u/Sharp-Point-5254

Season 4 is one of the love it or hate it seasons, especially since it’s heavily focused on Carmela. For the first 3 seasons, Carm had reluctantly made her peace with Tony and his cheating (among other mortal sins). She was okay with being in a loveless marriage if it meant she could live a life of luxury.

But season 4 starts off in a post 9/11 America. Economy in the shitter with earning particularly tough for everyone. With money now a real issue, Carm is petrified of losing everything, and Tony doesn’t do anything to help her concerns. All the while, Carm is beginning to fall for Furio. That goes on for the majority of the season, and it builds up and up until she’s very much in love with him. Furio notices her, respects her, treats her well, and loves her too. He’s everything Tony is, but an actual lover. A forbidden love, which is different from a mofo.

But one aspect that isn’t talked about much is the death of Karen. The money problems are one thing, and Furio is another, but Carmela’s good friend is tragically killed in a car accident, and she watches Bobby truly grieve her passing. She sees how much Bobby loved Karen. He never cheated, and loved her more than anything. The Bobby Karen storyline isn’t exclusive to one episode, but rather another full season storyline. Carmela realizes that Tony would never grieve her the way Bobby does Karen. It’s just another reminder she’s in a sham of a marriage, and the benefits of said marriage are deteriorating fast.

The whole season is Carmela’s wake up call. She finally reached the conclusion that she needed to leave Tony. It’s like she cycled through 4 of the 5 stages of grief throughout the show, and finally accepted that she needed to move on. But in true Carmela fashion, she went back to him.

Apart from Tony Sil and Paulie, was anyone aware of A) Pussy being a rat, B) his death (and that wasn’t my kid she was carrying)? And apart from Sil Furio and Chrissy, was anyone aware of Ritchie’s whereabouts?