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 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.