Join the Club

Honestly, I love the Sopranos. I tend to laugh and have a good time and then some parts are very serious where I cringe but this. This series this particular episode is the only one that really makes me cry. Almost like watching a movie cast away. The power meadows is in the back forest saying don't leave us daddy very sad episode yet with a happy ending. Then I think about real life actor, James garner Fenian that makes me more upset. But I love the spectacular show David, Chase, and David Nutter did an excellent job of directing this episode. "You are going to be fine Tony" the part where Carmella plays the Tom Petty CD "American girl " priceless.

So the writing the directing the acting in this entire episode is just impeccable I seriously can't think of another episode that tops this one? I know a lot of people don't like the dream sequence and all that stuff but to put Tony in a coma and make him Kevin Finnerty that's just freaking awesome. Imagine going to Disneyland and Mickey and Minnie. All the sudden were different types of characters and Disneyland. Took you for a ride. That's how good the Sopranos is. If you don't like the dream sequences tough luck! Don't watch it lol.

in the second episode to the season the use of the dream sequence, to me, becomes a key element to how tony will react when/if he comes out of the coma. his voice inflection and the way he is carrying himself makes him feel more and more like just another part of the population, and the name Anthony soprano isn't internationally known, but just another shlub. if you listen closely to the lines in the dream sequence ("its dead around here"... "you could have broke your neck"..."their lookin for a perp") there are many more but after these are said the look on Tony's face suggests that he knows that something is wrong. one thing that no one is noticing is the light house in the background at 2 points. in the very beginning and in the very end of the episode. this will absolutely play a part in tony coming out of the coma, or going to the afterlife. the view from above (the helicopter) is them (doctors and family) peering down into Tony's mind trying to find him. he is living a life with another woman, a woman he truly loves and is not just married to. you can tell by the way he talks to her on the phone. i enjoyed this episode very much. i believe that the hospital scenes were meant to be boring and drawn out, this put more emphasis on the dream. watch it again and you'll notice a few things you didn't before

Many hardcore fans dislike the dreams that frequent the Sopranos, but I find them interesting and provocative. Tony's coma/dream didn't disappoint. It raised many questions:

• A.J. has proved himself an aimless coward, but showed uncharacteristic conviction when he vowed to murder his grandfather (while telling his mother he flunked out of school). Is he going into the family business ? -Was the dream Tony's subconsious wish that he was a WASP middle class schlubb ? - How will the outfit adjust to Silvio as the new boss ? Will they lose street cred or come out of their corner swinging ? - Was this Edie Falco's greatest episode in the entire show ?

We see the consequence of the shooting portrayed in the previous episode.

It's difficult to discuss the plot without spoiling, but the focus on Tony is a typically unconventional David Chase approach to the situation. The writer stated that these scenes are not dreams but he also left their meaning ambiguous. There are clues relating to Tony's soul being possibly in various states of limbo, hell, purgatory, or awaiting rebirth, but the main theme is about his identity. There are images and dialogue relating to possibilities of who he might be if not that "fat f______ crook from New Jersey" and also the aspects of his personality that are quintessentially him. I'm not pretending to understand it all, but I think it's compelling to watch.

The other aspect of the story that transitions brilliantly from Tony's journey is the family at his bedside. The scenes with Carmela, AJ and Meadow are wonderfully portrayed and recognisable to anyone who has been in the unfortunate position of being round the clock in hospital with a relative who is critically ill. Edie Falco is great in most episodes, but here she is exceptional.

His other family is amusingly portrayed with a dynamic of one-upmanship amongst each other that provides some humorous relief, but also shows how self-serving they are.

My current rewatch has revealed unlikely front-runners among the episodes of The Sopranos and, so far, this and The Test Dream I hold in extremely high regard as moments of effective introspection. If you are someone who was not a fan of the early dreamier moments of the show (like Funhouse), then I can understand some dissatisfaction here. But for those who appreciate them, these later seasons really offer a lot. In this, and in The Test Dream, the dreams take on more supernatural qualities. They are not simply visually symbolic nonsenses which appear during sleep. I would even posit that they are not dreams, but visions. The narratives they contain are sophisticated and fleshed out (unlike a dream) and, especially here, their pacing is the pace of real life. In this episode we see Tony either in purgatory or just having a dream about what his life would be like if he was "normal", i.e. outside of the mafia. There is a healthy sprinkling of post-9/11 anxiety which exists in prior seasons too, which forms part of the "normal" Tony's conundrum. It's worth noting, as 'current affairs' form a large part of the discussion of anxiety that the show conducts. I always say to fans of Mad Men who have not seen The Sopranos that the last two seasons of the show is where Mad Men was born (arguably, the Gloria Trillo plot line is very significant too, but I believe the best part of that arc occurs after her death, in season five). This episode is an illustration of that. Outside of Tony's purgatory dream is another stellar moment for Edie Falco and a continuation of minor characters' arcs amidst the general plot stasis caused by Tony's hospitalisation.