Eloise (The Sopranos)
| "Eloise" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sopranos episode | |||
 |
|||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 51 |
||
| Directed by | James Hayman | ||
| Written by | Terence Winter | ||
| Cinematography by | Alik Sakharov | ||
| Production code | 412 | ||
| Original air date | December 1, 2002 (HBO) | ||
| Guest stars | |||
|
see below |
|||
| Episode chronology | |||
|
|||
| Episode chronology | |||
"Eloise" is the fifty-first episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the twelfth of the show's fourth season. It was written by Terence Winter, directed by James Hayman and originally aired on Sunday December 1, 2002.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
As Junior Soprano's trial concludes, Eugene Pontecorvo and Dogsy find juror Danny Scalercio while he is out shopping with his son and intimidate him.
Little Carmine and Johnny Sack try to convince Carmine, Sr. to reduce his demands in his dispute with Tony over the HUD scheme. Carmine Sr., becoming angry, insults his son and refuses to back down. Sack meets with Tony and Silvio at Carmine's new restaurant and offers a minor compromise; Tony, angry in part because Carmine will not deal with him face-to-face, rejects it and later orders that the restaurant be damaged.
Carmine uses his union influence to shut down work at the disputed project, the Esplanade. Tony decides to wait the dispute out, expecting the financial losses on both sides will quickly force Carmine into a compromise. Johnny Sack meets with Tony and raises the possibility of killing Carmine, surprising Tony.
In the Soprano household, Carmela and A.J. discuss a paper he is writing on Billy Budd. Tony's callous behavior toward Carmela angers Furio, who has difficulty restraining himself when Tony calls his wife a "moody bitch." Tony remains unconscious of the romantic tension between Carmela and Furio. Carmela later visits Furio's house to discuss decorating, but a possible flirtation is interrupted by one of her father's contractors.
Tony, Furio, and other members of the crew visit an Indian casino. While most of the others carouse, Furio stands aloof. Later, as the drunken crew prepares to board the casino's helicopter for the flight home, Furio grabs Tony by the shirt front and appears barely able to restrain himself from shoving Tony into the spinning tail rotor. Furio tells the baffled Tony he was standing too close to the blades. The next day, Furio does not appear when expected, and Carmela learns he has abruptly returned to Italy. Carmela and Rosalie Aprile have dinner at Nuovo Vesuvio. When Rosalie suggests Tony might have taken action against Furio, she becomes distraught.
A family dinner to meet Meadow's new boyfriend, Finn DeTrolio, further dispirits Carmela. Their annual mother-daughter birthday outing the next day turns quickly into hostile bickering. Carmela complains to Tony about her disagreements with Meadow, sharply irritating her, but he later approaches his daughter and suggests that she treat her mother with more restraint.
Paulie Gualtieri learns from his mother that her friend Minn Matrone keeps a large cache of money in her home. After a rough-edged conversation with Silvio reveals unhappiness with his declining financial contributions, Paulie approaches Carmine Sr., only to learn that Johnny Sack has never passed along his previous suggestions of a shift in loyalties. Upset, Paulie decides to steal Minn Matrone's cash to make up his shortfall to Tony. When she arrives home unexpectedly, recognizing him and interrupting the burglary, Paulie kills her. He then nervously makes a large payment to Tony.
[edit] Guest starring roles
|
|
[edit] First appearances
- Finn DeTrolio: Meadow's boyfriend.
[edit] Deceased
- Minn Matrone: suffocated by Paulie Walnuts after he attempted to steal her money and she caught him in the act.
[edit] Title reference
- The title refers to the portrait, Eloise, at the Plaza Hotel, which is based on the books of the same name. Carmela and Meadow have a tradition of eating lunch while seated in front of this painting.
[edit] References to other media and events
- There is a poster for Topdog/Underdog, the 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks, hanging in Meadow's new apartment.
- As Meadow mentions going on a ski trip with her friends, Carmela warns her to be careful, and to remember what happened to Sonny Bono. Singer, actor and politician Bono died in a skiing accident in January 1998.
- The Soprano family and Meadow's friends discuss the Herman Melville novel Billy Budd and whether or not a homosexual subtext can be found in it. During the discussion, one of Meadow's friends observes that Terence Stamp played parts not only in Billy Budd, but also in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
- A.J. also reads Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice; the title may be an allusion to Carmela's fear that Furio has been murdered.
- Paulie's murder of Minn Matrone may be a reference to a similar incident allegedly committed by former Gambino Family underboss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
- Near the end of the episode, Carmela watches a film, How to Marry a Millionaire, on TV.
[edit] Music
- The song played during the Soprano family's visit to Meadow in New York is "New Slang" by The Shins.
- The song played over the end credits is "Little Bird" by Annie Lennox.
- The song played in the background of a scene between Silvio and Paulie is Metallica's cover of "The Small Hours" by Holocaust.
- The song played at the Bada Bing office when Paulie gives Tony a large envelope of cash (after the murder and robbery of Minn Matrone) is "Real Fonky Time" by Dax Riders.
- The song played at the wedding is "Sopa De Caracol" (Conch Soup) by Banda Blanca.
