College (The Sopranos episode)

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The Sopranos episode
“College”
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 5
Guest star(s) see below
Writer(s) Jim Manos, Jr. and David Chase
Director Allen Coulter
Production no. 105
Original airdate February 7, 1999
Episode chronology
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"Meadowlands" "Pax Soprana"

Episode chronology

"College" is the 5th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the 5th episode for the show's first season. The episode was written by Jim Manos, Jr. and series creator David Chase and was directed by Allen Coulter. It originally aired on February 7, 1999.

Contents

[edit] Guest starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

Tony takes Meadow on a trip to New England to visit colleges she is considering applying to. On the drive to Maine, Tony is taken aback when his daughter asks if he is 'in the Mafia', and his instinctive reaction is to deny everything. When Meadow proves sceptical, he relents and admits (if understates) that a portion of his income is from illegal gambling and other activities. Meadow admits to taking speed to study for SATs, but after Tony reacts angrily, will not state her source of the drugs. Both are actually relieved by this honesty on what were awkward topics.

However, later on the journey, Tony spots a familiar face from afar at a gas station; Fabian Petrulio, a former member of the DiMeo crime family who turned FBI informant and was relocated under the Witness Protection Program. Despite Meadow's obvious alarm and suspicions at his agitated reaction (chasing a car through oncoming traffic), Tony resolves to personally locate the man, confirm his identity, and execute him. He leaves his daughter at a bar to get drunk while he tracks him down. He confirm's Petrulio's identity by the sculpture in Petrulio's office, similar to those that Petrulio had created while in prison. What Tony has failed to realise is that his investigation has not gone unnoticed, and Petrulio in turn tracks the pair back to the motel where they are staying, only the number of bystanders present preventing him from taking a shot at an unsuspecting Tony and Meadow.

The next morning, however, Tony drops Meadow off for an interview at Bowdoin College, and leaves to ambush Petrulio at his travel agency, strangling him with a length of wire as the informant pleads for his life. On his return to Bowdin, Tony is met with fear and lack of trust from his daughter, and is struck by a Nathaniel Hawthorne quote on display in the college; "No man... can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one may be true."

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, Carmela has been at home recovering from a bad case of the flu, and spends an intimate evening alone with Father Phil while AJ is at a sleepover. The pair relax with wine and romantic films, and Carmela's emotions are spurred when Dr. Melfi phones to reschedule Tony's appointment, abruptly revealing to her that Tony's psychiatrist is female. Offended by what she considers to be her husband's infidelity, Carmela is almost driven to kiss Father Phil, only the moment is lost when the priest's stomach revolts against his alcohol consumption. He sleeps it off until morning on the sofa. Tony and Meadow return the same day, but his enquiry as to what Carmela was doing spending her evening alone with another man is turned around when she mentions her conversation with Dr. Jennifer Melfi, forcing him onto the defensive.

[edit] Deceased

[edit] Title reference

  • Tony and Meadow visit New England colleges.

[edit] Awards

James Manos Jr. and David Chase received the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for their work on this episode.

[edit] Locations

[edit] Miscellanea

  • The murder of Febby Petrulio is the first time viewers see Tony killing someone.
  • Favorite episode of James Gandolfini and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
  • Creator David Chase also names this as his favourite episode because of its self-contained nature.
  • In an interview on the first season DVD, David Chase says that when HBO first read the script, they objected to Tony's murder of Febby. Executives said that Chase had done so well in building Tony up as a sympathetic character that they believed if Tony committed such a cold blooded killing, fans would turn on him and the show would lose its protagonist. Chase said that he believed fans would turn on Tony if Tony didn't kill him because it would make him appear weak. Eventually, Chase won the decision and the episode has become a fan favorite.
  • Tony asks if Meadow's friends think he is cool because of having seen The Godfather, she reply by commenting that most people she knew were bigger fans of the film Casino and begins discussing Sharon Stones performance in the film before being cut off
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