Sopranos ~ Season 5, Episode 3, "Where's Johnny?"

TV Guide synopsis:
The Sopranos
Where's Johnny?
60 mins.   

Uncle Junior takes an unsupervised tour of his old neighborhood; a turf war erupts when Feech La Manna (Robert Loggia) looks for a cut of a local lawnmowing enterprise; Johnny Sack expresses his disdain for Tony's latest solution to a power problem; Artie gets a new place to live. Bobby: Steven R. Schirripa. Artie: John Ventimiglia.

Cast: Dominic Chianese, Edie Falco, James Gandolfini, Jamie-Lynn DiScala, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Robert Iler, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Steve Buscemi, Robert Loggia, Patti D'Arbanville, Frank Vincent, Steven R. Schirripa, Aida Turturro, Drea de Matteo

Director: John Patterson

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Highlights:

--Paulie with the shovel was hilarious, as was him taking the mower.

--Uncle Junior mistaking Larry David for himself on the television.

--The fight betweem Tony and Janice with poor Artie getting smacked in the eye.

--Tony B. pulling Feece off the hapless landscaping guy while muttering, "Hey! That's enough now. We're still on parole, for chrissakes." Classic Steve Buscemi. Loved it, though I would have liked to have seen more Buscemi.

--The scene at the end  with Tony S. when Uncle Junior's lip started trembling was perfect. Dominic Chianese did an all-round excellent job with his character in this ep.

Random Thoughts:

Feech is a loose cannon, if not a total nut-job. He needs to be reigned in--now.

Tony's plaintive question to Uncle Junior at the end was very sad and him reaching out to Artie was touching as well.
He may be thinking that he is feared more than loved; no doubt he is very lonely, atm.

This may have been the first episode that did not have Carmela in it. Odd. AJ and Meadow also have barely been on the show at all this year.

Comments

[lakkris]

I have to admit it's why we are watching Mafia stuff to begin with, the previous season was so pansy with the lack of what we like, Mob oriented violence that is chilling.

[Cyn]

Yes, poor Bobby.
He won't become anything true, but he is part of the second "family," so Janice now has the security of belonging to both. With hubby working as Junior's aide, she's is able to keep an eye on uncle Junior and stay somewhat in the loop.
I think she was afraid of getting cut off financially as Tony had done before. I can't see an evil motive though beyond her self-centeredness.

[Jack]

I loved the scene with uncle junior sitting on the bench with the old black woman who comes on to him.

We are far enough into the season now that I am starting to question where it is going. Feech is a loose cannon and he seems like the obvious choice for who gets "hit" first this season. But that's the problem: It's too obvious. If he dies, I'm guessing it will happen in a very odd and humorous way, not at the hands of Tony. Perhaps he'll have a heart attack while going off on some one. Also, what gives with Janice and Bobby? Janice is a conniving you-know-what. She definitely had a motive for marrying Bobby. But what? Janice certainly knows that Bobby is not smart enough to become anything in the family. Something nasty is going to come of that.

My most off-the-wall prediction for the end of the season: AJ will be killed, probably accidentally. Just think of the torment that would cause Tony. And what an incredible lead in to next season, the show's final season.