OTH: The Sopranos- "For All Debts Public and Private" / "No Show"
The fourth season starts off quiet, yet impactfully.
Season 4, Episode 1
Aired September 15, 2002
Directed by Allen Coulter
Written by David Chase
Synopsis: As Carmela goes grocery shopping, she sees Angie Bonpensiero handing out free samples, and, recalling how Tony has been providing for her ever since her husband “disappeared”, starts worrying about her future. As we see, the family is indeed having money troubles, and sending AJ to a new private school is not helping. Carm implores Tony to invest some cash into something, some stocks or bonds, but Tony insists that they don’t have any loose money hanging around… which turns out to be a lie. The DiMeo family’s financial troubles are so worrying that Tony has to refuse a request from his uncle for a pay increase to help with his legal woes. Tony has a meeting with his fellow capos- minus Paulie, who’s currently locked up- and demands that they find some way to bring in the bacon, noting how crime and “certain parts of the entertainment industry” are the only markets that generally thrive during economic downtimes. Although the rest of the family continue to struggle to keep up with their financial responsibilities, Tony finds one way to help his uncle by buying an abandoned warehouse Junior owns the land to, learning that it’s a potential real estate goldmine and can easily flip it.
Despite Tony’s good news, Uncle Junior is not in a good mood, as he discovers that his physician’s office, previously a safe space for his “check-ins”, had a mole who’s willing to testify that he has important meetings in the office, almost always with Corrado Soprano’s equally (more?) famous nephew. Not a good look for Junior, Tony, or Bobby, who was promoted at their last meeting. While they don’t have intel on the information revealed during those meetings, there is a potential lead on who could be the mole- the cute, much younger nurse Junior keeps flirting with who just happens to be leaving the doctor’s office. Tony insists that his uncle keep his mouth shut for the time being.
Tony has Christopher be his chauffeur this week, a move he isn’t happy about. Chris thinks that he’s being demoted due to his involvement with the Jackie Jr debacle, a take he’s eager to share with Adriana after her new friend Danielle (aka the undercover FBI agent who befriended her in the season 3 finale), but as we later learn, this turns out to not be the case. Tony has been having Christopher take him around to prepare him for a big get- the police officer that killed his father is retiring, and Tony gives Chris his address. Chris was only an infant when Dickie Moltisanti died and he never learned much about his old man, as Christopher’s mother struggles to talk about him. He drives down to newly retired Detective Lieutenant Haydu’s house, where Chris socks him and ties an unconscious Haydu to his stairwell. Haydu comes through and finds Christopher watching a Magnum P.I. repeat on his couch and tries to bargain with him, but Chris refuses. When Haydu is able to escape his trap, Christopher shoots him cold. The next morning, Chris surprises his mother in her kitchen as he tries his best to speak with her cold demeanor.
Despite Christopher’s increasing drug use- he’s seen lighting a heroin joint while in a hotel with Tony and other family members- Tony seems to rely on his nephew, as he relates to Dr. Melfi. Tony becomes somewhat candid with his psychiatrist, noting that while there’s traditionally only two future scenarios for people in his line of work, death or jail, he has a third one- relying entirely on family. He thinks Chris has done a good job of keeping himself clean and proving himself, which is why he’s been having Chris drive him around recently. What he doesn’t know…
It may be cliched to point it out, but the world was no longer the same when The Sopranos returned for its fourth season in September 2002. Not only was the gap between seasons longer than before- this wouldn’t be the show’s longest time away, either- but a year prior to the premiere of “For All Debts Public and Private”, we had dealt with the biggest terrorist attack on American soil to this point, the aftermath of which we’re still dealing with to this date. It would be unintelligent to not expect art from this timeframe, especially works that take place in the tri-state area, to not reflect the 9/11 terrorist attacks in some way.
Which is why the season premiere focuses on the U.S. recession of the early 2000’s.
This may sound like a knock, but it makes sense for The Sopranos to not jump too far forward just yet, as the third season ended with its fair shar of bombshells, notably Junior’s release from house arrest and upcoming trial, or more importantly, the death of Jackie Aprile Jr. Both elements will factor into much of what occurs throughout the season, which has proven to be one of the show’s strongest elements- everything that happens matters.
