What sort of power do women have in the world of The Sopranos? Is it merely potential control of the home and hearth or is it something more? We've seen Livia's lengthy tendrils more than once so far, but Carmela appeared powerless in the previous episode - she did have the magnanimity to apologize to Janice without being passive-aggressive, but ultimately Tony's notion of punishment won the day.
We see female power manifest itself in several different ways here - in Italy, Tony has to negotiate with a female boss. All throughout he is shown as more powerful than her - he has a dream about having sex with her where he is a Roman centurion; when he stays at the family villa, he overlooks her. Finally when she brings him to a historic site, she manages to gain the upper hand in the negotiation using her sexuality as a weapon. Meanwhile back in Jersey, Angie Bonpensiero has had enough of her husband's loutish ways. She tells Carmela and Rosalie Aprile that she's going to file for divorce. Carmela tries to talk her out of it, citing the fact that marriage is a sacrament, but in reality she's fighting for her own marriage - Angie divorcing reflects poorly on her own union. Janice also confronts Carmela about her choices, wondering if she's content to ask so little from life.
Meanwhile we get a trip to Italy by Tony, Christopher, and Paulie - all of them have an unsuccessful journey. Tony gets outnegotiated, Christopher swears he's going to see Mount Vesuvius but instead he gets sidetracked by heroin, and Paulie tries to relate to the locals, with hilarious results. They may have Italian roots, but they will never fit in outside New Jersey.
Random observations -
Pussy's lying to the FBI and also killing people to keep his informing a secret. Also this is one of those spots in the series where suspension of disbelief breaks down - he claims to have driven 'all the way the fuck out here', but in reality, the Party Box is right next to where the Bada Bing is located.
Are we to read anything into the fact that the old man is fixated on street names when Tony is selling cars?
I wonder what the audition was like for the guy who gets carjacked. I also love their quotidian struggles before they get robbed. And that their dog is named Churchill and runs away.
I think I had this graffiti pointed out to me before, but on one of the panels explaining the history of the oracle site, it says 'FUCK NATO'. Did the production crew put that there?
Love the prostitute idly scratching her foot as Paulie explains that his relatives come from the same part of Naples as she does.
I don't remember any malapropisms in this episode though there must've been some in Italian.
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