The Sopranos 3x01 Reaction

Hahaha, more LM lore. I just need to hear Milena's brother. Actually have him on a Q&A, given that he always recommends stuff.

The show really hit its stride in season 3

Hi besties, I understand why it wouldn't quite track to non-Americans, but Columbia is considered one of the "best" or most "prestigious" colleges in the US. However, your point about the decision being largely glossed over is absolutely correct. I just wanted to add context that Columbia wouldn't be seen as a downgrade from Meadow's perspective, as they are both in the same tier of "elite" colleges.

god I’m so excited (and nervous) for this season!

I'm really glad you two like AJ. I personally think this season his character and his father-son relationship with Tony has some interesting moments to analyze and discuss.

Penguin is excellent. One of my favorite shows of the year. Its actually closer to the Sopranos than it is anything comic book related. That being said, Andor is incredible as well.

When it comes to colleges in the US, how much they cost depends on where, your family income, and your aptitude. Unlike most countries, it really does matter where you go jobwise. Good colleges will offer scholarships to poor students with good aptitude. It is very expensive still, but it definitely isn't easier to go to Europe.

Now we are in Season 3, we can notice the pattern of every season beginning with Tony walking down his driveway to get the paper in the morning! A cute little detail. The FBI perspective is so fun this episode. The show for one episode goes full police procedural, and feels entirely different from what we are used to as a result. All the agents we have met over the first two seasons are here I believe. Agent Harris, the main agent we always see. Chief Cubitso, the head of the team who planned the wiretap in Green Grove Retirement Home. Agent Grasso, the agent who broke a vase during the search of the Soprano house in S1, which sparked a family debate on Italians in America, and Skip Lipari, Pussys handler. The mix of the ‘Peter Gunn’ theme (a 50s detective show) and ‘Every Breath You Take’ by ‘The Police’ 😉, is a stroke of musical genius, and my favourite musical moment in the whole show. The blending is superb and gives two different perspectives on the FBIs business: their view of being suave detectives cracking a case like they’re in a thrilling heist movie with the Peter Gunn theme, and the lyrics of the Police song, which could be the representing the voyeurism depicted to us. This is made more obvious with the creepy leering of the agent at Adrianna (now Andrea according to the girls this episode lol). There is a quick mention of Eric Scatino, Meadows friend from S2 who Tony gave her his car. He is apparently crashing out, taking acid at a state school. Just further compounding the long reach of the damage Tony and his business is doing to ordinary innocent people. I think the Sopranos (and more specifically David Chase) loves to subvert expectations, and Meadows choice of Columbia is an example of that. Berkeley vs Georgetown? The ultimate showdown of choosing a liberal college far away or choosing a conservative Catholic school close to home? This conflict we have built all season? Nah, here’s this third option we mentioned like once before. If there is a main theme to single out in the Sopranos, I think the “fuckin’ regularness of life” is the one I’d pick. The banality and mundane nature of real life is often what the show chooses to focus in on. Sometimes things are just unremarkable and happen the way they do without dramatic flair. This episode built up a big face-off with Tony and Patsy, but instead of any gun going off, he pisses in the pool and calls it a day. As Livia said to AJ, and Tony said last episode: “It’s all a big nothing”.

Can we as fans all get on board and agree not to hype up any particular episodes this season (and next). I've seen more than a few reactors to these upcoming seasosn have fans pre-comment how such and such episode is considered the best ever made and it always create expectations going into certain episodes. I much prefer to see them go in blind and react to the episode, not react to the episode vs what expectations they had based on comments.

LOL that is 100% Lola's sister

the best part about The Sopranos is that each season is better than the previous.. so good

A fun little episode, but the next one is probably a more proper start of the season and establishes the tone better than this one. This episode does get you excited to see where the characters are going, particularly AJ and Meadow. Speaking of AJ, I'm glad you girls are so protective of him. To me he's kind of the "Skyler" of The Sopranos among the fanbase.

Private universities are very expensive in the US but there are a lot of options when it comes to state and community colleges that are a lot more affordable. I went to a state college and it was relatively affordable, especially with financial aid.

100% recommend penguin reaction, dope crime show. Just adding its set a week after the Robert Pattinson batman movie, but you dont need any real knowledge of that or batman lore. Really amazing characters

This is a (generally) accurate portrayal of the process for getting a warrant to plant a listening device. It's not 100%, but close enough for TV. Columbia University is a very prestigious school, and one of the Ivy League universities. Last season when Meadow first mentioned going to Berkeley, Tony & Carmela both did the subtle manipulation of talking about how much she would miss the family and connection, but didn't forbid and or say anything bad about Berkeley itself. Once it lost the allure of being the forbidden fruit, Meadow lost interest over the last few episodes of the season. Plus, Columbia is located IN New York City, so it's got that allure of The Big City. It's about 45 minutes to an hour to drive from Columbia to North Caldwell, where the Sopranos live. The title of this episode is a reference to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", a long running children's TV series starring Fred Rogers ("Mister Rogers"). It is a BELOVED part of American culture, and Mister Rogers is practically idolized by the people who grew up with him. There's no real story connection apart from just having a character with a similar name. AJ is wearing a Pantera shirt, which is a heavy metal band. It does have a marijuana leaf on it. That design is official band merchandise, and was sold in the mid-'90s. Back in the pilot episode Tony remarked that he still remembers when Junior said he "never had the makings of a varsity athlete". That line has become one of the biggest memes of the series. If you go to any Sopranos clip on YouTube you'll see DOZENS of comments saying "This clip never had the makings of a varsity athlete".

I know people say this all the time for every show but now we really are entering peak television. The next few seasons are some of the best tv I've ever had the privilege of watching, up there with seasons 3 and 4 of The Wire. Can't wait to listen to your discussions

I think seasons 3-6 are a lot better than 1 and 2. You’re now watching the season that made the sopranos what it is. I’m pretty sure this episode had over 11 million viewers when it aired which would’ve made it the most watched episode till now.

Don't worry they are definitely going to explore meadow and AJ quite a lot this season. Probably even more than past seasons if I remember correctly. Especially meadow.

There’s an argument to be made for every season, but season 3 is just slightly better than season 5 IMO. Can’t wait!

One of my favorite seasons of the is show besides season 4 lol. I can’t wait for both of you girls to meet the next batch of characters :)