The Strong, Silent Type

Christopher's drug addiction reaches a point of crisis.

This is an excellent episode with great dark humour and character moments.

Whatever happened to Gary Cooper, the strong, silent American hero? There is a powerful theme in the character writing about the mythical representation of the strong, dogged American attitude that Tony obsesses over throughout the series.

Characters like Tony and Christopher show moments of pain, weakness and emotional suffering whilst receiving the support of others. This is contrasted well by some non-American characters like Furio and Svetlana, that are portrayed very differently.

My favourite scene involves an situation where several characters attempt to help another who badly needs to turn his life around. This is one of best examples of jet-black humour I have ever seen and one of the most memorable in the show.

Michael Imperioli and Drea de Matteo are both brilliant throughout. James Gandolfini is great as always, along with Tony Serico and Steven Van Zandt.

As ever the cinematography and editing is excellent, telling the story visually.

For me it's a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.