Army of One (The Sopranos)
| "Army of One" | |||
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| The Sopranos episode | |||
 Paulie and Ralphie having a sitdown |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 39 |
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| Directed by | John Patterson | ||
| Written by | David Chase and Lawrence Konner | ||
| Production code | 313 | ||
| Original air date | May 20, 2001 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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see below |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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"Army of One" is the thirty-ninth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the finale of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on Sunday May 20, 2001.
Contents |
[edit] Guest starring roles
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- Tobin Bell as Major Zwingli
- Denise Borino as Ginny Sacrimoni
- Jason Cerbone as Jackie Aprile, Jr.
- Vince Curatola as Johnny Sack
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
- Lola Glaudini as Agent Deborah Ciccerone
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
- Melissa Marsala as Kelli Aprile
- Frank Pando as Agent Grasso
- Frank Pellegrino as Bureau Chief Frank Cubitoso
- Matt Servitto as Agent Dwight Harris
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Michael K. Williams as Ray-Ray
[edit] Episode recap
Jackie Aprile, Jr. is forced into hiding at a housing project in Boonton shortly after his failed armed robbery at Eugene Pontecorvo's Saturday night card game. As Jackie gets adjusted to living at the projects, he calls Tony Soprano and tries to tell him where he is so they can settle the matter before it gets even more out of hand. Tony tells him to stay where he is and to talk to Ralph Cifaretto who is making the final call on what will happen. Tony then meets Ralphie, who has been hesitating over his judgment of Jackie, and asks that Ralphie make his decision in a "timely fashion." Ralphie had already dispatched Vito Spatafore to stay near the Boonton projects and find Jackie in case he tries to leave. But after the discussion with Tony, Ralph is forced to act. When Jackie leaves the apartment to get some air, he is shot in the back of the head by Vito and left lying in an isolated patch of snow in his own blood spatter.
Meanwhile, A.J. and another friend confess to stealing answers to a geometry test after their principal convinces them he has uncovered DNA evidence at the scene, and A.J. is promptly expelled from Verbum Dei, permanently. Tony becomes extremely angered when he hears the news and decides to save A.J. before it is too late. His solution is to send his son to military school. Over dinner, Tony and Carmela mull over school brochures as A.J. nervously awaits his fate. Carmela then receives a phone call from Marie, Rosalie Aprile's sister, informing her that Jackie has been shot and killed by "drug dealers". Carmela hurries over to Rosalie's to comfort her grieving friend.
Paulie Walnuts demands that Tony have a sitdown with Ralphie and him. When the request is finally honored, Paulie states that he gave Ralph valuable information about a job that Ralphie's crew subsequently pulled off, and on Paulie's turf no less, which Paulie feels he is entitled to half of the take ($50,000 out of $100,000). Tony listens to the case and orders that Ralphie turn over $12,000, much to Paulie's shock and dismay. When Paulie tries to convince Tony to reconsider, Silvio Dante intrudes, stating that Tony has made the decision and the sitdown is over.
Uncle Junior's cancer is in remission, leaving him physically competent for a RICO trial. By the same token, Junior's house arrest has been cancelled, as he was determined not to be a flight risk. However, the FBI is still intent on bringing down Tony. With Big Pussy Bonpensiero now "MIA" (actually deceased), Agent Dwight Harris recommends that they look for information via Christopher Moltisanti, who is moving through the ranks ever closer to Tony. Bureau Chief Frank Cubitoso enlists Agent Deborah Ciccerone on an undercover mission to befriend Chris' fiancée, Adriana La Cerva, and report back on whatever information she can find.
A.J. is taken to an appointment at the Hudson Military Institute, with the military school's administrator Major Zwingli, who lays out the basic schedule for students at the school. This includes an "0530" wake-up, "2200" lights out, evening study, drills, and no television. A.J. is bemused and unnerved as the major tells him what to expect as a new recruit. Zwingli then has a talk with Tony and Carmela about the rigorous program and how he believes it will benefit their child. Carmela is still concerned since she believes they are training him to be a "professional killer". Tony tries to convince Carmela that their son would be learning discipline and respect, not violence. The disagreement degenerates into a major row with door slamming and yelling and ending with the two sleeping in separate rooms for the night.
At Jackie's wake, Rosalie and daughter Kelli Aprile are extremely emotional. When Meadow sees Jackie lying in his casket, she begins to cry uncontrollably. Tony and Carmela try to comfort her, but are embarrassed when Rosalie notes the low attendance rate; the funeral has coincided with Super Bowl Sunday, a busy betting time. When everyone settles down, Carmela views Jackie lying in his casket. That night, Tony and Carm are reconciled and Carmela decides to support Tony's decision to send A.J. to military school.
