Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request

Another banger directed by Steve Buscemi. This episode has been a total ride of rollercoaster. I laughed, I felt sad, I felt joy, I felt satisfied, a total package of awesomeness. Finished the episode few moments ago and still in awe. Just reminded me once again how good this show can get. Terrific!

Horrible episode, maybe the worst one... so far, have a few to go. This episode introduces multiple people we've never seen nor heard of before, and the episode revolves around these people, essentially. Just everything about this is bad and unrealistic, and just when I thought the last season was going to be the best, they throw this garbage in there.

Nothing happens that is important. Terribly written. Poorly acted. And Tony's mouth breathing situation is just unbearable.

AJ continues to bring nothing of substance to the show. And the amount of things that happen that just get swept under the rug and ignored, is beyond annoying.

Last thing, and not for nothing, but the last scene with the "fight" is just absurd, unrealistic, and out of left field. Such an overrated show.

Tony's new attitude has its limitations, particularly around other mobsters.

This is another excellent episode with great character moments and plot revelations.

Tony's story follows on well from the previous 3 episodes journey to a different outlook on life. Plausibly, the idealistic (by his standard) worldview he seemed to attain by the end of 'The Fleshy Part of the Thigh' faces a number difficult challenges as he settles back into life as boss of a crime family. It is a brutal world of toxic masculinity that accepts no weakness and he is well portrayed as handling this in a typically uncompromising way. James Gandolfini leads yet another episode brilliantly.

Other characters make a strong contribution, such as Johnny Sac, Phil Leotardo, and Vito Spatafore. I particularly enjoyed the scenes involving Sac which are cleverly written and almost generate sympathy for a vicious mobster in a difficult position. Vincent Curatola is excellent as always.

I like the prisoner theme applied to several characters in the episode. Tony as a prisoner in the mob world, Sac (literally), and Vito to a marriage and homophobic culture. This is all nicely done through imagery and clever editing.

Vito's arc moves significantly towards the end of the episode and leads to a very compelling situation that, when I first watched it years ago, I wanted to find out what happens next.

The scene with Corrado rings true with the experiences I have had with dementia in my family and even though he's been portrayed as a ruthless crime boss in the past, I had sympathy for the character. Dominic Chianese is incredibly good in his short screen time.

As ever the general production values are superb, especially the music used for certain scenes.

It all started with Pine Barrens, that beautifully absurd Season Three episode which is best remembered for the scenes of Chris and Paulie struggling to survive in the cold. That show was directed by Steve Buscemi, who later starred in the fifth season as Tony Blundetto. With the character whacked in the season finale, he returned in Mayham as the mysterious man who offers Tony Soprano the choice between life and death, and now he gets back behind the camera, leaving the series with another must-see, the essential Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request.

The Mr. Sacrimoni in question is none other than Johnny Sack, who gets a special permission to stay out of jail for six hours so that he can attend his daughter's wedding. Tony is also invited to the event and accepts to go despite his recent misfortunes, only to suffer a panic attack of sorts when the security measures set up by the police become too much for him. On top of that, the ceremony is nothing more than an excuse for Sack to humiliate the New Jersey boss again with some unfair demands. No wonder Tony ends up needing to hit someone to feel good again.

Some might argue the crucial point of the episode is the scene where Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli) is spotted in a gay bar by two low-ranking gangsters, initiating a chain of events that aren't going to end well. yes, that part is pulled off with Buscemi's trademark sense of awkward humor, but the moment when he really outdoes himself is when he and writer Terence Winter shamelessly reference The Godfather: if you've seen Coppola's masterpiece, then you know a Sicilian can't turn down any request on his daughter's wedding day; the tradition is neatly reversed here by having Johnny Sack in the favor-asking position, something that Christopher remarks as not being culturally correct.

So, is that it, then? Buscemi's swansong on The Sopranos, a clever, twisted comic reversal of traditions? Not really: if there's one thing the director has always respected, it's the shows fundamentally bleak heart, and therefore the episode ends in an unexpected, entertainingly terrifying way. Just one comment: how on Earth did James Gandolfini not receive an Emmy nomination for the first half of Season Six? The final scene alone should have secured the nod.