Cold Cuts (The Sopranos)

Starring

* = credit only

Episode recap

Tony Soprano has a meeting with Johnny Sack about a missing load of smuggled Vespa scooters from a shipping container that were supposed to be received by Carlo Gervasi's crew and split between the two families. Sack denies any knowledge about the whereabouts of the Vespas and makes a pointed reference to Tony's continued denial that his cousin Tony Blundetto was involved in the murder of "Joey Peeps." Tony suspects Johnny seized the shipment for himself, as Silvio comments the New York mobster has been acting hostile towards them since Peeps' funeral and his private one-on-one talk with Tony. Tony Soprano sends Benny Fazio and a member of Carlo's crew to the port to investigate. The two find, beat up, and intimidate a security guard working there who divulges that Phil Leotardo indeed took the scooters. With a shipment of expensive Italian cheeses coming in, Tony and his crew worry about even more financial losses their strained relations with the Lupertazzi family could incur.

Janice Soprano makes the TV news after getting arrested for physically assaulting a parent who was disparaging her stepdaughter Sophia at a youth soccer game and for resisting arrest. Tony is infuriated over the unnecessary media publicity brought to his family and storms into the Baccalieri home late at night, demanding Janice to stop with her plans for any legal appeals but to contact Neil Mink and quietly plead guilty. Tony also again demands that Bobby "take control" of his wife. Citing her especially bellicose conduct lately, which even prevents her from shopping for food peacefully, Bobby gives Janice an ultimatum to either see an anger management specialist or their marriage will not work. Janice starts attending anger management classes and later informs Tony that she is very pleased with them and that they have helped her make tremendous progress; Tony says he is happy for her.

The "Soprano temper" becomes the focus of Tony's next session with Dr. Melfi. She observes that depression and anger are Soprano family traits and that depression can be a manifestation of rage turned inward.

Carmela Soprano continues to act hostile towards Tony and drains the water from their house's pool to prevent Tony from taking swims there. After another one of their fights, the two agree to eventually organize an engagement party for Meadow and Finn DeTrolio. However, when Carmela runs into Robert Wegler at A.J.'s school, she spontaneously announces to him she is moving back in with her husband. Later, she is quick to deny she has any such plans to her friend Rosalie Aprile.

Tony summons Christopher Moltisanti and Tony B to tell them they have a job to do at their retired mobster Uncle Pat Blundetto's farm in Kinderhook, New York. (The actual location of the farm used was in Red Hook, New York (Dutchess County) ). The farm is about to come under new ownership, so they must locate and move three bodies that were buried there over the years: Emil Kolar (Christopher's first murder victim) and the Johnson brothers (killed by Johnny Boy Soprano). Before the trip, Christopher once again complains about Tony B to Adriana, telling her how the two Tonys used to tease him when he was a kid when they all stayed at the farm, which always hurt, especially since he admired them both. His further complaints about his position in the crime family prompt Adriana to reapproach him with the suggestion to leave Jersey altogether and start a new life elsewhere, but Christopher replies that he is "a soldier" for life. Initially, Christopher acts rude towards Tony B, but they eventually bond while doing the work. They unearth Emil's skeleton at night, crush his bones into pieces, and throw them into a lake, but they cannot proceed with removing the dead brothers' remains since Uncle Pat has difficulty remembering exactly where the two were buried. Another day, while drinking some homemade wine together, Pat finally remembers the burial site. That evening, Tony pays them all a surprise visit and oversees the disposal of the final bodies. Once the two Tonys are reunited, they fall back into their old routine of picking on their younger cousin. Christopher takes the insults personally, especially the jabs aimed at his substance abuse recovery. He passes up the opportunity to go hunting with the two Tonys and leaves the farm early the next morning, driving home alone and teary.

Once back in New Jersey, Tony visits the Bada Bing and initiates a discussion of the terrorist threat tied to unexamined cargo containers at the ports, especially threats involving smuggled nuclear and biological weapons (a subject Tony learned about after watching a documentary at Uncle Pat's farm). When Georgie Santorelli remarks that "you have to live for today," Tony suddenly explodes in fury and gives him a beating that sends him to the hospital and makes him partially lose his hearing. Afterwards, Tony is remorseful, and gives Paulie a wad of bills and insists that he make sure Georgie receives the best care. Paulie then informs Tony that Georgie does not want to see him again and is quitting his job at the Bada Bing.

Tony joins Janice and Bobby for dinner at their house but gets highly irritated when he sees Janice deal calmly with a series of minor annoyances, having seemingly overcome her outbursts. He breaks the calm by provoking the newly docile Janice by making sarcastic and increasingly hurtful comments about her estranged son, Harpo. Janice soon gets enraged and chases Tony around the room with a fork in her fist. Satisfied, Tony leaves the house and walks away.

First appearances

Connections to previous episodes

Music