Saluti. (Thanks to Ellie Mo in the forum for correcting my attempt at the Italian language.)
As always, if you have any questions about the show (background, history, etc.), or wish to share your opinions of a specific episode/character/plotline/etc, or if you vehemently disagree with one of my conclusions or opinions — please email me by clicking my name in the column title at the top of page. I’ll answer everything here in the column the next week. (Or post in the forum – I check there about once a day.)
First things first: if you aren’t familiar with The Sopranos, or if you need a refresher course on the history of the show (since it has been 21 months since the last episode), please read my column on the background of Tony Soprano. It concentrated on Tony’s character, but touches just about every large storyline that we’ve seen over the first 5 seasons. Then, read my review of Episode 6-1 and Episode 6-2.
Couple of things from last week:
I remarked on how two different guys in the New Jersey mafia could end up with the un-macho nickname “Pussy”. Ryan T. Murphy wrote in to clear up the confusion:
The nickname Pussy is actually pretty common in crime circles, and in fact the name of the character(s) on the show came from a litany of real life Big Pussies and Little Pussies. See, Pussy, while obviously meant as a mocking double entendre, means that the guy is/was a cat burglar (cat, pussy, geddit?). Pussy Bompensiero on the show was a cat burglar before rising in the ranks with Tony, a fact once alluded to with Christopher and his two friends that ended up shooting him when they were robbing a house in Season 2 and one of them couldn’t get off the toilet the whole time, Christopher mentioning that it’s the adrenaline that does it and one time Pussy left a load on a crime scene so big the cops thought a bear had broken in.
Thanks, Ryan – that certainly makes sense.
I also asked about Christopher’s new sports car, and asked if anybody recognized it. Quite a few readers, including Alex Gutierrez and Matt Hellens, pointed out that it was Johnny Sack’s old Maserati, which he had offered to pay cash for in the first episode of this season. Thanks, guy – I should have remembered that. Duh.
Previously on The Sopranos:
- Tony is dreaming of a different (non-mafia) life, but he’s lost his wallet and his briefcase
- He checks into a hotel under the name “Kevin Finnerty”, the guy who took his wallet
- Finnerty is involved in some sort of fraud case with a Tibetan monastery
- Back in the operating room where Tony’s recovering after being shot by Uncle Junior, he goes into a seizure, and becomes lucid enough to ask “Who am I? Where am I going?”
- The OR doctor (with the worst bedside manner this side of “House”) tells Carmela they have to consider “degrees of brain damage”
- Silvio will be handling Tony’s business and taking Tony’s cut of any money, with portions of it going to Carmela
- AJ is caught talking to the media outside the hospital by Carmela, who is furious with him
- AJ asks Meadow if she finds this all to be as “completely embarrassing” as he does
- Junior is going through a competency exam, but doesn’t remember shooting Tony
- AJ tells a comatose Tony that he’s going to shoot Junior for doing this to his Dad
- AJ tells a very much non-comatose Carmela that he flunked out of school. She is less than pleased.
- Carmela gently kisses Tony’s forehead
Episode 68: Mayham:
Paulie is sitting in his Cadillac, listen to “Smokey Places” by The Corsairs, when Vito pulls up next to him and hands him a piece of paper and says “The Columbians knock off at noon, then it’s empty”. We find out what he’s talking about soon, when Paulie (carrying a crow bar) and Cary De Bartolo walk into some sort of apartment complex and startle a Hispanic maintenance man. A chase ensues down to the basement, where the maintenance guy is trying to warn somebody behind a locked door. Cary makes him open the door and walk through — good plan, since he gets shot twice. Cary and Paulie take out the gunman, who’s sitting at a table surrounded by a small pile of cash. Another Hispanic jumps Paulie with a knife, but Cary shoots him also – but not until after Paulie takes a serious shot to the groin. Apparently, they were expecting quite a bit more money than the $2,000 sitting on the table, but they can’t find it — until Cary kicks a cabinet door, and the dishwasher opens up. Sitting inside that is a serious pile of moolah.
