The Sopranos Season 1 Episode 6

Episode 6: Pax Soprana

Detective Makazian is waiting for Tony at a nearly deserted lumber yard. He is listing his finding about following Dr. Melfi. There isn't much to report and Tony before leaving tells the detective "Buy yourself an iron." In therapy Tony brings coffee for himself and Melfi. Melfi asks about the college trip. Tony explains that all he does is fight with Carmela, that she's upset that Melfi is a woman doctor. "Why a female? Why a female doctor?" Tony answers that he was given a choice between two Jewish doctors and an Italian and he went with the paisan. Tony asks "Why'd you have me as a patient. Most legit people I know they'd go a hundred miles out of there way not to make eye contact with me. But you, you didn't flinch." Mikey Palmice shows up at a neightborhood card game. Mikey starts beating on Sammy because he's not kicking up to anyone for protection. Mikey kicks Sammy three times in the ribs. "Junior Soprano is the new boss and he ain't respecting old arrangements." Junior is being fitted for a suit that he's getting for a party his crew is having for him. Junior finds out that the tailor had recently lost his grandson. "What do you mean, lost?" Junior asks "Dead. Morte. He was just a fucking kid, a baby. What are you going to do, these fucking animals, these drug dealers." The tailor says. Junior reflects "The little kid used to run around here breaking balls. Did you know about this? See what'd I say about this fucking poison. These kids shouldn't touch it! I read the paper everyday about these poor pricks overdosing." The tailor corrects "He didn't overdose, he killed himself. 14 years old." Junior remarks "Jesus." Mikey asks the tailor "Was this at Patterson Falls? Holy shit that was your grandson? The kid he took one of those designer drugs, right? Goes to the Falls takes a header right off the fence. They said the current whirled so much that his head bashed on the rocks for days before he came up." Mikey remarks being a morbid asshole that he is. The tailor continues "Meanwhile, this piece of shit. He gets to walk the street and sell more of this stuff to young kids." Junior says "Oh, yeah? What's the motherless fucks name?"

Junior is visiting with Livia at Green Grove. "Even the coffee's old in here." Junior says "How much complaining can you do, eventually they find you with a broken hip." Livia asks Junior what he's wearing, Junior explains its Canoe and that her husband Johnny wore the same thing. She lets him know she's happy that he's Boss but that he shouldn't let "certain" people take advantage of his good nature. She asks how his jewish friend is. "Hesh, what about him?" Livia asks "Who ever heard of a jew riding horses?" Junior says "He owns a horse farm. He's Tony's friend, not mine. What do you got against him anyway?" She says "Who, me? Nothing. Johnny liked him. And my son thinks every word that comes out of his mouth is pure gold." Junior surmises "Are you telling me that since I'm the new boss I should tax Hesh? Boy, Anthony must have really got under your collar. Admit it. You're looking to crack his coglioni for putting you in here." Livia downplays this "I don't know what you're talking about." Junior ends the scene by saying "Yeah, and I'm playing Shortstop for the Mets." Tony is in bed with Irina, his Russian girlfriend at her place. She asks what's the matter when he doesn't have an erection, Tony mention his Cannoli is tired. He asks her how her job is, she responds that he never asks and since when does he care? Tony gets out of bed and says "Don't want to talk? Fine." Gets money from the dresser and tosses it toward Irina. She throws it back at him and tells him she's no fucking whore. Tony says he just wanted to talk. She gets angry and throws a candle at Tony, he chases after her and she beats him away with her fists and run into the bathroom. Tony yelling after, "You fucking burned me."

