Man, when Tony Soprano wants to make a point, he doesn’t fuck around. Intent on showing his guys that he’s still the Alpha Male (in the words of Dr. Melfi), Tony beat the snot out of his new Mr. Olympia driver, in front of his entire crew, for “slamming the refrigerator door.” Never mind that the dude never even opened the fridge, and never mind that Tony just got out of the hospital a few days earlier. After nearly passing out at Allegra Sacramoni’s wedding (Johnny Sack’s daughter), Tony’s convinced that some of his guys think he’s weak. Now, after watching T beat Mr. Olympia down for no good reason, they’ll just think he’s fucking crazy. Of course, in Tony’s line of work, that’s a good thing.
Tony’s got a point, though. I mean, last week I predicted that Tony’s brush with death and subsequent new outlook on life would have him thinking about grandkids and retirement more than the business at hand. Obviously, I’m reconsidering that theory after this week’s episode. Still, while Tony went out of his way to prove to his guys that he’s still in charge, he also went out of his way earlier in the episode to pester Meadow about her stalled wedding plans, telling her that being able to hold his grandkids on his lap had become very important to him after all he’d been through. Maybe his spiritual awakening won’t be as extreme as I predicted last week, but there’s no way we’ve seen the last of Tony’s softer side.
Speaking of Meadow and her wedding plans, she’s obviously having second thoughts about marrying Finn. Where that’s going to lead, I’m not sure, but last week she and Jason Barone had a little moment in the hospital and she seemed uncomfortable around Finn throughout the entire wedding/reception. I’m sure this situation will somehow tie back into Vito’s secret life, since Finn happened upon Vito getting some lovin’ from a dude in a car last season. Because Finn is engaged to Tony’s daughter, Vito hasn’t yet done anything to ensure that Finn keeps his mouth shut, but that’ll change if Meadow calls off the wedding. Then again, now that a couple of guys making collections at a gay bar caught Vito all decked out in a leather outfit (hat included), who knows how this storyline is going to play out. Vito’s holed up in a hotel room, apparently waiting to see if the guys who caught him at the bar spill the beans. I’m guessing they don’t (maybe Vito gets to them before they can), and if/when Meadow breaks up with Finn, Vito takes care of Finn too.
Looking back, I talked about the feds needing a new rat after losing Gene Pontecorvo and Ray Curto in the first episode of the season, and I said that Chris would be a prime candidate. A couple episodes ago, Agent Harris, now working the terrorist beat, talked to Chris about two terrorists who used to frequent Adriana’s club. Chris said he didn’t really know them, just a couple of drug dealers. Later that episode, he talked briefly with two Middle Eastern guys at Bada Bing, and this week he gave those guys a bunch of credit card numbers. Before they left, they asked Chris if he could help them find some tech-9 semiautomatic guns, claiming they were for “a family problem.” Rrrriiight. Chris is about to find himself in some deep shit, and when Agent Harris confronts him with evidence that he supplied weapons, credit card numbers and whatever else to a couple of terrorists, they’ll offer him a deal if he flips.
Finally, I can’t close this out without mentioning this week’s funniest moment: In his first session with Dr. Melfi after the shooting, Tony says, “So let me ask you right off: Any chance for a mercy fuck?” I love it.
