The Sopranos Season 1 Episode 7

Episode 7: Down Neck

AJ and his friends from school are in the Chapel stealing sacramental wine. They run out into the gymnasium having changed into their gym clothes. The gym teacher is leading the boys in jumping jacks. AJ and his friends cannot synch up and are dizzy. He notices the boys acting strange and blows the whistle. One of AJ's friends who drank the wine says he doesn't feel good and then abruptly pukes on the gym floor. Tony shows up at a construction work site, getting out of his vehicle and walking to meet Christopher. "How's the boy?" Tony asks Christopher says "How am I? I got dust up the crack of my ass and I'm starving to death." Tony says "You're doing an excellent job allow yourself to take pleasure in that." Christopher says "Guy has been ragging in my ear all day I'd like to kill the prick, you hear that pick?!!" A supervising laborer comes to meet them "Get him the hell out of here!" he says. Tony asks "Is there a problem?" "Look, you made your point, ok?" says the Laborer "I made my point?" Tony asks. "You made your point." The Laborer says "What point is that?" Tony asks "Enough with this work stoppage." The Laborer says. "This is a union safety official and he stays until the union deems this workplace is free of hazard." The Laborer says "I have the money." Tony says "You do? Christopher give the union a call and see if this gentleman has paid up his union dues, then pop these wheel covers, check the brake pads." Christopher says "I'll get right on it." The Laborer says "I'll get your money, ok." Tony says "We shall return." Tony asks for Christopher's cell phone to call Carmela. Tony and Carmela are in the Principal's office with AJ in trouble due to the stolen wine. The school psychologist wants to talk to Tony and Carmela about AJ potentially having ADD. Due to lacking certain skills like following the rules, weighing consequences, sometimes doesn't think before he acts. Tony doesn't know what ADD is. The psychologist discusses the condition and wants to give AJ a thorough evaluation.

Family dinner at The Soprano house. Junior, Livia, Meadow, AJ, Tony, and Carmela all around the table discussing Anthony Jr and his misbehaving. Livia and Junior discuss how Tony was a troublemaker when he was a kid. Livia says "It's a crime to suspend that child from school after all the money you give them." Junior says "I bet that gym teacher shit a brick when your little friend puked on his boots, huh Anthony?" Tony says "Wanna encourage him, Uncle Jun'?" "Whatever happened to boys will be boys." Junior asks Carmela says "He stole from the church, they don't make 'em any lower than that." Meadow says "What a loser." Carmela tells Meadow "That's enough out of you." Livia says "Oh, his father was the same way. I practically lived in that Vice Principal's office." Tony says "Could we not, please.?" Livia says "You only remember what you want to remember. Well I must have had another son who stole a car when he was 10 years old, yeah he could barely see over the steering wheel." Uncle Junior says "He was a hellion this one him and his little crew they used to steal lobster down boats on the shore and sell em for a buck a piece down on Bloomfield Avenue." AJ looking surprised and shocked by these revelations says "Really?" Tony upset says "How many times do I gotta say this, I don't want that kinda talk in front of this kid, that stuff is wrong and I don't condone it." AJ responds "Yeah, sure." Sarcastically and it's picked up on by Carmela. "Who do you think you're yelling at." Junior asks Tony. Carmela says "What? What did you just say?" AJ says "I didn't say anything." Livia says "What's he doing, what's going on?" Junior responds "He treats me like a miserab'!" Carmela says to AJ "Anthony I thought this could wait until after dinner. But your Father and I have talked you are not to play Mario Cart or go skateboarding for three weeks. And no TV. And you are not going to sit on that internet either. And every day you're going to ride your bike to Green Grove Retirement community to visit your Grandma." Livia says "Oh, that'll be nice." AJ crying says "It's not fair, and runs up to his room." Tony and Carmela getting ready for bed are discussing the day and what's going on with AJ. Tony asks "Do you think he knows?" Carmela says "I don't know, she knows." Tony sees flashbacks of their road trip to colleges. Tony says "Really, what makes you say that?" Carmela says "I don't know, things she says. She makes remarks like this today with him." Tony asks "Does she talk to you about me?" Carmela answers "Talk? To me?" Carmela asks "Did something happen on that college trip?" Tony says "Happen, like what?" Carmela says "She seemed peculiar when she got back." Tony says "Pretty soon we're going to have to talk to her about the business." Carmela says "Yeah the two of us should sit down and talk." Concluding they'll have AJ do the test and they'll see what comes from it. They say goodnight. Tony in therapy is discussing ADD with Dr. Melfi. Melfi asks "Do you see his behavior as a reflection of your own?" Tony discusses doing the best he can and moving forward. Melfi brings up the intimate feelings Tony brought up last time. "How are you doing with it?" She asks him. He mentions that he already has a girlfriend, Russian, 24, and how old the Doctor is. Trying to deflect any hurt that he still has from being rejected and feeling rejected by Dr. Melfi. Tony gets up from sleeping, takes his Prozac.

