Don Corpuzzi: Good question about Bobby's getting "bumped up." According to Rucker's book on The Sopranos, Bobby is already supposedly a capo. But this book has been inaccurate on other details. Personally, I don't think Bobby has acted in that capacity in the previous seasons. If he was already a capo, then I'm guessing the next stripe would be either underboss or consigliere. I can't see him as consigliere, though...I mean, the poor sap doesn't even know Quasimodo from Nostradamus! (I thought that was hilarious!)

TIS, MFM, et. al: I may be in the minority, but I believe that man was indeed Christopher's father's killer. I think David Chase just set it up in such a way as to make us wonder (he's good at that!).

Luca: You may be right about Uncle Junior. But my gut instinct says the poor ol' man is going to die a natural death (and maybe not even in this season). Whether he's free or a "guest of the government" when he kicks the bucket, though, is a whole other matter. I think somehow he'll beat the rap.

Paul Pisano: And yeah, Ralphie and Janice?!? Gag me with a friggin' baseball bat!! The idiot had such a nice bit of trim last season in Tracie (the one he offed), and now he's going for Janice? Man! That dude is strung out!

SC: Thanks for letting me know who "Murf" was (I don't think I even caught his character's name, much less what else he's done). So, is he just a friend looking out for Uncle Junior, or is he in OC? Couldn't tell much from the episode. Of course, Tony did ask him (and Bobby) to leave the room while he talked to Junior.

Take the Cannolies: I tend to agree with your view of Georgie (the poor bouncer who keeps getting physically abused by Tony and Ralphie). But then, SC may be onto something. Time will tell.

J Geoff: You weren't alone in your slight disappointment. Some of my co-workers expressed the same sentiment. I think it was okay. I mean, as you and TIS said, they have to lay a foundation to build upon (which they seem to do every season). I'm sure upcoming episodes are going to make the wait worthwhile. The previews for next week showed Christopher pondering some kind of scheme involving (I believe) a fiber-optics investment/scam/heist. Patsy said something to Silvio about Tony disapproving, and Silvio told him, "Don't worry...I got your back." Whether that referred to the scam or something else, I'm afraid I don't know. And Patsy's definitely making waves of some kind. It only showed a brief second or two, but I got the impression that Christopher was reprimanding him about something, and Patsy spit defiantly to the ground at Christopher's feet (as a couple of guys held Christopher back to keep him from pummeling Patsy!)!

A couple of more things to ponder: I noticed Raymond Curto (Tony's capo who flipped in season 3, Proshai Livushka) was at Tony's "pep talk" with the crew. I can't recall offhand if Tony said anything that could be used against himself. I know he did talk about how they needed to kick more money upstairs, though. At any rate, I'm sure Curto was wired. I mean, why wouldn't he be?? And what's the deal with Tony's stashing money? Hasn't he always? But the way they depicted it last night, there was obviously something significant about it.

And Artie Bucco? You think he's eventually going to "step up to the plate" and get connected with OC? Since Tony's financing Artie's food products idea (or has Tony done that yet?), do you think anything will develop? Can't see Artie whackin' anybody...too unstable and wussy!

(BTW: Great discussion all!)