[SOP] The Legend Of Tennessee Moltisanti

TV Programme: The Sopranos
Season: 1
Episode: 8
Date I watched this episode: 14/03/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.

This episode dealt mainly with the character I have expressed concerns about before - Christopher Moltisanti. I see him in the background sometimes and am a bit confused as to what part he plays in all of this. However, the writers effectively acknowledged this by saying that he doesn't have an "arc". This is the truth: pretty much every character on the show has an arc except him, and they managed to really turn this around this episode in a really bold move which paid off.

Acknowledging that a character has no place is quite a risky play and something that I haven't seen done before. But it really worked here, and Christopher is now a character that I want to see develop in the future. His "arc" has been clearly established as someone who's having a mid-life crisis, not sure if he wants to do this anymore.

Obviously the other major thing in this episode was the FBI, an element introduced in "Pax Soprana" and not even mentioned during "Down Neck". Things kicked off pretty quickly, and the "spring cleaning" operations were well planned. It was a good way to start a story which I'm sure will continue for a while.

It was also interesting to see the effect that this has on Jennifer Melfi, and her relationship with Tony. I still can't quite work her out. She knows how dangerous a position she is in and yet still perseveres against the advise of all her family and friends. Perhaps she is just trying to defy her ex-husband, but I think it is a bit more complicated than that.

There are also hints at future stories here. Still with the storyline of telling Meadow the truth - she is making sarcastic comments in this episode. Also Junior finds out that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist; this storyline can only end badly.

I enjoyed this episode again; I liked the story devices and the setup, it didn't feel disjointed, and I would welcome more episodes like this.