Or when Tony tells his friend in Florida, "I am just waiting for the next shoe to drop."

Are you serious? It may have been laid on a little thick this episode but Paulie has always been a blabber mouth. Remember when Tony was in the coma and Tony was about to check out, Paulie was going on and on and Tony was banging on the wall of his hotel room. "will you be quit in there" And then after Tony was okay Paulie was in the lobby telling everyone he was holding Tonys hand and comforting him, when all of a sudden...

Tony wanting to kill Paulie just shows how all of these mob guys think, they never fully trust anyone. It wasnt that long ago when Paulie and Vito where holding out on the money for Carmela until they found out Tony was alright.

Did Silvo keep saying it was Larry Boy thats talking to the Feds about the dead bookie?

Yeah, I was kind of surprised to hear that Larry Barese was talking to the feds too. He did feed them misinformation about the bookie's murder though.

Good to see Junior again, he was MIA for most of the first part of the season. It was funny watching him try to recreate the atmosphere of his executive card game with the patients, it was almost like a sitcom. I really thought his "helper" was going to kill him.

Very tense with Tony and Paulie the whole trip.

I'm a little confused with the NY guy getting whacked. Is he the one that orchestrated the Jerry Torciano hit last episode and this is his payback? When the killers were speeding away, were they with the little creepy guy that got in Tony's face last year?

That was the creepy guy, I wish Tony would have smacked him the face at the hosiptal. I think Phil was the one who took the hit on Doc, its his new not gonna be remembered as a "Leotardo" attitude, he was stepping up and takeing the reins. Phil is now Boss of NY.[/QUOTE]

Been a fan of the Sopranos since day one, this was a fantastic episode....It's about time they got fun again!

Does everyone have a friend like Paulie? You know the kind you are somehow friends with, but they annoy you to shit 95% of time.

I know I do.

Anyway, I loved the scenes btwn Tony and Paulie, particularly in the boat. I don't know what to think of the Junior scenes.

Anyone else get "Godfather" vibes from Tony and his tomato plants?

I think we just saw Junior's last ep, this was his swan song.

I think Tony let Paulie off the hook because he was so close to Dad
and he really treated him like family.

But Paulie and his big mouth may be Tony's ultimate downfall.

Agreed.

The look of dread on Paulie's face as the boat was pulling away from the dock was classic!!! I though for sure he was a goner.

He still may get it, the look an Tony's face at the last shot in the office as Paulie was rambling on to Chris said it all.

Can someone please post their opinion on this:

Why did the Asian guy attack JR:

1) He was making a power play for the "boss" position (my guess)

2) Did he view Jr as his "father" and this was a way of taking out his rage about his real father? (If so - then weak)

3) He is in a loony bin for a reason - he is just crazy

4) He wants to be on the same medication that Jr was put on when he attacked the Prof. Just a way to escape from reality.

"I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop..."

It seems as if in this final season that we're being treated to episodes on how Tony communicates with his crew, and his frustration with the fact that they are experiencing some sort of joy that he's missing out on. This week, we got
some insight on his relationship with Paulie.

- Unlike any other season, Tony is in constant fear these days. He fears his own mortality, and knows that he's headed straight to hell (just like Christopher when he was shot back in season 2). His drinking is out of control, as I've noticed some slurred speech throughout the episode; and he's way into gambling. Overall, he has become
totally joyless, and becomes enraged when he has to confront that fact (Tony has contemplated killing Bobby, Christopher, and Paulie this season for no practical reason).

- Paulie has an awesome collection of shoes. Should I wear the white one or the white one.....?

- Uncle Junior and his new associate. I found it funny how he has found a way to host the "executive game" in the insane asylum; probably telling the same old jokes that he told in the past. Instead of hard alcohol and cigars, he's serving up Coke and Spree. Junior getting destroyed by the spoiled asian was perfectly built up, and for a moment, I thought that was how Junior was going to be killed off. His fate is much worse now; having to realize that he has no power, and that his body has broken down (i.e. pissing his pants).