At the back of Satriale's Tony and his crew are playing cards. Christopher sits down and tells Tony "Hesh is outside." Tony goes outside to meet Hesh. "Have you spoken to your Uncle lately?" Hesh says Tony says "Junior, yeah....I don't know yeah. Why what's up?" Hesh says "Your father was a fair man, Tony. Tony asks "What's that got to do with Junior?" Hesh says Junior's not so fair." Tony says "Heshy sometimes I wish you'd just get to the fuckin' point. What'd he do?" Hesh explains "He's taxing me Tony." Tony asks "He's taxing you? When did this happen?" Hesh answers "Today." Tony asks "Did you tell him you operated for years without any tax, that my father loved you and respected you. That ten cents out of every dollar that goes into his kick is directly related to your shylock business? My Uncle has been Boss of the family for ten fucking minutes and already I got agita! What'd you tell him?" Hesh says "I told him the truth. It's a reasonable request but an unreasonable figure." Tony says "Whoa, back up a minute. What do you mean it's a reasonable request? Hesh explains "He's the boss now, Tony. He can call the tune and we all dance to it. It's the way it's always been done. Now, you can either respect what was done in the past or change the rules. Look, Tony...the reason I came over here was to tell you with all this bullshit going on I don't know if I can stay in this area." Tony asks "Oh, yeah, where you gunna go?" Hesh says "Come on, Tatellah. I can sit on my royalty checks. You forget, I wrote six gold records." Tony says "No, a couple black kids wrote six gold records, you owned the company and gave yourself a co-writing credit. Come on, Heshy. Besides I know you, you leave this action you're going to kill yourself. How much does he want?" Hesh says "500 large plus 2 points monthly on my shy." Tony says "Alright. Do me a favor, sit tight for now. Let me think about it for awhile." Tony is at home. Havng a sexual dream of him and Dr. Melfi while a doo wop song plays over the scne. Tony is mouthing the lyrics to the song. He wakes up to Carmela asking if he wants sex, he says no and to go back to sleep. A nice shot of New York. Tony and John Sacrimoni of one of the New York families are talking at a bar. John asks "So, what do you want New York to do?" Tony explains that it has to look like Hesh went direct to NY to ask for their help and that the offer can't be insulting to Junior, he can't know it came from him. Johnny Sac asks "So you are still running things?" Tony looks back at Carmela at their table, they are at their aniversary dinner. "I got to get back." Tony leaves to join Carmela. She looks quite displeased. Singing waiters come over with cake, they let them know it was sent over compliments of Johnny Sac. We see Johnny waving to the couple. Carmela says "Maybe you'd like to spend the rest of our anniversary with him?" Tony says "I was gone for ten fricken minutes, don't do this." Carmela says "Alright, Tony. At least I know where I stand." Tony apologizes.  Carmela says "You don't even know what you're apologizing for. It's our anniversary Tony. Ours. Not yours, mine, and Johnny fuckin' Sac's. Ours. And here I was thinking we could get a room at The Plaza like last year and I don't know..." Tony apologizes again and tries to explain he has a lot on his mind and that he's sorry. Asks if he should call the plaza. Carmela declines and says to just go home. They pull into the garage. " Carm, what do you want me to say? I'm lost at sea here." Carmela says "You're the mother of my children, I feel like I'm someone you've chosen to procreate with." Tony says "You knew this might happen with the Prozac." Carmela says "Ginny Torelli's been on it for years and she'd hump a fire hydrant if it made a pass at her." Tony says "It affects different people in different ways." Carmela says "Oh, she told you that?"

In therapy Tony brings Coffee again, Melfi explains not to bring her coffee anymore as she cannot accept gifts. Her phone rings and she explains she usually has it off but there is a car emergency. Tony can overhear she wants a 2nd opinion from the mechanic. Tony is asked how he is and he says good to the point where he's considering flushing the Prozac. To the point where it affects his libido. Melfi says "You know, not all impotence is a result of the medication." Tony asks "Are you saying there's something wrong with me?" Melfi asks "When's the last time you had a prostate exam?" Tony says "Hey, I don't even let anyone wag their finger in my face." Melfi bursts out laughing apologizing. Melfi says "You know that depression is a leading factor in impotence." Melfi concludes by Tony having an erection at midnight or in the morning that it's not a physical problem. Outside of Satriale's Tony, Junior, and Hesh are all sitting by the sidewalk. This is a great opportunity to appreciate the sound editing of passing cars, honks, pedestrians, car music. It's so real you feel like you're on that street corner in North New Jersey. Tony is talking "With all due respect to New York, I don't think you should be telling my Uncle how to run things." John says "You think I have the balls to drive in from New York and tell your uncle how he should run his family? I shouldn't expect to see the statue of liberty again If I did that." Junior cracks a smile. Tony laughs. John talking again "Alright, look, Tony, Hesh isn't just a friend of you guys, he's a friend of ours. Somebody has to step in so he doesn't get fucked." Hesh says "I never said fucked." Tony says "And you, frankly, I'm a little hurt, you should have come to me first. Airing your dirty laundry in public." Hesh says "Junior knew how I felt, how would it have looked if I came to you after I spoke to him." John defends Hesh "Now, he's got a point. Bottom line is what are we gonna do about this?" Junior says "Something tells me you have a suggestion." John jokes "Junior if there are any flies on you they're paying fucking rent. 500 is a little steep for back taxes, no? As far as 2 percent of his action, that's up to you to settle. Because after all that affects Tony as much as Hesh." Junior responds "I'm not out to hurt anyone. God forbid I get in the way of someone earning. Let's say one and a half of the shy business and 300 on the back tax." Hesh counters "250." Junior says "What'd I tell you, hold onto your cock when you're negotiating with these desert people." John and Hesh laugh. Junior and Hesh shake hands "250." A conflict is averted.

