Rat Pack (The Sopranos)
| "Rat Pack" | |||
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| The Sopranos episode | |||
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 54 |
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| Directed by | Alan Taylor | ||
| Written by | Matthew Weiner | ||
| Cinematography by | Alik Sakharov | ||
| Production code | 502 | ||
| Original air date | March 14, 2004 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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see below |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
"Rat Pack" is the fifty-fourth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the second of the show's fifth season. It was written by Matthew Weiner, directed by Alan Taylor and originally aired on March 14, 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Guest starring roles
[edit] Episode recap
Tony meets with contractor Jack Massarone at a small diner to discuss their work together. Massarone presents him with a painting of Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. and tries to get Tony to open up about his connections with government officials. Tony avoids direct questioning to his benefit as, unknown to Tony, Massarone is wearing a microphone hidden in his baseball cap, having joined Adriana and Raymond Curto as FBI informants. Raymond spends time at FBI headquarters correcting inaudible words that were mistranscribed from a meeting he recorded.
As Tony, Bobby and Uncle Junior reminisce at the latter's home, word comes from New York City that Carmine Lupertazzi has died. Uncle Junior is distraught over so many of his friends dying. The next day, during the funeral service, conflict arises between Little Carmine and Johnny Sack over rosary beads placed in Carmine Senior's coffin. Little Carmine asserts that Ginny Sack placed Opus Dei beads in the coffin without his knowledge. Little Carmine regards Opus Dei as a "fundamentalist cult" and gives Johnny Sack heated words about it. Despite bonding with Johnny Sack while his father was dying, Little Carmine announces that he didn't mean the kind words he once said to him. Tony and other bystanders overhear.
Tony is more concerned with the return of his cousin, Tony Blundetto. He meets Tony B. at his mother's house. Tony B. greets him wearing an outdated 1980's style suit. At his welcome-home party, Tony tells the group how important his cousin was in his life growing up and explains how the family called him "Tony-Uncle-Johnny" and called his cousin "Tony-Uncle-Al," a way of distinguishing the two boys by their fathers. Tony-Uncle-Al is not as eager to get back in the business as his cousin wants. Blundetto informs Tony that he was able to get associate's degree in prison and is on his way to becoming a state licensed massage therapist. He believes this is his chance to start over, and wants to go completely legitimate. He wants to try to live a normal life and takes a job delivering linens and tablecloths. Although seeming somewhat let down, Tony supports his cousin's decision.
Adriana later watches the classic film Citizen Kane in the Sopranos' home theater with Carmela, Rosalie, Janice, Gabriella Dante and another one of Carmela's friends. The FBI warning notice against illegally copying and distributing the movie at the beginning of the video tape makes some, including Adriana, slightly uncomfortable. Afterward the women discuss the movie, and Adriana finds out what Rosebud meant to the protagonist. It transforms to a discussion of Carmela's possible divorce and their own tepid marriages, including Janice's, who is the comparative newlywed of the group, and how the romance has gone out of her marriage already. She complains that her husband hasn't yet found her "rosebud", or clitoris. The women laugh in personal recognition of Janice's situation.
Adriana later meets with her FBI handler, Agent Sanseverino. She has a hard time dealing with informing on others and that Sanseverino only talks about business. Sanseverino tells Adriana that she is with the good guys now and then reveals why she became an FBI agent. Her sister's criminal boyfriend traded their TV for six handguns. He sold five of them to teenagers and used the sixth to shoot open a coconut, the bullet ricocheted of the coconut and hit her sister in the spine, leaving her a paraplegic. She became an FBI agent to deal with people like her sister's old boyfriend.
Being an informant doesn't work out so well for Jack Massarone, however. Tony becomes suspicious about him after he gets a tip from Patsy Parisi that their earlier meeting had been under FBI surveillance; Tony is certain that he wasn't the one being followed. Tony arranges a meet with Massarone to feel him out, quite literally as it turns out. At the meet, Tony hugs Massarone in greeting while feeling for recording or listening devices, not realizing the device is in the baseball cap Massarone is wearing. This gives Jack an uncomfortable feeling. Tony reassures him. Later Tony tells his crew he couldn't tell if Massarone was an informant. A few moments later Tony remarks about how Jack had mentioned that Tony had lost weight, which the rest of the crew seem (quietly) skeptical about. During the council with his crew, Tony gets a call from Tony Blundetto's boss at the linen company, who wants permission to fire Tony B. (Tony Soprano had gotten Tony B. his job there). Tony doesn't want him to be fired, but relents and angrily gives his consent, and Christopher floats the idea of using Tony B. to hit Massarone. Tony is frustrated and tells Chrissy that Tony B. wants to go straight. Tony says that in any case he is done with Jack Massarone and he leaves. Silvio and Chris wonder if this comment implies that Tony wants Massarone killed; they question whether the comment was a purely rhetorical remark not intended to be taken seriously or a heavily-veiled order.