Additionally, I think that focusing on money struggles in the business is a good way to keep the show’s momentum going while bringing us back into its world. If anything, this reveals something that has been implied before but hasn’t been fully delved into- the DiMeo family may not be all that great at what they do. Or at the very least, Tony may be in over his head. If what Silvio says is right, crime and porn are the only businesses that thrive regardless of economic downtime, so if Tony’s capos are struggling to stick to their previous standards, is this a problem with wealth flow or the family specifically? Chase doesn’t answer that, instead allowing us to continue to infer the possibility that the Jersey crew is less essential than the families in the city.
I like the idea of this particular murkiness, but at the same time, I don’t think that’s the most exciting storyline of the week. What’s going on with Christopher is much more appealing to me, how Tony’s beloved nephew is showing two different sides of the coin; he’s taking his status as a made man seriously, which Tony recognizes even if he can’t tell that Chris is getting back into heavy drugs. This is another of Tony’s failings, his blind eye- more often than not, Tony only sees what he wants to see, and can’t tell when Chris is getting into horse while partying together. I don’t think it’s frustrating, but rather gives Tony a noteworthy character flaw besides his mean streak. It would be boring if Tony was perfectly cognizant of everything going on in front of him.
We see Christopher’s increasing drug issues affect his work when he gets a chance to take on the cop who- maybe- killed his father. What could and should have been a clean whack job goes off the rails, literally so when the retired officer escapes the handrail he’s tied to, as Chris is too slow to the punch to knock him out.
Similarly to Tony’s inability to see the forest from the trees, Christopher’s sporadic nature helps to make him such a fascinating character. He’s given the opportunity and has the lineage to thrive in the scene, but is just as likely to screw it up as he can take advantage. And just like Tony, Chris is capable of noticing something is up even if he can’t always put his finger on it- note how he instantly gets bad vibes from Adriana’s new friend Danielle, but can’t place them. This is something to discuss for the following episode, but it fits into the bigger picture.
Also worth noting about Christopher is the glimpse we get into his family life this week. We see his mother again, a cold figure still spurn by her lover’s untimely passing but is still willing to make her boy a fluffernutter (or at least would if she still had some PB). Dickie Moltisanti’s fate has been an important element of Christopher’s story since the show’s beginning, but his living parent has been less of an element, even though there’s elements worth exploring from what we see this week. Joanne Moltisanti has a comparable touch of melancholy to her as Livia Soprano, an early factor that pushed the series forward but has been missing since Nancy Marchund’s passing, and could help keep Christopher comparable to Tony. She’s also able to recognize her son’s drug problem better than Tony, which is something the kid needs. Without delving much further, I’ll say that this isn’t the last time we see Joanne, but she doesn’t become as essential a feature in the show as she could be.
While I had plenty to say about “For All Debts Public and Private”, I don’t think this is the most exciting premiere that we could have received, especially compared to the previous season’s duel punch forward. It’s still more Sopranos, which is always welcome, but did the extended time away dull the show’s impact? (no, it didn’t)
“For All Debts Public and Private” gave The Sopranos a record high in the ratings, a whopping 13.4 million viewers, confirming the show’s legacy as HBO’s biggest pre-Game of Thrones hit.
Season 4, Episode 2
Aired September 22, 2002
Directed by John Patterson
Written by David Chase, Terence Winter
Synopsis: Meadow is struggling to return to normal following Jackie Jr’s death, to the point that she’s blown off both a potentially promising theater internship and a cushy job at Artie’s restaurant, instead spending her summer by the pool, reading Mary Higgins Clark. Whenever Carmela tries to confront Meadow about it, she becomes defensive and brings up the lingering trauma over Jackie’s death. Tony, meanwhile, grows weary over his daughter’s attitude and confides as such to Dr. Melfi, who suggests a colleague who specializes in adolescents and young adults. While he is initially hesitant, worried that Meadow might reveal incriminating information, Carmela thinks that their daughter seeing a psychiatrist may be a good idea, which she doubles down on after Meadow drops a bombshell- she intends to take a year off from Columbia and travel Europe with her friend Misty. Carmela is deadset against the idea, but Tony decides to play reverse psychology and gives her the okay, but soon agrees with Carm to call up Dr. Kobler, who not only encourages Meadow to go through with her plans, but offers to write her a letter of recommendation to the University of Barcelona. After finding this out, Tony drops the act and furiously demands that she stays put and return to Columbia, which only upsets Meadow further as she implies that she no longer intends to keep her family’s secret, going so far to call him “Mr. Mob Boss” and deriding her father for not saving Jackie Jr. An emotional Tony holds this in resentment, telling Meadow that he did everything he could to save Jackie. The next day, Tony and Carmela wake up to discover that Meadow is gone and worries that she’s on her way to Europe, but instead we see that she’s signing up for classes at the last possible moment.