Tony walks into the bathroom to see Melfi showering, she opens the shower door and says "Mr. Soprano." This is a clear attraction for Tony towards seeking out the truth within himself. Tony is with Irina and they fight again when Tony tries to mention changing her outfit to more business like. In therapy Tony attributes the violence to Carmela even though it's Irina. Not admitting he has a girlfriend. Tony attributes his attraction to business dressed women to Dr. Melfi and tells her that he is in love with her. She has to stop the session and Tony leaves. At home Melfi hears a loud crashing sound outside, sees someone drive away. She is seen taking it to a mechanic and the car starts just fine. Saying that she was told she needed a new starter, the mechanic lets her know the starter is brand new and has been recently replaced. Mikey Palmice throws the drug dealer responsible for selling the tailor's grandson the designer drug over the falls. He pays off bystanders to shut up, Mikey leaves. Larry, Jimmy, and Ray all show up to meet with Tony at Satriale's. Tony says "Alright, let me hear it." Jimmy says "Rusty Irish." Tony says "What about him?" Larry said "He took a header off the falls." Ray says "The closest that junkie fuck ever got to a bath." Larry says "Yeah, well I got news for you. That junkie fuck was my biggest earner. During the football season he moved more cards than ten guys put together. And another thing a certain friend of ours should have checked with me first before doing a favor for old man Capri." Tony says "You're losing me." Larry says "Irish was the one who sold Capri's grandson that shit." Ray says "I think you created a fuckin' Frankenstein in Junior." Tony says "I created? We all agreed to let Junior have his day. Let him be the lightning rod and when lightning strikes god forbid, if somebody goes down it's not a young man with a family you remember this? We all agreed." Larry says "We agreed, but who the fuck expected to get raped over here?" Ray says "I mean when Jackie was acting Boss, nobody minded because it evened out at the end of the day. But Maddon, does he eat alone, he doesn't even pass the salt." Jimmy says "What about that Sammy Grigio card game? That fuckin' Mikey smacked him around, that ain't right. Tony says " Come on, Jimmy, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Junior was right, he had a position. That game wasn't paying anybody." Ray says "The minute Sammy Grigio used Jimmy's name it should have been end of story." Tony says "What do you want me to do?" "hey, we made our bed, we sleep in it, we're all men. But how long are we going to kick upstairs without it hurting. I mean something, anything, should trickle down over here, no?" Jimmy says "All we want you to do is talk to him, after all, he is your uncle, come on." Tony visits his mother at her retirement community, she takes awhile to answer saying she was worried it was that horrible activities lady. Livia makes a side comment about one of the other residents is a degenerate gambler on their way to bingo. Livia seems to be overly focused on her neighbor's water use, unable to let it go. Neurotic personality disorder 101. Tony brought Biscotti, she mentions she'll have them for coffee. They talk about Junior and his headaches and he remembers who his friends are. That he hates to see him mess up since he's been waiting for the chair for so long. Livia asks why she's telling her, to tell Junior. Tony says she has his ear. She says if he has something to say to Junior to ask him. She says "I wish the lord would take me." Carmela is at church talking to Father Phil. They're discussing Tony's infidelity, how the whores she sees as a form of Masturbation and that she blames herself for being too busy. She feels a lack of intimacy because he shares parts of himself with someone that isn't her, it being another women only compounds this. Father Phil seems to blame Carmela and not her environment for her perceived moral failing. Pretty common in the catholic church which is just another societal institution. Tony asks Dr. Melfi how her car is. He lets her know it was stolen and fixed. She says it scared her to death and a violation of her privacy. Tony tells Dr. Melfi that he has strong feelings for her. "I'm sorry, it's just the way it is." He tells her he dreams about her and that he can't get excited about any other woman. Melfi says "Let me start here. I know this may be very hard for you to swallow. But you're only feeling this way because we've made such progress. I've been gentle, that's my job. I listen, that's what I do best. I've been a broad, generic, sympathetic, woman to you because that's what the work calls for. You've made me all the things you feel you're missing in your wife and in your mother." This is truly one of the most glaring, heartbreaking, and illuminating pieces of dialoge in the entire series. This is why Tony can't find that in Carmela, or what he was supposed to get from his mother. Because of who he is, he sees Melfi as his savior as the woman to give him all the love and understanding her never got. In a way it's Tony the boy calling out for someone to really love and understand him. That seems to be endlessly profound and incredibly sad. An amazing observation in this episode. Tony answers this "You're making me out to be some fuckin' mama's boy. I'm a man and you're a woman. End of story. And this crap about freud and every boy wanting to have sex with his mother." Melfi says "I didn't say that. I want to make sure we understand each other." Tony says "Yeah we understand each other, you don't love me. You don't want me to come back anymore? Fine." Melfi says "It's quite the opposite, all of this is a byproduct of progress.....has someone been following me? Ok, forget it. I'll see you next week." Tony leaves.

