We're back! It was high time for me to continue on this journey of Sopranos viewing and writing.
Season 2 begins with a Tony-focused episode - Pussy Bonpensiero returns to North Jersey, and specifically to Tony's house, with a tale about a love affair with an acupuncturist and time spent in Puerto Rico to fix his ailing back. He's welcomed back into the fold albeit with some suspicion. Tony is no longer seeing Dr. Melfi - scared for her safety, she is continuing to see patients at a local motel. He is, however, having panic attacks, and so he tries to convince her to see him again. He fails.
Most importantly, his sister Janice returns from Seattle - she had changed her name and distanced herself from the family, but with her mother in the hospital she decides to come back to ingratiate herself into the family affairs.
I suspect we're meant to compare and contrast these two returns - Janice (aka Parvati) purporting to care about her mother's convalescence but being more interested in her home's pending sale and Pussy needing to return because of his family's finances. Pussy is told in no uncertain terms that his return is contingent on Tony's approval and he accepts the fact that his 'pickups' were garnished by the men who made them. Moreover, at the impromptu reunion party, Pussy accepts Tony's insult without getting offended. He knows being insulted is part of his life as an underling of Tony Soprano. Janice refuses to accept what Tony wants and he knows she's not going to go away until she does - she's a Soprano.
- Aida Turturro does an excellent job of establishing Janice as a character right away. The little scene with her and Tony sharing a cigarette on his patio - it's a great moment to establish their sibling chemistry.
- I didn't mention the subplot with Christopher getting his Series 7 and running a pump and dump scam with Webistics and the two goon underlings he has working for them. It's so good, though. 'We'll do wet work, wash his car, whatever'. There's a certain kind of idiocy that this show nails and a show like Breaking Bad overdoes.
- This is the first episode we see Tony's in-laws, but there's not a lot established about them. I do think we're meant to observe that her mother is similar to Tony's mother - she repeats the awful (but true) thing Livia said to them on her wedding day. Perhaps that's just elder blitheness.
- I feel like I missed some of the dramatic import of the series the first time around because I was too gobsmacked at the location choices. Melfi and Tony's diner confrontation happened at a diner I've been to. It's called the Six Brothers Diner but this wasn't revealed in the show nor do I think it has any thematic import.
- Malapropism alert - 'Duane' for 'deign'
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