AJ and Meadow show up at the hospital. After Meadow heads for her father’s room, Christopher and Bobby confront AJ about trying to buy a gun. They understand his need for revenge, but tell him he’s got to find another way to “channel your anger”. Suggestions are made for “Golden Gloves”, “dumbbells”, or “f*ck your girlfriend more”. Those guys are so sweet. AJ looks decidedly unpersuaded.
AJ meets up with Carmela and Meadow, and accuses his mother of “putting them up to it”, without actually mentioning what “it” is. Dr. Bad News tells Carmela that they’re still concerned with Tony’s blood pressure, white blood cell count, and fever. He fails to mention the 8 inch hole in his torso, but I assume they’re probably worried about that too. (But other than that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?)
And we go to Dreamland: Tony receive a Summons in his hotel room, “Crystal Monastery against Kevin Finnerty”. Hoping to get some help in actually finding Finnerty, he goes to the monastery, but the monks are less than helpful. (“To a certain extent, all Caucasians look alike.”) Tony tells them about the Alzheimer’s diagnosis (a couple of the monks actually laugh at this, assuming it’s all part of his scheme), and explains that he can’t really be sure what he has and hasn’t done. The older monk seems genuinely concerned about Tony, but still explains that one day, everyone in that room will be dead – but while they’re alive, they need heat, and someone has to be held accountable for the faulty solar panels. (Okay, wait — this is all in Tony’s head; where did he learn Buddhist philosophy, anyway?)
Janice shows up at the hospital, and tells Carmela to go home for a bit. At the supermarket, Carmela runs into Dr. Melfi, who offers her condolences. She also offers to help out, by running interference with the doctors, or if anyone needs to talk. Carmela responds: “Believe me, I have plenty of people I can talk to.”
Benny Fazio (Tony’s old driver) shows up to pick up Silvio at his house. Sil and Gabrielle have a conversation about Sil’s new position as “Acting Boss”, with Gab obviously in favor of the promotion. Sil mentions that back when Jackie Aprile was sick, his own name was floated as a possible Boss, instead of Tony. (Personally, I think that’s a crock – if it was floated, it wasn’t done seriously.) But in a very bad sign of things to come, Sil’s asthma has been acting up. (Wait – Silvio has asthma? Since when?)
Bobby and Vito are still having a bit of a turf war over the Roseville casino. In the hospital waiting room, Sil makes a decision: it goes to Bobby, but he kicks up 20% to Vito “for the time being”. Vito: “How long is ‘the time being’?” Sil: “What, do you speak Norwegian? For now!”
Dream Tony is once again at the hotel bar (I assume at least partly still waiting for Finnerty to show up). He tells the bartender about his Alzheimer’s, and adds: “My uncle has memory loss – maybe it’s hereditary?” He even goes so far as to ask: “Is it possible that I am Kevin Finnerty?” Well, no Tony – that’s not you in the driver’s license photo. But, thanks for pushing the existential concept anyway.
Back in the real world, we get a meeting of the minds in the Men’s room: Paulie and Vito argue about Paulie’s score at the beginning of the episode, with Vito claiming there was a million in cash, and Paulie saying “750,000 tops”. Sil finally rules (from the throne – ba DUM bum): they split it down the middle, with $100,000 each going to Carmela.
And we take a side trip to a writer’s class, run by Christopher’s old buddy from rehab, JT. Two new students enter: Benny and Murmurs. JT: “Take me – my past as an addict…” THWACK Benny slams a metal writer’s pad over his head, and the two of them drag JT out of the class, into an impromptu meeting with Christopher in an SUV parked outside. After reminding JT about his growing gambling debts, Christopher lays out his new plan of a digital horror movie: “My idea is ‘Saw’ meets ‘Godfather II’.” Oh lord – this should be good. Basically a wiseguy gets whacked and cut into pieces (hmm – still bothered by Ralphie’s demise, eh?), but gets put back together, and gets revenge on everyone: “including the cunt he was engaged to. She was getting porked by his boss the night the hero was killed.” (Ooh, very subtle.) They toss JT out of the car, and he sees his class walking out of the building: “An entire room full of writers — and you did nothing?!”
