I agree with Cardi's first assessment of the episode, and then SC's immediate reply. True, two opposing opinions, but I thought this episode was great, while marking some concerns in me also...

It seems this season is all about humanising these criminals, and adding new conflicts to their normal lives. So in that respect, the development of Vito is interesting not in what happens to him, but how the others react to it. I loved Silvio in this episode; the perfect consigliere, I think. Didn't you find the scenes where the crew is all around the table discussing possible paths for Vito fascinating? Very subtle way of revealing more to these characters.

I also loved how Vito's storyline wasn't concluded in this episode; I have been spotting a repetitive pattern sinking in this season and last, whereby characters who are suddenly giving more attention don't make it to next week's episode. So it's nice that this one ended a bit ambiguously.

There is an increasing emphasis put on placing the show into a wider, external context; concerns from Tony about terrorists, for instance, and now dealing with a topical issue about homosexuality. "Soap opera", as Cardi terms it, may well be right, but it's creating such fascinating dilemmas in these characters that I can't help but go along with it. Really, we've had five seasons before this, and we're really still none the wiser as to who these people really are. I think, in this respect, something as radical as Junior actually shooting Tony in the first episode, and now this, is a chance for us to really get to know these characters further.

The writing continues to be spot on, and I love Gandolfini's weight gain every week, and his convincing heavy breathing, which seems to get worse every week. It really makes you cringe at the thoughts of physical exersion from the guy. Brilliant acting. And who once made a remark about Tony being "a walking heart attack"? That's not prophetic guessing on my part, just more praise for the development of the main guy in the show.