Sopranos in Winter

I was planning on writing a big wrap-up of the Sopranos seventh season, after I caught the finale On Demand yesterday, but I find myself with very little to say.

I'm glad the show returned to its roots this week, with small scenes on unrelated storylines that raced through time but dropped enough clues that you could follow the progression from fall to winter.

I guess the most important (and only?) thing we learned in the dozen-or-so episodes this season is that Tony was changed fundamentally and probably forever after his time in purgatory. He wears silly hats to appease his wife, he looks on the bright side of his son's Latin girlfriend ("At least she's Catholic."), and he's willing to settle things with Phil "The Silver Fox" Leotardo without a fight.

For future lessons on Tony, we'll have to wait another six months, because the show is going away again until 2007. Hopefully in this layoff, they'll come up with a couple story lines that dart and weave, instead of plod and poke.