| "The Knight in White Satin Armor" | |||
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| The Sopranos episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 25 |
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| Directed by | Allen Coulter | ||
| Written by | Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess | ||
| Production code | 212 | ||
| Original air date | April 2, 2000 | ||
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see below |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
"The Knight in White Satin Armor" is the twenty-fifth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the twelfth of the show's second season. It was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Allen Coulter and originally aired on Sunday, April 2, 2000.
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The episode begins at Janice's new home, where Richie Aprile's son is practicing ballroom dancing in the dining room, while Richie's nephew, Jackie Aprile Jr., is hanging out with friends in the great room. After being told by Janice that she knows of his Russian girlfriend on the side, Tony attempts to break it off with Irina Peltsin for reasons of shame and embarrassment, and insists to Irina that she deserves better than being his comáre. Irina refuses to accept the breakup, saying that she loves Tony and will commit suicide if he leaves her, but he walks out. Tony later receives a call from Irina's cousin, Svetlana Kirilenko, informing him that Irina attempted to kill herself by consuming sleeping pills and vodka. Tony visits her in the hospital and tells her that she needs help. Tony then discusses Irina with Dr. Melfi and asks if she can find her a suitable therapist. Melfi refuses since she does not want to get deeply involved with Tony's criminal career or extramarital life. When Tony, in an attempt to cast himself as doing the right thing, confesses the Irina situation to Carmela, she becomes angered and yells, "You are putting me in a position where I am feeling sorry for a whore who fucks you??" To make amends, Tony sends Silvio Dante to Irina's house to present her with a parting gift of $75,000, and along with Svetlana, he persuades her to move on with her life. For a young woman such as Irina, it seems money talks. While this solves Tony's problem with Irina, the threat of Richie Aprile taking over the Soprano crime family by killing Tony remains, and he cannot be bought off.
At a bridal shop, while Janice is beaming over her upcoming marriage to Richie, Carmela makes comments that soon enough Janice's marriage will go down the same path as her own, which Janice defends by saying she engages in kinky (and potentially dangerous) activities that no comáre could match. At Richie Aprile and Janice's engagement party, which Tony reluctantly hosts, Richie professes his love for Janice and his gratitude that he is entering a great family. Witnessing the pair's affection and happiness, Carmela escapes to the kitchen where she cries uncontrollably. The following day, Carmela runs into Vic Musto at a paint store, where she thanks him for not showing up to their intended luncheon since she would have done things that she would have later regretted.
Big Pussy Bonpensiero begins to take to his job as an FBI informant seriously, beginning to feel even more resentment towards Tony. First he wears a wire to Richie and Janice's engagement party and then elicits useful information about stolen airline tickets and Tony's business with Dave Scatino. However, Pussy begins to develop an unrealistic image of his new role. When he learns that Christopher Moltisanti is planning a hijacking with another associate, targeting a shipment of Pokémon cards, Pussy attempts to conduct his own surveillance and follow them to the heist, but winds up in a car accident and wounds his knee. At the hospital, his handler Skip Lipari reminds Pussy that he is not a government employee and that he should focus solely on providing information on Tony.
Richie's contempt for Tony grows when he is again ordered to shut down a sideline distributing cocaine along his garbage routes. Later, Janice informs him that Tony refuses to have his children near him after the situation with Beansie Gaeta, and believes Richie is a bad influence. Furious, Richie can no longer remain loyal to the boss. Richie approaches Junior Soprano and suggests having Tony killed, but Junior is reluctant, being mindful of his own failure to do so last year, and his tentative reconciliation with his nephew since then. When Richie insists that he can muster support from other dissatisfied crews such as the Bareses, Junior finally offers his approval. Richie visits Albert Barese, acting-capo of the Barese crew since his cousin Larry Boy's indictment, to try to win his allegiance, but Albert balks at the idea of a hit on Tony and refuses. Junior subsequently suggests to Richie that they should wait and consider their options - but once Richie departs, Junior mulls his loyalties once more and concludes Richie's inability to "sell" the plan to Albert reflects upon his lack of respect and influence. He ultimately decides that having Richie in power would ultimately cause him more trouble, and tips off Tony about Richie's plans to eliminate him. After learning of this, Tony asks for Silvio's advice on what to do with Richie, and Silvio concludes that there is no further benefit to keeping Richie around. Silvio is ordered to plan the hit - but these plans will be overtaken by other events.
Vexed, Richie returns home to dinner with Janice, and expresses disgust for his son Richie, Jr.'s career path as a ballroom dancer. When Janice takes offense, saying she does not care if "Little Ricky" is considered gay, he silences her with a punch to the mouth. He asks his distraught fiancée, "What, are you going to cry now?" Janice walks out of the room, returns with a gun in her hand and shoots Richie in the chest. Richie clings to life for a brief moment, hardly believing what had just happened. Janice shoots him a second time, killing him. Starting to panic, she calls Tony, who enlists Christopher Moltisanti and Furio Giunta to take care of the body. Tony encounters his mother for the first time since her stroke. They exchange hurtful recriminations and Livia tells Tony he is cruel. Meanwhile, Christopher and Furio dismember Richie's corpse with the meat-cutting equipment at Satriale's. Tony then buys Janice a bus ticket to Seattle and, after briefly reflecting on the nature of their family, they part company.
Tony and Carmela discuss Richie and Janice's sudden disappearances, and he hints that Richie will not be coming back. Understanding his implication, Carmela is shocked, but soon moves the conversation on and informs Tony that she and Rosalie Aprile want to travel to Rome to see the sights and, hopefully, Pope John Paul II. Carmela asks that Tony be a "chauffeur" to A.J. and to find Meadow a suitable tennis camp while she is away, mockingly suggesting that she "just might commit suicide" unless he agrees to let her go.
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