We're back in Tony's childhood. Uncle Jun' parked in the street honking his horn looking for his father. Johnny and Livia come out of the front door. Johnny gets into Uncle Jun's car. Johnny tells Tony "You be good though, you pay attention to what those teachers tell you, you hear me, Anthony?" Tony goes to catch the bus but misses it due to talking with Junior and his father. All of a sudden across the street he sees his father and Junior pull up to get the money from a delinquent borrower. He sees them brutally assault this man named Rocco. Watching his father kick in his ribs along with his Uncle and then smash a clay pot over his head, over not paying money owed. Tony in therapy talks about this experience. Tony reflects that he's thinking of this because of his son. "He used to whack us kids around a little bit, the belt was his favorite child development tool. This was different though, you could tell he knew what he was doing." Melfi asks "How did you feel about your Father after that?" Tony says "I didn't want him to do it to me." Melfi asks "Seriously." Tony answers "What do you want me to say? I'm glad he wasn't a fag." Melfi asks "How did you and your Father get along?" Tony says "Good, he was a good guy, my father, everybody liked him, he knew how to have a good time. Loved shellfish. Clams, oysters. Taught us kids how to eat em. Put a little Worcestershire on em, suck em down. It's good. My mother never ate anything raw. But he wasn't around much." Melfi asks what he did. "Retail meat and provisions. And a little numbers. Extortion, loansharking." Tony answers. How did you feel about that Melfi asks "How did I feel?" Tony asks "About your father being engaged in illegal activities?" Melfi asks "I never really knew about it." Melfi asks "When did you find out?" Tony deflects "Who remembers?" We're getting too close to Tony having to address the issue here. That his own deceit from his son and his behaviors he's shown his son are the model for AJ's behavior. "But you thought of that incident this morning, are you concerned your son is going to find out about you?" Tony says "Don't start talking to me about legitimate business. What about chemical companies dumping all that shit in the river and get these deformed babies popping up all over the place." Melfi asks "Does he know anything?" Tony says "I don't know." That he never talked to his father about it as a boy. Tony at the Bing with Silvio and Sal. Silvio pouring Vodka into the coffees. They discuss their kids and the troubles they've faced being connected. Christopher comes through with some lifted watches, Tony tells him off for the unnecessary risk. Tony comes home to discuss further with Carmela she has bought books to further study ADD. They start fighting based on unresolved issues that are bubbling just below the surface and have come up prior in this season. AJ visits Livia at Green Grove. She pinches his cheek and introduces him to one of her "friends". Livia mentions to AJ that she "had a stroke, now half her brain is gone." While talking with his Grandma AJ mentions he went to a Psychiatrist. "They sent you to a Psychiatrist? That's crazy, that's just a racket for the jews." AJ then tells his grandma that he goes to see a psychiatrist. This makes her become obsessive over the fact that he might be talking about her in therapy. She starts crying. Always making it about herself. Tony pulls over to change a tire. Tony asks AJ about the meeting with the school Psychologist. Tony asks AJ "The other night at dinner you made a remark, I need to know what you meant by it." AJ says "Some kids at school said some stuff." Tony asks "What'd they say?" "That you're in the mafia." "I don't know there were all those guys at Uncle Jackie's funeral and there were all those guys taking pictures and taking down license plate numbers, those were feds just like in Godfather I." Tony says "Uncle Jackie's funeral, right." AJ says "Then I was on the web and on this page Uncle Jackie was on and it said he ripped off this pension thing." They get the tire fixed.

Tony in therapy. Worrying about what AJ knows and doesn't know. Tony and discuss the differences in nature vs nurture how his associates kids have turned out. "We were talking last time how you felt when you became aware of you father's criminal life. Do you have any other thoughts on that? You said you liked the history channel, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Let's talk about your father." Tony says "My father...". A young tony is throwing a baseball with Uncle Junior. "I was probably about 8 or 9 my sister came out." Janice and her Father are going someplace, Tony asks to go with but he says to stay home and help his mother. Janice is back talking and as they are leaving gives Tony the finger. Tony as a young boy is asking his mother, cooking Sunday dinner, for an electric organ. Livia becomes so stressed she threatens to "I could stick this fork in your eye!" Tony remembers why he is remembering this in connection with his father. Livia allows Tony to go out despite riots going on, it being 1967. Tony hides in his Father's trunk so he can see where they go on these Sunday trips. Johnny has a beautiful blue Cadillac Coupe De Ville. When the car stops and Tony gets out he sees it's an amusement park called Rideland. "My heart was broken." Tony says. "Did you confront them?" Tony says "Kids don't confront in my family." As a kid Tony goes back on another Sunday this time on a bus, three transfers from Newark. Police cars converge and park in front of the amusement park. They rush in and Tony sees a prison van pull up. He sees a man running while police are calling for him to stop. He gets shot  by the police. "The guy's name was Chicky Sasso, got out of Viet Nam on account of the Cops blowing his kneecap off. " Tony sees Janice and then his father being taken away in handcuffs. You can see a rack of fur coats on a rack being carted out, a nice touch. "Used my sister Janice as a front, all the guys brought their daughters so that when they did their business it looked sweet and innocent." Melfi remarks "That must have been devastating." Tony says "Actually it was no big deal" Melfi asks "To see your father handcuffed being taken away by the police?" Tony says "At the time I thought my head was going to explode, I felt helpless. When I got home, my mother had a different perspective." Livia says "Your father may not be home for dinner tonight, go wash up." Tony says "I know." Livia asks "What do you know?" Tony says "I saw him getting arrested, what did he do?" Livia says "He didn't do anything, they just pick on the Italians!" Back in therapy Tony admits "Still, I knew my father was no freedom fighter. He came home in a couple hours, we were watching Ed Sullivan." Johnny comes home "Hey, Livia, guess who's home?!?" What happened? I stopped at Nostco's got you some Cherry Vanilla. Let this be a lesson to you, stupid cops, went to the wrong place arrested the wrong guys. How's my little girl? You alright, sweetheart?" A man is yelling across the street "Hey Johnny Boy! Hey Johnny Boy! Way to go Johnny! Way to show those sons of bitches!" Johnny says "What's up Rocco?" Melfi in disbelief says "Wait, so the same guy your father beat up was the same one he beat up?" Tony says "Yep, one of them, Rocco Alotori. Melfi asks "Why was your father arrested?" Tony says "He was in violation of his parole, association with known undesirables. He was away when I was a kid but they told me he was away in Montana being a Cowboy.

