TV-Reviewed

It was a bit disappointing that The Sopranos decided to take this episode in a totally different direction then where we ended last episode. “Down Neck” starts us off with AJ getting into trouble at school by stealing wine and getting drunk. AJ gets suspended, but the therapist at the school think AJ might have attention deficit disorder. Tony seems to think that this might possibly be his fault, because of the fact that AJ might know what he does for a living and might be acting out possibly.

Tony’s sessions with Dr. Melfi focused on his childhood. This episode focuses a lot on Tony’s childhood told through flashbacks and we get to see how Tony grew up. Tony grew up thinking that his sister Janice was the favorite. His dad came off very much like Tony, a nice guy, but when it came to business he could be just as ruthless. The most interesting thing about these flashbacks was the fact that Tony’s mom, Livia hasn’t changed much since he was a kid. Livia was still the mean lady she is today except for the fact that she had a younger face. Tony’s father may have been a criminal, but his mother seemed to do the most damage emotionally. The actors they got to portray everyone when they were younger were some great cast choices, especially the actor who portrayed Livia.

AJ was the cause of everything that happened this episode, but we didn’t get a lot of scenes of him. It would have been nice to see more Tony and AJ talking, because Tony started off trying to find out how much AJ knew about his work and after one talk. He just kind of gives up. It would have just been nice to see him try to get more information.

This episode wasn’t as good as the last episode, but it still was decent. It gave us a glimpse of Tony’s childhood which is always a good thing, because we want to know more about Tony. We also got to meet a young Janice Soprano who if she hasn’t changed, seems like a mean person. So a decent episode, but hopefully next episode we’ll get a little more on track and it’ll focus more on Tony doing business.

The Sopranos – Down Neck
Original Air Date: February 21, 1999

Rating: 7.0

Buy the complete first season of The Sopranos on DVD.