Episode no. Season 2
Episode 10 Cinematography by Phil Abraham Original air date March 19, 2000 | Directed by John Patterson Production code 210 | |
Written by Frank Renzulli
Robin Green
Mitchell Burgess | ||
"Bust Out" is the twenty-third episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the tenth of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on March 19, 2000.
Contents
Starring
* = credit only
Guest starring
Episode recap
The police locate an eyewitness to the Bevilaqua killing who identifies Tony Soprano from a book of suspect photos. He didn't get a good look at Pussy, but describes the second man as "a husky accomplice". Tony is panicked when word of the case reaches him, and he makes plans to flee until the witness can be identified and dealt with. He gives a sports bag full of cash to his lawyer, Neil Mink, to provide for his family. Luckily for Tony, the witness realizes (via a newspaper article) that the murder relates to the Mafia, and is not a drug-related dispute as the detectives had let him believe, and he urgently contacts the police department to retract his statement.
Tony and Richie Aprile squeeze money out of David Scatino's store, ordering Ramlösa bottled water, coolers, airline tickets, and sneakers on the store's credit and selling the merchandise on the street. They inform Davey the squeeze will continue unless he is able to pay the money he owes them. Davey is distraught over his situation and at one point, he lies on a pool table in his basement while pointing a pistol into his mouth. When his wife enters the room he hides the weapon in the ceiling tiles and claims to be fixing a light. Later, his wife and Carmela Soprano have lunch at Nuovo Vesuvio and she expresses concern about Davey's gambling, mentioning that the sporting goods store is in her name. Artie Bucco serves them the mineral water that Tony had Davey order, mentioning that he got a great deal on the price.
Unhappy with the cut he is getting from Davey's store and the deal he has with Barone Sanitation, Richie discusses with Junior Soprano the possibility of getting rid of Tony. When Junior admonishes him, Richie reminds him of Junior's plan to kill Tony the previous year.
Too embarrassed to go home, Davey has taken to sleeping in a small tent set up at the store. In a late-night conversation with Tony, he asks how this will end. Tony explains that he and Richie will keep charging items to the store's credit and selling them until there is no more credit available and bankruptcy is the only option for the store. Davey is inconsolable even after Tony explains that Davey's debts to both Tony and Richie will then be considered satisfied. Tony also explains to Davey that this is one of his primary sources of income, he only let Davey in the game because he knew this store was available to bust out, and reminds Davey that the Executive Game was fair; Davey could just as easily have won a lot of money as lost it.
After imploring Tony to stop cheating on her in the previous episode, Carmela is attracted to a new handyman, Victor Musto. Musto is the brother of Davey's wife and also a widower. He and Carmela share a passionate kiss, and then realize the futility of the situation. However, when he calls her, she invites him over for a "discussion" and gourmet meal, which she prepares herself. In the meantime, he learns of Tony's involvement with his brother-in-law (Davey) and sends an assistant to meet her instead of arriving himself.
Tony tries to get closer to A.J. and Meadow, but does not succeed until Tony takes A.J. on his boat at the end of the episode, where they crank the boat up to full power and capsize two men in a canoe.