Fortunate Son (The Sopranos episode)
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| “Fortunate Son” | |
|---|---|
| The Sopranos episode | |
 |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 29 |
| Guest stars | see below |
| Written by | Todd A. Kessler |
| Directed by | Henry J. Bronchtein |
| Production no. | 303 |
| Original airdate | March 11, 2001 (HBO) |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Proshai, Livushka" | "Employee of the Month" |
| Episode chronology | |
"Fortunate Son" is the 29th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the 3rd episode for the show's third season. The episode was written by Todd A. Kessler and was directed by Henry J. Bronchtein. It originally aired on Sunday March 11, 2001.
Contents |
[edit] Guest Starring roles
- Jason Cerbone as Jackie Aprile, Jr.
- Vince Curatola as Johnny Sack
- Joseph Siravo as Johnny Boy Soprano
- George Loros as Raymond Curto
- Tony Darrow as Larry Boy Barese
- Richard Maldone as Ally Boy Barese
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- Oksana Lada as Irina Peltsin
- Alla Kliouka Schaffer as Svetlana Kirilenko
- Robert Funaro as Eugene Pontecorvo
- John Fiore as Gigi Cestone
[edit] Episode recap
Christopher is paged by Paulie Walnuts who tells him to meet at a shopping center parking lot in an hour and to "look sharp". Christopher begins to get excited along with Adriana since this may be his making ceremony. Christopher then shaves and dresses and drives to Modell's. Silvio then drives up along with Paulie and they all get into the car. They are then driven to a basement of a made man where Tony congratulate Christopher and Eugene (who is also being made) on their accomplishment. They then gather at a table where Tony makes a speech and that if they have any doubts to speak up now since "once [they] enter this family, there's no getting out". Tony continues that the mob life comes before anything else, even blood family, and if a soldier cannot earn due to health problems they will assist him. Tony then asks for their hands and draws blood by pricking them with a needle. He gives them both a picture of St. Peter which they then light on fire in their hands. Tony then asks them to repeat the phrase "May I burn in hell if I betray my friends". Christopher nervously eyes a raven which has landed on the open window, fearing it to be a bad omen.
After the ceremony, Tony throws a big party for Christopher at Nuovo Vesuvio with food and girl-on-girl pole dancers from the Bing. Paulie congratulates Christopher and being made and tells him of his responsibilities. Seeing as Christopher is now officially in the family, Paulie's sportsbook is now his and he will have to give Paulie a minimum amount of money each week or he will begin getting points added on. Christopher tells Paulie that he loves him and looks forward to working with him.
However Christopher later finds out that the sportsbook is not bringing in as much money as anticipated. Christopher then reluctantly gives the sum of money he has to Paulie who is far from satisfied. Paulie warns Christopher to give him the money by the end of the week with another $2,000.00. Christopher then receives an idea from the late Jackie Aprile's son, Jackie Jr. that he plans to rob a benefit concert at Rutgers University. Christopher puts Jackie behind the wheel as their driver and robs the ticket booth at gunpoint. Angered, Christopher then gives Paulie the remainder of the money he earned.
Tony asks Dr. Melfi where the therapy is going since he is still regularly passing out. Dr. Melfi plants the idea of a behavior therapist but Tony feels that he is not ready. Melfi then becomes angered when Tony answers his phone during therapy. He claims that it is "his busy season" and has to take it. After learning that Janice stole Svetlana's leg as a sign of revenge, Tony eats cappicola and flashes back to his first panic attack. At 12 years old, Tony witnesses his father cut off the pinky of Mr. Satriale, who owned the pork store during the 1960s. At dinner that evening, Johnny Boy tells Tony that Mr. Satriale is a degenerate gambler that owed money and that was his punishment. Tony then feels better but when he witnesses his mother and father become passionate as Livia cuts the roast, Tony passes out and claims to have "ruined" dinner. Melfi thinks that this is a break through since several of his panic attacks have to do with the presence of meat. Tony claims it is a merely a coincidence but that he does find it weird that Livia got "turned on by free meat".
Anthony Jr. becomes involved with the school football which gives Tony a large amount of pride since he was also on his high school football team. When AJ recovers a fumble at a game, Tony becomes extremely happy and would like AJ to become more devoted to the sport. AJ shakes it off seeing as he would rather play Nintendo. Meadow continues not to talk to Tony and Carmela tries to get Meadow to change her mind. Carmela tries to convince Meadow she does not know anything about their quarrel but Meadow laughs it off saying that everyone knows and the situation would never have happened if Noah was white. While touring the Columbia University campus, AJ becomes dizzy and nervous facing qualms about college. At football practice after being elevated to defensive captain, AJ passes out on the field.
[edit] First Appearances
- Carmine Lupertazzi: Boss of the Lupertazzi Crime family, one of five New York mob organizations.
[edit] Title reference
- The title refers the song "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, a song about spoiled and privileged American youth.
- It refers to Christopher becoming a "made man" and not being able to handle the pressure. It also refers to Jackie Jr.'s rebelliousness, and to AJ, who suffers from the same panic attacks as his father.
[edit] Trivia
- In this and future episodes Christopher references the raven he sees during his making ceremony as a bad omen. Viewers have speculated that the raven in fact simply reflects Chris's nature (akin to the bear and Tony in Season 5), as a materialist mindlessly drawn to superficially "shiny objects". Others have theorised that Eugene Pontecorvo was the victim of the raven's curse, given his ultimate fate.
- When Adriana learns that Christopher is about to be made, she becomes worried that it might be a pretext for a hit. When Christopher arrives, Silvio tells Tony that Chris was nervous during the entire ride over. In both cases, reference is made to "watching too many movies". This is a reference to Goodfellas, (in which Michael Imperoli was featured, as well as several other cast members of The Sopranos), where Tommy is lured to his death under the pretext of being made.
