Beginning of the end

SPOILERS BELOW (probably).

I can hear the whining now. "Oh, there's too much talking." "Where were Paulie and Syl?" "It was so boring." "That sucked." "Waah, I'm a big baby and I don't understand the show without a lot of mob stuff and senseless violence."

Stop it. I'm done with this crap. Sunday brought a strong comeback for David Chase's masterpiece, no matter what anyone tells you. You got to see someone get whacked. The feds showed up (so did Essex County's finest). A.J. was endlessly annoying. Someone took a beating. Tony had an ample amount of brooding (and some of the best anti-Janice smack talk yet).

That boring stuff you're talking about? That's a bunch of genius, for your information. The Office has some of TV's most awkward moments, but it doesn't have the realism that Chase can crank in to his Tony-Carmela or Tony-Janice arguments, relationships and social goofs. But most important bit of genius in the writing is small talk. The show's most useless pieces of dialogue (to the lowest common denominator of viewers) are the its best-written. That's why CBS writers are stuck in the proverbial paper bag -- small talk is treated with the same over-the-top drama that you get in a chase sequence or a big twisty reveal, it's not treated like awkward, off-the-cuff small talk. In fact, forget just CBS; small talk is the greatest failure in screenwriting today. Chase nails it.

But the episode's greatest point is the boss's great revenge. A beating at the hands of an underling, however well deserved, can't go unpunished. And as the fade kicks in we're left with a sad picture of the soldier everyone has a soft spot for -- a guy who just a day before had the shot at being the next boss -- dealing with what could be the worst feeling a human can feel and likely the anger and shame of having lost that one big chance..

Don't forget, there's only eight episodes and the wrap-up is beginning. This was all set up, most importantly Tony's relationship with Chris and Bobby and the rest of his "family" and the appearance of more and more consequences for his life and his business. You'll get your closure, don't worry. You may not find out where the Russian guy went, but wasn't that episode all about Paulie and Chris anyway? Stop whining and take it in. It'll be gone before you realize. And then you'll be sorry.

(Entourage was awesome, too. I'll deal with that tomorrow. I'm sleepy.)