My current rewatch has revealed unlikely front-runners among the episodes of The Sopranos and, so far, this and The Test Dream I hold in extremely high regard as moments of effective introspection. If you are someone who was not a fan of the early dreamier moments of the show (like Funhouse), then I can understand some dissatisfaction here. But for those who appreciate them, these later seasons really offer a lot.
In this, and in The Test Dream, the dreams take on more supernatural qualities. They are not simply visually symbolic nonsenses which appear during sleep. I would even posit that they are not dreams, but visions. The narratives they contain are sophisticated and fleshed out (unlike a dream) and, especially here, their pacing is the pace of real life. In this episode we see Tony either in purgatory or just having a dream about what his life would be like if he was "normal", i.e. outside of the mafia. There is a healthy sprinkling of post-9/11 anxiety which exists in prior seasons too, which forms part of the "normal" Tony's conundrum. It's worth noting, as 'current affairs' form a large part of the discussion of anxiety that the show conducts.
I always say to fans of Mad Men who have not seen The Sopranos that the last two seasons of the show is where Mad Men was born (arguably, the Gloria Trillo plot line is very significant too, but I believe the best part of that arc occurs after her death, in season five). This episode is an illustration of that.
Outside of Tony's purgatory dream is another stellar moment for Edie Falco and a continuation of minor characters' arcs amidst the general plot stasis caused by Tony's hospitalisation.
Review of Join the Club
