Seasons 1, 3 and 4 of the Sopranos are among the greatest TV seasons ever, and are great art. Seasons 2, 5 and 6 are very good, though not as great as the others. Season 6 was not as good as earlier seasons for two major reasons: it is too obvious in terms of the points it makes, and it includes too much of the New York family. One of the things that surprised and impressed me about the Sopranos is that often it made its points in subtle ways. For example, Paulie is a weasel, but this is never directly stated by anybody. Rather, it is shown, as in Season 3 at the ceremony when Christopher is made, Paulie says any problem Christopher ever has should be brought to Tony. Only a couple episodes later, Christopher has complained to Tony about Paulie sniffing his girlfriends underwear, and Paulie is furious, saying "You ever go whining to Tony about personal stuff between me and you, we'll have a big problem." Paulie is fiercely loyal to Tony when Tony is around, but completely different when Tony is not. Now, season 6 has none of this subtlety. A lot of obvious jokes about Vito being gay are made, like him nibbling on a sausage. Everything is spelled and out and obvious, like Phils obsessive hounding of Vito, as well as his grudge towards Tony and disdain of Johnny Sack crying. Also over the top is Paulie and Vito giving Carmela money while Tony is in the coma, but being unhappy about doing so, as if Tony dies then they feel that money will have been wasted. The Sopranos went from sophisticated programming with subtle, clever messages to obvious and simple. Secondly, there is way too much stuff in season 6 showing the NYC gangsters. There are actually scenes where no jersey gangster is present, just Phil and John, or Phil, Gerry and Butchie. The first four or five seasons of the show are about a community in New Jersey in which Tony Soprano is both a gangster and a loving family man. Then, the writers started including all this stuff with the NYC gangsters, which waters down the show and adds extra characters who are not worthwhile. Imagine if in season 6 of Seinfeld four characters living in Brooklyn were all of a sudden introduced, and shown as neurotic and very similar to Jerry and his friends in Manhattan. One of the things that made Season 3 so great was the introduction of two fascinating and vivid characters in New Jersey: Gloria Trillo and Ralph Cifaretto. Then in season 6 they introduce Gerry and Butchie, who do not even live in Jersey, and are not developed as characters at all. As earlier stated, Season 6 of the Sopranos is was too obvious and wastes time on meaningless characters in NYC. This episode does have good aspects, like a compelling story in which Eugene Pontecorvo wants out of the mob and is tormented by family problems, particularly his son using drugs, is interesting. The actor portraying Eugene does an outstanding job, as the desperation he shows is very convincing. The episode also suggests that Tony has been too forgiving of Uncle Junior, as the old man already tried to have him killed, and many thought Tony should have taken Juniors life. Tony chooses to maintain his relationship with Junior, and now must pay a huge, and perhaps fatal, price. The episode shows, in classic Sopranos form, the complexity of human relationships. Phil Leatordo has taken over for Johnny Sack as acting boss of the NYC family, because John is incarcerated, and Tony respects the job Phil does. One of the great things about HBO shows is that the characters and situations they are in feel vivid and real. Tony and Phil do not have a good relationship, however, Tony speaks admiringly of how Phil handles the business, and this is similar to real life relationships. Rarely do people dislike every little thing about another person, and even in their enemies people can usually find some qualities. Contrarily, even in our best friends we can always find faults. Another interesting aspect of the episode is Carmela worrying about Adrianna. Adriannas mother has shared her concerns about Adrianna with Carmela, and Carmela becomes very worried. This type of situation is unique to the Soprnaos, and shows the day to day troubles that a gangster has. Tony had to have Adrianna killed, but now his wife is intensely worried about Adriannas whereabouts. Obviously, Tony cannot tell Carmela what actually happened, and this is quite a troubling situation for him. When we hear of mobsters offing informants in the news, we never imagine the problems it could cause them in their personal lives. The Sopranos adds this other dimension to mob stories. Also, an ironic situation involves several gangsters praising a recently deceased gangster for his loyalty to the mob, when the viewer knows this person was actually an FBI informant. Lastly, this episode shows the staggering misfortune experienced by Johnny Sack. He is a very ambitious mobster, and for years he yearns to have the top spot in the NYC family, and as soon as he gets it, he is locked up with a long list of charges against him. Not only is it a crushing blow to his career in the mob, but shows a life that will be squandered. Here is a man who is intelligent, elegant, and worldly, and has an appreciation for the finer things in life, such as travelling to Europe and stylish clothing. And this man is locked up in a jail cell, stripped of his dignity and cut off from his family. This is a clear message that crime does not pay. In summary, this episode has its good parts, and is a good opener to a season in that it is dynamic, and much happens. However, earlier seasons of the Sopranos are a very tough act to follow.
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