My Son is doomed right?" Melfi says "Why do you say that?" Tony says "Come on. This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you how terrible my father was and the terrible things he did to me and how he ruined my life. But I'll tell you something I was proud to be Johnny Soprano's kid when he beat the shit out of that guy I went to class and told them how tough my Father was." Melfi asks "Do you think that's how your son feels about you?" Tony says "Yeah probably. And I'm glad. I'm glad if he's proud of me. But that's the bind I'm in because I don't want him to be like me. He can be anything he wants to be. He could be like this guy in high school his Grandfather who invented the little ties that go on the end of Salami's. He makes millions of dollars, sitting on his ass." Melfi asks "Have you communicated any of this to your son?" Tony says "Not in so many words. Probably not at all. And what difference would it make, you said so yourself, it's in the blood. It's hereditary. Melfi says "Genetic predispositions are only that, predispositions. It's not a destiny written in stone. People have choices. You think everything that happens is preordained. You don't think human beings possess free will? How come I'm not making pots in Peru. You're born to this shit. You are what you are." Melfi says "Within that there is a range of choices. This is America." Tony says "Right, America." This is important because Tony unable to accept that he is his son's biggest influence either has to communicate to his son to not be like him, or to not show him those behaviors that have negatively been adopted by AJ and are causing him problems in life. Tony as a little boy again hears Johnny and Livia discussing moving out to Reno to start a business and grow it. Livia is adamant against it, her neuroticism and all. She threatens to smother them than take them to Nevada.

Junior is visiting Livia at Green Grove. "Oh yeah you and the other one with all your headaches." Livia says "Who, Tony? You shouldn't be so hard on him. He's got a lot to learn, granted, but he's headed in the right direction." Livia says "Where to, Overbrook State Mental Hospital?" Junior says "Huh?" Tony comes in "Hey Uncle Jun', how you doin?" Junior says "See what a good boy, comes visit his mother." Livia mentions they're having dinner and doesn't expect he wants to stay. He lets them visit. Livia says Junior is so full of himself since becoming Copa Regime it makes her sick. Tony walks into the next room with Livia he brings up Rocco Alitori and moving to Reno. "I remember you guys talking about it." Livia says "Oh, Rocco just got him all worked up, what's with all these questions?" "Dad wanted to go with him, you wouldn't let him." Livia says "Let him, tell me just one time your father didn't do exactly as he wanted." Tony says "Maybe this was his chance to get out, dad was no choir boy but maybe with a little bit of support." Livia says "Oh, Mr. Sensitive now well if it bothers you so much maybe you better talk to a Psychiatrist." Tony asks "What are you talking about a Psychiatrist?" Livia says "Well that's what people do when they're looking for blame someone for their life isn't it?" Tony says "You're a real stone player aren't ya ma, you threatened to smother his children. You know everyone thought Dad was the ruthless one but I gotta hand it to you, if you'd been born after those feminists you'd have been the real gangster." Livia unpleasantly says "I don't know what you're talking about." Tony and Carmela meet with the school Psychologist. He says there is no evidence of learning disability and everything else looks normal. He states that AJ shows 5 of the 9 symptoms of ADD, 6 are the basis for being diagnosed as ADD. Tony get irritated because one of the symptoms is fidgeting. Tony and Carmela walk out saying AJ is fine and that they shouldn't have to pay for testing. Tony is exercising on the elliptical machine. Watching the history channel. He walks upstairs. He makes he and AJ Ice Cream Sundaes. It's easy to see that Tony loves his son. Fade to black.