After a pretty violent couple of episodes recently, The Sopranos settled into more domestic and emotional territory last night on episode 612 "Kaisha".
I'm relishing the next few weeks as we're now onto episode 12 of an unprecedented 21-episode season, so I'm expecting huge developments as the saga winds its magical, mystifying way to... who knows where?
Big things have already happened to give Tony endless headaches. After getting shot by Uncle Junior and making a miraculous recovery, Tony walked back into a situation that saw Johnny Sacrimoni succumb to State pressure and pleading guilty to being a mobster - an act that goes against the mob's very core. This leaves the Brooklyn branch at a loose end, and with the hot-headed Phil Leotardo at the helm, not in good hands either.
Phil and Tony's issues with each other came to a head last night, with Tony punishing Phil for whacking Vito last week (since he came out of the closet and ran off to New Hampshire) by blowing up one of his properties. Vito was one of Tony's best earning captains, but Phil took Vito's indiscretions personally, because he was married to Phil's cousin, and saw it as a dishonour to the family.
I get the impression that since his coma, Tony has been playing a much smaller role in operations of late and watching things unfold from the sidelines. There was plenty of doubt after his recovery that Tony would not be able to assert himself again after his ordeal, but a swift and rather ridiculous attack on his new (and absolutely delicious) new driver Perry - who's young and well built - put paid to any questions.
But he's still taking things very slow. He knew Phil had designs on punishing Vito, and Vito did approach Tony with a plan to get out of his hair while still making him lots of money if he allowed him to relocate to Atlantic City - but Tony's anger towards him was surprisingly impotent and he left the way for Phil and his henchmen to get to Vito anyway.
In this season we've seen other players play a much bigger part, particularly Vito and his short-lived Brokeback Mountain saga, Carmela and her frustrations over being just a mobster's wife and wanting a career of her own, AJ's continuing growing pains and Christopher getting a girl pregnant and then marrying her, while getting back into drugs.
During a meeting to clear the air between the New York and Jersey families, things actually got worse and later Phil was making plans to get rid of Tony. But Phil's salami-hardened heart gave in and he had a heart attack.
He survived, unfortunately, but it gave him and Tony the opportunity to make amends (for real this time) especially after Tony shares some insight after his own near-death experience.
Business was also looking up for Carmela after her the building commission finally gave her approval to continue development on her spec house, a Christmas gift from Tony (did I forget to mention this was the Christmas episode?).
But Tony had ulterior motives - Carmela had been digging around, trying to find out what happened to Adriana, and even suggested they hire a private investigator to find her. Carm has been plagued by a dream she had in Paris where Adriana appeared to her, but a French policeman tells her that she is dead. Carm's Paris vacation episode last week was just incredible! They shot on location and everything!
Finding Adriana becomes especially important to her after Ade's mother (who has been ruined by her daughter's disappearance and the suspicion that she was murdered by the mob) tried to commit suicide. Tony's ploy worked and Carmela was seen discarding the PI's business card, and the idea of doing any further enquiry.
AJ's new job at the construction plant seems to be going well, so well in fact that he laid one eye on the admin clerk, Blanca, and fell in love. Only thing is, she's older than him, has a young son and is Hispanic. This, of course, does not sit well with his parents, but Tony's just happy to see AJ take some responsibility for a change - even if it's of an older woman's kid.
Prior to the Christmas celebrations, Tony asks Christopher who his new mistress is and why they haven't seen her yet. Chris says her name's Kaisha and she's black, and he's kept her away from the guys because of Paulie's "racial bullshit".
But we later learn that Chris was lying. His mistress isn't black, she's Julianna (
Julianna Margulies, looking better than she ever did on E.R.) the real estate agent who Tony had his eye on, but couldn't seal the deal with because he was wracked with guilt that he was betraying Carm - something that became an issue for him after all her support during his coma and his own erectile dysfunction problems immediately after the coma.
Turns out Julianna is a recovering addict and Tony's rejection of her led her to start drinking again. She and Chris start an affair after meeting at an AA meeting, but ultimately lapse back into using heroin again.
Tony later spots Chris and Julianna talking and Chris makes up a lie that she is helping him choose a Christmas gift for 'Kaisha'. But with so many secrets to keep, Chris decides to come clean to Tony and confesses to the affair with Julianna.
Tony doesn't seem too perturbed by this news - but later moans to Dr Melfi during one of their sessions the unfairness that his last act of faithfulness to Carmela should result in his nephew getting the prize. He also tells Melfi that the reason why he keeps coming to therapy is probably because he is attracted to her and she is the ultimate prize for him.