The Strong, Silent Type

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Strong, Silent Type
Series = The Sopranos
Season = 4
Episode = 49
Guests= "see below"
Airdate = November 17, 2002 (HBO)
Production = 410
Writer = Terence Winter, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
Director = Alan Taylor
Episode list = Episode chronology


Prev = Whoever Did This
Next = Calling All Cars"The Strong, Silent Type" is the forty-ninth episode of the HBO original series "The Sopranos" and was the tenth of the show's fourth season. Its teleplay was written by Terence Winter, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess from a story by David Chase. It was directed by Alan Taylor and originally aired on Sunday November 17 2002.

Guest starring roles

* Tom Aldredge as Hugh De Angelis
* Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
* Leslie Bega as Valentina La Paz
* Carl Capotorto as Little Paulie Germani
* Max Casella as Benny Fazio
* Dane Curley as Justin Cifaretto
* Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
* Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
* Alla Kliouka Schaffer as Svetlana Kirilenko
* Elias Koteas as Dominic Palladino
* Marianne Leone as Joanne Moltisanti
* Richard Maldone as Ally Boy Barese
* Marissa Matrone as Ronnie Capozza
* Arthur J. Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
* Suzanne Shepherd as Mary De Angelis
* Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
* Karen Young as Agent Sanseverino

Episode recap

At the Bada Bing, about a week after Ralph's death, Tony puts on the pretense of trying to find him in front of his crew by calling Ralph's house and only getting his answering machine. Christopher comes in with a large parcel. It turns out to be the painting of Tony and Pie-O-My that Tony had ordered previously. Distraught, Tony flees the Bada Bing. Almost in tears as he drives down the highway, he calls back to the 'Bing and orders the painting destroyed. Later, Paulie, unaware of Tony's order, sees Benny Fazio and Little Paulie trying to burn the painting and rescues it from destruction, saying it would be an honor to have a painting of Tony hanging in his house. When Paulie hangs it in his living room the eyes of Tony haunt him. Paulie later has the painting modified to have Tony dressed in the garb of an 18th century general, in his words to the artist, "Napoleon-like." Ralph's disappearance is starting to become an issue. At a dinner with Silvio Dante and Patsy Parisi, Ally Boy Barese verbalizes what some are thinking: Tony killed Ralph because of a horse. After Silvio leaves the table, Ally Boy summarizes that any boss who kills a member of his crew over a horse should be killed, and that if it were the case that Tony committed such an act, Silvio would be first in line to "pull his plug."

Meanwhile Tony visits Ralph's comatose son in the hospital and later has a session with Dr. Melfi. As Tony relates his pain over losing Pie-O-My she comments that he seems grieved more for animals than for humans; she points out his sadness over the ducks leaving his swimming pool was an inner metaphor for his worries and fears over losing his family. Dr. Melfi questions if the death of the horse can be attached to another inside conflict.

When Furio Giunta returns from Naples, he has gifts for A.J. and Meadow but nothing for Carmela. Later Carmela visits Furio at his house, under the pretext of giving interior decoration tips (with A.J. once again acting as an unwitting chaperon to keep his mother from any possible temptation) and gets a jar of homemade Italian vinegar from Furio that he brought back from Italy. When Carmela tells Rosalie Aprile about her feelings, the widow advises her that if she hasn't had sex with Furio yet, she shouldn't if only to keep Tony from exacting revenge on Furio.

At a meeting, Johnny Sack demands that Tony let New York in on the HUD scam, and when Tony refuses, Johnny comments that he may be making "a big mistake."

Again at the Bada Bing, Tony calls a meeting before Paulie Walnuts, Silvio Dante, Vito Spatafore, Carlo Gervasi, and other head members. Once everyone is seated and listening, Tony begins to tell them he think he knows what happened to Ralph and that if he's right, he won't be coming back. Tony asserts Johnny Sack had Ralph killed over the HUD scam. Tony mentions pay back will be dealt with later on. Others speculate and question the "Ginny Sack joke" and if it had any bearing on Ralph's disappearance. Tony asserts he's sure it didn't help matters any.

Adriana La Cerva meets her FBI handler Agent Robyn Sanseverino and feeds her as little information as possible. Sanseverino, knowing about Christopher's heroin habit, suggests to her that she push for him to go into rehab and gives her the same pamphlets that the FBI has been sending them through the mail. At the sight of a cute lap dog Adriana breaks out in tears (Christopher had earlier, in a heroin induced stupor, sat on her beloved dog Cosette, killing it). Later, when Adriana does give him a pamphlet of a rehab clinic, he hits her and knocks her to the floor for daring her to imply that he was some lowlife drug addict. Christopher, earlier in the day, had been carjacked and robbed while attempting to purchase heroin in a low-income neighborhood.

Carmela receives a visit from a bruised Adriana and hears about how Christopher's heroin addiction has left him increasingly unstable, unreliable and erratic. Tony rejects the advice of Junior, who compares Christopher to a beloved dog who gets rabies, saying he needs to be put out of his misery. Instead, they organize an intervention. When Christopher wakes up one morning, his apartment is filled with friends and family. The opening exercise involves everyone telling Christopher how his drug use has affected their lives. Christopher frequently interrupts and verbally attacks those speaking to him. When Paulie Walnuts tells him to shape up, Christopher starts making veiled references to their Pine Barrens fiasco. This enrages Paulie, but only confuses the intervention counselor. Tony, still recovering from the Pie-O-My and Ralphie incidents, becomes enraged when Adriana reveals that Christopher, in addition to suffering from heroin-induced erectile dysfunction, accidentally killed her beloved dog, Cosette. Finally, when he calls his own mother a "whore", Christopher takes a beating from Silvio and Paulie, spinning the intervention out of control. Before really getting started, the intervention ends with Christopher being taken to the emergency room with a hairline skull fracture.

At the hospital, Tony tells Christopher that the only reason he is alive is because, "You're my nephew and I love you." He arranges for Christopher to go to rehab and demands that he not leave until he is clean and sober, telling him that Patsy will be less than a mile away watching him, with the unspoken understanding of Patsy having orders to kill him if he leaves rehab, nephew or no nephew.

Tony later pays a visit to Uncle Junior but he is taking a nap. Svetlana Kirilenko is there but without her prosthetic leg and is using crutches. They exchange small talk on the couch. Svetlana discusses the different outlook on the world between Americans and the rest of the world; how Americans don't expect anything bad to happen and are surprised when it does while the rest of the world does expect the worst and are not as disappointed. Tony remarks on how Svetlana, in partial shadow with her blond hair and cigarette smoke wafting about her, reminds him of Greta Garbo, the old Hollywood Swedish film star. They look at each other intently, kiss passionately and then have sex on Uncle Junior's couch.

Christopher checks in at the rehab clinic with Patsy and Adriana to see him off and Patsy to keep a close eye on him.

The episode closes with scenes of both Tony and Furio eating alone at their respective homes without Carmela, their mutual love interest (still unknown to Tony). Paulie, also home alone, hangs the painting of Tony and Pie-O-My over his fireplace. Tony has now been redone as a 18th century general, "Napoleon-like" as Paulie wanted. Paulie sits with his back to the painting and turns on the television to a Yankees game. However, the eyes of Tony in the painting still bother him which prompts him to turn around and regard it with a rather disturbed look.

Title reference

* The episode's title is a characteristic of Gary Cooper, which Tony often brings up in therapy. Tony first described Cooper this way in the series pilot.