For All Debts Public and Private

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“For All Debts Public and Private”
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 4
Episode 1
Written by David Chase
Directed by Allen Coulter
Guest stars see below
Production no. 401
Original airdate September 15, 2002
Season 4 episodes
15 September 2002 – 8 December 2002
  1. "For All Debts Public and Private"
  2. "No Show"
  3. "Christopher"
  4. "The Weight"
  5. "Pie-O-My"
  6. "Everybody Hurts"
  7. "Watching Too Much Television"
  8. "Mergers and Acquisitions"
  9. "Whoever Did This"
  10. "The Strong, Silent Type"
  11. "Calling All Cars "
  12. "Eloise"
  13. "Whitecaps"
List of The Sopranos episodes

"For All Debts Public and Private" is the fortieth episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos. It is the first episode of the show's fourth season. It was written by David Chase, and was directed by Allen Coulter. It originally aired on September 15, 2002.

Contents

[edit] Guest starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

A.J. Soprano has started in a new school and Carmela is trying to further his education by reading him excerpts from The New York Times. Tony also checks up on him, asking about his grades and clipping his ear when A.J. tells him he has "revealed his own ignorance" by asking about grades after only a few days into the term. Carmela's mood visibly brightens when Tony's driver arrives but her smile fades when she sees it is Christopher Moltisanti, instead of Furio Giunta.

Tony and Uncle Junior continue to meet in the office of Dr. Douglas Schreck — Junior's physician. Chris, Bobby Bacala and Murf Lupo wait for them outside while they have their meeting. Both Junior and Tony flirt with a nurse, with Tony being more subtle. Tony and Junior discuss money: Junior needs more to cover his mounting legal costs, being short on cash ever since his house arrest situation. Tony tells him there is a shortage and angrily refuses to help. Tony suggests that Junior gets his "shy running right" before asking again. Junior later decides to demote aging capo Murf, and replace him with Bobby Bacala. Tony approves of the choice. These meetings are brought to a sudden end when Junior's lawyer contacts Murf and tells them the FBI has placed an agent in Dr. Schreck's office as a nurse.

Tony later has Chris take him to the Bada Bing where he vents his frustration by beating up hapless barman Georgie for wasting ice. Silvio had tried to defuse the situation, but couldn't stop Georgie from making the ill-advised remarks that always drive Tony deeper into his fit of rage. Chris, Silvio and Tony depart the Bing on foot to attend a meeting with the family's capos—Carlo Gervasi, Ally Boy Barese, Ray Curto and Ralph Cifaretto. Tony uses the meeting to harangue them about the lack of growth in the family's business as of late, telling them that the family's boss, Junior, desperately needs their support. Christopher is left outside with Vito Spatafore while the senior family members have their discussion.

Chris believes his return to driver status may be punishment for questioning Tony's judgment about the Jackie Aprile, Jr. situation and when he returns home he discusses this with girlfriend, Adriana La Cerva. Adriana is still seeing her friend Danielle, who unbeknownst to her is an FBI agent (Deborah Ciccerone, who lives with her husband and baby). She has a separate phone line set up for Adriana, which she answers as "Lilac Personal Shopping". Christopher is rude to her and seems to disapprove of the friendship. He also has developed a serious heroin habit although he insists he is just "chipping", urging Adriana to join him.

Carmela notices widow Angie Bonpensiero working in a supermarket but does not approach her. This prompts Carmela to worry about her own financial security, as Tony is careful to always separate her from his professional contacts. When she asks Tony to provide money so she can make an investment, he tells her there is no longer money kept in the house. He then removes cash from under his car seat and takes it into the pool house to store it under a floor tile. Later, Tony buys bags of duck feed, though the migratory pattern means he is unlikely to see any. When he gets the bags home, he uses them to store cash amongst the feed. Carmela notices that it is an odd time to buy duck feed. While out buying the feed, Tony meets with Assemblyman Zellman to discuss the Esplanade project and talk property. Zellman tips him that prices near the new development are likely to see a big jump. Tony recalls that Junior owns a warehouse in the Frelinghuysen Avenue area.

Carmela invites Rosalie Aprile and Ralph Cifaretto over for dinner, despite Tony's instructions not to. Rosalie is withdrawn and quiet over dinner, in contrast to Ralphie who tells stories about a motorbike he owned in his youth to A.J. and a friend. Hugh and Mary De Angelis also attend. Ralphie excuses himself to use the bathroom and Janice soon follows him, finding him snorting cocaine. She joins him and they have a sexual encounter in the bathroom. While they are away, Tony notices their long absence. During the dinner Adriana -— accompanied by Danielle -— visits to borrow something from Carmela. While they talk, Tony flirts with Danielle, and Rosalie then shows her around the Soprano house. Meadow is still having a hard time dealing with the death of Jackie Aprile, Jr and does not attend the dinner. She is also using it as a reason for not signing up for new classes as her second year at Columbia University approaches. Carmela is concerned about the way her daughter has spent the summer.

