Rating: A
So far during my second watching of The Sopranos, season five is by far the best and one I had most been anticipating. Here the show brings back more of the intense mob plotting of season one while also expanding on the intense character development of the previous two season.
The big mob plot action comes from the class of 2004, a group of mobsters getting out of jail that threaten to upstage the balance of power. There’s the elderly Feech LaManna (Robert Loggia) whose card game Tony knocked off as a teen, Phil Leotardo who steps into the role of Jonny Sack’s enforcer, and, best of all, Steve Buscemi enters the picture as Tony’s never before mentioned cousin Tony Blundetto. After the death of Carmine Lupertazzi last season, there’s also a growing power struggle between Carmine’s son and Jonny Sack over who’s going to rule the New York family.
While Tony gets more awful than ever this season, David Chase and the writers present him as somewhat wizened by his experience as a mob boss. Most evident of this is recognizing Feech as a potential Richie or Ralph and getting him sent back to prison.
A major change, though, is Tony’s loss of a support system in Carmela. The two spend the season separate, consistently butting heads and seeing if there really is anything they like about each other (the party for Carmela’s father is a great moment of the latter). Tony falls back on his mob family, though finally realizing they are employees rather than his actual friends. The show seems to push more of the idea as Tony as a sociopath that only uses people, but still seems to sympathize with him as everything falls apart around him.
Let’s shift our attentions over to Tony B. for a bit. Tony B. is a bit of a thinner character than Richie or Ralph, but Steve Buscemi makes him one of the most memorable characters by virtue of being Steve Buscemi. The writers seem to step out of the way to let the actor riff a bit while also letting that underlying melancholy of the actor seep through quite a bit.
Tony S. loves Tony B., that’s for sure, but the mob kingpin doesn’t know what to with his cousin when he doesn’t want to get back into the mafia, opting to pursue a career as a massage therapist. Tony doesn’t know what to do with somewhat he can’t use yet also feels a major sense of guilt. Tony had a panic attack causing him to miss a robbery gone wrong that sent Tony B. to jail. Throughout the season, we as an audience are left to ponder what might have happened if Tony B. had stayed out and taken Tony S.’s role.
Tony B. also shares his cousin’s anger and acts impulsively in a way that his now hardened cousin wouldn’t. This puts Tony into conflict with New York and in a position where he has to choose between actual family and the “family” with severe consequences either way.
That brings us to the other tough decision facing Adriana and Christopher. For a long time now, Adriana has been stuck as an informant for the FBI. As the season progresses, Adriana is in a position where she can no longer function. The guilt and fear of her double life leads her to depression and severe medical problems.
Eventually she’s pushed into the position of having to tell Christopher and trying to get him to flip on Tony and run away into the witness protection program. Obviously we all know what happens in what is just an intense, horrifying, and very well done scene. Adriana is one of the few “innocents” on the show and one of the few genuinely good people. This time I around I was concentrating on trying to figure out at what moment she knew it was all over.
For all the shit that happens, season five seemingly oddly at first brings it all back home again with Tony and Carmela getting back together. Like Matthew Weiner did with Mad Men, The Sopranos is often a show about people who are unable to move past their faults and keep slipping into the same destructive behavior. At the end as Tony runs away from Jonny Sack’s house, he emerges—like the wild bear at the beginning of the season (the series isn’t that subtle with the imagery)—bloodied, tired, and a little afraid. Tony has made it back home, but what’s been the cost?
-James P.
Next time in Season 6 Part 1: As I recall the first half of season six, which is pretty much a normal season, gets into some weird territory with stuff like Kevin Finnerty and Cleaver. Will Christopher be able to go on after Adriana? Will Phil Leotardo continue to be a threat to Tony? See you next time kids.
Last Time: Season 4
-James P.