Moe n' Joe

"Moe n' Joe"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 6
Episode 10
Directed by Steve Shill
Written by Matthew Weiner
Cinematography by Alik Sakharov
Production code 610
Original air date May 14, 2006
Running time 53 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"Moe n' Joe" is the 75th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the 10th of the show's sixth season. Written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Steve Shill, it originally aired on May 14, 2006.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Episode recap

Facing a mountain of evidence, Johnny considers making a plea agreement with the FBI. Since such a deal would involve the confiscation of most of Johnny's assets, he sends his brother-in-law Anthony Infante to ask Tony to convince two brothers from New Orleans, who have Johnny as a silent partner in their heavy equipment leasing company, to sell it so he can get his share.

Tony reluctantly agrees, but one of the brothers, Paul Calviac, is unwilling to give up the potential profits from post-Katrina government funds and walks out of the dinner. Janice appeals to Tony to make Bobby a capo and accuses her brother of treating her and Bobby unfairly, blaming them for his shooting by Junior. Carmela pressures Tony again to meet with the building inspector and have the stop order lifted on her spec house project. Tony finally hands the job to Silvio.

In therapy sessions with Dr. Melfi, Tony sees the spec house as a distraction for Carmela. He describes their reconciliation as an understanding: if he backs her project, she turns a blind eye to his work and infidelity. He also admits that he is cruel to Janice and Bobby and takes pleasure in their misfortunes. Melfi points out that Tony has never gotten along with his sister. Tony recalls moments of Janice standing up to his abusive mother Livia, which he respected. He also recalls Janice using a tape recording of him fighting with his sister Barbara to painfully extort favors from him for a whole month. Melfi suggests to Tony that Janice's "misery" reminds him of Livia, to which Tony admits he is mistreating her in revenge for leaving him alone to deal with his mother for many years.

While making collections in a particularly dangerous section of Newark, Bobby is mugged by a gang of African-American youths. After they take his money and gun, one of them fires it into the pavement in front of Bobby and sends concrete fragments into his right eye. Paulie calls Tony to deliver the news, and also reveals that he is having radiotherapy for early stage prostate cancer. Tony's initial reaction is to criticize Bobby in front of the crew, despite Bobby's passing on his payments through Carlo, but stops when Silvio gives him a look. Later, Tony visits Bobby at his home and watches a New York Giants game. Tony observes Janice's commanding presence at the house, aggressively handling her husband and Bobby, Jr.

Janice greatly admires Ginny's house when she comes to visit with friends. Tony proposes that he will guarantee the brothers will sell their company, and in exchange, Tony will take a light cut and Johnny will sell his house at a discounted price to Janice and Bobby. Johnny reluctantly agrees, realizing he has few options left. Tony finds a distressed Meadow, and is uncomfortable discussing her concerns about her souring relationship with Finn. Tony makes the mistake of telling her she is "living in sin" with a man, which prompts her to curse at him and storm off. Elsewhere, Tony tells Silvio to not speak to Carmela's building inspector after all. Tony falsely tells Carmela that Silvio had a fruitless meeting with the building inspector, and tells her it is time to walk away and sell the spec house. Carmela is dissatisfied.

Johnny's lawyer negotiates with the prosecutor over the assets that would be left for Johnny's family and how much prison time he would get for a plea deal. Johnny learns he would have to enter an allocution. In an agonizing decision, he chooses the plea deal and his family's continued support over the oath of omertà. He receives a fifteen year sentence and publicly admits that he was a part of a New York chapter of La Cosa Nostra. Johnny's statement is met with disdain by the New York mobsters, especially by Phil, who stoically served twenty years in prison himself without ever pleading guilty. Tony and Silvio similarly regard Johnny with disgust, although defend him when talking in the presence of a gardener. Chris is furious when a U.S. Marshal takes the Maserati Coupé that Johnny sold to him.

Landscaper Sal Vitro has been taking care of the gardening at Johnny's house for free as payment for being allowed to continue working for his existing customers. Tony denies Sal's request to remove this obligation, citing the dire straits faced by Ginny while her husband is in prison and deriding Sal for being selfish. However, Sal is released from the obligation by Tony after Johnny's trial plea. Tony's gift of being able to buy the Sacrimoni house cheaply leaves Janice in tears of gratitude when she visits her brother to thank him. Tony remains unemotional.

Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Jim discovers that Vito is not really a sports writer, and Vito confesses he left a family and a job in "contracting" in New Jersey. Vito moves in with Jim, helps his firefighter team on a rescue operation, and gets a job working as a local handyman. However, Vito grows discontented with the slow pace of his new life and eventually leaves Jim. Drinking vodka and teary while driving, Vito rounds a blind corner on a country road and crashes into a parked Jeep Wagoneer. When the owner refuses to take cash as compensation and walks towards his home to call the cops, Vito murders him and drives away. Soon, he is back in New Jersey and slowly drives through the old neighborhood, stopping momentarily in front of Satriale's before speeding off.

Murders Committed

  • Car accident civilian: Shot in the back of the head by Vito while walking to his house in an attempt to call the police after Vito damages his car.

Title reference

  • While playing with his model train set, Bobby asks his son to watch the "Moe 'n Joe action." The term "Moe and Joe" is in reference to a model flatcar from Lionel (which includes the Moe and Joe characters, a pair of workmen) that unloads wooden boards, as shown in the episode. [1] A model train reference as an episode title will be used again for the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet."
  • The title could also refer to Vito Spatafore, who tries to be a workman in this episode. He works with lumber in a blue-collar construction job but ultimately finds it intolerable and quits.
  • The title could refer to the relationship between Vito and Jim or their lifestyle as the slang Moe ('mo) for homosexual and Joe as in "regular Joe" for a working class male.

Production

  • This episode marks the final appearance of the character Finn DeTrolio.
  • This episode marks the first time we see Tony getting the newspaper at the end of his driveway this season. The "newspaper shot" is usually featured in the first episode of each season.
  • Following a love scene between Vito and Jim, the director cuts to the image of a train entering a tunnel (Bobby's Lionel) and later Vito sawing wood, metaphors for sex.

Connections to prior episodes

  • Sal Vitro was tasked with landscaping Johnny Sacrimoni's land during the Paulie - "Feech" La Manna feud in the season 5 episode "Where's Johnny?"
  • Vito kills the civilian the same way he murdered Jackie Aprile Jr. in "Army of One" - with a shot to the back of the head.
  • Janice pleads with Tony to make Bobby a Captain but Bobby replaced Murf as Captain of Juniors Crew in Season 2.

Other cultural references

Music

  • The song played in the Dartford bar where Vito, Jim and the firefighters are drinking is "I Love This Bar", by Toby Keith.
  • The song played as Vito makes dinner for Jim is "That's Amore", by Dean Martin.
  • The song played on Vito's car radio as he crashes into the civilian's Jeep Wagoneer is "My Way", by Frank Sinatra.
  • The song played over the end credits is "Let It Rock" by Chuck Berry. It is about hard work on a railroad as a train is headed down the tracks.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lionel.com/Products/Catalogs/Catalog.cfm?CatalogID=7&PageID=681
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