I am – Hercules!!


* Tony has cooled toward Bobby, Christophuh and Paulie, three of his four closest associates.
* Tony’s gambling debts continue to mount.
* The Feds seem to discover a new Anthony Soprano misdeed every week.
* The New York mob is in an accelerating cycle of flux and turmoil.

Tonight, will Tony be able to keep his sopressata out of rival mob boss Phil Leotardo’s cousin, Marie Spatafore?

By the way. If you ever want to see a 29-year-old Elizabeth Bracco (not to be confused with sister Lorraine, who plays Tony’s psychoanalyst) in a miraculously hilarious chunk of big-screen entertainment, Netflix yourself a copy of Jim Jarmusch’s "Mystery Train". Bracco plays Dee Dee, the girl sharing the room with a freaked-out Nicoletta Braschi and maybe the Ghost of Elvis. The movie co-stars Steve Buscemi, Joe Strummer, a masterful Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the voice of Samuel L. Jackson.

Digression ends. HBO says:

Tony hits an unlucky stretch; AJ makes a life-changing decision; Vito's widow Marie (Elizabeth Bracco) turns to Tony for help with her troubled son. Written by Matthew Weiner; directed by Tim Van Patten.

After tonight, only five episodes left. The next three:

6.17 - MAY 6 - "Walk Like A Man" - AJ (Robert Iler) struggles with depression; Kelli's (Cara Buono) dad (Dennis Paladino) is the unwitting catalyst of a new feud between Christopher (Michael Imperioli) and Paulie (Tony Sirico). Written and directed by Terence Winter.

6.18 - MAY 13 - "Kennedy and Heidi" - An asbestos-disposal impasse raises tensions between Jersey and New York; Tony (James Gandolfini) has a revelation; Paulie gets upstaged. Written by Matthew Weiner and David Chase; directed by Alan Taylor.

6.18 - MAY 20 - "The Second Coming" - Phil (Frank Vincent) turns down Tony's offer of compromise; AJ despairs about the world and his future; Tony takes umbrage over an affront to Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). Written by Terence Winter; directed by Tim Van Patten.

9 p.m. Sunday. HBO.

Hilarity Itself!!