Sentimental Education (''The Sopranos'')

"Sentimental Education"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 6
Directed by	Peter Bogdanovich
Written by	Matthew Weiner
Cinematography by	Phil Abraham
Production code	507
Original air date	April 11, 2004
Running time	55 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
see below

"Sentimental Education" is the fifty-eighth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the sixth of the show's fifth season. It was written by Matthew Weiner, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and originally aired on April 11, 2004.

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 DiScala as Meadow Soprano
• Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
• Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Baccalieri
• Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
• and Steve Buscemi as Tony Blundetto

* = credit only

Guest starring

Episode recap

When Tony finds it increasingly difficult to take care of A.J., the boy is sent back to Carmela who lets him move back in on the condition that he improve his grades and behavior. Carmela visits A.J.'s guidance counselor, Mr. Wegler, and finds herself agreeing to dinner with him. The following evening, after eating at a fine Italian restaurant, the two kiss in his car. Carmela feels guilty and goes to Father Phil Intintola, advises her not to act on her feelings since she is still married to Tony. Carmela sleeps with Mr. Wegler anyway and spends the night at his house.

Despite confessing to Father Phil, Carmela continues the affair. After a date, she says she can't sleep with Mr. Wegler for A.J.'s sake, abruptly leaving his house. The next day, Mr. Wegler pressures one of A.J.'s teachers to raise his grade for a poorly written essay. After several rounds of sex followed by Carmela talking about A.J., Mr. Wegler comes to the conclusion that she is just using him to get her son better grades and wants to end the relationship. Carmela is hurt by this, and, after an argument, threatens Wegler before storming out. When her father visits the house and finds her despondent, he suggests that she look for other men. Carmela replies that her status as Tony's wife will always cause other people to assume that she is seeking to gain some benefits.

Tony B tries to adjust to civilian life but is at odds with his employer, Kim. With the help of his girlfriend Gwen, Tony B passes his state massage board exam and is hopeful to open his own business. Kim offers to partner up with Tony B, as he happens to have an empty storefront in West Caldwell. Later, Tony B comes across a bag containing $12,000, which has been abandoned by fleeing drug dealers. Despite having a streak of good luck, Tony B goes on a self-destructive tear and wastes most of the money on gambling and expensive clothes. After fighting on the phone with Gwen, he mocks Kim's English pronunciations and beats him up. While eating with Tony at Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony B hints that he screwed up and asks if he still needs someone to cover the airbag scheme. "It's hard doing business with strangers," responds Tony, smiling.

Title reference

• Sentimental Education is a book written by Gustave Flaubert, who also wrote Madame Bovary, which Mr. Wegler recommends to Carmela.
• It may be a reference to Mr. Wegler, one of the key players in A.J.'s education and his romantic involvement with Carmela.
• It may be a reference to A.J.'s high school education itself, which Carmela is so concerned about, and to Tony Blundetto's massage therapist exam studies.
• The title could also refer to the lessons learned by 1) Carmela with her affair - that her worth as a person might be biasedly judged by others--even in such intimate circumstances--due to her husband Tony's infamy, and 2) Tony Blundetto, who finds out that trying to make a living the honest way and doing business with outsiders may prove to be too demanding.

Production

• The episode was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who also has a recurring guest role as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg (Dr. Melfi's psychotherapist) on the show, although he does not appear in this episode.
• Although the sixth episode of the season, it was produced as seventh, due to scheduling availability of director Peter Bogdanovich, as the following episode was directed by cast member Steve Buscemi, who wanted to direct an episode that his character was minimally featured in.^[1]

Cultural references

• Carmela finds the book The Letters of Abelard and Heloise in Wegler's bathroom and asks him about it. She later tells Father Phil who erroneously corrects her pronunciation of 'Heloise'.
• During her confession, Carmela tells Father Phil Intintola her affair makes her feel as if "walking around on a cloud" as the character Maria from the West Side Story.
• Tony Blundetto buys his twin sons a pair of Nintendo Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles.
• Tony Blundetto discusses Keith Jarrett with Tony Soprano as piped music for his massage palour.
• A.J. tries to write an English school paper on Lord of the Flies but ends up plagiarizing it.
• A.J.'s teacher calls A.J. "Fredo Corleone" in a conversation with Wegler, referring to Michael Corleone's less gifted older brother in The Godfather novels and films.

Music

• The song played on Tony B's delivery truck radio when it's stolen is "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" by The Greg Kihn Band.
• The song played when Carmela is deciding what to wear before seeing Robert Wegler is "The Angels Listened In" by The Crests.
• The song played when Carmela and Bob eat at a restaurant is "Mon homme" (lyrics by Maurice Yvain).
• The song played when Carmela is peeling the cucumber is "Over The Mountain" by Johnnie & Joe.
• The song played in Paulie's Cadillac is "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter.
• The song played over the end credits is "The Blues is my Business" by Etta James.
• Tony Blundetto's ringtone is a monophonic version of "We Are The Champions" by Queen

References

External links

• "Sentimental Education" at HBO
• "Sentimental Education" on IMDb
• "Sentimental Education" at TV.com