But it isn't Tony’s slap that defines the scene. It is the The Anatomy of the Slap Let’s freeze the frame. Carmela Soprano, nee DeAngelis, the queen of North Caldwell, is wearing a designer blouse and a Rolex that costs more than a sedan. When Tony’s hand connects, her head snaps to the side. Her hair, perfectly coiffed, frays. For a split second, there is shock. Then comes the fury.

It is a micro-gesture that acting coach Susan Batson once called "the most expensive piece of blocking in television history." Carmela doesn't raise her hands to protect her face. She reaches down, grabs the leather strap of her oversized Prada (or perhaps a knock-off from the mall—the show leaves it ambiguous), and squeezes .

She clutches her handbag.

We are talking, of course, about

But then— then —she does something unprecedented in the history of Mafia wives on screen.