Silvio meets with Carmela just outside Tony’s room, and tells her to expect a “nice package” from Paulie and Vito soon. Carmela invites him in to see Tony, which Silvio isn’t exactly thrilled about. It takes him a bit to recover, but he does eventually walk to Tony’s side (with a slight push from Carmela), and grasps his boss’s hand.
Phil Leonardo is having dinner over at Vito’s house — apparently, Vito is married to Phil’s cousin. After the women leave the room, the men discuss some business: Vito is upset that Silvio appears to be more worried about keeping Carmela happy than with actual family business, and he floats the idea of not paying the 100 G’s Silvio ruled on (because if Tony doesn’t make it, that’s “money down the drain”). Phil, still being old school, warns him not to.
Meanwhile, Paulie and Little Paulie Germani (his nephew) have much the same conversation, with Paulie complaining about handing the money over to “the Princess of Little Italy”. Little Paulie: “She’s the boss’s wife – what can you do?” Paulie: “Fuck her!” The look on Little Paulie’s face tells us that even he thinks his uncle is out of line here.
The morning finds Paulie at his kitchen table, cutting out coupons for 55 cents off Band-Aids (the guy just scored 400 G’s, and he’s cutting out coupons?). Sil calls and asks where Carmela’s cut is, which Paulie takes some offense to – but finally tells Sil, “Keep your pants on. It’s done.” (And yes, Sil’s asthma is still getting worse.)
Back in Tony’s room, a nurse tells Carmela not lay with her husband anymore, since some drains got knocked loose. Carm: “That was my daughter. And I think physical affection means something.”
Dream Tony is on the phone with dream wife (who, btw, is definitely not Carmela or Charmaine, which I thought last week, according to HBO themselves), explaining about the lawsuit, and how he fell. He pauses while talking about his trip to the hospital, and decides not to tell his wife about the Alzheimer’s prognosis. He then finds an announcement of a “Finnerty Family Reunion” in the briefcase.
We cut to our movie meeting, where Christopher announces Carmine Lupertazzi as his co-executive producer. Carmine talks about he already has 9 movies, “four in the ‘South Beach Strumpet’ series alone, each with 30,000-plus DVDs in print.” (Yup, he’s certainly respectable.) JT runs through the plot, describing it as a “new kind of slasher film, which takes place in the world of… uhhh… [looks around the room at 10 or so wiseguys]… um.. the mafia.” Christopher’s original title was “Pork Store Killer” (HA – a shout-out to the very first episode), but JT suggests just “Cleaver”. The ensuing conversation is absolutely hilarious, with this group of mental midgets getting themselves confused, Vito stuck on the idea of the hero being a “ghost”, Silvio debating the term “slasher film”, etc. I love when they throw these scenes in – shades of Christopher’s infamous intervention.
Back at the hospital, Artie Bucco shows up with some food, and Paulie asks Carmela for “some face time with the Boss”. The TV in the waiting room plays the local news, which is running a story on Tony’s shooting. In it, Carmela sees AJ mouthing “Fuck you!” out Meadow’s window, and he actually gets quoted by the anchor.
Carmela arrives back home in a foul mood, and strips the blankets off of a sleeping AJ, screaming at him: “I swear to God I’m gonna f*cking kill you!” Meadow and Carmela’s parents stand outside while she continues: “You are a cross to bear, that’s all you are – to your father, to me, to everybody!” AJ’s reply: “Fuck this!” Carmela finishes by screaming at her father for asking what’s wrong with her, stomping into her room, and crying hysterically. Meadow: “It had to happen. She’s fried.”
Back at the Dante’s, Silvio is not walking well, but still seems happy with the new position: “Vito called me ‘Skip’ the other day.” Bobby shows up, still pissed about the Roseville ruling, asking how long the current situation will be around. Sil’s asthma kicks back in again fiercely, and Sil makes his decision: “Mornings are better.” Bobby leaves exasperated, and probably doesn’t feel better about the situation when Sil can barely catch his breath long enough to get a sentence out.
