So how long before Tony closes the deal with Julianna, the smokin’ real estate agent played by Julianna Marguiles? Man, she nailed her role to perfection tonight. Those knee-high boots, that little red leather coat, saying things like “I have a low tolerance for boredom,” visiting Tony at the Bing to talk business. You’ve got to feel for Tony, because on the one hand, he loves Carmella and is profoundly grateful for what she did for him while he was recovering from the gunshot wound. They’re getting along great, both in and out of bed, and T’s got a new lease on life. But on the other hand…I mean, dude, did you see those boots and that coat? Yum. To paraphrase Chris Rock, I’m not saying Tony should’ve cheated on Carm (again)…but I understand.
And yet, in a scene that proves Tony Soprano may have more restraint than just about any red-blooded man in TV Land, T tosses Julianna aside when she straddles him and starts unbuttoning his shirt, reminding him much too vividly of Carmella buttoning up the same shirt for him an hour or two earlier. That’s a great sign for Tony and Carm’s marriage, right? Not so much. Judging by Tony’s mini-tantrum when he discovers there’s no smoked turkey in the fridge when he gets home, there appears to be some rough water ahead. We haven’t seen the last of Ms. Julianna and, hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of her killer boots either.
Tony’s got more problems at home, though, namely A.J. and his thriving social life. He’s hanging out at New York clubs, staying out late, waking up later, and displaying a general disinterest in anything that doesn’t involve booze, coke or women. Problem is, he realizes his buddies only want him around because he’s Tony Soprano’s kid, which is coincidentally the reason girls find him so “intense.” Still hung up on seeking revenge against Joon and trying to prove he’s more than just Anthony Soprano Jr., AJ pays his uncle a visit in the loony bin but panics when he sees Junior, drops the knife he had stashed in his coat, and eventually winds up in cuffs, waiting for dad to pick him up at the police station.
The scene outside the station between Tony and AJ was sensational. They haven’t done much with AJ’s character this season, aside from portraying him as a total fuck-up with zero ambition, so it was nice to see some depth from him tonight. Unfortunately, T’s father-son chat didn’t change much as AJ was at the club again when, uh-oh, he suffered a panic attack. Tony went out of his way to say that AJ was “a nice guy,” an assessment AJ clearly resented, but Tony insisted it was a good thing. He’s told Dr. Melfi several times that he doesn’t want AJ to follow in his footsteps, so it’s no surprise that he would highlight just how different he thinks he and AJ are. Turns out, the apple may not have landed as far away from the tree as T would’ve hoped, which means we’re likely going to be seeing more of AJ (and his shady friends) in the coming weeks too.
And then there’s Vito. This storyline was abandoned last week and this week, we saw why. I’ve been trying to figure out the purpose behind the Vito angle all season, and it seems clear to me now that this has more to do with the problems the situation is going to cause between Tony and Phil and less to do with the situation itself. Vito’s hiding out in this little town, telling everyone he’s writing a book on Rocky Marciano while getting much more comfortable in his new skin, and now that he’s hooked up with Johnny Cakes (the cook at the diner who, Vito discovers, is also a motorcycle-riding volunteer firefighter who pulls children from fiery houses), he seems to be establishing some sort of life for himself. Okay, fine…but now I’m bored. We’re not going to see Vito and Johnny Cakes going on picnics each week, so what’s going to happen now? I’m sure the phone call Vito made to his wife is going to lead to trouble. Phil, who’s really fired up since Vito is married to Phil’s cousin, will trace the number back to the small town and take care of Vito himself. He already tried telling Tony how to deal with the situation, to which Tony took exception, and after making it clear that he’s still not happy with how Tony handled the Tony Blundetto mess last season, you can bet Phil wants to be the guy who finds Vito first.
They’ve been setting Phil up for a fall all season. Looks like that moment is fast approaching.
