I never read critics' thoughts about S4 but I probably should. Cuz I don't really disagree with much of what you said below; it is kind of meandering - at least relative to the seasons that came before it - and a lot of those specific plot points you mentioned *are* jarring now that you write them out like that.

But as you mentioned, White Caps/Everybody Hurts/Intervention/University ... those are ALL among the very best episodes in the show's run. So perhaps that, on some level (along with my aforementioned affection for Ralph as a character) is why I've always held S4 in such high regard. All 4 of those episodes are arguably top 10 Sopranos episodes.

But again I agree with most everything you said below in regards to the jarring plotpoints as well. Specifically the Furio 180. That shit was crazy and still doesn't make a ton of sense. You're right, he was cold as HELL when he first came on. Then he kinda went quiet and suddenly in S4 he's Pepe Le Pew.

The one point you made that I will disagree with though, related to the Furio plotline, is that the Carmela stuff came out of nowhere. They'd planted seeds about her vengeful wandering eye twice before that (with the priest then the carpenter guy working on her house) so I don't necessarily agree that it came out of nowhere. Maybe you mean re: Furio specifically, but I still wouldn't really agree with that - the Sopranos introduced several storylines throughout its run that seemingly developed behind the scenes, out of the view of us as viewers. So I didn't find the introduction of Carm's feelings for Furio, especially considering they were introduced in the first episode of a new season, to be especially jarring or out of nowhere.


>People and critics openly complaining about the meandering
>nature of the show.
>
>It's got some great episodes though. Whitecaps, Everybody
>Hurts, Intervention... the "college" episode and University is
>kind of a Godfather/Goodfellas dynamic. The former from S1
>being almost poetic and honorable, the latter being pure
>savage
>
>You get more unfocused stuff like the HUD, ep (black criminals
>on the Sopranos were always pretty cringy), What they did to
>Furio was pretty jarring. He came to town as the coldest one
>and they turned him into this sensitive romance novel guy out
>of nowhere, and Carm being into him came out of nowhere,
>Tony's ominous trailer scene in the turning out to be over a
>horse...truly none of these things really stand out as all
>that bad on a rewatch but I remember some of them being
>jarring at the time