Cut to Dr. Melfi’s office, with her patient: Carmela. Oh geez, I should just transcribe this whole scene. Well, let’s get the important stuff. I’m mostly paraphrasing here:
Carmela: I’m worried about the kids. I removed all the guns from the house after the shooting, and I was shrieking at my son last night, which he probably didn’t deserve. [Hey Carm – Steve here. Yes, he did. He’s a punk.]
Melfi: How are you feeling?
C: I’m okay. I’m worried about what the kids are going through, since they’re old enough that we can’t just tell them… well, lies, to put it bluntly.
M: So it’s about more than just guns in the house.
C: Yes, they have to face years of the facade we’ve been living in.
M: You or them?
C: I knew what kind of man Tony was from the start. On our second date, he brought my mother and I each a dozen roses, and my father a $200 power drill.
M: Not the usual young love story.
C: I don’t know if I loved him in spite of it…. or because of it. I know behind that drill was a guy with a broken arm, or worse.
M: How did you cope?
C: I used to cry to my priest about it, but that was all bullshit. Because there are much bigger crooks out there than my husband. But my kids – they don’t get to decide who they’re born to. The longer they stay with us…
M: Complicit. Well, legal and moral issues aside, clarity can’t be a bad thing.
C: Tony’s second night in the coma, I told him I loved him. How long has it been since I did that?
M: You’re worried you won’t feel that way when he wakes up.
Oof. That’s a whole lot to digest, right there. This is almost as good as Carmela’s last therapy session (“You can’t say you haven’t been warned”).
Silvio, meanwhile, is coming out of his house — on a gurney, with an oxygen mask on, repeating “Can’t breathe” over and over, being wheeled into an ambulance. Bobby pulls up (blocking the ambulance in, of course), asks what’s going on, and says: “Sil – I didn’t hear from you!” Oy – Bobby, weren’t you supposed to be the relatively sensitive guy in the family?
Back at the hospital, Vito is trying to make his case for a power play – he’s a young man, and now a healthy man, “with longevity”. He also tells Carmela that he can’t get his package to her yet. Carmela says that’s no problem, because there’s more important things than money to worry about. And Vito, clueless as he is, just asks her to “trust” him. Haha.
Meadow brings Paulie in to Tony’ room, reminding him over and over that he has to be “positive” while he’s in there. And of course, Paulie’s first words are: “He looks terrible!” *sigh* Eventually, Paulie settles down, and starts talking to Tony about everything he shouldn’t mention: health problems, how it sucks getting old, work issues, etc. (If there’s a dumber character than Paulie on the show, I haven’t seen him yet.) The more Paulie speaks, the louder and faster the *beep* on Tony’s monitor gets, and watch his heart rate shoot up by the second.
Finn shows up to the hospital, and who’s the first person to see him? Well yes, of course it’s Vito, who gives an all-too-friendly caress on his arm, and actually tries to hold Finn’s hand. Luckily for Finn, Meadow picks that moment to show up. After Vito walks away, Meadow notices Finn’s mood, and offers up this lovely piece of advice: “Don’t worry, he’s harmless.” (Hey, chickie – he shot your last boyfriend in the head.)
Back in the room, Paulie starts talking about Big Pussy. And we see the word “Tachycardia” flashing on the monitor. Not good.
In the dream, we get an amusing parallel, with Dream Tony banging on his hotel room wall, telling the loud and annoying (and very Paulie-like) voice to shut up, while he gets directions to The Inn at the Oaks, where the Finnerty reunion is being held. And if you’ve been wondering what that flashing light on the horizon out of his hotel room window is, apparently it’s a beacon. “What’s that beacon for, anyway? Oh.” (That’s it? That’s all we get? Yeesh.)
