https://www.theringer.com/tv/2021/5/5/22417569/sopranos-pine-barrens-oral-history Two Assholes Lost in the Woods: An Oral History of ‘Pine Barrens’ Twenty years after it aired, David Chase and Co. look back on one of the wildest, boldest, funniest episodes of ‘The Sopranos’ ever made
Chase: I don’t know what happened to the Russian. I should have known why there was such a big hue and cry about it, but I just kept saying, it’s just a fairy tale. Winter: My idea was that for some reason Tony and Christopher go to visit Slava at his office. As soon as Christopher walks in, he spots Valery, who is sweeping the floor. They lock eyes and Christopher almost pisses his pants. Valery stares at him, but says nothing, then turns around and we see he’s missing a huge chunk from the back of his skull. Slava explains that Valery had been shot and found by some Boy Scouts on a winter trek through the woods—he has no idea who shot him, Valery is now a vegetable. After he was found, he was sent to a hospital, then back to Russia to convalesce. Slava is now taking care of him. Chase: Terry really wanted to do it. Terry really wanted to pay it off. And I fought him on that.
There's a POV in that episode from the trees looking down on Paulie and Christopher. There's a theory that's Valery's POV while he's hiding, he eventually get away in Paulie's car.
Schirripa: There’s that one shot that I asked Buscemi about, they shoot it from overhead. Abraham: In those days there were no drones or anything. If I had had a drone, I would have put [Paulie and Christopher] out in the clearest opening. I needed the tree for camera support. I liked that shot and I never thought twice about it. And then David came up to me, after it was cut and everything and he goes, “You know, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this. Why the **** did you shoot that shot? That makes me think the Russian’s in the tree.” I said to him, “Well, David, look, I didn’t really think of it that way. I just wanted to get sort of this sort of birdlike perspective on the two of them.” And I go, “I had plenty of coverage for the two of them looking around and you didn’t have to use it.” He sort of begrudgingly was like, with his little twisted sour face, “Ah, yeah.”
