Rivers of Exile

It’s not TV, it’s HBO (spoilers alert) April 3, 2006

Posted by Delilah in : Entertainment , trackback

The Sopranos

Skip through this post if you haven’t seen the new season yet and want to enjoy the suspense.

Mind you, I don’t find too much suspense in the usual sense of who’s plotting against whom and who’s going to get wacked next. That’s not the thrill this time around, and it is a thrill, no question about it. I didn’t like the first episode so much because of all the back and forth between T’s near-death experiences and real life stuff. Both sequences were too mundane given the drama playing out. T’s life was in the balance, for crying out loud.

The two next episodes picked things up seriously but in an unusual direction, for the Sopranos. T is far more reflective and receptive to the feelings of others. He is turning into a caring person. Meanwhile, the other members of the famiglia stay the same - as greedy, calculating, deceitful, violent and murderous as ever.

I suspect Carmela is going to start getting involved in the management of the “business”, first as T’s right hand and, later maybe, as a full fledged player. That would be quite a transformation but I’m sure it’s coming. How all that plays out should be fun to watch.
As for Big Love - the polygamist family in Utah - I cringe from begining to end. Women at their worst, forced into an unsustainable situation by a preening male. It’s an insane situation for all involved. A good reminder as to why, in this day and age, polygamy is really not a healthy arrangement at all, whether you’re a Muslim or a Mormon.