The Blue Comet

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"The Blue Comet"
The Sopranos episode
Bobby holding his model Blue Comet at a model train store in New York, moments before being gunned to death.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 20
Written by	David Chase Matthew Weiner
Directed by	Alan Taylor
Original airdate	June 3, 2007 (2007-06-03)
Guest stars
Ricky Aiello Gregory Antonacci Edoardo Ballerini Peter Bogdanovich Pete Bucossi John Cenatiempo Dominic Chianese, Jr. John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia Miryam Coppersmith Matilda Downey Michael Drayer Frank John Hughes Eric Mangini Julie Mangini Angelo Massagli Arthur Nascarella Artie Pasquale Joseph Perrino Anthony Ribustello Matt Servitto Lenny Venito Emily Wickersham
Season 6 episodes
Part 1: March 12, 2006 (2006-03-12) – June 4, 2006 (2006-06-04)
"Members Only" "Join the Club" "Mayham" "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request" "Live Free or Die" "Luxury Lounge" "Johnny Cakes" "The Ride" "Moe N' Joe" "Cold Stones" "Kaisha"
Part 2: April 8, 2007 (2007-04-08) – June 10, 2007 (2007-06-10)
"Soprano Home Movies" "Stage 5" "Remember When" "Chasing It" "Walk Like a Man" "Kennedy and Heidi" "The Second Coming" "The Blue Comet" "Made in America"
List of The Sopranos episodes

"The Blue Comet" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and eighty-fifth episode overall. It is the eighth episode of the second part of the sixth season, which was broadcast in two separate batches, and the show's penultimate episode. It was written by series creator/executive producer David Chase and executive producer Matthew Weiner and was directed by longtime series director Alan Taylor. It originally aired in the United States on June 3, 2007.

In the episode, a mob war erupts between the Lupertazzi and DiMeo crime families, leading to the shooting of people close to DiMeo boss and series protagonist Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). In a parallel storyline, Tony's psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) gains some new insight on Tony and decides to drop him as a patient.

"The Blue Comet" was filmed in New Jersey and New York in January and February 2007. It was watched by eight million American viewers on its premiere date. It received very positive reviews from critics and is often cited as one of the best episodes of the series. Bracco received an Emmy Award nomination for supporting actress for her performance in the episode and it was also nominated for a Cinema Audio Society Award for sound mixing.

[edit] Plot

Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt) visits Burt Gervasi (Artie Pasquale) at his home and murders him by garroting. In Brooklyn, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) has a sit-down with Albie Cianflone (John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia) and Butch DeConcini (Gregory Antonacci). He tells them that he has made the decision to eliminate the DiMeo family: "We decapitate and do business with whatever's left." Butch and Albie are initially reluctant but eventually agrees and begin to execute Phil's plan, ordering the murders of Tony, Silvio and Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa). Tony is visited at Satriale's by FBI Agent Dwight Harris (Matt Servitto), who shares with him information he has gotten from a "snitch" regarding Phil's plan. Tony, Silvio and Bobby meet at the back room of the Bada Bing!. Silvio informs Tony that he has killed Burt Gervasi and that many members of the DiMeo family are "getting squeezed hard" by New York. The three then convene at Nuovo Vesuvio and Tony makes the decision to murder Phil, using the Italian hitmen they've used previously.

At a dinner party with friends and colleagues, Dr. Jennifer Melfi learns of a study that claims sociopaths take advantage of talk therapy to become better criminals. Melfi's psychiatrist Dr. Elliot Kupferberg (Peter Bogdanovich) also reveals that she is treating Tony Soprano to the party, upsetting Melfi. She later reads the study and recognizes much of what's stated about sociopaths and criminals in Tony. She subsequently ends her professional relationship with him at their next appointment.

Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) and Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) arrange the murder of Phil, using Corky Caporale (Edoardo Ballerini) to get in touch with the Italian assassins. The hitmen make a mistake and kill Phil's Ukrainian mistress and her father, confusing the latter for Phil. Tony and Carmela (Edie Falco) have dinner at Nuovo Vesuvio, where they put on a good face as they talk to Charmaine and Artie Bucco (Kathrine Narducci and John Ventimiglia). Janice (Aida Turturro) visits Tony at his house and tries to persuade him to pay for their uncle Junior's living arrangements, but Tony refuses. Tony is later visited by Silvio, who informs him of the failed murder of Phil.

