HE’S ON HIS WAY TO JOINING ADRIANA
Here’s some advice for Christopher Moltisanti from The New York Post:
* Take a long vacation.
* Don’t accept any rides upstate.
* Watch your back.
It’s just a hunch to them, but The new York Post has a theory that Christopher is looking more and more like a goner in this weekend’s season finale of “The Sopranos.”
And just because such predictions usually turn out wrong, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to shy away from making them.
“Sopranos” fans know not to forgettaboutitt. They like nothing more than to endlessly analyze their favorite show. And no single episode of any series is as highly anticipated as a “Sopranos” season finale.
“The Sopranos” ends its fifth season Sunday night at 9 on HBO. The one-hour episode – No. 65 – is titled “All Due Respect.”
Here’s the tantalizing description that was posted on HBO.com last week: “Tony’s [James Gandolfini] crew circles the wagons as Johnny Sack [Vincent Curatola] turns up the heat; Carmela [Edie Falco] counts her blessings; Christopher [Michael Imperioli] is freaked out by an unexpected visitor; Benny’s [Max Casella] connection to the plumbers union comes in handy; A.J. [Robert Iler] demonstrates his business acumen; and Tony ponders whether to execute a ‘sacrifice bunt.’ ”
Decoding HBO’s episode synopses is always an iffy proposition. But having said that, here’s the case against Christopher:
* Tony has to be questioning the competence of a member of his inner circle whose dearly departed fiancee had been meeting clandestinely with the feds for more than a year, right under her boyfriend’s nose.
* When Tony caught Christopher resorting to heroin in order to cope with Adriana’s death, he beat him savagely. And if memory serves, Tony was pretty clear last season, when he staged an intervention and packed Christopher off to rehab, about the penalty for Christopher if he resumed his drug habit.
* Christopher’s a screw-up. In the latest example, Tony had to step in and place Paulie Walnuts in charge of a cigarette hijacking operation that Christopher apparently botched.
* Christopher’s an out-of-control hothead. He’s already threatened Tony at least twice this season – once, when he showed up at the Bada Bing brandishing a pistol, and again just in the last episode, when he raved to Adriana that he ought to kill Tony for favoring the other Tony, Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi).
And what if Christopher begins to question Tony’s decision to murder Adriana? How mad might he get then?
* If Tony is contemplating a “sacrifice bunt,” it’s doubtful he’s thinking about baseball. Does it mean he has to offer someone up to the New York mob? Might he offer his hotheaded, screwup of a nephew, who’s not really his nephew anyway?
* And who’s the “unexpected visitor” who shows up at Christopher’s door? That doesn’t sound too promising for Christopher’s future.
That’s the case so far. And even if Michael Imperioli has made no plans to appear in a network sitcom this fall, it sounds like a pretty safe bet.
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