The Test Dream



As soon as the credits rolled on last night’s Sopranos episode, I could hear the sound of thousands of HBO subscriptions being simultaneously cancelled across the country. With only three episodes remaining in the season, David Chase and company devoted over twenty minutes to the most bizarre dream sequence seen on television since Agent Cooper met the dancing midget in the first season of Twin Peaks. It was definitely a love it or hate it episode – and being a longtime Lynchian, I loved it.

Sure, on one level I understand the frustration. We’re running out of time, there’s a lot to be resolved, everyone wants closure and for a lot of people this was all a big waste of time. But for me, this is the great thing about this show and what sets it apart from all others – you truly never know what you’re going to get each week. For me, almost every episode this season has been a knockout in a completely different way – some have blown me away on first viewing (“Irregular Around the Margins,” in which Tony and Adriana get in the car accident and “Unidentified Black Males,” wherein Meadow’s suitor Finn sees something he oughtn’t have seen) while others that seemed disjointed or aimless or weird on first viewing haunted me afterward and paid off spectacularly when I took a second look (“Marco Polo,” featuring the party at the Soprano manse, and last night’s “The Test Dream”). A couple episodes didn’t necessarily knock my socks off, but I don’t think any of them have been out-and-out clunkers.

This whole season has left the audience split, I think; some are seeing sharks jumping left and right, but if the next two episodes pay off as big as I hope they will, I’m thinking this could be the best season ever.

(By the way, the above picture is from the HBO site, but after two viewings I could swear that scene isn’t actually in the episode. I’m guessing there was a bit where Meadow turned into Tracee just as Finn turned into AJ, but if it happened, it must have been subliminal.)