While shopping at a model train store in Lynbrook, New York, Bobby is encountered by two Lupertazzi family soldiers, who murder him by several gunshots to the chest. Patsy and Silvio are intercepted at the Bada Bing! parking lot by two Lupertazzi family members while driving and a gunfight ensues, ending with Silvio getting hit twice and left for dead and Patsy fleeing. Paulie later tells Tony that Silvio is in a coma. Tony informs Carmela and A.J. (Robert Iler) of these events, telling them to go into hiding. Tony has to make A.J. go by force. Carmela and Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) visit Janice, who is in a state of shock. Tony and his closest associates drive to a safe house, where they take up residence. Tony goes to sleep clutching the assault rifle Bobby gave him for his birthday.^[1]

[edit] Deceased

• Burt Gervasi: murdered by Silvio Dante for helping the Lupertazzi family by creating a rebellion against Tony within the family.
• Bobby Baccalieri: shot and murdered by two Lupertazzi family soldiers.
• Yaryna: shot by Italo.
• Yaryna's Father: shot by Italo, who mistook him for Phil Leotardo.

[edit] Title reference

• The Blue Comet was a passenger train operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey which ran between Atlantic City and Jersey City from 1929 to 1941. Bobby is buying a Blue Comet train model just before he is murdered.
• The "Blue Comet" is also a Hopi Indian prophecy which states that a comet will be seen in the sky as a final warning to mankind.

[edit] Reference to other media

The study Melfi is shown reading is The Criminal Personality by Dr. Samuel Yochelson and Dr. Stanton Samenow. Dr. Samenow watched this episode after being notified that his study was featured. He had never seen the series before. In an interview, he stated that he disagreed with Dr. Kupferberg's interpretation of his study and with the way Dr. Melfi ended her professional relationship with Tony.^[2] Other psychoanalysts have stated similar opinions in reaction to the episode.^[3]

While in the common room, Anthony is watching an episode of Metalocalypse.

[edit] References to the real mafia

• Phil's complaints about the inattention to induction rituals closely mirror those the New York-based mafia commission made about the Jersey-based Decavalcante family.
• Paulie refers to a war in the 1970s involving the Colombo crime family.
• When Silvio is shot and left in his car the stance he is in resembles the death of Philadelphia Mafia boss Angelo Bruno.

[edit] Production

• When Paulie is speaking while on the main floor of the hideout, a cardboard cutout of Silvio is visible in the corner. One of the show's writers said that the hideout is a place where odds and ends, such as this promotional cutout from the Bada Bing, are stored.^[4]

• Additional scenes involving Burt Gervasi and Silvio Dante were shot but cut from the episode.^[5]

[edit] Music

• The instrumental piece played over the end credits is "Running Wild" by Tindersticks.
• "When The Music's Over" by The Doors is played in a scene at the Bada Bing.
• When Tony and Sil began boxing in slow motion, it is because Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana intermezzo" (from the Raging Bull opening titles) was playing in the restaurant.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Ratings

According to Nielsen Ratings, "The Blue Comet" attracted an average of eight million viewers when first broadcast in the United States on HBO on Sunday June 3, 2007. This was the show's second best ratings for the second part of the sixth season; only next week's series finale, which drew 11.9 million viewers, received higher numbers.^[6][7]

[edit] Critical response

"The Blue Comet" received very positive critical reviews upon its original broadcast. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "[The] second-to-last episode was certainly a classic" and praised it for its suspenseful storytelling.^[8] Matt Roush of TV Guide gave the episode a favorable review, writing "It was a sensational way to get us primed for Sunday's series finale."^[9] Brian Tallerico of UGO called the episode "mind-blowing" and "intense" and gave it an "A".^[10] Tom Biro of television webblog TV Squad was impressed with the episode because of "the way we're beginning to close the door on the lives of some people, and get an idea on who will be around at the end and who won't" and awarded it the highest score of "7".^[11] Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger called "The Blue Comet" "a superb, scary, thrilling episode."^[12] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com wrote "No sad music, no slow motion, no teary funeral, no time for condolences. When the blood-dimmed tide finally rolled in during last night's penultimate Sopranos episode, an eerie quiet settled in."^[13] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote "Every moment in this bloody, bullet-riddled penultimate episode is about regular, familiar old ways that have now gone terribly, irreversibly awry. [...] In the last hours of this epic drama, every detail glitters with bitter meaning".^[14] Brian Zoromski of IGN awarded the episode a score of 9.1 out of 10, writing "Overall, 'The Blue Comet' was a very well done, sometimes shocking, build-up to next week's series finale."^[15] Since its premiere, "The Blue Comet" has frequently been cited as one of the best episodes of the series; it is appreciated by fans and critics alike.^{[4][16][17][18]}

[edit] Awards

In 2007, Lorraine Bracco was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in "The Blue Comet" but lost to Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Bracco had previously been nominated three times in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Dr. Melfi.^[19] In 2008, sound mixers Mathew Price, Kevin Burns, and Todd Orr were nominated for a Cinema Audio Society Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television.^[20]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• HBO.com — The Sopranos official website
• The Sopranos at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Blue Comet" at the Internet Movie Database
• Television Without Pity – The Sopranos recaps