Tony has a party in a hotel room. Christopher, Ralphie, Silvio and a number of Icelandic Air stewardesses also attend. The party was preceded by a quick meeting with New York boss, Carmine Lupertazzi. Carmine discusses the success of the esplanade, asks about Junior and chastises Tony about wearing shorts at a BBQ, after hearing about this from Johnny Sack. Chris smokes heroin in the bathroom with one of the girls. He seems paranoid when Tony knocks on the door and has him leave the party, but Tony actually has big plans for him. Tony has Chris drive out to a diner where Bobby Bacala pulls up behind them. Tony has been talking about "Dickie" Moltisanti, Chris's late father, all day. At the diner he tells Christopher that he knows who killed his father -— Det. Lt. Barry Haydu -— and that he is in the diner having his retirement party. He tells him that Haydu received the contract because Dickie had an argument with Jilly Ruffalo, a man Dickie once served time with. Chris recalls that he had been told it was a police officer that killed his father but he believed that the man was already dead. Tony gives Chris Haydu's address and wishes him luck. Tony gets into Bobby's car, leaving Chris to pursue his new prey.

Chris reaches Haydu's home before he leaves the party and breaks into his house. When Haydu arrives home, Chris surprises him and knocks him unconscious. Chris takes his gun and badge and handcuffs him to his staircase. When Haydu comes to, Chris questions him about his involvement with his father's death, but Haydu denies all knowledge. Chris tells him that it doesn't matter what he says, because Tony wants him killed. Chris turns up the volume on the television to cover the noise of the gunshots while Haydu tries to escape, but Chris shoots him with his own weapon as he almost reaches his front door. He also shoots a hole in the wall and kicks Haydu's corpse. Before leaving, he takes a twenty dollar bill from Haydu's wallet, wipes off the gun and places it in Haydu's hand. Chris later goes to visit his mother, Joanne, and looks through his father's old belongings, including an old picture of him in the Navy. Chris seems at peace for the first time in the episode and he pins the twenty dollars he took from Haydu to his mother's fridge -— though his mother has folded the picture of her husband down on the table.

While Chris is pursuing Haydu, Bobby and Tony eat dinner and discuss Bobby's promotion and how he has coped with his own father's death. Bobby and Tony visit Junior's house early the next morning and Murf tells them about the problem with Dr. Schreck's office. Karen Baccalieri, Bobby's wife, has come over with their children to take care of Junior, as the news has deeply upset him. Tony and Junior discuss what the FBI may have learned from the ploy and Tony offers Junior a hundred thousand for his warehouse on Frelinghuysen Avenue, telling him it is to help with his financial difficulties. Junior accepts the offer but is despondent about his life, telling Tony he is an "old man who is going to trial".

Meanwhile Paulie Walnuts has been arrested in Youngstown, Ohio on a gun charge. He calls Johnny Sack who tells him that nobody has mentioned to him why Paulie was imprisoned. Paulie is annoyed by this and relates the story: he was visiting a friend, Lenny Scortese, and they got caught with a gun from an unsolved homicide in their car. John seems keen to cultivate his friendship with Paulie that began in earnest after Paulie started to feel neglected by Tony in favor of Ralph and the Esplanade project. Johnny reached out to Paulie through his nephew to request the phone call.

In therapy Tony discusses Carmela pressuring him over the family's future and Uncle Junior's life. When Tony discusses his future in terms of two endings, death or prison, Dr. Melfi urges him to give up the business. Tony tells her that he has a plan to avoid both -— using Christopher as an intermediary to distance himself from any repercussions. Dr. Melfi questions Tony's frankness and he tells her that he trusts her..."a little".

[edit] First appearances

[edit] Deceased

[edit] Title reference

  • The episode's title is taken from a phrase found on American paper currency: "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private". The episode ends with a close up of a twenty dollar bill that Chris takes from Lt. Barry Haydu after he kills him. Money is a worry for Tony, Carmela and Junior in the episode. Also, Christopher is now indebted to Tony for the information he provided to him about his father — a debt that continues to resurface.

[edit] Production

  • Vince Curatola (Johnny Sack) is now billed in the opening credits but only for the episodes in which he appears in.
  • Robert Funaro (Eugene Pontecorvo) is no longer billed in the opening credits although he continues to appear on the show.
  • Paulie's prison stay was written into the series to allow more time off for actor Tony Sirico, who was recovering from major back surgery.
  • The wrestler Johnny Valiant appears in this episode as Carmine Lupertazzi's bodyguard.

[edit] References to other media

  • Junior is shown watching the movie Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, which stars Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum.
  • During the scene where Carmela approaches Tony about finances, the movie playing on the television is Rio Bravo, a 1959 Western starring John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. In the scene that Tony is watching, Martin and Nelson sing a duet, "My Rifle, My Pony and Me". This song is used at the end of the future episode "Pie-O-My".
  • At Lt. Haydu's house, Chris is shown watching Magnum P.I..
  • This episode was the first one to be aired after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. From this episode on, the shot of the World Trade Center Towers in the opening credits is absent.
  • A comment made by Carmine Lupertazzi to Tony Soprano, "A Don doesn't wear shorts", was added into the show after series creator, David Chase, was contacted by a supposed real-life mafia associate who praised him on the authenticity of the show, with the exception that Tony often wears shorts, which a real Don would apparently never do. Tony does not wear shorts again on the show until after Carmine's death.

[edit] Music

  • The song played over the end credits is "World Destruction" by Time Zone.

[edit] External links

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