Moe n' Joe
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"Moe n' Joe" is the seventy-fifth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the tenth of the show's sixth season. It was written by Matthew Weiner, directed by Steve Shill and originally aired on May 14, 2006.
Episode recap
With a mountain of evidence against his client, attorney Ron Perse floats the possibility of Johnny Sack "flipping" and working with the FBI. When that offer is met with scorn, the attention turns to a plea agreement. Since such a deal would involve the government confiscating most of Sack's assets, he sends Anthony Infante to ask Tony Soprano to meet with two brothers from New Orleans who have a silent agreement with Johnny, and convince them to sell their company so he can get his share. Tony reluctantly meets with them but Paul Calviac (the brother who had initially gotten into debt with Johnny) is reluctant to sell because of the potential profits of the influx of government money that will soon come to post-Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and walks out of the dinner.
Because of these difficulties, Tony's fee for the favor eventually becomes Sack's house, later sold at a discount price to Janice Soprano and Bobby Baccalieri. Janice had appealed to her brother earlier to make Bobby a captain officially and accused her younger brother of treating her and Bobby unfairly, including blaming them for his shooting. Carmela also is not pleased with Tony, particularly the way he has handled her house-building project. She pushes him again to meet with the building inspector, but after telling her that Little Paulie Germani and Silvio Dante went and got no results, Tony tells her it is time to walk away and sell the house once and for all. When she seems dissatisfied, he asks her how far she wants to go with leaning on the inspector, to which she responds with silence.
In therapy, Tony discusses his difficulties about Carmela, and sees the house as a distraction for her. He describes their reconciliation as an understanding where he backs her spec house, and she turns a blind eye to his work and infidelity. He also brings up his conversation with Janice. He recalls a happy childhood, sneaking around, stealing cigarettes with Janice and playing house. He agrees that he is cruel to her and that he takes pleasure in any misfortune that befalls Janice and Bobby. When Dr. Melfi points out that he has never gotten along with his sister, Tony recalls her standing up to his mother, Livia and eventually moving out, leaving him alone in the house with his "certifiable" mother. He also recalls Janice using a tape recording of him fighting with sister, Barbara to extort favors from him for a whole month.
Bobby is seriously injured as the victim of a mugging while out making his collections in a particularly bad section of Newark. a gang of black youths accost him as he leaves a betting shop and takes his collection money, one of them firing Bobby's own gun at him while looking away. The bullet hit the pavement in front of him, sending concrete fragments into his right eye. Paulie Walnuts calls Tony to give him the bad news, which he has already heard, and also reveals that he is having radiotherapy for early stage prostate cancer, but remains optimistic. Tony's initial reaction was to criticize Bobby in front of the guys at the Bada Bing, despite Bobby passing on his payments through Carlo Gervasi, but Silvio gives him a look he stops. Later, Tony visits Bobby at his and Janice's home and watch a Giants game. Tony observes Bobby's broken furniture, run down house, and his son's disappointment that they could not afford the "satellite package" for football, and Janice handling Bobby, Jr. in an extremely belittling manner.
In another therapy session with Dr. Melfi, Tony again discusses his relationships with Janice and Bobby. Tony tells Dr. Melfi that he feels his sister seeks drama in her life. He recalls a childhood Janice who was smart, beautiful and attracted older boys who would suck up to Tony in order to get closer to Janice. When Melfi raises the possibility of an attraction between them as kids, Tony becomes angry. She moves on, asking him to assess what has altered their relationship. Tony blames Janice for leaving him alone with his mother and now returning to expect the rewards of Tony's life. It is after this session that Tony contacts Anthony Infante to demand the sale of the house to Janice. The gift from her brother leaves Janice in tears; however, he is indifferent to her gratitude.
Tony has a difficult encounter with another one of the women in his family — his daughter, Meadow, is distressed at the souring of her relationship with Finn and seeks comfort from her father. Tony seems uncomfortable discussing this with Meadow and recommends she talk to her mother. When she brings up Finn's lack of interest in sex, Tony makes the mistake of telling her he cannot comment because she is "living in sin" with a man, which prompts her to curse at him and storm off. This leaves Tony further irritated that Carmela was not around to deal with domestic matters, as he yells at her to "talk to [her] mother about this shit!".
Landscaper Sal Vitro has been taking care of the gardening at Johnny Sack's house for free for over two years as payment for being allowed to continue working for his existing customers. At the beginning of the episode, Tony denies Sal's request to remove this obligation, citing the dire straits faced by Johnny's wife, Ginny, while her husband is in prison, and derides him for being selfish. At the end of the episode, hapless and dejected, Sal is released from the obligation by Tony, as Janice and Bobby now own the home.
