Batts all, folks!

"The Sopranos," episode 11. From today's review:

Hey, it could have been worse. Fat Dom could have told Carlo to go home and get his shine box.

"The Sopranos" cast has so many "Goodfellas" alums that the writers can't help but pay occasional homage. In season one, it was Christopher shooting that baker in the toe, and last night it was Carlo and Sil's virtual re-creation of the taunting-inspired murder of Billy Batts -- played by smilin' Frank Vincent, the man at the center of this new mess.

This is very, very bad what these two did. Phil can get away with killing one of Tony's captains because Vito was marked for death anyway and because, hey, he's the boss of New York. Even if Tony wanted to go to the mattresses, he doesn't have the manpower to do it. But if/when Phil -- who's wanted Jersey blood since the Tony B. thing -- figures out what happened, he can rain five boroughs worth of fury down on Tony and what the late Carmine called "a glorified crew."

As Tony drove away from Satriale's, you could see him figuring out exactly how much trouble he's in. And after he finished that mental calculus, what's the first thing he did? He called his construction buddy to get AJ a job, because he knows he may not have much time left to straighten the kid out. (The shakycam scene in the garage, where Tony's desire to help AJ battled mightily against his impulse to smash his face through that windshield, was one of James Gandolfini's finest moments.)

And while Tony was realizing how small and vulnerable he is compared to New York, half a world away, Carmela was having her own sense of self smashed to bits. In Caldwell, she may be hot stuff, but when she sees France with all its treasures and history, she realizes she's just another insignificant speck, and that "it all gets washed away."

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