A perfect piece of narrative. When this episode appears, we know these characters, we know how they relate to each other, we’ve seen clearly the interconnected grid of their psychodramas, yet this episode works as a standalone piece; still we get backstory, introduction, the careful explication and examination of their enmeshing. The entire basic premise of the show is encapsulated here. Tony and his wife go on a cabin lakeshore holiday with one of Tony’s lieutenants, Bobby, and his wife, who happens to be Tony’s insufferable sister. There is envy, a toxic emotional stew, a type of terrible blackmail, awful violence. The closing scene – Bobby, shattered, holding his baby daughter tight to him as ‘This Magic Moment’ swirls and soars – is shattering, moving in a million ways, even strangely heroic. One of the very best episodes in one of the finest items of television.
Sopranos Season 6, Episode 13, first broadcast April 2007, HBO
A Personal Anthology 