At a baseball game Tony and Junior are talking. "What is it you wanted to talk about?" Junior asks. "Augustus was a ceasar. And everybody loved him. You know why?" Tony says Junior responds "I don't know if I give a fuck." Tony continues "Everybody loved him because he never at alone, capisce? The longest peace time in Rome's history. He was a fair leader and all his people loved him for that. He shared his wealth and all his people loved him." Junior says "You said that three fuckin' times, I heard it, his people loved him, what's your fuckin' point?" Tony tries explaining in a different way "Remember the story you told me about the father bull talking to the son. They're up on this hill and looking down on a bunch of cows. The son goes to the father, dad why don't we go down there and fuck one of these cows. Remember what the Father said to the Son, why don't we go down there and fuck them all." Junior and Tony share a laugh. "I told you that, fuck em all. Ok I get your point, why'd you have to come out with that Augustus shit." Then Junior asks him if he's ok, hasn't seen a long face like that since he was a kid. Tony at Hesh's horse farm tells Hesh he cut up the 250,000 between the bosses, 50,000 each. Tony remarks about being boss, fuck, who needs it. Watching the horses Tony remarks about them "I envy them. They got no bills, no headaches, no family cazzi's running around. When a horse likes another horse they go up and fuck and that's it. No problems, no one hundred questions, no guilt.....I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about." Hesh asks about the money Junior cut up. He gives him back 50,000 so he won't profit off the tax on Hesh. Out by the pool Carmela comes to sit with Tony. Tony lets her know there's nothing going on between him and Melfi. He vocalizes his anxiety about therapy that what you're feeling isn't what you're feeling. Carmela convinces Tony to stick with therapy. Carmela admits she was jealous. Jealous of her ability to help Tony. Carmela expresses that she wants to be the woman in his life. Tony seems to miss the bigger understanding of what she is saying by relating that she is his life. He could have the life he needs, but he can't connect these things between therapy and his real life. At a dinner for Junior Tony is making a toast. "I'm no good at speeches. I'd like everybody to raise their glass. Taught me as much as anybody except maybe my father. Even if he wasn't my uncle I'd be standing here saying to our new boss." Everyone salutes Junior while a waiter wearing a hidden camera takes pictures of everyone. Cut to the FBI investigation of the DiMeo crime family putting Junior as the acting boss now that Jackie is dead. Fade to black.