From Where to Eternity
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| The Sopranos episode | |
|---|---|
| “From Where to Eternity” | |
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| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 22 |
| Guest star(s) | see below |
| Writer(s) | Michael Imperioli |
| Director | Henry J. Bronchtein |
| Production no. | 208 (2-9) |
| Original airdate | March 12, 2000 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Full Leather Jacket" | "Bust Out" |
"From Where to Eternity" is the 22nd episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the ninth episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Michael Imperioli and directed by Henry J. Bronchtein. It originally aired on Sunday March 12, 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Guest Starring roles
- Lillo Brancato Jr. as Matthew Bevilaqua
- Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
- Louis Lombardi as Agent Skip Lipari
- Peter Bogdanovich as Dr. Eliott Kupferberg
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Judy Reyes as Paulie's Girlfriend
[edit] Episode recap
With friends and family by his side, Christopher clings to life in a hospital ICU. During the night his heart stops and the doctors attempt to resucitate him. He is pronounced clinically dead for over a minute, but the doctors manage to revive him. Fearing for his life, Carmela vacates an empty room and admits to Jesus that the members of the family have entered their occupations with eyes open but prays that Christopher will recover and "see the light". When he is conscious, he asks to see Paulie and Tony and tells them of a trip he made to hell where he saw Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice in an Irish bar and they had a message for Tony and Paulie: "Three o'clock."
Tony dismisses Christopher’s story, but Paulie becomes obsessed with the message. Paulie is scared nightly at 3am and has nightmares that wake his girlfriend's children. At the suggestion of his girlfriend, he eventually seeks the help of a psychic who claims to see the spirits of the men Paulie killed following him. Believing his donations to a church should have prevented him from being haunted, Paulie takes out his frustration on a chain-smoking priest, telling him he feels that the Church has forsaken him and that he won't be giving any more donations.
Meanwhile Carmela learns from Gabriella that an associate in the Soprano family, Ralphie Rotaldo just had a baby with his longtime comàre. When Carmela tells Tony this she asks that he have a vasectomy so that he will not bring shame to the family since she knows that he still sees women on the side. Tony tries to shake off the accusation since he allegedly broke up with her months ago. Carmela then reminds him the shame that a "bastard-child" would do to this family. Tony does not feel like listening which causes Carmela to take a pillow from the bed and goes downstairs. Adding to Carmela's frustration is the fact that Tony lied to her about Christopher's trip to the afterlife (telling her that Christopher had been in heaven while Christopher admitted to her to being in Hell). Also a problem is shown when Tony is criticizes his "only male heir," his son A.J., after he spills food on the floor accidentally. Soon after Tony apologizes to A.J. and makes amends, Tony agrees to have his vasectomy if Carmela is still insistive. Carmela says no but that she wants him to be pure and to be hers. They then begin to make love.
Pussy is afraid that Tony knows he has been working with the FBI, so at the advice of his FBI contact Pussy tries to "make Tony love him again." Pussy tries to regain his trust by hunting down Matt Bevilaqua. When he gets the information as to his whereabouts, Pussy calls Tony and the two execute Matt, riddling his body with bullets.
[edit] Carmela's Prayer
Gentle and merciful lord Jesus, I want to speak to you now with an open heart, with an honest heart. Tonight I ask you to take my sins and the sins of my family into your merciful heart. We have chosen this life in full awareness of the consequences of our sins. I know that Christopher's life is in your hands... And his fate is your will. I ask you humbly to spare him. And if it is your will to spare him, I ask that you deliver him from blindness and grant him vision. And through this vision may he see your love... And gain the strength to carry on in service to your mercy. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
[edit] Deceased
- Matthew Bevilaqua: repeatedly shot execution style by Tony and Pussy in revenge for Christopher's shooting
[edit] Title reference
- The episode's title is a play on the 1953 film, From Here to Eternity. It refers to Christopher having a trip to the afterlife and not knowing whether it was purgatory or hell.
[edit] Miscellanea
- The song "My Lover's Prayer" by Otis Redding is played throughout the episode.
- Although the episode aired ninth, it was the eighth to be produced.
- In his dream, Christopher describes that Mikey Palmice and Brendan Filone claimed that the time of Three o'clock will be important in the lives of Tony and Paulie. Since then, several important events have taken place at Three o'clock and it has become a key supernatural recurring symbol.
- This was the first episode written by Michael Imperioli who plays Christopher Moltisanti, he became a regular writer for the show
