Bust Out

"Bust Out"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 10
Directed by John Patterson
Written by Frank Renzulli
Robin Green
Mitchell Burgess
Cinematography by Phil Abraham
Production code 210
Original air date March 19, 2000
Running time 59 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"Bust Out" is the 23rd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the 10th of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess and directed by John Patterson, and originally aired on March 19, 2000.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Also guest starring

Episode recap

The police locate a witness who identifies Tony as one of the men who murdered Matt. Tony panics 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 that the murder relates to the Mafia and urgently contacts the police to retract his statement.

Tony and Richie squeeze money out of Davey's store, buying expensive merchandise on the store's credit and selling it on the street. They inform Davey the squeeze will continue unless he is able to pay back his gambling debts. Davey becomes desperate to the point of becoming suicidal. Later, Carmela has lunch at Nuovo Vesuvio with Davey's wife, who expresses concern about his gambling. Unhappy with the cut he is getting from Davey's store and the deal he has with the Soprano family's sanitation business, Richie approaches Junior with the idea of eliminating 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 in his store. In a late-night conversation with Tony, he asks how this will end. Tony explains that he and Richie will keep squeezing the store until it is forced into bankruptcy. 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, and only let Davey in the game because he knew this store was available to bust out. He 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. Victor is the brother of Davey's wife and also a widower. He and Carmela share a passionate kiss, but realize the futility of the situation. However, when he calls her, she invites him over for a "discussion" and gourmet meal that she prepares herself. In the meantime, Victor learns of Tony's involvement with his brother-in-law 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 and capsize two men in a canoe.

Title reference

  • A "bust out" is a fraud tactic, commonly used in the organized crime world, wherein a business' assets and lines of credit are exploited and exhausted to the point of bankruptcy.[1] Richie and Tony profit from busting out Davey Scatino's sporting goods store in this episode.
  • "Bust out" is also a poker term that Poker News defines as: "To lose all your chips and thus be eliminated from a tournament."[2]

Cultural references

Music

  • The piano instrumental playing at Nuovo Vesuvio during lunch with Carmela and Christine Scatino is "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".
  • The song "Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli appears for the third time this season, played as Carmela thinks about and receives a phone call from the handyman. This song was especially prominent in "Commendatori", playing (among other places) when Carmela and her friends discussed hoping to be free of their husbands.
  • The music playing during the scene wherein the witness realizes the murder victim was a Mafia associate is the second movement from Anton Webern's Variations for Piano, Op. 27.
  • When Carmela is preparing the food for her lunch with Vic Musto, "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain is heard playing in the background.
  • The song played over the end credits is "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey; this song was also heard in the scene wherein painters were wallpapering the Sopranos' dining room.

References

  1. ↑ Experian Data Analytics. Bust-out fraud 2018: Knowing what to look for can save the bottom line (PDF). Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Poker Terms: Bust Out". Poker News. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
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