Bad Tidings

After a long day of watching sports and taking care of Isaac, Jr., I turned to HBO to bring a different form of entertainment into my life. And just having Tony and Carm and Vince and Ari back is enough to bring a smile to my face. For now, let's focus on our favorite family from New Jersey (other than my own).

SPOILERS. While the episode had a number of slower moments (interrupted by the vicious fight between Tony and Bobby and Bobby losing his cherry whacking the drummer), signs were rampant that some of our favorites are not getting out alive from this final season:

• Bobby seems to have a bleak future. No, I don't think Tony will whack him for besting him in their drunken ramble, but his revenge--having Bobby finally murder someone after his father tried to get him out of that (a touch of Michael Corleone and was I the only one who thought of Fredo getting killed on Lake Tahoe when Tony and Bobby were boating)--may spell his end. Bobby's hit on the drummer was extremely poorly executed (no pun intended) with blood on his clothes and leaving the gun. His mentioning of the DNA evidence earlier was no coincidence and this can't be good for him.
• I actually don't think Tony will die (although as he pointed out "historically" 80% of people in his line of work end of in jail or dead). I think something worse will happen. One of the funniest and most symbolic moments of the episode was at the end of the fight, a monopoly house was stuck to Tony's face. When Carm finally removed it, the house was seen, covered in blood. A fitting image of Tony's home.
• I fear that Carmella's shoulder problem (which seemed to preexist the fight) is the portent of something much worse. As Junior would say, the Big Casino. Losing Carm would be deadly for Tony, and it may happen. We'll see.

But the genius of the show remains the little things (such as the monopoly house and the ducks (yes, they were back)). A number of comments make you understand the depths of these tragic characters. Tony's astute observations regarding his likely future and his recognition of Carmella's love of his violent side. Despite her protests, she loves his ability to inflict violence on others and he rightly knows it. Carmella's flaws were also apparent--her attempted blindness to her husband's character (he's "not a vengeful man") and her superficiality when discussing Meadow's career choice (not only criticizing pediatrics because it is not the highest paid medical field but knowing that radiology is; like Meadow will need the money).

So last night was just a taste for what is to come over the next 8 episodes. I'm certainly ready for more.