- "Remember When" was the main theme. Junior is still living in the past, acting like the boss of the asylum. He beats down a fellow crazy when he feels disrespected (complete with kicks to the gut). Paulie loves rehashing the past, because the present is so boring and uneventful. Tony hates thinking of the past, because he has no
positive memories of the way things used to be (total joylessness).

- Blabbermouth Paulie. Tony knows that he's the one who told the Johnny Sac joke. He wanted Paulie to admit it. When Paulie doesn't admit it, Tony continues to grill him (a direct comparison to the FBI); and Paule stands tall. Paulie knows that if he admits it, then he will have to pay the price. Regardless, Tony was still intent on killing Paulie (if not for the fact he doesn't earn as much as he used it, but more for the fact that he's bored). He looks around the boat, and there are noting but instruments of death all over the place (axe, knife, rope,etc). He sees Paulie in a vunerable state leaning off the side; and decides to peg him with a root beer bottle hoping to knock him off the side of the boat. I'm fairly certain Tony would just have left him to drown. But of course, a $2,000 espresso maker heals all wounds.

- New York. The most important part of the episode was the dinner scene with Phil Leonardo. The "new" boss is a jerk. He takes money from Phil, and has the nerve to eat food off his plate. Obviously, Phil knows that he needs to act now; or this will continue to be the norm. The hit was well executed (pun), and much like GF1;
the boss takes a bullet in the eye to signify that his eyes (appetite = greed) were too excessive. Phil will rule NY with an iron fist. Tony better watch out.

- Dick Cheney. Very funny (almost as funny as when Junior saw Larry David on TV).

Can someone explain the NY power struggle in a relatively concise manner? I had no clue where that new boss who got whacked came from. I thought Phil was the new boss, then decides to give it up, then decides to take it back over?

Your post was great and I enjoyed reading it

But I have to disagree with you and the Paulie thing. Who here has not been on a road trip with a friend or had a roomate that you like - but just gets on your nerves from time to time?

We were seeing that Tony once looked up to Paulie when he was a kid, now Paulie looks up to Tony.. but instead of Tony being responsible with that admiration - he shrugs it off and does not enjoy the friendships he has

He was angry at Junior for taking the meds and mellowing out.

Paulie is like a vicious dog that needs to be put to sleep. I was really hoping Tony was going to do it.

I thought HBO should not have run this episode.
As I was watching this and saw the asian actor sure looked too close to the killer in the Va. Tech massarce. I kept thinking what must be going thru the minds of people in Va. watching this asian going nuts on t.v. I thought just like way back in the 60's with JFK's murder they didn't release THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE they should have not aired this episode this week. Monday morning on the radio the hosts mentioned they were spooked with this episode.
Had the victims been all black you can bet Sharpton would be boycotting HBO as you read this.

So all shows with asian actors should not be aired for a while? Or just ones were the asian guy gets pissed off?

Like 9/11, we didn't get movies or t.v. movies about for years.
It's called paying respect to the dead victims and their families.

I didn't know this episode was about what happened at VT?

Using that mentality they should just remove all killing from all tv to pay respect to people who've been killed. Or car accidents to those who die in a vehicle. You can go on and on. It's not like David Chase MEANT to put the asian in. It's simply coincidence . What happened at tech was tragic. I'm local to the area so I see it first hand, but we really need to seperate generic shots from simple coincidence .

Somehow I suspect that the dead and their families probably weren't watching The Sopranos last night.

Maybe it is just me, but I have yet to enjoy an episode this season!

I think it may be a little deeper then that. It sounds like the kids Dad has really let him down in the past, and he looked to Junior as a father figure because Junior gave him positive reinforcemnet. When Junior let him down he took his agressions from his Dad out on Junior.

Asian dude was pissed that Junior shushed him from across the room. Asians hate that shit!