sopranos fashion.The lyrical side of the episode stems from the seeds of what appears to be a reconciliation between Tony and Carmela: after she left the inadequate Robert Wegler and saw her husband put up with a lot of humiliation at a party (Carm's mother was especially eager to show her contempt for the overweight crook), she begins to see him in a different light and wonder if she made the right choice leaving him.The bloody part of the story, on the other hand, involves Cousin Tony who, disappointed for not rising fast enough in the family ranks, accepts Little Carmine's offer to whack an important associate of Johnny Sack as retaliation for a hit the latter sanctioned on Carmine's loan-shark a few episodes back. Of course, the outcome can't and won't be pretty.As an actor, Imperioli knows when to be tender or rough, depending on the demands of the specific scene. As a writer, he displays the exact same skills in a gentler way, ensuring viewers will be moved by how the romantic part is taken care of and shocked by Tony B.'s return to crime, also pushing the dark comedy buttons when necessary. Consequently, Marco Polo is both sweet and tough, compelling and repulsive. Just like all things that constitute everyday life.
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