This is a returning weekly feature. I'm reviewing The Sopranos episodes starting from the beginning. This is the eleventh episode of the first season.
Past Episodes
Pilot
46 Long
Denial, Acceptance, Anger
Past Episodes
Pilot
46 Long
Denial, Acceptance, Anger
This is one of the best episodes of the season for me and as a bonus it's a huge foreshadowing for a major plot line in the second season. There are two major story lines brewing: Is Big Pussy a rat and Junior is misled into thinking Tony Soprano is making a move on him.
Tony's inside source for police intel, Detective Vin Makazian, tells Tony that Big Pussy is wearing a wire. Tony and Big Pussy have been friends for years so that news comes as a shock. He comes to the conclusion that he is 90% sure that Big Pussy is a rat, but he needs to be 110% sure.
Turns out Detective Makazian, played by great actor John Heard, owes Big Pussy $30,000 in debt from betting on football games. We get inside of Makazian a little bit and he takes a more three-dimensional role in this episode before David Chase decides to kill him off. He's generally an unhappy guy who is pushed over the edge by getting caught in a bordello with a wise guy and he's placed on administrative leave.
Tony is told by nearly every one that they don't think Big Pussy would do something like this but two things lead him to believe that he's wearing a wire: Makazian wasn't worried about his debt as long as Tony's in his corner and Big Pussy refused to take his clothes off when Paulie tried to see if he had a wire.
We find out here that Big Pussy has been wearing a wire since the drug bust months back (before the show started presumably). He also gets out of jail fairly soon so the fact that he's been in cahoots with the police help us understand why. And it explains why he refuses to take off his clothes. I mean it was smart because it bought him time and it causes him to flee.
Jimmy is not as good with a wire as Big Pussy and he pathetically attempts to string out information from Tony. Tony picks this up immediately and knows Jimmy is wearing a wire. However, he mistakenly ignores Makazian's info as mixed up and chooses to think only Jimmy was wearing a wire. This is understandable since he has an obvious long standing friendship with Big Pussy that he doesn't want to end.
As far as the other story line is concerned, Junior proves how stupid he really he is when he lets Livia convince him of a conspiracy plot aimed at getting Junior out and Tony in. That sets the wheels in motion for Junior to plan and kill Tony. It's pretty funny that we see Livia try to downplay her influence to Carmela, which Carmela isn't buying at all. Then the next scene she's in, she's plotting her son's death.
Anyway, this episode is vital to the season, foreshadows next season, and helps us see more of why we root for Tony Soprano. (He's a pretty smart guy for picking up on Jimmy's wire so quickly and his reluctance to kill his friend)
Surprise Guest Appearances
Nobody. I might kill this feature, because nobody is a notable guest star anymore. (And when Steve Buscemi comes, he'll be there for more than a few episodes.)
Deaths
Detective Makazian isn't killed, but commits suicide as the lone death of the episode.
Quotes
"Go see if Mr. Mop and Glow is still here? Don't worry he's a real doctor." - Followed by an image which explains his name
"I don't give two shits about you, your family, or whether you take it up the ass." - Tony to Makazian
"I'm sorry I'm under a little bit of pressure here, I don't have time to suck your dick." - Tony's quips to Makazian are some of the best quotes in the season
"Well hello there Carmela, so nice to see you." - Carmela sarcastically on what Livia should have greeted her with.
"You got options. Don't let anybody ever try to tell you don't got options." - Tony telling Big Pussy why he shouldn't wear a wire
"She's more connected to the world." -- "Which one? This one or Neptune?" - Tony about Livia
"Hey who wouldn't want to sleep with their shrink?" - Said by Debbie to Tony, which is maybe a little too on the nose
"At least with Tony Soprano, you know where you stand." - Makazian
"Yeah but you won't have any teeth left to eat if you don't get up off your ass to see who's at the door." - Tony on why you should listen to what he says
"You answer me like I'm Jesus Christ himself, and if you fucking lie to me, may your mother die of cancer of the eyes." - Tony with a variation on swearing to God
"No, the other forever." - Mikey talking about death, not jail to his wife.
Playlist (Reds walk-up music version - Just went to GABP)
1. "Paint it Black" - Rolling Stones (Votto)
2. "Fly Me to the Moon" - Frank Sinatra (Frazier)
3. "Hypnotize" - Notorious B.I.G. (Izturis)
4. "Intro" - The xx (Leake)
5. "Brass Monkey" - Beastie Boys (Ludwick)
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