Denial, Anger, Acceptance

Just as a follow-up to the poster who stated Ned Eisenberg isn't anywhere to be found in the credits of the episode, "Denial Anger Acceptance"...he's actually listed in the opening credits. The Sopranos creators never list an actor in the end credits if he/she is listed up front. For someone who had a relatively minor role in the episode, it truly is an honor for Ned to be listed up front with the primary cast members. Anyways, the Sopranos creators are quite a meticulous bunch, so it would be quite a surprise if they neglected to include an actor with a speaking part in the credit sequence. Hope that clears things up.

This wasn't actually that bad of an episode. This was definitely my favorite so far, because this brought so much into one episode. The dynamics, the character development, just everything is amazing. Anyways, my favorite characters in this episode were Tony, Meadow, and Carmela. My favorite things about this episode were the ending, the Protagonist, and the storyline. This definitely should be at least one decimal point higher, at least. I am excited to see if the future episodes are as good at this one, even though this was was amazing in every way. So yeah, this is a very fun TV series so far, nothing to emotional.

One of all-time favorite episodes of "The Sopranos". The line above was uttered by a Hasedic Jew whose hotel Tony will soon take over. The plot line is strong as it shows how the mob takes over legitimate businesses.

There are many great things about this episode--I don't know which is better, the line above or the "nurse" who visits Jackie Aprile in the hospital (I think it's the nurse).

The ending is awesome as Junior sends a message to Tony's crew over the strains of Meadow's choir group's haunting song (a la "The Godfather"). Great episode--one of the many that first season that got me hooked. I miss the Mikey Palmice character--he was whacked too soon.

I honestly love this episode with silvo and Paulie failing to get someone in the back of the boot and even the subplots were great in this episode , no one cares what Anthony was doing I always felt the actor was not that great and aj had literally no real arc in the series at all but everything else in the episode was great.

Damn right, Uncle Jun': this is a gangster epic that just won't let complacency or conventional film-making rules take over - it's too good for that to happen.

Episode 3 goes on with the development of three subplots introduced in the previous show, 46 Long: Uncle Junior seeks revenge for being humiliated by Christopher, the resentful Livia, angry at her son for placing her in a nursing home, gives some advice on the matter, and the medical condition of Tony's boss Jackie Aprile (Michael Rispoli) doesn't seem to get any better. In addition, Meadow asks Chris for some speed so that she can stay awake all night preparing for her SATs, and a friend of Tony's Jewish associate Hesh Rabkin (Jerry Adler) asks for help with a son-in-law situation.

The main pleasure of watching Denial, Anger, Acceptance originates from the fact that this is the first episode to draw parallels between the Soprano family and the Roman empire. Though most of Tony's crew is originally from Avellino, in the South of Italy, they have always felt a closeness to the greatness and violence associated with the once almighty Rome. The most obvious reference, from the pilot onwards, is the name David Chase chose for Tony's mother: Livia. Okay, so Chase claims it is based on his own mother, but it is hard not to be reminded of another Livia, the woman who married emperor Augustus and, according to Roman historians, plotted to keep the imperial power on her side of the family. She had a very sharp mind and conspired with subtlety, a characteristic Livia Soprano has obviously inherited - her conversation with Uncle Junior is a masterclass in restrained nastiness, and it leads to an inevitably brutal outcome.

The best in-joke, though, remains the scene where Tony, Paulie and Silvio confront the Jewish son-in-law and the latter mentions the battle of Masada, in which the Jews chose death ahead of slavery. "Where are they now?" he asks, referring to the Roman oppressors. "You're looking at'em, a**hole." is Tony's straight-faced reply. It is not a mere sign of Italian pride: there is something very ancient in Tony's code of honor and use of violence. No wonder the HBO-produced Rome continued in that direction: sex, blood, power and paranoia. Of course, The Sopranos did it first and, obviously, best.