The Sopranos: "Long Term Parking"

Drea de Matteo won her Emmy Award not just for "Long Term Parking" but also for "Irregular Around the Margins," a terrific and plausible hour of "The Sopranos."

In "Irregular" (a title worthy of praise), Tony is slightly off-kilter, because he believes that he may have cancer. Meanwhile, Adriana has colitis and a deepening addiction to drugs. Because Adriana is attractive and kind, Tony finds himself struggling with boundaries. The two leads head out into the night, in search of heroin--and we can infer how the evening will end. Except that a car crash occurs, and the crash actually spares everyone from a real catastrophe.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Second-tier figures in Tony's life can't accept that this car ride was "innocent." Rumors spread. Adriana must have been dishing out a blow job. That's why Tony swerved and crashed his car.

The episode is extraordinary in its handling of an "open secret." The Soprano "community" senses that something is wrong. Why does Adriana have colitis? Why is she fleeing a "ladies' movie night" in tears? Even if no one lands on the acronym "FBI," everyone intuits that some kind of tectonic plate is shifting.

Toward the end of the season, Adriana makes a point of checking on Tony's cancer concerns. (As far as I know, she is the only character who does this.) By contrast, Adriana's colitis is an object of mockery. "The doctor says you should rest?" asks Christopher. "How is that a change? You sit on your ass all day."

It's a tribute to Adriana to allow her a final "fight." She doesn't die clueless; she isn't Tony Blundetto. She claws her way out of a vehicle, out of the grasp of a heavyset man. And she runs, for maybe half of a minute. It's a suitable ending for a relatable character; Adriana isn't perfect, but, also, she isn't passive. In a way, I'm relieved that she dies when she dies, because I can't see a bright "post-matrimonial" future.

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