Shook the Spot

"OLD NAVY AND BED BATH & WHATEVER" . . . THE SOPRANOS — SEASON 6, EPISODE 8 . . . "JOHNNY CAKES" . . . AJ DROPS 2 G'S IN CLUB, BOA KNIFE IN JAIL . . . VITO DEL MAR SCUFFLES WITH A FIREMAN . . . TONY TAPS, UNTAPS THAT CHICK FROM ER

"It's over for the little guy," Patsy declares during his morning rounds. And, you know, it fucking is. Back in the day, there was no Corporate America to step all over the family's small-time extortion rings. Who ever heard of a store manager without a discretionary fund to pay the mob?

Gentrification was the theme last night, from Jamba Juice to a prison so cushy you can walk right in with a footlong hunting knife. Tony is hesistant to "sell out from under" his beloved neighborhood poultry store, but caves as soon as the juicers—and Julianna Margulies—are ready to put out. "You hear?" Caputo tells Patsy. "Goddamn juice place moving in here."

"What Jews?" Patsy asks, confused. Then outside, "What the fuck is happening to this neighborhood?"

But honestly, isn't it Caputo's fault for playing right into one of The Soprano's oldest tropes? Eggs have always foreshadowed doom on the show . . . Ralph, Adriana, Valentina . . . if you cook — or, in Ralph's case, offer to cook — a made man eggs, chance are you'll be dead before the episdode's over. (Wikipedia has a long list of egg-related homicides.) So Caputo's lucky he just lost his store. And for what it's worth, Vito . . . or Vince, the writer . . . better stick to Johnny Cakes.

On that note, Vito dropped the most poignant line last night, "Sometimes, when you live a lie for so long, you don't know when it's safe." (Tony had the best line of the episode, but it was also related to our favorite captain in exile . . . "What am I supposed to do? Put out an ABP 'cause the guy likes to take it up the ass? It's a victimless crime.") And may Shook suggest, if we have to watch Tony climax on top of Carmella, why can't we get a little more than Jim removing his shirt in the field with Vito?

Now, if you're going to botch a half-baked murder attempt, best to do it in a municipality where the cops are so far up your father's ass, you'll be walking out the front door of the precinct before anyone can say five to ten. That was quite the caper. But a few questions about AJ . . . What movie was he watching at Blockbuster for tips on hand-to-hand combat? . . . And what is that store paying these days that AJ is able to slap down 20 Benjamins to cover that douchebag's bar tab? . . . Plus, why did he have to drop another $200 on the club manager who sent his regards to Tony? . . . And when is he going to get that reality show?

Anyone else laugh hysterically when Tony told AJ, "your mother's not gonna hear about this," as though he'd just been caught shoplifting or something? But with a panic attack linking son even closer to father, it seems likely that attempted murder is just the start. Here's some "practical advice," which Tony requests from Dr. Melfi . . . give AJ a club like he asked and get him off the streets. Also, maybe off a few of his new friends.

And finally, speaking of Melfi, we get an ominous exchange between her and her therapist. She observes that Tony has been unable to discuss his shooting with her and says, "It's only a matter of time before he decompensates." Elliott, not really getting it, notes that "Omerta is a pre-therapeutic notion."

"This isn't omerta," Melfi replies. "It's something else."