The Sopranos
Members Only
Season: 6
Episode: 1
Air date: 2006-03-12
Guest stars: Drea de Matteo,Karen Young,Greg D'Agostino,John Ventimiglia,Lou Martini Jr.,Grace Van Patten,George Loros,Vincent Curatola,Dan Grimaldi,Frank Vincent,Danielle Di Vecchio,Arthur J. Nascarella,Matt Servitto,Sharon Angela,Lenny Venito,Michael Kelly,Max Casella,Maureen Van Zandt,Carl Capotorto,Anthony J. Ribustello,Jerry Adler,Robert Funaro,Tom Aldredge,Suzanne DiDonna,Frankie Valli,Nick Annunziata,Thomas Russo,Toni Kalem,Joseph R. Gannascoli,Will Janowitz,Tracey Silver,Denise Borino-Quinn,Matt Pepper,John Bianco,Daniel Stewart Sherman,Joe Caniano,Ai Kiyono,Lisa Miller,Amber Gross,Maria Elena Ramirez,Joey Cocozza,Paul D'Elia,Wendy Hammers,Jeffery Keilholtz,Christopher Place,David Shumbris
Gene Pontecorvo makes a final break from the mob life, while Junior's paranoid delusions could be the end of Tony.
OHHH! It's good to be back, folks. Every time I start a new season of The Sopranos, it has that prestige TV flavor that hits differently from anything else I have lined up (except The Wire, of course, which was a goddarned masterpiece that's compelling on every watch)—yes, even Mad Men and Breaking Bad, both of which are undeniably great. But there’s a certain comfort in The Sopranos, a deep, heavy assurance that whatever happens, I’m about to watch something real—even when the cracks started showing back in season 5.
And speaking of cracks, let’s get this out of the way: as amazing as the season opener is—with William S. Burroughs reading his grim little death thesis from The Western Lands while the camera swings over the cast—it’s not exactly breaking new ground thematically. I've read plenty of AV Club reviews (I like second opinions; sue me), and one thing they hammer home is how The Sopranos often circles the death of the American dream, especially as we wade deeper into the post-9/11 swamp of disillusionment. So even though this episode executes its theme of hollow dreams collapsing beautifully, it’s still familiar territory.
And you know what? There’s poetry in that. It’s not about reinventing the tragedy. It’s about showing you that even when you know better, you still fall for the facade of calm.
But let’s peel back that facade and look at the rot underneath, shall we?
The Burroughs montage at the start sets the tone perfectly. Using ancient Egyptian myth about the "seven souls" escaping the body at death, we’re dropped into a slow funeral march for the whole world of these characters. And it's not subtle: the camera picks them off one by one, each tied to some ancient, inevitable fate. Death is coming—but the death of what? Bodies? Dreams? Legacies? You can see the delusions crumbling everywhere you look.
Take Vito for example. Slimmer, flashier, playing spokesman for a weight-loss group like he's reinvented himself. But if you catch it—a sly little moment—he’s pilfering a snack from Chris’ fast food haul like an old habit he can't quite kick. Vito’s new image is a lie built on self-denial, one he’s already losing to muscle memory.
Carmela's role in the thematic symbolism is probably the most obvious this episode as she literally has an unfinished house built with inferior lumber. She is all sunshine and real estate optimism, throwing herself into her stalled-out dream home project as she thinks she's starting anew with a far brighter future with Tony. But underneath the smiles, you can feel the compromise still rotting the foundation. She might brag about independence, but she's leaning heavier than ever on Tony’s dirty money. Even the little pleasures—dinners out, friends bragging about their good fortune—are coated in a sheen of cognitive dissonance she’s too invested to wipe off.
Bobby Baccalieri, bless his doughy heart, has found refuge in the ultimate escapist fantasy: model trains. He’s not even confronting anything anymore—not Junior’s dementia, not Janice’s manipulations, not the slow rotting of their little family unit. Just throwing hands and giving up as he works on his little loops of perfect, orderly fantasy while the real world burns around him.
As for our big boy protagonist Tony? He believes he’s riding the high after successfully dodging the Feds last season, laughing it up over sushi, thinking he can juggle everything: his marriage, his business, his weight, even taking care of Junior. For about five minutes, he almost buys into the illusion that he's got it all under control. that these will be good times ahead like it's the start of season two again—before the ship starts leaking rats and the dream, predictably, collapses on his head.
And finally, our focus of the episode, Eugene Pontecorvo. Without spoiling anything, let's just say that of all the characters clinging to their lies, his crash back to earth hits the hardest, as his scenes are some of the most brutal examples of what happens when a man finally realizes the house of cards he built doesn’t have any doors out. For all the dreams he shares with his wife, Deanne, regarding their bright future ahead, the world of Sopranos ruthlessly tears them all down again back to reality as our golden days of romanticized good times come to an end.
Layered over all of this is the not-so-cold war with New York, still simmering after Johnny Sack’s arrest last season. Phil Leotardo, once a snarling underboss, is now suddenly behaving like a reasonable diplomat. But if you think that’s going to last, like Johnny tries to convince himself behind bars, you haven’t been paying attention. The tension between the two families is like a bad wire sparking behind the walls: you can ignore it for now, but like all the delusions of this episode, something’s gonna catch fire eventually.
Each character this episode clings to something—weight loss, real estate, family dinners, early retirement—and one by one, we watch their hands slip off the ledge. They aren’t living the dream; they’re acting out its funeral. It's a rock-solid season premiere—brimming with death, disillusionment, and some legitimately shocking surprises, and yet still leaning back into familiar beats with comfortable confidence.
The Sopranos is back, baby. It’s swaggering toward the finish line, bloodied, bitter, and more confident than ever. And if this premiere’s any indication? The end's not gonna be pretty—it's gonna be explosive.
