Cold Stones

Starring

* = credit only

Tony and A.J.

Carmela discovers that A.J. was fired from his job at Blockbuster for taking promotional items to sell them and has kept this a secret for three weeks. During the heated family argument that ensues, he complains that the job did not pay enough to sustain the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed, including regular nights out in expensive New York nightclubs. Tony tells A.J. that he should be grateful to his mother because, had Tony had his way, Tony would have "knocked out all his baby teeth with one shot." A.J. responds with an obscene gesture after his parents have left the room.

Tony sees A.J. barely dressed, giggling and instant messaging on his computer and stares in disgust. In therapy, Tony discloses that he has been feeling hatred towards his son, feeling that A.J. is wasting his life. Tony says his father would find this hilarious and tells her that if Carmela had not protected A.J., he would be a better person. Dr. Melfi uses this to approach Tony's personality since she sees his life as a product of his father's own brutality, taking his anger out on others and having a desperate need to dominate and control. Tony says he could not even hit A.J. because of his small size, which he says comes from Carmela's side of the family. Melfi then points out that what Tony accuses Carmela of (protecting A.J.) is exactly what he used to mention in their sessions that he wanted from his own mother Livia, but never received.

At the Soprano house, Hernan, Rhiannon, and A.J. play video games. Tony then asks A.J. to join him in the garage, where he announces that he has provided him with a construction job. Tony threatens A.J. to take away his car and other possessions and to kick him out of the house. A.J. protests about his inability to have a job if he is looking to reenroll in school, to which Tony says many of the men who work at the construction job are high school and college students, and as such the firm can accommodate A.J's situation. A.J. rolls his eyes at this, instigating Tony to casually smash A.J.'s windshield with a football helmet and threaten to destroy the car entirely. Tony then warns his son, "Don't put me to the test." The next morning, A.J. gets up early to leave for work at the construction site.

Meadow

Meadow talks to her parents about following her fiancé Finn to California. She says gaining experience at his dental school would be useful in her application to a medical school, although she is still not sure if she will want to apply to one, or to a law school instead. Meadow bristles and dismisses Carmela's musings about what she had perceived as mounting friction between the couple.

Carmela and Rosalie's Paris trip

Over breakfast, Carmela discusses with Tony a trip to Paris she won at the silent auction she arranged for the Feast of St. Elzear, stating that she needs a break from her worries with the spec house and their children. Tony says he cannot accompany her because he is too busy and that "The Frogs (French) hate us (Americans)", but encourages her to take Rosalie Aprile instead, as she planned. Tony also presents Carmela with a purse full of money for her trip.

In Paris, Carmela reacts to the surroundings with emotional intensity and philosophy, unlike the more prosaic Rosalie, who is often distracted and later exchanges telephone numbers with a much younger local man, Michel. Over dinner, Carmela brings up Rosalie's grief over the loss of her husband and son, which they have never discussed in detail. Rosalie becomes angry that Carmela is spoiling their vacation with the morbid Jersey memories but does reveal that she feels her grief is futile. Rosalie then tells Carmela she is going out with Michel and invites her along. However, Carmela decides she will walk along the Seine instead.

One night in Paris, Carmela dreams of Adriana walking her dog, Cosette, by the Eiffel Tower. In the dream, a gendarme with an American accent asks Carmela to tell Adriana that she is dead.

With Carmela away, Tony cheats on his wife for the first time since his coma, receiving oral sex from a Bada Bing! stripper. Later, Tony welcomes Carmela back at the house.

Vito

Vito Spatafore approaches Tony at a mall while his brother, Bryan, stands guard. Vito tries to convince Tony he is not really homosexual, but that his blood pressure medication had temporarily confused him. Tony is unimpressed by this explanation and angered that Vito and Bryan have "sandbagged" him. Vito asks to buy his way back in, with $200,000 to appease Tony and operate a business in Atlantic City involving prostitution and methamphetamine trafficking. Tony appears willing to consider the offer and later discusses Vito with Silvio Dante, Christopher Moltisanti, and Paulie Walnuts. Silvio recommends that abandoning Vito would be the proper way to deal with the situation. Tony then relays Vito's request for consideration, and Paulie responds by silently leaving the room.

