Denial, Anger, Acceptance

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.

As Jackie's condition worsens Tony's existential crisis becomes more prominent.

This is an excellent episode with great character development and storytelling.

The story functions on a number of different levels. There are several strong narratives beautifully weaved together. Tony's struggle with Jackie's illness, Carmela's fundraiser, and Christopher's one time drug deal are all compelling stories in their own right, but they also work as development for all characters involved.

In addition to the above the big overarching narrative of the first season involving Junior and Livia gets some significant movement. These scenes are all superb for the implication they have on the bigger picture of Tony's personal and professional life.

This episode focuses significantly on the psychological implications of death. Tony's feelings on the matter are in focus, contrasted by others like Ariel and we get some strong exchanges of dialogue with Dr Melfi.

Visually it is as strong as ever. There are some great early scenes that contrast each other so well. The transition from Christopher and Brendon in the car, to Junior and Mikey in a restaurant is very impactful. The Godfather tribute montage near the end is incredibly well done.

James Gandolfini is fantastic as ever, but others stand out in this episode. Michael Imperioli, Katherine Narducci and Ned Eisenberg all give memorable performances.

I don't think it's quite perfect. There is something about the situation with Ariel that doesn't sit quite right. I imagine experienced mobsters not at all being perturbed by a victim showing stubbornness in the face of pain and death as they would likely have seen it all before. However, it works well for the episode's major themes.

For me this is a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.

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.

Another solid episode from a show that really starts to grab my attention with its characters and plot! Its thrilling and exciting to see where things are going and how the characters develop!

Tony really gets to shine in this episode with some great insults and moments that shows his inner struggles that he wont alaways admit, but than you can see and feel! There really are some great and funny lines of dialogue!

I loved the scenes with Jackie too! The subbtle details showing how he might be in shock that his time is up at some point!

The emding was where the show REALLY steps up! No mercy! No compromise! Its Television at its finnest!

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.