The previous episode was good, but left some fans unsatisfied with the absence of a strong plot line. That "flaw" is compensated over and over again by Walk Like a Man, which resurrects old tensions and prepares some characters for the end of the series, especially AJ.
Tony's son, you might remember, was dumped by Blanca in Chasin It, and now he spends his whole time at home doing nothing. Hating to see his kid act "like a whining b*tch", Tony tries to encourage him to do something new with his life, and even attempts to do the same with Dr. Melfi, claiming he doesn't need therapy anymore. Furthermore, old bitterness reemerges between Christopher and Paulie, as the latter's nephew robs the former's father-in-law and violent reactions ensue. An attempt to establish peace between the two leads to Chris getting really drunk for the first time in years, an event that could have bad consequences for his old AA friend JT Dolan (Tim Daly).
Two very different father-son dynamics are analyzed in the episode: on the one hand, we have Tony and AJ, who really love each other but will forever be divided by the many secrets the old man has to hide; on the other, there's Paulie, who's been a kind of a mentor for Chris, though in the rough way, and now hates to see his pupil fail to live up to expectations. Imperioli doesn't, however: in fact, he practically steals the whole show with less than five scenes, his excellent performance culminating in an affecting duet with the Emmy-nominated Daly that foreshadows the darkest of outcomes for the remaining four episodes. Brilliant and scary.
