Full Leather Jacket

Starring

* = credit only

Episode recap

Matt Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte continue to work with Christopher Moltisanti, this time breaking safes. Matt and Sean seem to be enthusiastic about moving up in the criminal organization. They also visit Richie Aprile, introduce themselves, and listen to him make fun of Christopher and his large nose. At the Bada Bing, Matt and Sean try to introduce themselves to Tony Soprano in the bathroom but are nervous and get into too much detail about their job with Chris. Tony calls Sean a "shit-eating twat" since he did not take precautions about listening devices.

Christopher goes to Adriana's mother's home, where he apologizes for abandoning her at the restaurant weeks prior and for abusing her. Christopher then proposes marriage to Adriana and presents her with a ring. Adriana automatically says "Yes" but her mother warns Adriana that, if she gets hurt again, "this door is closed to you."

Carmela and Tony believe there are good colleges close to home for Meadow to attend, but they are worried that she might get to go to the University of California, Berkeley which Meadow has her heart set on. Carmela tells Tony that, in order to get ahead with selective college acceptance in the modern world, one has to "know someone or donate five buildings." Carmela then remembers that her neighbor, Jeannie Cusamano's twin sister, Joan O'Connell, is a prestigious alumna of Georgetown University, which is on Meadow's top list of colleges. When Jeannie fails to persuade Joan to write a letter of recommendation for Meadow, as Carmela asked her to do, Carmela sees to the matter personally by presenting Joan with a ricotta pie and a folder of Meadow's high school transcripts and teacher recommendations. Joan initially refuses to write the recommendation, but then Carmela tells her she is not asking for it, she "wants" it. Joan asks Carmela if she is threatening her, and Carmela innocently insists she is not, stating she merely brought her a pie as a friendly gesture. Carmela thanks her and proceeds to leave, without Joan actually agreeing to write the letter. Later, Jeannie Cusamano visits Carmela to bring back the plate and to inform her that Joan has looked at Meadow's transcripts and has, in the end, caved in and agreed to write her daughter the letter.

Silvio Dante and Paulie Walnuts pressure Richie Aprile to build the disabled Beansie Gaeta a ramp for his house to make it more wheelchair accessible, as part of Richie's reparations for crippling Gaeta in the first place. Richie refuses at first; however, after hearing that the request was from Tony, Richie sends his nephew Vito Spatafore and some construction workers over to make sure the job gets done (or at least make a show of it). Tony then hears from Beansie's wife that the job was half-finished and that the workers never came back. Richie says they will complete the work eventually, but he is currently renovating Livia Soprano's house. As a sign of reconciliation (or to ingratiate himself with Tony), Richie gives Tony a dark-brown leather jacket from the 1970s that was taken off of a respected mobster Rocco DiMeo. Richie brags about how Rocco was considered the toughest person around and now is nowhere to be seen after Richie "got through with him." Tony hesitantly accepts the gesture but then passes the jacket to a mechanical engineer from Poland (currently a taxicab driver) — the husband of his housekeeper, Liliana. Richie is shocked to see Liliana's husband wearing the leather jacket when he drops off some food he had made for Carmela.

Matt and Sean are humiliated when Furio Giunta comes to their apartment for Tony's ten percent "cut" from their safe cracking operation with Christopher and then takes an additional $1,000 all for himself. They realize that they are only small players and worry about their future potential. Later, while waiting for Christopher, Matt brings up the idea of doing something drastic in order to be recognized (as what happened in the Unrest of 1983 to Pussy). As Christopher exits the Skyway's Diner in Kearny, he is ambushed by Matt and Sean and shot three times. Sean is himself shot in the head and killed by Christopher after he pulls out his weapon and shoots back at an immobilized-by-his-seatbelt Sean. Matt flees the scene to Richie's hangout, where he confesses the hit to Richie and claims that it was done to prove their worth to him. Richie becomes furious, as he never authorized the assassination, and chases Matt away down the street with a baseball bat. Bevilaqua takes off to hide someplace else.

Soon after hearing about Christopher's shooting, Tony and the remainder of his crime family arrive at the hospital and take vigil at Christopher's bedside. As Christopher lies in coma, Tony, distraught, sits in a chair and asks, "How could this happen?"

First appearances

Deceased

Production

Music