Tony and Carmela are called to school to address AJ's behaviour.
This is a brilliant episode with great psychological themes, character development, and performances.
The plot focuses on Tony's anguish over AJ's development and how he might turn out, whilst reflecting heavily on his own childhood memories. In doing so it provides great character history on Tony, Livia, and Johnny-Boy Soprano. There are also some small but important moments crucial to the overarching narrative of the series.
There are strong existential themes tackled by the writers, such as fate and free will, along with the influence of both nature and nurture on characters like Tony and AJ. As always in The Sopranos these topics are done in an entertaining way. Most of it is addressed quite philosophically in the discussions between Tony and Dr Melfi.
As a parent I have the same hang ups as Tony and Carmela about my children and can identify with the worry that goes along with situations like this. The way this is portrayed is not only entertaining but feels very real.
I loved the scenes of Tony and Carmela with the school psychologist which are as funny as they are plausible. There is clear scepticism towards conditions like ADD and it is a subject very much in the firing line of the writers. The family dinner is absolutely hilarious, as they often are with a mixture of such great characters. Also the scenes where Tony and Carmela go to bed reflecting on what's happening with AJ and the noisy morning after, are classic Sopranos moments.
Another great aspect of the episode are the flashback sequences. This transitions fantastically well with the use of 'White Rabbit' and these scenes are well staged and performed. It's not nostalgia for nostalgia sake, but crucial to understanding how Tony was parented, his development as a person, and the relationship he has with Livia.
Visually it's excellent as ever and tells a story with practical cinematography, strong editing, and focus on the interaction of characters like during the ice-cream sundae sequence.
All performances are as top-drawer as ever with James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Nancy Marchand, and Laila Robins standing out for me.