With Paulie still locked up, Christopher is appointed acting capo and, along with Paulie, is offered a cushy “no-show” job at a high-profile construction job the DiMeo family is handling. This upsets Patsy Parisi, who has been a made man longer than Chris and helped arrange the deal in the first place, even as he receives one of three similarly cushy “no-work” positions. Chris soon stops by at the construction site and catches up with Patsy and other “no-work” construction members and notices cable fiber optics, perfect for setting up an internet connection with, which Patsy gives Chris a look signaling “go ahead” regarding them. He soon steals the cables, a move Tony finds out about and causes him to lash out at Christopher for, worried that any kind of theft will bring unwanted attention to the site. Despite this warning, Chris is later responsible for stealing valuable floor tiles for the building, a move Silvio insists he follows on after Patsy’s tip. When he realizes what’s going on, Chris stops by the site and demands retribution from Patsy, who is able to talk Christopher out of bringing unwanted intention… only for Patsy to get violent towards a worker who notices the ordeal.
The construction site isn’t the only are giving Christopher trouble, as he becomes increasingly wary about “Danielle”’s time spent with Adriana. Something about her gives Chris bad vibes, although it takes him time to put his finger on why until he realizes- she might be a lesbian. Key word “might”, as Chris reads new signals from Danielle while at Adriana’s club later that evening. When the three make it into a private room, with Chris and Ade sharing blow (note how “Danielle” sticks to champagne), Chris attempts to ignite a threeway, which Danielle rejects and leaves Adriana furious. Christopher insists that Danielle was leading him on, a call Adriana initially rejects but soon takes his word for it and later tells “Danielle” to stop calling. Adriana is hurt to let go of a friend who she’s revealed personal information to, including an abortion she had before dating Christopher that may make it difficult to have children, but the FBI is aggravated by this new impasse and decide to try a new angle. The next day, Adriana is stopped by Special Agent Ciccerone and one of her associates, who insist she rides with them to their headquarters. Here, Ade is given an ultimatum- she can either reveal information to the FBI and receive protection, or serve up to 25 years in prison for possession and intent to sell cocaine. “Danielle” reminds Adriana that on top of the jail time, she would also have to answer to Tony as to why she allowed an FBI agent into his house. Overwhelmed by, well, everything, Adriana projectile vomits over the table.
Ralph Cifaretto continues to be a problem with the family, first by making an off-color joke about how Johnny Sack’s wife Ginny had a “95 pound mole removed from her ass”, a crack Paulie hears about from the joint and is furious about. Similarly pertinent is when Tony discovers that Ralphie is having an affair with Janice as he remains further distant from a grieving Rosalie Aprile. Tony reminds his sister of the last time she dated a member of the family as he storms off.
The season premiere kept Meadow out of the action, a notable absent given her outburst at the end of the previous season finale, but this appears to have been an intentional one, as much of “No Show” focuses on her traumatic response to Jackie Jr’s death.
While the Soprano children aren’t asked for as many opportunities as most the rest of the cast, Jamie-Lynn Sigler offers some of her best work to date as Meadow struggles to return to what’s expected of her. She may be acting selfishly, but she’s barely an adult and has experienced a recent, crushing loss, of course she’s going to act this way. I can understand why Tony and Carmela are upset that she’s wasting her potential, especially as Meadow is, by everything we’ve seen, the one with a future (sorry, AJ).
