Pie-O-My
| "Pie-O-My" | |||
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| The Sopranos episode | |||
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 44 |
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| Directed by | Henry J. Bronchtein | ||
| Written by | Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess | ||
| Cinematography by | Alik Sakharov | ||
| Production code | 405 | ||
| Original air date | October 13, 2002 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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see below |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
"Pie-O-My" is the forty-fourth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the fifth of the show's fourth season. It was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Henry J. Bronchtein and originally aired on October 13, 2002.
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[edit] Guest starring roles
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[edit] Episode recap
Ralph Cifaretto's racehorse, "Pie-O-My", wins a couple of races and makes a lot of money. Ralph gives Tony Soprano some of the winnings for picking the winning strategies. Tony grows fond of the horse, eventually referring to it as "our girl", in direct contrast to Ralph, who brusquely instructs the trainer – speaking of the jockey – to "tell that midget not to go easy with the whip". As Ralph continues to give Tony a "taste" of the prize earnings, Tony's growing expectation of an increasing share of the winnings creates tension between the two.
Carmela asks Tony to invest in some stock and sign papers for a life insurance trust. Tony's accountant advises against the life insurance trust since it would be advantageous to Carmela only in the instance of Tony's death. When Tony eventually relents and gives permission to purchase the stock, she angrily announces that it has already split and they've missed their chance.
Adriana La Cerva is unhappy that her rock club, the Crazy Horse, is now being used as a meeting place for various mob associates. This has not gone unnoticed by her FBI handlers, who continue to press her for information. She also grows extremely paranoid that her activities as an informant will be discovered, although in reality, no one has an inkling of the truth.
Janice Soprano takes an interest in Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri. She interferes in a conversation between the new widower and JoJo Palmice, then gives the dinner that JoJo had made for Bobby to Junior Soprano. In trying to get closer to Bobby, Janice takes credit for Carmela's lasagna and also counsels him to put his grief behind him by focusing more on his work. After she tells him that Junior is counting on him, Bobby pulls himself together and completes a neglected task for Junior: meeting with a union shop steward to intimidate him into changing his vote in an upcoming election.
Meanwhile, when Junior catches the report of his court appearance on TV, he is displeased by the unflattering likeness painted by the courtroom artist. During the next day's proceedings, he fixes the artist with an intimidating stare.
With veterinarian's fees for Pie-O-My piling up, the vet refuses further treatment until he is paid. Ralph, however, refuses to take action when the horse becomes sick during the night, passing along Tony's number; Tony rushes to the stables and settles the bill. Tony tells the vet he'd better hope the horse "makes it" before going into the stall to sit with the animal, where he comfortingly strokes her neck, telling her that everything will be all right.
[edit] First appearances
- Agent Robyn Sanseverino: The F.B.I. agent assigned to handle Adriana.
[edit] Title reference
- Ralph Cifaretto's racehorse, "Pie-O-My", wins a couple of races and makes a lot of money.
[edit] References to other media
- In the final scene where Tony is with Pie-O-My, the song playing is the duet between Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson "My Rifle, My Pony and Me", from Rio Bravo, a 1959 Western starring John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.
- A scene in this episodes pays homage to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, when Junior takes a cardigan sweater out of his closet and says: "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...and I gotta rot in that courtroom".
[edit] Music
- "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" by Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson from Rio Bravo.
- "The Gift that Keeps on Giving" by Deicide from their album Insineratehymn.
