He Is Risen (''The Sopranos'')

"He Is Risen"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 8
Directed by Allen Coulter
Written by Robin Green
Mitchell Burgess
Todd A. Kessler
Cinematography by Alik Sakharov
Production code 308
Original air date April 15, 2001
Running time 54 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"He Is Risen" is the 34th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the eighth of the show's third season. It was written by Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess and Todd A. Kessler, and directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on April 15, 2001.

Starring

Guest starring

Also guest starring

Plot Summary

As Tony enters Dr. Melfi's waiting-room for his appointment, he learns that she accidentally double-booked. He is intrigued by the other patient, Gloria Trillo, who works as a saleswoman at a Mercedes-Benz dealership. Elsewhere, Tony is still on the outs with Ralphie over Tracee's murder and his continued disrespect. Tony is reluctant to put Ralphie "out to pasture", as he is a particularly good earner. When he remembers that Ralphie and Rosalie are to join them for Thanksgiving dinner, he forces Carmela to lie to Rosalie; she tells her that the dinner has been cancelled due to Carmela's father's poor health.

Carmela and Rosalie notice the budding relationship between Meadow and Jackie Jr. At a club he gives her Ecstasy. Later, they are together on her bed; doped and drunk, she falls asleep; he slightly lifts her clothes, but goes no further. While on a date, they wait in a parked car outside Hunter Scangarelo's house where they make out. Meadow warns Jackie that their relationship is unlikely to go anywhere at the moment. On another evening, an over-excited Meadow takes Jackie's car and wrecks it. She is unharmed, but asks to spend the night with him instead of being driven home.

Ralphie expresses his dissatisfaction with Tony to Eugene and Vito. However, Johnny advises Ralphie to apologize to Tony. Johnny also suggests to Tony that he promote Ralphie to capo, but he refuses. At Nuovo Vesuvio, Ralphie approaches Tony and abjectly apologizes for all his past behavior, including his killing of Tracee, and blames his actions on his cocaine use. Tony doesn't acknowledge Ralphie, who leaves empty-handed. When an infuriated Ralphie complains to Johnny, he says that Tony was "posturing" as "part of the game". Tony is reluctant to replace Gigi as capo of Ralphie's crew, afraid of looking indecisive and weak. However, he is pressed into making that decision when Gigi dies of a heart attack.

At Gigi's funeral, Tony contemplates promoting Vito, Eugene, Donny K., or Ralphie. At Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony informs Ralphie that he has been bumped up to capo, but refuses to say whether he's being promoted on merit or just to replace Gigi. Later, Tony visits Gloria's dealership and she accompanies him on a test drive. They end up in bed on Tony's boat. Gloria calls Melfi to cancel her session. Melfi hears a man's voice in the background.

First appearances

Deceased

Title reference

  • It is a reference to Aaron, Janice's narcoleptic, evangelical boyfriend, who asks Jackie Jr. if he has heard "the good news, He is risen" (of Jesus Christ's resurrection).
  • Could be taken as an ironic reference to Gigi's death, or a more literal one to Ralphie's rise to captain, since Silvio refers to Ralphie as a "rising star" in the episode.
  • This episode originally aired on Easter Sunday.

Cultural references

  • When Tony tells Carmela to disinvite Ralphie and Ro for Thanksgiving Dinner, he references The Jetsons, stating Ralph's not going to Mr. Spacely's house for dinner.
  • Silvio warns Tony that Ralph is the type to pull a "Jack Ruby" on you, referring to the sneak-attacking shooter of Lee Harvey Oswald.
  • When Jackie Junior comes into Ro's kitchen, Ralph greets him, "Oh, Fabian!"
  • The deaths of Elvis Presley and Don Simpson. At the funeral of Gigi Cestone (who dies of heart failure while on the toilet), all are in agreement that Gigi's death, while natural, was arguably one of the most embarrassing ways to go. Anthony Soprano states that it's "..how Elvis went." Silvio Dante mistakenly replies, "That guy in Hollywood, too. 'Don' something. Producer of The Simpsons."
  • Tony references Sun Tzu's The Art of War on a couple of occasions.
  • Ralph refers to a dog with two bones -- an apparent reference to Devo's 1980 song "Freedom of Choice" (which supposedly referred to a Latin poem, but which actually altered an Aesop's fable about a donkey and two bales of hay)
  • Tony references "Prince Matchabelli" when he intends to reference Machiavelli's The Prince.
  • Speaking to Tony about Gigi's crew, Uncle Junior says, "For them he's a Ghibelline, coming to butt in." The Ghibellines were a political and military faction in 13th- and 14th-century Italy.

Production

  • The voiceover on the Mercedes TV commercial, which Tony watches before going to bed with Carmela and which makes him think of Gloria (who works as a saleswoman for a company that sells the cars), is voiced by Joe Mantegna, who also voices mob boss Fat Tony on The Simpsons, as well as played Joey Zaza in The Godfather Part III.

Music

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/episodes/3/34-he-is-risen/music.html
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