Do Not Resuscitate (The Sopranos episode)

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“Do Not Resuscitate”
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 15
Written by Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and Frank Renzulli
Directed by Martin Bruestle
Guest stars see below
Production no. 203 (2-2)
Original airdate January 23, 2000 (HBO)
Episode chronology
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Episode chronology

"Do Not Resuscitate" is the fifteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the second of the show's second season. It was written by Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess and Frank Renzulli, directed by Martin Bruestle and originally aired on Sunday, January 23, 2000.

Contents

[edit] Guest starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

Tony Soprano visits Uncle Junior in prison, upset that he wasn't put on the visitors' list for three weeks. Tony tells Junior to be careful and that he is lucky that Tony is letting him earn. Junior tries in vain to convince Tony that Livia had nothing to do with the shooting. Tony won't talk business but asks to meet with Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri, Junior's "courier" and soldier in his crew. When Bacala meets Tony at the pork store, Tony tells him that Junior can still "earn" via his shylock business and the pipe fitters' union, but everything else now belongs to Tony, though Junior will still hold the title of boss. Before leaving, Bobby quotes, "to the victor belong the spoils." Tony tells Bobby to shove his "quotations book" up his ass and to get out.

The following day, Junior's lawyer, Harold Melvoin, successfully gets Junior out of jail after convincing the judge that Junior has a recurring heart problem. The judge agrees to put Junior on house arrest with a position-monitoring bracelet, on the condition that he can only leave the house for grocery shopping, family functions and doctor's appointments. During one such appointment at which Tony is present, Junior tells Tony that the owner of the Green Grove Nursing Home, Fred Capuano, has been discussing Soprano family business with others, saying that "Tony Soprano likes to fluff his mother's pillows." Tony takes action by making sure that Capuano disappears. Shortly after, a state trooper finds Capuano's car and toupee near a road and opens the car trunk, which supposedly holds Capuano's body.

After Pussy has surgery for his back, his "friend" Agent Skip Lipari takes him home. It is revealed that Pussy has been working with the FBI since 1998, but it is unknown to what exact extent. Now that informant Jimmy Altieri has been whacked, Skip wants Pussy to step up and "stop being Tony's errand boy". Pussy tries to convince Skip that he is over Tony and that he wants to help the government. However, Pussy continues to lie to Lipari and provide him with false information.

When Tony learns that Massarone Construction is facing problems due to a lack of African American workers, which is causing several protests, he accepts Jack Massarone's offer to stop the dissent. Tony then sends in several mob associates to successfully "scare" the protesters away from the construction site. Tony later tries to win the protest leader, Reverend James, Jr., over by agreeing to split the Massarone's payment with him. Reverend James states that his deceased father would not have liked the arrangement, but that it is something that could not be refused by either party.

In the hospital, Janice Soprano continues to visit Livia, still unhappy and in self-pity. When Janice asks Meadow what brings Livia joy, Meadow tells her that Livia enjoys opera and show tunes. Janice then purchases a set of records and plays them for Livia, who becomes very emotional. Later, Livia begins to choke but is quickly attended by a nurse. The nurse then discusses with Janice whether to make Livia a "DNR"—otherwise known as "Do Not Resuscitate"—if she ever enters a comatose state or is kept alive artificially. Janice considers this and talks it over with Tony, who advises her to do whatever she wants and that she can even move into Livia's house if she should choose. A.J. overhears this and asks Livia if "DNR" is the same as "DNA," as he is writing a school paper on the subject. Livia is shocked that her daughter would suggest this. When Janice tells Livia she is ready to go home, Livia says, "Why? So you can 'not resuscitate' me?" Livia is then brought back to her hospital room where, apparently quite disoriented, she calls Carmela and tells her about her troubled offspring, and promises to leave her wealth to her "children." Carmela warns her to never call the house again and hangs up on her.

The following evening, Junior slips in the bathtub while shaving and believes that he has fractured something. Bobby Bacala then calls Tony for help and Tony hurries over to find Junior lying on the couch in his bathrobe. Tony suggests that they call an ambulance, to which Junior objects. Tony then picks his uncle up on his shoulders and proceeds to drive him to the emergency room.

[edit] First appearances

[edit] Deceased

  • Fred Capuano: supposedly murdered after spreading gossip about the Soprano family.
  • Reverend Herman James, Sr. dies of natural causes due to old age.

[edit] Title reference

  • The episode's title is a common medical clause known as Do Not Resuscitate or DNR. Janice and Tony talk about signing a DNR for Livia.

[edit] Connections to future episodes

  • Agent Lipari stated that Pussy has been working with the FBI since 1998, which would mean that Tony's suspicion of Pussy wearing a wire during Christmas of 1995 in episode 3.10, "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", was false.

[edit] Production

  • Although this was the second episode of season two to air, it was the third to be produced.

[edit] References to other media

  • When Livia watches a cooking show with Emeril Lagasse on TV, her appalled reaction is: "He's not even washing his hands!" From 2000 onward, Emeril is cautious to wash his hands while cooking on Emeril Live, in hopes that "the lady from The Sopranos doesn't bug me".

[edit] Music

  • The song played over the end credits is "Goodnight, My Love" by Ella Fitzgerald.
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