This is compounded when the therapist Dr. Melfi recommends for Meadow (played by stage and screen legend Linda Lavin) encourages her plans to take a year abroad. I can’t tell if the show thinks that Meadow’s desires to leave Columbia aside for Europe is a good idea or not, but I also don’t think we need to, as this isn’t the most important issue on the table. The most impactful scene Meadow has in the episode is her confrontation with her father over Jackie Jr’s death, a move he still feels conflicted, but ultimately and noticeably hurt over. While Tony has tried to keep his business affairs private from his family, it’s clear how badly Jackie’s turn over the course of the previous season affected him, as well as how it hurts Meadow that Jackie’s inability to keep his head straight led to her heart being broken twice over by him.
I’ve talked about how the Soprano children contrast from each other before, as it’s an element I’m curious about that the show goes back and forth with featuring. On the surface, you’d think that Meadow is a daddy’s girl and AJ a mama’s boy, considering their strained relationships with the parents they match their gender with, but in truth, AJ has much more in common with his old man than either would care to admit, while Meadow shares few traits with her father versus the women in her life. AJ I’ll come back to, but in “No Show”, we see how Meadow takes equal parts of her grandmother’s overwhelming depression and her mother’s self-righteousness. She’s never my favorite part of the show, but when it focuses on this side of Meadow, there’s something to dig into.
Although the more pressing material in “No Show” comes from Christopher and, surprisingly, Adriana. Another show would keep the Danielle twist going for more of the season, waiting for a climatic point to switch everything around as they do here, but instead they get into it almost right away. I don’t think it’s a bad call, personally, but I also trust Chase and company. If they think it’s a better call to have Adriana aware of her FBI involvement, they must have a worthwhile plan.
The episode also gives us more of a perspective into Adriana’s mind, proving that she’s simultaneously not bright or confident enough to challenge Christopher despite his terrible lying skills or sketchy personality. Or rather, it probably just proves how charming he is, given that Tony seems to be unaware his obvious drug problem. Still, Adriana has proven herself to be a worthwhile part of the cast, as she brings another welcome look at a mobster’s outside life, contrasting with Carmela’s well-set mentality as a young, undetermined mind.
And we’ll see more of this as the season develops. I think “No Show” is a strong second episode, one that builds from the premiere and promises something worthwhile.
Dr. Melfi’s Notebook:
From this point on, the shots of the Twin Towers in the opening credits will no longer be included, which makes sense. The fourth season is the first Sopranos content to be made post-9/11.
Notice how disappointed Carmela was that Furio isn’t driving Tony around this week.
It’s been too long since I’ve been on the Sopranos front- I miss the show’s brilliant juxtaposition, such as Chris saying Tony can depend on him just as he’s injecting heroin into his toe.
According to mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi, a don doesn’t wear shorts. I don’t know how mobsters in Florida do it, then, although this was apparently a real note from a mafia member to James Gandolfini.
I love that Bobby confuses Nostradamus and Quasimodo.
Tony Sirico was recovering from major back surgery, which explains Paulie’s arrest and subsequent downtime for part of this season.
Something weird- Christopher asks his mother about his nephew and sees a picture of him at the end of the former picture, but there’s no mention of Chris having a sibling or nephew on the show’s wiki. I’m pretty sure there’s been talk about him having a sister earlier in the series as well, so what gives?
A great shot- as Ralphie runs upstairs Janice’s house when Tony arrives, a shot of a framed portrait of Jesus leans into the angle.
I’m not sure if anyone wants an update with Janice’s Christian rock band, but it seems like they have a deal with Sony that she may be backing out of in favor of “going independent”. Sure, Jan.
Not sure if Meadow knew what she was saying here, but “there’s no such thing as the mafia” sounds like a defensive cover for someone who IS, a matter of fact, connected with the mafia. Be less definitive about it.
Is the scene with Tony and Artie playing golf the first time the two have interacted in a non-business setting? Aside from the time Artie nearly blew Tony’s brains out, I can’t recall a time the two have been seen together without food being involved in some capacity, nor can I recall Tony playing golf with someone outside the family.
Next Time: An eventful Columbus Day changes the family’s dynamic, which comes to a head the following episode with a pair of hits.