Meanwhile, "Johnny Cakes" discovers Vito Spatafore is not really a sports writer, and Vito confesses he left a family and a job in "contracting". They declare their feelings for each other, and Vito moves in with Jim and gets a job working as a local handyman. However, Vito displays dissatisfaction with his "new" life. He seems to hate his job: he takes naps, watches the clock eagerly, and looks forward only to lunch. In his home life, he starts cooking Italian food and says how much he misses it. He misses the faster pace of nightlife at home; while he is at the bar with Jim, everyone leaves to go home when he is ready to gamble, drink and stay up. The following morning, Vito went to his handyman job, trying to stay focused on his work without looking at his watch; when he thought it was close to Noon, he looked at his watch, cursing himself when it was actually 9:55 AM. The morning after, Jim wakes up to find Vito, his belongings and car gone.
Drinking vodka while driving, Vito crashes into a parked Jeep Wagoneer as he rounds a blind corner on a wooded country road. When the owner walks towards his home to call the cops, Vito shoots him in the back of the head and drives away. Soon, he is back in New Jersey and slowly drives through the old neighborhood, stopping momentarily in front of Satriales before speeding off.
Carmela breaks the news to Tony that Johnny Sack pled guilty and received a 15-year sentence. Part of his sentence forces Sack to enter an allocution, an admission that he was a part of Cosa Nostra, a statement met with disdain by Phil Leotardo and most of the other mafiosi. Christopher Moltisanti, in particular, is furious when the government begins seizing Johnny Sack's assets (including the Maserati Coupé sold by Sack to Chris), telling him his off-the-books cash purchase was not legal because Johnny's assets were frozen at the time.
Guest starring
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Deceased
- Car accident civilian: Shot in the back of the head by Vito while attempting to call the police after Vito damages his car.
Title reference
- While playing with his model train set, Bobby asks his son to watch the "Moe 'n Joe action". The term "Moe and Joe" is in reference to a model flatcar from Lionel (which includes the Moe and Joe characters) that, as shown in the episode, unloads boards. [1]
- The Moe & Joe characters on the train set are blue-collar workers. Such professions feature prominently in this episode, including construction workers, landscapers, contractors and firefighters. In particular, Vito makes a failed attempt at living like an ordinary "Joe" as a handyman.
- Moe n' Joe, as two male names together, could also allude to Vito's homosexual relationships
Production
- This episode also marks the first time we see Tony getting the newspaper at the end of his driveway this season. The "newspaper shot" is usually featured in the first episode of each season.
- Following a love scene between Vito and Jim, the director cuts to the image of a train entering a tunnel (Bobby's Lionel), a classic cinematic metaphor for sex. And during a session with Dr. Melfi, Tony speaks of "a don't ask, don't tell policy", to characterize his "understanding" with Carmela; this is also an allusion to a current cultural "understanding" regarding homosexuality.
- The football game shown in the Soprano home in the penultimate scene is actually a Canadian Football League game being called by Chris Cuthbert.
- This marks the second and final murder that Vito has committed in the show, the first being Jackie Aprile, Jr. in "Army of One", also shooting him in the back of the head.
Connections to prior episodes
- Vito, while working and wondering whether it's lunch time or not, is seen looking at his Oris watch. This brand of watch was mentioned in "Luxury Lounge", three episodes back.
References to other media
- In the closing scene at the Soprano household, the family is watching the Canadian Football League - particularly, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
- The book Jim is reading in bed is The Devil in the White City.
- When Paulie calls Tony to tell him about his cancer, Tony is watching the film The Quiet Man.
- In Do the Right Thing, Frank Vincent (who plays Phil Leotardo in The Sopranos) played a man whose car is sprayed from a fire hydrant and refers to the Afro-American perpetrators as "Moe and Joe Black".
- Silvio Dante makes a reference to throwing acid in Johnny Sack's face during the trial, similar to the way that Harvey Dent was transformed into Two-Face in DC Comics' Batman universe. Additionally, in the episode "D-Girl", Christopher relates a story in which a mafioso named Joey Cipollini dumps acid on the face and body of a transvestite whom he mistook for a woman.
Music
- The song played over the end credits is "Let It Rock" by Chuck Berry. It is about working on a railroad as a train is headed down the tracks.
- The song played in the New Hampshire bar where Vito, Jim and the firefighters are drinking is I Love This Bar by Toby Keith.
- The song played as Vito makes dinner for Johnny Cakes was "That's Amore", by Dean Martin.
- The song played on Vito's car radio as he crashes into the man's Jeep Wagoneer is "My Way", by Frank Sinatra.