Tony is having major anxiety problems, expressed at the Rat Pack picture Massarone gave him. He repositions the painting on the wall and then on the fireplace mantel piece. He calls Tony B. at 3 a.m. for small talk and to complain about his separation to relieve his anxiety about the painting. He finally breaks and takes a drive with the painting. On the Pulaski Skyway, Tony tosses it out his car window, into the river beneath, and drives away. The next morning Massarone is found in the trunk of his car, a bullet hole in his head and a golf club cover in his mouth. There is no indication of who actually killed him and no information on what new revelation came through for that action to take place. It could have been Tony's crew acting on his possibly veiled order, or he could have later given them a direct order.
Adriana meanwhile is racked with guilt and paranoia, inflamed by Rosalie Aprile telling her how Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero's wife Angie Bonpensiero was not welcome in their group anymore because Big Pussy, they believe, went into witness protection. She condemns him as Judas-like. This brings Adriana to tears with Rosalie being befuddled and concerned about why. Later, Adriana comes very close to telling her girlfriends about her being an informant but she keeps her tongue and flees the get-together in tears. An upset Adriana runs off in the darkness, skinning her knee and scrapping her face on the driveway. She refuses her girlfriends' offers of first aid and flees in her car, speeding away from the Soprano house.
The next morning, Adriana discovers an upside to being a government informant. When Tina Francesco (her purported best friend) flirts with Christopher one time too many, Adriana has a unique solution, she tells Agent Sanseverino that Tina is embezzling money from her boss at a clothing store.
[edit] Production
- During Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr.'s funeral, Tony listens to Little Carmine and Johnny Sack argue over Johnny's wife's placing a Opus Dei rosary in Carmine Sr's casket. This scene transitions to the next scene, wherein Tony watches a war documentary in which a loud explosion is heard, signaling the impending blowup in New York between Little Carmine and Johnny Sack.
- When Tony is in the bathroom, staring in the mirror in the early morning, the window to his left is bright with sunlight, despite its being dark outside.
[edit] First appearances
- Lorraine Calluzzo: loan shark working for the Lupertazzi crime family, also known as "Lady Shylock".
- Jason Evanina: Lorraine Calluzzo's loan-sharking partner and lover.
- Tony Blundetto (first physical appearance): Tony's cousin and Soprano crime family associate who was sent to federal prison in 1986 for hijacking a tractor trailer.
- Phil Leotardo (first physical appearance): Captain in the Lupertazzi crime family, recently released from prison after serving 20 years.
[edit] Deceased
- Joseph "Joey" Cogo: killed offscreen in a payment dispute. Agent Sanseverino shows photos of his corpse to Adriana, who confirms his identity and having seen him previously with certain mob members.
- Carmine Lupertazzi: died of stroke
- Jack Massarone: killed for being an FBI informant. Massarone is found dead in the trunk of a car by FBI agents.
[edit] Music
- The song played over the end credits is "Undercover of the Night" by The Rolling Stones.
- Don McLean's version of "Crying", and "It Hurts to Be in Love," by Gene Pitney both play in the diner during the first scene.
- In the coffee shop scene between Adriana and Agent Saneverino, "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range can be heard playing in the background.
- "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 is playing in the background in a scene between Adriana, Christopher and Tina at the Crazy Horse.
[edit] References to other media
- Paulie quotes from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, mispronouncing the author's name as "Sun-Ta-Zu", confusing Tony B. until corrected by Silvio. He also mistakenly refers to Sun Tzu as "the Chinese Prince Matchabelli", (meaning Niccolò Machiavelli).
- In one scene, Tony is shown watching "Points", the final episode of the HBO-produced mini-series Band of Brothers.
- During Tony B.'s comeback party, Artie asks Tony B., "Where's Tubbs?" This was in reference to the 1980s TV series Miami Vice, in which Tubbs' partner, Crockett, usually wore a light-colored suit and t-shirt similar to what Tony B. wore that night. Interestingly, Tony Sirico, Steve Buscemi and Joe Santos, all Sopranos regulars during this season, appeared as guest stars on Miami Vice.
- When Carmela and the other mob wives and girlfriends watch Citizen Kane in Carmela's pool house/media room, they visibly react to the FBI warning that begins the recording and they discuss, at the film's end, the meaning of "Rosebud" and the fact that, although rich, Kane died alone. Many of the movie's themes are echoed throughout The Sopranos series.
[edit] Reference to real events
- After Carmine Lupertazzi passes, Bobby mentions that he had heard Carmine invented point shaving. To this, Uncle Junior nostalgically recalls, "CCNY versus Kentucky, 1951. Nobody beat the spread, I bought a black Fleetwood." This refers to the actual CCNY Point Shaving Scandal of 1950-1951.
[edit] Title reference
- Jack Massarone gives Tony a painting of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., who were members of the Rat Pack.
- The episode shows Adriana, Jack Massarone, and Raymond Curto all working with the FBI. Such informants are often called "rats".
- Junior refers to the recently-released "Class of 2004" as "Old rats on a new ship".