Vito has a reunion dinner out with his family in Rockefeller Center. He tells his children that he has been working as an undercover spy for the CIA in Afghanistan as an alibi for his absence and demands that his family keep quiet about his return. As Vito and Marie watch their children ice skate, she asks if he will seek therapy and speak with a priest. Vito scoffs at this and recommends they have another child. Later in a Fort Lee motel room, Vito calls an upset Jim who describes Vito as "seriously fucked up." Jim doesn't buy Vito's excuse that he missed his family and tells Vito it was the life of self-indulgence that he missed. Vito admits that is true and says he didn't want to drag Jim into his lifestyle. Jim tells Vito never to call him again and hangs up. Later, Vito meets with Terry Doria at a local supermarket, and willing to start building back his good name among mobsters, agrees to lend Terry $20,000 to pay off an outstanding child support payment to his ex-wife.

Tony and Phil Leotardo, who has now started making decisions as the acting boss of the Lupertazzi crime family and named Johnny "Sack" as boss "in name only," following his plea deal at the trial, disagree over "no-show" jobs on a new construction project. When they meet later at the statue of Lou Costello in Paterson, Phil is extremely angry after learning Vito is back in town and confronts Tony about the matter. Annoyed at being called by Phil for a matter Tony perceives as none of Phil's business, Tony reiterates to Phil that Vito is his captain and that Phil should leave the situation alone. Unfazed, Phil continues his tirade while Tony simply walks away from the meeting. Tony later angrily discusses the situation with Silvio and finally decides Vito must be killed in order to appease Phil, who might otherwise harm their business and possibly start an unwanted war. Upset, Tony tries to relieve the guilt of the hit by saying the situation was Vito's fault, as he should have stayed away from Jersey. Silvio tells Tony not to blame himself for the decision. Both agree that Carlo would be the best choice for the job, due to Carlo's apparent hatred of homosexuality.

Phil and his wife, Patty, discuss Vito's sexuality. Patty expresses her disappointment and resentment for having a homosexual in the family. She tells Phil that Vito "has to be made to face his problems squarely." Meanwhile, Vito phones Tony, who arranges a meeting at the mall the following morning, planning for Carlo to lie in wait there and snatch him in the parking lot. However, when Vito arrives at his motel, upon entering his room, he is ambushed by New York mobsters "Fat Dom" and Gerry Torciano who knock him down and duct tape his mouth. Vito tearfully pleads to spare him as Phil literally comes out of the closet and watches Dom and Gerry beat Vito to death with batons, after telling Vito he is a "fucking disgrace."

The Soprano crime family learns from Bobby Baccalieri that Vito was found dead with a pool cue inserted in his rectum. The room falls silent as Tony deduces it was likely Phil Leotardo who killed his capo. Carlo comes in and states that "you have to admire Phil — it's not all talk with him." Patsy remarks that he wishes he had borrowed money from Vito as Terry subtly smiles to himself. Tony takes Silvio aside and tells him that the murder is not about Vito but about Phil's defiance of his authority, Tony believes Phil is sending the family a message that he can kill one of Tony's captains and Tony cannot do anything about it. Tony tells Silvio he does not want a war with Phil, as it would likely be protracted and cripple their earning capacity. He decides to hit back at Phil financially, noting that Phil has "a wire room in Sheepshead Bay."

Phil and Patty Leotardo console Marie Spatafore over her husband's death who is in tears and insists Vito was a good husband and father. Patty maintains that homosexuality is a sin but this time says that one has to "hate the sin and love the sinner" as she starts sobbing herself. Phil, on the other hand, remains firm and tells Marie that, although he loved Vito "like a brother-in-law," it may be for the benefit of her children not to have their father as their role model. However, Phil is later seen being unable to fall asleep in bed that night.

At Satriale's, Carlo and Silvio prepare a meal. "Fat Dom" arrives to make a payment to Silvio but declines the meal, as he must visit his daughter who lives nearby. Dom, who was one of the men involved in the murder of Vito, starts making crude jokes about Vito's death. When he insults the entire Jersey family and jokes that Carlo was involved with Vito sexually, tempers snap and Silvio hits him over the head with a dustbuster and grabs him while Carlo repeatedly stabs him with a chef's knife until Dom collapses backward on to the full dinner table, dead. Silvio tells Carlo to call the others and say that dinner is canceled; they then devise a plan on how to dispose of the body and evidence. As they wait for the night to fall and play cards, Tony doesn't get the call and enters despite Silvio's warnings not to. When Tony sees what has happened, he wordlessly exits the store with his hands up, letting Silvio and Carlo deal with it. Silvio, likewise exasperated, promises to take care of the body and shouts blame at Vito for the unplanned incident.

At the Spatafore home, Francesca and Vito, Jr. read the news article about their father's death late one evening and realize that he lied about his involvement with the CIA and he was in fact a mobster. Elsewhere, Vito's Thin Club photographer recognizes his picture in the paper. He finds an album of his work and shows his assistant the cover photo he shot of Vito.

Deceased

Production

Music