Back to the room once more, and Tony is now in cardiac arrest (nice one, Paulie). (I swear it says Tony’s heart rate is 214 – is that even possible?) Meadow, Finn and Bobby come running in, as well as the guy with the paddles. You know the drill here: “Clear!” *ZAP*
Dream Tony pulls up to the Inn, and who greets him at the front door but… Tony Blundetto. Oh wait, it’s not Tony B. Okay, for purposes of this recap, we’ll call him “Peter”. Peter tells Tony (or is it Kevin?) that his family is all waiting inside, and he’s finally going home. In the doorway, we see a woman who looks very much like Livia (Tony’s Mom), but of course we never actually see her face. Peter tells Tony that he can’t take the briefcase with him – “You can’t bring business in there”. Tony: “I lost my real briefcase – my whole life was in there.” (Okay, this is starting to come together now.) From the trees, we hear a girl’s voice: “Daddy? Don’t go Daddy!” Tony hears it and wonders where it’s coming from. Peter keeps trying to take the briefcase, but Tony won’t give it up – and even admits to feeling “scared”. Then, the doorway to the Inn starts fading to white, there’s a big flash…
And we’re back in the hospital, seeing Meadow and Carmela from Tony’s viewpoint. Not only is he not dead, but he’s awake, and his heart rate and pulse are stabilized. Meadow: “Dad, look – here you are?” (Remember when he asked “Who am I? Where am I going?” in the last episode? Yeah – that’s called foreshadowing, kids.)
Bobby announces the crew that Tony is going to make it, which everybody celebrates – some noticeably less (Vito) than others (Benny, Bobby, Paulie).
Vito is at home, munching on carrot sticks (man, the writers are having some fun with his “weight loss” storyline), when Paulie shows up with the money from the robbery at the top of the episode. Vito is wondering why they have to do this now, and Paulie points out that everybody was talking to Tony while he was in the coma, including Carmela. “Maybe he’s expecting this money!” Vito finally grasps the gravity of the situation.
Back in the room, Carmela is feeding Tony ice cubes, with AJ, Meadow, Carmela’s Mom, and Rosalie Aprile all there. Tony whispers to Carmela: “I’m dead, right?” She assures him he’s not.
Vito and Paulie show up the hospital and (finally) hand over the $200,000 to Carmela, which she’s thrilled about. They tell her they’d want nothing less for their own families, and offer to help out in any way they can. Unfortunately for them, Carmela turns around and smiles at them as she’s walking away, and catches the dejected looks on their face as they get back on the elevator. There should be no question in her mind why the money suddenly found its way to her.
Christopher is in Tony’s room, and tells him about wanting to get back into the movie business, but “the right way this time”. He hopes Tony supports him, but he really feels that Tony owes him this one, because Chris came to him about Adrianna. (Eww – slimy move, Christopher.) Carmela walks in, Christopher excuses himself, and Carmela starts to rub something on Tony’s lip with a swab. “That’s gotta feel good – the simple things.”
What did we learn this week?
Yup, new section here. So this week we find out:
SAT Section: Tony:panic attacks::Silvio:asthma
Despite the repeated statements from everybody in Tony’s crew about how much they want their own families to be taken care of if something should happen to them, some of them won’t hand over a nickel to Carmela without a fight — even while Tony’s still alive. And Paulie is especially disrespectful of Carmela.
Tony’s position of power is based more on fear than on respect – hence the reaction from Vito when he realizes that Tony might be expecting his cut.
Carmela is over her Catholic guilt about her marriage, but is torn apart about the life her children were born into.
Tony still feels he has unfinished business on the mortal plane.
Meadow’s voice can pull Tony back from the nether realms, but apparently not Carmela’s.
AJ is still a punk.
Alex Gutierrez writes:
I think the Buddhists represented the “karma” that he has created for himself by being Mafioso. He knows he’s done bad things and karma came looking for him for payback.
Excellent point, Alex. Although I’m still trying to figure out how Tony learned about karma in the first place (maybe he watches “My Name is Earl”).
Next week on the Sopranos:
- Paulie informs Tony of something very unsettling concerning Phil Leotardo
- Johnny Sack is in jail and displeased about somebody (probably Tony)
- “Keep your enemies close. Keep your friends closer.” (No, that’s not a typo. Yes, that is the reverse of the saying from “The Godfather”. No, I don’t know why they did that.)
- It looks like Bobby is making some kind of business deal with a gang-banger
- Paulie is having issues with one of the trash routes
- Tony: “You’re part of something big. When are you gonna learn that?” (My guess: said to Christopher.)
See ya next week, folks.
