Entertainment
‘The Sopranos’ Never Topped This Masterpiece 60-Minute Episode
Calling The Sopranos the greatest television series ever made is a little like calling Citizen Kane the greatest film ever made. It’s the obvious choice, but that shouldn’t dissuade younger viewers from seeking either one out. Both The Sopranos and Citizen Kane have rightfully earned reputations as towering works of prestige entertainment with a significant influence on their respective mediums. But both also have a secret weapon up their sleeves: They’re really damn entertaining.
The Sopranos was often one of the funniest television shows, and its sense of humor became a defining characteristic of early prestige dramas. While The Godfather and Goodfellas were clear influences on the world that David Chase imagined, seeing the everyday inner workings of the mafia was unprecedented. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) struggling to balance his criminal empire with suburban family life is the heart of the series’ drama. Still, it is also the source of some of its funniest moments.
The supporting cast and their banter also made the series feel remarkably lived-in. Many of The Sopranos’ most acclaimed episodes revolve around Tony, including Season 1’s “College,” Season 2’s “Funhouse,” and Season 5’s “The Test Dream.” Yet the show’s sprawling narrative also allowed supporting characters to take center stage without sacrificing quality. No episode proves that better than Season 3’s “Pine Barrens.” More than two decades after its HBO debut on May 6, 2001, it remains one of the funniest and most influential episodes The Sopranos ever aired.
‘Pine Barrens’ Turns ‘The Sopranos’ Into a Perfect Comedy
As Tony weighs a future with his fling Gloria Trillo (Annabella Sciorra), he dispatches his nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) and right-hand man Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) to complete a transaction with Russian mobster Valery (Vitali Baganov). Christopher and Paulie, who are frequently at odds, initiate a seemingly lethal brawl with the eccentric Russian and plan to dump his body in the Pine Barrens. Unfortunately, Valery survives the attack and disappears into the freezing woods, forcing the pair into an increasingly desperate search.
The trek through the wilderness is miserable for them, but it becomes a hilarious worst-case scenario for the audience. Cut off from Tony by poor reception and increasingly convinced they are doomed, Christopher and Paulie spend the episode arguing, panicking, and making every possible bad decision. Their supposedly simple assignment quickly devolves into one of television’s greatest comedies of errors, allowing viewers to revel in their distress.
Part of the episode’s inherent humor comes from pairing the two mobsters least equipped to work together. Both men are impulsive, but much of Paulie’s resentment stems from his refusal to accept that Christopher may one day lead the family. Christopher is not technically Tony’s nephew, but rather a distant cousin of Tony’s wife Carmela (Edie Falco). Nonetheless, the two are bound by blood, and Christopher remains Tony’s presumed successor. Paulie’s reverence for his boss frequently reaches absurd levels, causing him to compete with Christopher for Tony’s attention like a child fighting for the approval of a favorite parent.
Seeing these two selfish, paranoid man-children forced to rely on one another grows even funnier as they begin to recognize each other’s usefulness in their own unusual ways. It takes a hellish mission gone wrong for the two men to become too exhausted to continue blaming one another. Their induced madness is somehow the only thing capable of drawing out even a flicker of empathy.
This is also one of Gandolfini’s best comedic performances, even though Tony sits out most of the main action and simply barks orders from afar. His unusually upbeat mood, brought on by his affair with Gloria, quickly disappears when he learns of his henchmen’s incompetence, and no one could scream over the phone quite like Gandolfini. Tony’s breakdown into laughter when he sees the affable Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa) decked out in outdoor gear, spurred by a raunchy real-life prank designed to capture Gandolfini’s genuine reaction, remains one of the most authentic laughs in the entire series.
‘Pine Barrens’ Perfectly Captures What Made ‘The Sopranos’ Revolutionary
The brilliance of “Pine Barrens” is that Christopher and Paulie’s detour mirrors the larger narrative rhythm of the series, transforming what initially seems like a B-plot into the episode’s dominant storyline. The episode arrives near the end of Season 3, when nearly every character is under considerable pressure. Tony’s daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is locked in a conflict with her criminally inclined boyfriend Jackie Jr. (Jason Cerbone), Gloria’s erratic behavior threatens Tony’s decision-making, and Tony’s therapist Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) continues recovering from a traumatic assault. Yet, much like Christopher and Paulie’s supposedly simple mission, all of these intense storylines are temporarily derailed.
That willingness to wander is exactly what made The Sopranos revolutionary. It refused to conform to the expectations of either episodic television or tightly serialized storytelling, allowing its narrative to unfold at a more natural pace. Some consequences did not become apparent for several seasons, while other storylines were left hanging without a clean resolution or the satisfaction of a definitive answer. None is more famous than the show’s lingering final shot. Like real life, The Sopranos allowed itself to be heartbreaking, hilarious, exhausting, and even irritating.
That approach occasionally produced storylines that divided audiences, including Vito Spatafore’s (Joseph R. Gannascoli) retreat to New Hampshire in the first half of Season 6 or the increasingly frustrating ramblings of Tony’s son A.J. (Robert Iler). At its best, however, it transformed a story as seemingly trivial as the one in “Pine Barrens” into something equally farcical and poignant. Much of the credit belongs to director and eventual Season 5 co-star Steve Buscemi, whose experience helming slice-of-life independent films like Trees Lounge and Animal Factory proved invaluable when balancing realism with situational comedy.
“Pine Barrens” does not end with Christopher and Paulie luring Valery into an intense final standoff, nor does it culminate in a haunting shot of him escaping into the distance. Instead, it concludes with a spare reprimand from Tony as he, Bobby, Christopher, and Paulie sit together during a car ride quieter than anything they encountered in the empty woods. Just a few episodes later, Christopher and Paulie are snapping at each other once again. That nobody learns anything from the ordeal somehow makes the episode even funnier. They survive one of the worst days of their lives, only to resume bickering as though nothing ever happened.
The Sopranos
- Release Date
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1999 – 2007
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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David Chase
- Directors
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Tim Van Patten, John Patterson, Alan Taylor, Jack Bender, Steve Buscemi, Daniel Attias, David Chase, Andy Wolk, Danny Leiner, David Nutter, James Hayman, Lee Tamahori, Lorraine Senna, Matthew Penn, Mike Figgis, Nick Gomez, Peter Bogdanovich, Phil Abraham, Rodrigo García
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