Eloise (''The Sopranos'')

"Eloise"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 12
Directed by	James Hayman
Written by	Terence Winter
Cinematography by	Alik Sakharov
Production code	412
Original air date	December 1, 2002
Running time	56 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
see below

"Eloise" is the 51st episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and is the 12th of the show's fourth season. It was written by Terence Winter, directed by James Hayman, and originally aired on December 1, 2002.

Starring

• James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
• Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi *
• Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
• Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti *
• Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr.
• Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
• Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
• Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
• Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva *
• Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano *
• Federico Castelluccio as Furio Giunta
• John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
• Vincent Curatola as Johnny Sack
• Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri

* = credit only

Guest starring

Episode recap

As Junior's trial concludes, Eugene and Dogsy intimidate a juror. Elsewhere, Little Carmine returns to New Jersey to talk to Carmine and Johnny about reducing their demands on Tony in the dispute over the HUD scam. Johnny and Little Carmine confirm the plan, but when Carmine effuses praise on Tony, Little Carmine becomes jealous and disparages him. Johnny later meets with Tony and Silvio and offers a minor compromise; Tony, angry in part because Carmine will not deal with him face-to-face, rejects it and orders that Carmine's new restaurant be vandalized.

Carmine uses his union influence to shut down work at the Esplanade project. Tony decides to wait the dispute out, expecting the financial losses on both sides will quickly force Carmine into a compromise. Johnny meets with Tony and raises the possibility of killing Carmine, surprising him. Meanwhile, Carmela and A.J. discuss a paper he is writing on Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Tony's callous behavior toward Carmela angers Furio, who has difficulty restraining himself when he calls his wife a "moody bitch." Tony remains oblivious of the growing sexual tension between Carmela and Furio. Carmela later visits Furio's house to discuss decorating, but a possible escalation to sex is interrupted by one of her father's contractors.

Tony, Furio, and other members of the crew visit an Indian casino in Connecticut. While most of the others carouse, Furio stands aloof. Later, as the drunken crew prepares to board the casino's helicopter for the flight home, Furio grabs Tony by the shirt front and appears barely able to restrain himself from shoving him into the spinning tail rotor. Furio tells the baffled Tony he was standing too close to the blades. The next day, Furio does not appear to pick up Tony when expected, and Carmela and Tony learn he has abruptly returned to Italy. When Rosalie suggests Tony might have taken action against Furio, she becomes distraught and is later seen spending time crying alone.

Paulie's mother Nucci gets into a minor car crash with her friend Minn. Later, Paulie has lunch with Nucci, Minn, and Cookie, and overhears that Minn keeps her life savings under her mattress at home. After a rough-edged conversation with Silvio about his loyalty to the family reveals Tony's unhappiness with his declining earnings, Paulie runs into Carmine and learns that Johnny never informed the New York boss of who he is or of his proposed shift in loyalties. Shocked, Paulie decides to steal Minn's cash to make up for his shortfall to Tony. The burglary goes awry when Minn stumbles upon him in her bedroom, forcing him to suffocate her with a pillow. He takes the large envelope of money to Tony.

A family dinner to meet Meadow's new boyfriend, Finn DeTrolio, further dispirits Carmela. She argues with Meadow and her roommates about the homosexual themes in Billy Budd, which spills over into their mother-daughter birthday outing the next day. Carmela complains to Tony while Meadow learns from A.J. about her visits to Furio's home and her depression since he left. Tony later approaches Meadow and reveals that he and Carmela both had couples counseling, suggesting that Meadow that she treat her mother with more restraint. Meadow does not reveal anything about Furio. Later, when Tony asks his wife if seeing Meadow turning into a "smart, beautiful, independent woman" is not all she ever wanted, Carmela stares into a wall, seemingly deeply lost in thought, and then answers in an emotionless tone of voice, "Yes."

First appearance

• Finn DeTrolio: Meadow's new boyfriend looking to go to dental school.

Deceased

• Minn Matrone: suffocated by Paulie Walnuts after he attempted to steal her money and she caught him in the act.

Final appearance

• "Eloise" marks the final appearance of the character Furio Giunta, a DiMeo crime family soldier imported from Annalisa Zucca's Camorra family in Italy. Furio is only mentioned in future episodes.

Title reference

• The title refers to the portrait, Eloise, at the Plaza Hotel, which is based on the books of the same name. Carmela and Meadow have a tradition, mentioned in the pilot episode, of eating lunch while seated in front of this painting.

References to other media and events

• There is a poster for Topdog/Underdog, the 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks, hanging in Meadow's new apartment.
• As Meadow mentions going on a ski trip with her friends, Carmela warns her to be careful, and to remember what happened to Sonny Bono. Singer, actor and politician Bono died in a skiing accident in January 1998.
• The Soprano family and Meadow's friends discuss the Herman Melville novel Billy Budd and whether or not a homosexual subtext can be found in it. During the discussion, one of Meadow's friends observes that Terence Stamp played parts not only in Billy Budd, but also in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
• A.J. also reads Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice.
• A.J. wears a Primal Scream T-shirt whilst talking to Meadow in his bedroom.
• Near the end of the episode, Carmela watches a film, How to Marry a Millionaire, on TV.
• Furio wears a S.S.C. Napoli shirt and tracksuit when he goes to the Sopranos' house to pick up Tony.
• Meadow addresses her mother as "Mrs. Danvers" when Carmela makes a comment about her physical relationship with Finn.

Music

• The song played during the Soprano family's visit to Meadow in New York is "New Slang" by The Shins.
• The song played in the background of a scene between Silvio and Paulie is Metallica's cover of "The Small Hours" by Holocaust.
• The song played at the Bada Bing office when Paulie gives Tony a large envelope of cash (after the murder and robbery of Minn Matrone) is "Real Fonky Time" by Dax Riders.
• The song played over the end credits is "Little Bird" (Live version) by Annie Lennox.
• The harp music playing in the background as Carmela and Meadow eat lunch is from the first movement of the Harp Concerto in B Flat Major, HWV 294 by Georg Friedrich Handel.
• The song played during the house party when Paulie talks to Carmine is "Tropico Main Theme Los Parranderos" by Daniel Indart.

External links

• "Eloise" at HBO
• "Eloise" on IMDb
• "Eloise" at TV.com