Monday, April 30, 2007

Taking Bets on Tony Soprano   [Peter Suderman]

Ross Douthat and Chris Orr aren’t too keen on the gambling addiction Tony Soprano suddenly, and somewhat conveniently, developed in last night’s Sopranos.  It’s not exactly the show’s strongest moment, but I think it works.  Ever since Tony was shot at the beginning of last season (6A or whatever we’re supposed to call it with this split season foolishness), the writers have taken pains to show that Tony has changed—although neither we nor Tony are yet sure what he's changed into.  

But what’s clear is that he’s no longer as focused or as driven, that he’s taken to self-examination, in his own meandering, clumsy way, and that, for the first time, he’s letting the many distractions in his life get the best of him.  In this case, that means that his gambling spins out of control. It's just one of the many bits and pieces of his ill-gotten life beginning to slip ingloriously away from him. The show seems to be setting up Tony to go out not with a bang but with a whimper. Like his uncle, I suspect, he'll fade away with an ugly, pathetic loss of dignity rather than a grand showdown. 

04/30 10:56 PMShare