Episode Recap:
It’s another week of stress and panic attacks for Tony Soprano. Chris and his meth-head friend Brended have started hijacking trucks, angering Tony’s father Junior (who was paid to protect the trucks). Tony forces Chris and Brenden to pay restitution to Junior, much to their chagrin (though not before pocketing a slice of the money for himself). The resentment boiling in the younger generation is clearly palpable, as is the older generation’s complete disregard for it. The old families aren’t even accepting new members whatsoever, according to Tony. While the actions of Chris and Brenden are certainly perilous to the future of the family, there seems to be no way for the likes of Chris to become “made men”, leaving them no choice but to continue in their haphazard hijackings.
Chris eventually realizes the necessity of following the old rules, the chain of command, and sits out the next robbery planned by Brenden. The robbery quickly south, however, as Brenden and his comically inept companions accidentally kill the driver of the truck. Brenden then enlists the help of Christopher who in turn asks his father Tony for guidance; Tony instructs them to return the shipment of italian suits, though not before he and his associates pick out a few for themselves.
Meanwhile Tony’s mother Livia continues to fight for her right to stay in her own home unassisted. A sweet african american woman that is sent to assist Livia is quickly driven off by the cantankerous old woman’s antics, and it quickly becomes apparent after Livia almost sets her house on fire (and maiming one of her elderly friends) that he is going to have to take more drastic action; namely, obtaining power of attorney over her and legally forcing her to move into a retirement community. This move by Tony, however, greatly upsets Livia, and she refuses to speak to him, treating him and everyone around her to an icy, malevolent glare.
Elsewhere in the family, Pussy Salvatore gets more screentime as they track down a missing car belonging one of Tony’s son’s school teachers. Following a lead from a coffee shop the two men are found and forced to sequester a new Saturn for the bereaved teacher, owing to the original’s unfortunate “chopped” up state.
The episode ends with what seems to be Tony’s last visit to his therapist Dr. Melfi. He clearly feels quite a bit of remorse over his now even more strained relationship with his mother. The care and respect of one’s mother appears to be very strongly rooted philosophy of his, and the fact that he is unable to please Livia is a source of great frustration for him. Dr. Melfi suggests that perhaps he feels a certain degree of hatred toward his mother. Tony does not take this well at all. “Are you out of your tree?” he snaps. As he turns to leave, Dr. Melfi pleads with him to acknowledge his anger and frustration, and to admit some of the blame onto his mother, else it get displaced on others. Tony returns to the stripclub, and after watching his associate struggle with a telephone, beats him over the head with the handset, displaying the displacement of anger that Dr. Melfi had warned about.
Overall, we see the second episode of The Sopranos continue with the discussion on the modern state of the mafia. The older members of the Soprano family are convinced that they are still living in the golden age of organized crime. In the beginning of the episode an ex mafia man on the television remarks about how modern gangsters refuse to accept their current situation; all the while, the Soprano gangsters sit around a table, counting money, ignoring him. It’s only when he admits that organized crime will never truly end that they look up and listen to what he’s saying, nodding in approval.
Tony, for his part, is just as complex as ever. He’s a guy that sort of tries to be good but at the same time falls victim to the hypocrisy and greed typical of a man of his stature. He berates Chris and Brenden for their actions yet takes large cuts of his own of the money and allows his men to take suits from the stolen truck. He tries so desperately to help his mother and is clearly extremely aggravated by her refusal to accept help, yet he won’t (at least vocally) accuse her of any wrong doing, or admit that maybe, just maybe, she’s not the best mother.
Christopher and Brenden are predictably hot-headed and eager for success, but its difficult to blame them for their impatience when their avenues for success are so routinely denied to them by their greedy superiors. The two generations have become so disenfranchised with one another; they are rotting tree trunk, being eaten from the inside, waiting to collapse.
On a personal note, definitely another great episode and I’m definitely getting hooked! Loving the complex characters and the almost Tarantino-esq dialogue. Can’t wait for more!