His therapist says she's had enough of his missed appointments, and that maybe they should stop meeting. His wife is barely speaking to him -- and rightfully so after the horrible things he said to her. He is so broke from betting on sports events that he can barely pay the interest on a $200,000 loan he took out from Hesh Rabkin, the bookie. Just in case all of that misery didn't convince viewers of last night's episode of HBO's The Sopranos that Tony was in steep decline, the soundtrack twice carried the blues standard "Goin' Down Slow," sung from the point of a view of an old, dying man looking back across his life.
Once a study of middle-aged masculinity, all the bosses -- Tony, Phil, Hesh -- are now old, broken and goin' down slow.
Creator David Chase's message could not be clearer: This is what happens to all the so-called captains of industry. In the end, even meat-eaters are ground down to sawdust by the cutthroat competition of American business.
Last week's episode drifted, but last night's was a reminder of the brilliant intensity with which The Sopranos burns when it is at its best.
Two moments I can't forget: First, Tony's fight with Carmela captured the savagery long-time spouses can inflict on each other when out of control. Second, Tony's anti-Semitic comments to his therapist serve as a reminder of what an ugly character he can be.
I wonder how other fans of Tony's are reacting to two those ugly scenes.
