Anyway, Tony is there because he brought her some books on tape, which is a nice nod to their first scenes together in season one. Livia is her usual unappreciative self, and they go back and forth a bit before her nurse Svetlana hobbles over. Tony discovers that the "Granny Remembers" baby journals he gave her when the kids were born are all still blank. The rest of the scene is all about him chewing her out for not filling in the journals, and trying to make sure she's not planning to testify against him on the airline ticket thing. Towards the end, they give up on even trying to make the Livia-bot talk, and instead she's reduced to grunts and arm-waving. At first I thought the baby journal thing was a little weird, but given the way the season two premiere turned out to telegraph pretty much the entire season, I'm betting that family history will be playing a major role this year.

The opening crawl from Public Enemy scrolls across the screen, describing the gangsters from the film. It reads (in part), "[These] men…are a problem that sooner or later we, the public, must solve." Cut to Tony, drink in hand, watching from his recliner. He's laughing and enjoying the movie until Meadow enters, and then his face goes flat. She pauses for a minute, and then comes over and starts tearing into him for what he said to Noah. Tony, however, remains unrepentant. Before things can get too heated, Carmela calls Meadow upstairs. As she climbs the steps, Meadow yells back, "Is my laundry done?" and if you think Livia is tough, you can't even begin to imagine what my mom would have done if I'd pulled a stunt like that. ["No shit. The tone of voice alone would have gotten me launched into orbit." -- Sars] Tony tries to go back to watching the movie, but he's too distracted, and instead opts to head out back and enjoy a cigar and, apparently, a quick romp through the sprinkler system.

George Lucas: Dude, that crawl was weak. It wasn't even slanted.
David Chase: Shut up, George.

When he comes back inside, he's a little disconcerted to find Carmela, Meadow, and AJ all in the kitchen, staring at him. Carmela gets right to the point: "Your mother just died." Tony chuckles and says "you're kidding," but her look is enough to let him know she isn't. She tells him that Svetlana called, and said that Livia died in her bed, just after dinner. Tony stumbles a bit before dropping into a chair. "She's dead?" he asks, and Carmela says, "I'm sorry." Meadow offers a reluctant second to that, but makes sure he knows it's just about his Mom dying. AJ says it too, and I have to compliment Robert Iler in this scene, because I was just about that age when my grandparents died, and he's got the feeling down pat. Tony tells the kids emphatically that their grandmother loved them, and then shares an almost tender look with Carmela.