See, I have a Sopranos icon!
It felt a bit silly to get one now, while everybody has seen the show years ago so this is not a piece of conversation anymore, and I'm almost on my own with this marathon, but I liked the picture (the green of the background, the red of the tablecloth...and of course the pigs from Satriale's), even though it's Christopher and not Tony on it. It's the kind of icon that isn't obvious, and you have to be part of "the secret circle" to understand it.
Anyway...
I have not much to say about "Fortunate Son", but a little something about "Employee of the Month"."Fortunate Son" is a title filled with irony, even though a few sons here (Jackie Jr and AJ, and even Christopher) are indeed privileged. They are basically rich, spoiled kids. Young Tony's upbringing might have been less comfortable in terms of money, and the flashback about the "meat curse" (or the finger trauma!) -- btw I loved that it all began at Satriale's shop! -- reveals that his childhood was a series of unfortunate events and revelations about his parents. Also the episode plays with the idea of the burden of legacy. The goddess Fortuna could bring good luck or bad; she was also a goddess of fate, and in Middle Ages everybody knew that the wheel of fortune could turn, so being a "Fortunate Son" doesn't necessarily means luck and wealth. By the way during the ceremony that makes him a true member of the Soprano mob family -- and therefore Tony's son -- Christopher sees a crow behind the window and is sure that it is a bad omen, and eventually AJ ends up having an "episode" like his father as if Tony's depression had already been passed on to his heir!
In "Employee of the Month" there's a lovely and bittersweet scene between Chris and Tony in the basement, in which Chris bitterly realises out loud that a life of crime is good enough for him but not for the real sons, like Jackie Jr, who must be preserved, and we know he's right because we know that Tony doesn't want AJ to be involved in his business either (or so he says), but when Tony tells Chris "I love you" it's also obvious that it is true and that both men are moved. There's such warmth on Tony's face then, and Christopher suddenly looks so innocent and so touched to hear it.
That scene aside, the writing is filled with convenient and contrived stuff and the dream sequence is one the of thess subtle thing I have ever seen (followed by an on-the-nose scene between Melfi and her own therapist, in case people hadn't decoded the dream...), BUT Lorraine Bracco is terrific, and the last scene between Tony and Melfi is simply fantastic. I guess that the whole episode was written to get there, and that moment redeems all the flaws that precede it. In about 2 minutes the show manages to do what took a whole film for Scorcese to achieve in The Last Temptation of Christ !
Melfi's has her moment of weakness but her final "No" is just so powerful, so compelling that it is obviously aimed as much as Tony as it is at herself and at the viewers. Because of course, the audience was tempted during the whole episode too. There's a part of us that wants Tony to find out the truth and get ballistic on the guy who raped Melfi, and there's even a little part that of us that wants Melfi to tell Tony so they could get closer to each other. The show is basically playing with our morals but also with our (bad) habits as tv viewers and commenting on them.
And what makes the whole possible plot so tempting isn't only our tv habits, but also the way Tony appears so nice and normal in the episode, so sensible even in contrast with Janice (btw Melfi is obviously the anti-Janice in the episode) when it comes to the prosthetic leg business or her newly born-again epiphany. Tony almost seems like a good guy in the episode which sorta makes easier to root for a Melfi/Soprano association vs bad rapist who got away. And that's the show tempting us and playing with another fantasy: the gentle dog, the Saint-Bernard, who could turned into a Rottweiler for the sake of his beloved ones; the wolf being awakened only when it comes to defend or avenge the good people.
At last, The Sopranos tempts us with what I could call the Dexter fantasy: Tony Soprano is already a criminal, he is a killer anyway, so let him do the dirty work, especially since the justice system is screwed up and rapists get away because of technicalities.
But no Melfi did not give in, she remained the moral compass the show needs, and The Sopranos didn't follow the formulaic and lazy route so many lesser series would have taken knowing that it pleases the viewers' basic instincts. As Whedon would have said, Chase gave us what we needed, not what we wanted.
In the end, Melfi's integrity and the show's were saved.
Anyway...
I have not much to say about "Fortunate Son", but a little something about "Employee of the Month"."Fortunate Son" is a title filled with irony, even though a few sons here (Jackie Jr and AJ, and even Christopher) are indeed privileged. They are basically rich, spoiled kids. Young Tony's upbringing might have been less comfortable in terms of money, and the flashback about the "meat curse" (or the finger trauma!) -- btw I loved that it all began at Satriale's shop! -- reveals that his childhood was a series of unfortunate events and revelations about his parents. Also the episode plays with the idea of the burden of legacy. The goddess Fortuna could bring good luck or bad; she was also a goddess of fate, and in Middle Ages everybody knew that the wheel of fortune could turn, so being a "Fortunate Son" doesn't necessarily means luck and wealth. By the way during the ceremony that makes him a true member of the Soprano mob family -- and therefore Tony's son -- Christopher sees a crow behind the window and is sure that it is a bad omen, and eventually AJ ends up having an "episode" like his father as if Tony's depression had already been passed on to his heir!
In "Employee of the Month" there's a lovely and bittersweet scene between Chris and Tony in the basement, in which Chris bitterly realises out loud that a life of crime is good enough for him but not for the real sons, like Jackie Jr, who must be preserved, and we know he's right because we know that Tony doesn't want AJ to be involved in his business either (or so he says), but when Tony tells Chris "I love you" it's also obvious that it is true and that both men are moved. There's such warmth on Tony's face then, and Christopher suddenly looks so innocent and so touched to hear it.
That scene aside, the writing is filled with convenient and contrived stuff and the dream sequence is one the of thess subtle thing I have ever seen (followed by an on-the-nose scene between Melfi and her own therapist, in case people hadn't decoded the dream...), BUT Lorraine Bracco is terrific, and the last scene between Tony and Melfi is simply fantastic. I guess that the whole episode was written to get there, and that moment redeems all the flaws that precede it. In about 2 minutes the show manages to do what took a whole film for Scorcese to achieve in The Last Temptation of Christ !
Melfi's has her moment of weakness but her final "No" is just so powerful, so compelling that it is obviously aimed as much as Tony as it is at herself and at the viewers. Because of course, the audience was tempted during the whole episode too. There's a part of us that wants Tony to find out the truth and get ballistic on the guy who raped Melfi, and there's even a little part that of us that wants Melfi to tell Tony so they could get closer to each other. The show is basically playing with our morals but also with our (bad) habits as tv viewers and commenting on them.
And what makes the whole possible plot so tempting isn't only our tv habits, but also the way Tony appears so nice and normal in the episode, so sensible even in contrast with Janice (btw Melfi is obviously the anti-Janice in the episode) when it comes to the prosthetic leg business or her newly born-again epiphany. Tony almost seems like a good guy in the episode which sorta makes easier to root for a Melfi/Soprano association vs bad rapist who got away. And that's the show tempting us and playing with another fantasy: the gentle dog, the Saint-Bernard, who could turned into a Rottweiler for the sake of his beloved ones; the wolf being awakened only when it comes to defend or avenge the good people.
At last, The Sopranos tempts us with what I could call the Dexter fantasy: Tony Soprano is already a criminal, he is a killer anyway, so let him do the dirty work, especially since the justice system is screwed up and rapists get away because of technicalities.
But no Melfi did not give in, she remained the moral compass the show needs, and The Sopranos didn't follow the formulaic and lazy route so many lesser series would have taken knowing that it pleases the viewers' basic instincts. As Whedon would have said, Chase gave us what we needed, not what we wanted.
In the end, Melfi's integrity and the show's were saved.