Sopranos

*The following is an exchange I had with a friend regarding the most recent episode of The Sopranos. I thought it was interesting because his interpretation makes at least as much sense as mine. (Please also note that, as the blogger, I was able to edit/revise some of what I had originally said while my buddy did not benefit from such a luxury).

I thought it was really good. Best one of the season so far.

I liked the way they juxtaposed Anthony Jr. with his father. Tony was able to kill someone he thought of and treated as a son for most of the series. Instead of grieving, he felt relieved. Relieved to have been unburdened with a distracted, addiction-prone heir apparent in whom he had grown to resent having invested so much time, trust and energy. The episode and my analogy culminated in a cathartic, carefree trip to Vegas featuring a peyote trip, a fling with a former girlfriend of Christopher's, and some really good luck on the craps table.

His son, on the other hand, was thrust unwittingly into violent circumstances and conditions under which he felt extremely uncomfortable and could barely cope. A weak person in general, he is even unable to speak up against the violence he finds distasteful, standing idly by instead; voicing his objections only "on the chair" in the office of his psychiatrist.

To which my buddy responded:

I agree with what you wrote about AJ but totally disagree with what you wrote about Tony. He is feeling so much guilt about Christopher that he is completely losing it. You're saying that he feels so relieved about killing Christopher that he took a spontaneous trip to Vegas and tried a bunch of drugs that he had never done before? That doesn't make sense to me. He feels so much guilt he had to get away... and he did it in more ways than one.