Amour Fou

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“Amour Fou”
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 38
Guest stars see below
Written by Frank Renzulli
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Production no. 312
Original airdate May 13, 2001 (HBO)
Episode chronology
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"Pine Barrens" "Army of One"
Episode chronology

"Amour Fou" is the 38th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the 12th episode for the show's third season. The episode's teleplay was written by Frank Renzulli with a story idea from series creator, David Chase and was directed by Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on Sunday May 13, 2001.

Contents

[edit] Guest Starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

Carmela meets Meadow in an art gallery when she begins spotting blood. She excuses herself to the bathroom and returns to find Meadow looking at paintings. Carmela is then brought to tears when she sees the painting The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine. Later while watching a commercial on television, Carmela begins to sob but quickly becomes over herself when she realizes it is a commercial for dog food. She then sees a priest at confession who is pursuing a doctorate degree in psychology. Carmela then tells the priest that she is worried that she has ovarian cancer and her encounter with Dr. Krakower. The priest asks Carmela if she loves Tony which she replies yes. He then advises her not to leave him but to help him grow and to be more loving to him. Over lunch with the other mob wives, Carmela tells them she has a clean bill of health and that she was worried she had cancer or pregnant. Rosalie tells them that they should all admire Hillary Clinton not for her personally but the way she handled herself when Bill Clinton admitted his affair. Carmela believes that this is true and that "she should be an example to us all".

Tony continues to see Gloria after she threw a London broil at his head. She apologizes to him in the parking lot of Melfi's office but Tony reminds her that if she were a guy "[he] wouldn't have to tell her where she would be right now". Gloria apologizes and wants the relationship to work but Tony needs time to think. When he tells this to Dr. Melfi, she once again tells him that Gloria is a lot like Livia even though he does not see the comparison. Melfi then tells Tony that Gloria does love him and that she has a history of bad relationships, which Melfi cannot elaborate on. Tony decides to give the relationship another chance, but when Gloria blames Tony for slashing her tires, and meets Carmela the following day at Globe Motors, he calls the relationship off permanently. During a heated argument with Gloria, she mockingly says "Poor You;" and that she should "...sit back like a mute". These are things that Livia had said to Tony more than once, and he suddenly realizes that she is exactly like his mother ("I've known you my entire life"). When he goes for the door, Gloria threatens to tell Carmela and Meadow about the affair if he leaves. He then punches her and begins to choke her. She begs him to kill her but he leaves instead. The following day, Patsy Parisi takes a test drive on one of the models with Gloria. When Patsy stops the car, Gloria worries and threatens to call the police. Patsy then warns Gloria that if she goes near Tony Soprano again or tries to contact him or his family, "they will be scraping your nipples from these fine leather seats" and that he, not Tony, will be the one who murders her.

Jackie Jr. and his friend Dino want to get ahead in life and become more than associates. After hearing Ralphie's story of how Tony and Jackie Sr. got on the fast track to getting made after robbing Feech La Manna's Saturday night card game, Jackie and Dino plan to do the same during Gene Pontecervo's game. At first, Jackie and Dino chicken out and decide to stay home and watch movies, but later that evening they decide to go through with the plan and ask Carlo Renzi if he would like to join them, because he has a shotgun. They don balaclavas and head for the Aprile crew hangout where the poker game is taking place, but are alarmed when the players consist of familiar faces: Christopher, Furio, and Ally Boy Barese. Carlo and Dino demand that the players give them their money and to be quiet while Jackie stays silent for fear his voice will be recognised. The dealer, Sunshine, keeps advising the boys to leave and is soon shot and killed by a panicking Jackie. As the mobsters draw guns, a firefight breaks out; Furio is shot in the thigh by Jackie, and Christopher shoots Carlo in the forehead, while Jackie and Dino flee into the street. Matush, who was Jackie's getaway driver, abandoned the robbers as soon as he heard gunshots, and Jackie resorts to jacking a passing car, deserting Dino, who is caught and executed by Ally Boy and Christopher. Furio is then rushed to the office of Dr. Fried, a specialist in erectile dysfunction. In the waiting room, Christopher warns Tony that he knows Jackie Jr. was the escaped robber and that he has to be killed. Tony yells to Christopher "what happens I decide, not you...because you don't got to love me, but you will respect me!"

At the pork store the following morning, Ralphie meets Tony to discuss the fate of Jackie, Jr. Ralphie desperately wants to give him a pass because he is his girlfriend Rosalie's son, but because of what happened with Furio and Sunshine he cannot easily let it go. Tony tells Ralphie that since Pontecorvo is a member of Ralphie's crew, it is his decision, but to make sure that it is the right one, and he will understand if Ralphie gives Jackie Jr. a pass. However, Tony is sure to give the impression that if Ralphie does give Jackie a pass, he will lose the respect of the other captains. This affords Tony a clear conscience in the matter. Ralphie later tells Rosalie that Jackie probably went to Florida, and that he has a substance abuse problem, which deeply upsets her.

[edit] Deceased

  • Sunshine: a card dealer for the mob who was shot during the poker robbery.
  • Carlo Renzi: shot by Christopher during the poker robbery.
  • Dino Zerilli: shot outside of the Aprile hangout by Christopher and Ally Boy Barese.

[edit] Title reference

  • The translation from French is "crazy love", a term Dr. Melfi uses to describe the conflicted relationship between Tony and Gloria. Tony later mispronounces it "Our Mofo".

[edit] Trivia

  • Ralph retells to Jackie and Dino the story about Jackie Sr. and Tony robbing the card game of "Feech La Manna" who ran the game every Saturday night, revealing that he was supposed to go along with them, and that the robbery put Jackie and Tony on the fast track to being made. Feech will later be released from prison during the show's fifth season and play a pivotal role during the first four episodes. The character's name is based on an idea from writer, Frank Renzulli.
  • The opening song "Sposa Son Disprezzata" by Cecilia Bartoli was used during the closing montage/credits in the previous episode "Pine Barrens".
  • The working title for this episode was "Stepping Up".
  • In the director's commentary on the Season 3 DVD, the creators affirm that as of yet, this remains the most violent episode of the series, and the only time that a gunfight has been featured on the show.
  • The tiny shell casings which can be seen striking the pavement after Chris executes Dino outside the card game were added into the scene in post-production using CGI.
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