As A.J. prepares to depart for the military school, he puts on his dress uniform for his proud parents. Tony urges him to put on the military hat that came with the uniform, much to A.J.'s chagrin. Tony, agitated at the insubordinant attitude, gets off the sofa and approaches his son menacingly. A.J. complies and puts on the hat, a traditional military shako. A.J then looks at himself in the mirror. He turns back and, feeling humiliated and in tears, asks not to be sent away. Tony, disdainful, tells him to stop and reaffirms his decision, saying that "he needs toughening up". To Tony and Carmela's horror, A.J. promptly suffers a panic attack and collapses. In therapy, Tony relates his dismay to Dr. Melfi that A.J. has inherited his psychiatric affliction. He says that he can no longer send his son to military school and begins to lose hope that he can ever rescue his child from disaster.
On the day of Jackie's burial, Christopher and Silvio are arrested at the cemetery for illegal gambling and are escorted to the District Attorney's office, while Paulie flees through the headstones. Uncle Junior, just arriving for the funeral, witnesses this and promptly runs back to his car, almost leaving Bobby Baccalieri behind. After the burial, a small group of people return to Rosalie's to comfort her, before proceeding to Vesuvio. At the restaurant parking lot, Paulie encounters Johnny Sack, and expresses his contempt for Tony's ruling in Ralphie's favor, telling Johnny to offer his services to the New York family boss, Carmine Lupertazzi. Silvio and Chris are able to make bail quickly enough to meet everyone after the funeral at Vesuvio. Back inside, Junior begins to sing the Italian love song "Core 'ngrato" ("Ungrateful Heart"). Everyone is touched, except for a very drunk Meadow who throws pieces of bread at Junior as he sings. Confronted by her father outside, Meadow tearfully denounces the funeral proceedings as "bullshit" and runs across the street, almost getting hit by traffic as Tony looks on in shock. Tony returns to the dinner, quietly telling Carmela Meadow likely is headed back to school. He then puts his arm around A.J. as the three listen to Uncle Junior continue to croon.
[edit] First appearance
- Agent Deborah Ciccerone: An F.B.I. agent assigned to go undercover as Adriana's "new best friend".
- Marianucci Gualtieri: Paulie's mother who moves into Green Grove nursing home.
[edit] Deceased
- Jackie Aprile, Jr.: murdered by Vito Spatafore near the Boonton housing projects.
[edit] Title reference
- The episode's title was based on Major Zwingli's discussion with Tony about the potential of each student being an "Army of One". The phrase would later become better known as a recruiting slogan for the United States Army, which didn't begin using this slogan until 2002, a full year after it first aired.
[edit] Production
- In the original 2001 broadcast, Agent Deborah Ciccerone was played by actress Fairuza Balk. However due to scheduling conflicts, she was not able to return for season four. For the repeats and DVD releases, Balk was replaced by Lola Glaudini, who went on to play the role permanently in 2002.
- Although it is never explicitly mentioned in the show, Vito, Jackie, Jr., and Adriana LaCerva are cousins, through Richie Aprile (their uncle). Also, when Bryan Spatafore (Vito's brother) is injured in the episode "Another Toothpick", Jackie, Jr. says that Bryan was his cousin. However, neither Vito nor Jackie, Jr. mentions each other as a relative, nor is the former seen contemplating the murder of a family member.
[edit] References to prior episodes
- In this episode, Tony and Carmela watch a commercial for Dr. Fried's urology clinic, whose production was featured in the previous episode, "Amour Fou". (It is Dr. Fried who tends to Furio's gun injury.)
[edit] Reference to other media and events
- At Satriale's, Silvio and Paulie are watching an HBO Sports preview of Super Bowl XXXV, which was held on January 28, 2001 in Tampa, Florida. In addition to a comment at Jackie, Jr.'s funeral, a radio at Jackie's hiding place in Boonton also mentions the Super Bowl.
[edit] Music
- During Jackie's wake, Junior's performance of "Core 'ngrato" ("Ungrateful Heart") was actually sung by Dominic Chianese himself.
- The French song that follows "Core 'ngrato" ("Ungrateful Heart") is "Parlez-moi d'amour" performed by Lucienne Boyer and written by Jean Lenoir.
- The organ music played during Jackie's wake is "Ombra mai fu" from G.F. Handel's opera Serse.
- The song played over the end credits is "#8" (unofficially titled [blur] aka [circles]) by Aphex Twin, from his album, Selected Ambient Works Volume II.
- As Meadow is tossing bread at Junior, Meadow sings a line from Britney Spears' song, "Oops!... I Did It Again"; the original recording of that song was previously featured in "Employee of the Month".
