Just saw the opener.

Haven't laughed at the show in a while as much as I did when the camera cut from the scene with Curto in the Fed car and then to Tony looking at his corpse at his wake.

The final hanging scene was incredible to watch; could have been even more powerful had Pontecorvo had more screentime before this episode. It's a pattern now I'm familiar with: when a character suddenly starts getting a lot of screentime, he probably won't make it past this particular episode.

The aesthetics of season five continue: awkward editing within scenes (matching up multiple takes of one scene is difficult), with a brown tinge to the cinematography. I love it. Love it love it love it.

I also noticed Gandolfini's obviously put on a considerable amount of weight for this season. He really does look brilliant, and of his part, for this season; as if afraid the audience won't notice, Chase makes sure that he has an abundance of scenes with Tony eating out in plush restaurants--and even weighing himself at one point.

A few other things: loved the opening montage with the music; up there with "Good Year" at the beginning of season two. Carmela is proving more dislikeable, perhaps more credible, each season. I find her character fascinating. John Ventimiglia, as Johnny Sac, continues to prove his underrated worth; the brief scenes he has in jail were episode-stealers. Wasn't too keen, however, on the give-away essential dialogue: Phil telling Johnny in jail "My brother Bill" and all that; we know who the characters are, no need to make it too obvious.

Great episode. I have two and three ready to go...