Whoever Did This

"Whoever Did This"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 4
Episode 9
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Written by Robin Green
Mitchell Burgess
Cinematography by Phil Abraham
Production code 409
Original air date November 10, 2002
Running time 56 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"Whoever Did This" is the 48th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's fourth season. Written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on November 10, 2002.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Episode recap

Junior is hospitalized with a concussion after a boom mic sends him falling down the courthouse steps. He soon recovers and enjoys his hospital stay as respite from the RICO trial. Tony recognizes this as a potential advantage and convinces Junior to feign dementia during his competency hearings, which he accomplishes. However, Junior begins exhibiting actual signs of dementia in private, and wanders to a neighbor's house looking for ice cream.

Ralphie's 12-year-old son Justin is hit in the chest with an arrow while play-acting The Lord of the Rings with a friend, resulting in significant blood loss and brain damage. In the aftermath, Ralphie is met with sympathy by everyone except Paulie, who suspects he was behind a traumatic prank call to his mother in retaliation for Paulie ratting him out to Johnny. Ralphie cries openly in front of Tony and expresses desire for some kind of redemption, meeting with Father Phil and establishing a scholarship at Rutgers in Jackie Jr.'s name. Even Carmela seems convinced Ralphie may be turning over a new leaf.

Tony gets a call that Pie-O-My, the racehorse he shared with Ralphie, was killed in a stable fire. Tony immediately suspects Ralphie, and confronts him in his home. Ralphie vehemently denies the accusation, but their argument escalates into a physical fight, leading to Tony killing Ralphie with his bare hands. He calls Christopher, reaching him immediately after he has injected heroin, to help with the clean up. A doped-up Chris arrives late and helps Tony dismember Ralphie's body, then dispose of his remains in separate locations. Tony never outright confesses to Chris that he murdered Ralphie, and Chris never expresses suspicion, but both acknowledge that the situation would look bad. After completing the disposal, they clean up at the Bada Bing, where Tony passes out and wakes up alone the following morning.

Deceased

  • Pie-O-My and several other horses: Killed in a stable fire. Cause is deemed accidental by insurance company.
  • Ralph Cifaretto: beaten and strangled to death by Tony Soprano due to suspicion that he caused the fire that killed Pie-O-My, which Ralph denies. His body is then dismembered and decapitated with the help of Christopher Moltisanti.

Title reference

  • Tony uses the phrase "whoever did this" when discussing with Christopher who exactly was responsible for Ralphie's death. Earlier, he used the phrase in reference to the guilty party responsible for the prank call to Paulie's mother. In both instances, the people listening most likely already know who "whoever" actually is, but do not want to publicly utter the name.
  • The title may also refer to the stable fire and Tony's suspicions of Ralphie.
  • Ralphie trying to figure out who told Johnny Sack about the Ginny Sack joke.
  • Whether God or the Devil, symbolized by Ralphie himself, is responsible for Ralphie's son's tragic injury.

Connections to prior episodes

  • When Tony confronts Ralph about the fire, he asks him about Corky Ianucci. Tony believes Ralph hired him to start the stable fire which killed Pie-O-My. Corky was also apparently used by Silvio to help blow up Vesuvio, the restaurant owned by Artie Bucco, in the pilot episode.
  • When Tony looks in the mirror the morning after killing Ralph, he sees a picture of Tracee, the Bada Bing stripper whom Ralph killed in the episode "University."
  • In "University," Tony and Silvio remark that Tracee the stripper is a good looking "thoroughbred." Pie-O-My is also a good-looking thoroughbred, and Ralph is suspected of killing them both.
  • In "University," Ralph was particularly obsessed with gladiator films, quoting Ridley Scott's Gladiator and watching Kubrick's Spartacus. Ralph himself dies in a violent duel to the death.
  • In "The Weight", Johnny Sack tells Ralph "I should've let Tony chop off your head a year ago." This statement foreshadows the events of this episode.

Other cultural references

  • Carmela is seen wearing a Columbia University T-shirt when talking to Tony and her son in the kitchen.
  • After Ralph's murder, Tony and Christopher watch The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) on Ralph's television. The film is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, "Babylon Revisited."
  • The reason why Tony killed Ralph may be a reference to the classic gangster movie The Public Enemy (1931). In the movie, Nails Nathan - friend of the main character Tom Powers - killed by a horse while riding it, caused Tom to whack the horse for revenge of his friend.

Music

  • "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer is playing when Ralph is in the bath.
  • The Moonglows' original recording of "Sincerely" plays while Carmela and Rosalie dine at Vesuvio.
  • The song played over the end credits is "The Man with the Harmonica" by Apollo 440. It is originally from the Ennio Morricone score of Once Upon a Time in the West, a Sergio Leone film. The man with the harmonica was played by Charles Bronson.
  • Though not heard, the song "Sympathy For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones is referenced four times through various dialogue directly alluding to Ralph as the devil. Ralph to surgeon: "Please, allow me to introduce myself." Ralph to Father Intintola: "Pleased to meet you." Father Intintola to Ralph: "Were you there, when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain?" Tony to Paulie: "Paulie, his kid's in the hospital. A little fuckin' sympathy, huh?". The references allude to the fact that Ralph in this episode for the first time is portrayed somewhat sympathetically.

True-crime inspiration

Jason Bautista was convicted of killing his mentally ill mother in Riverside, California on January 14, 2003, then dumping her decapitated body with its hands removed off Ortega Highway in Orange County. Jason's half-brother, Matthew Montejo, who was 15 years old when Jason killed their mother, testified in court that he helped dispose of her body, and that they got the idea to chop off her head and hands to hide the crime from this episode.[1][2]

Awards

"Whoever Did This" was Joe Pantoliano's 2003 winning submission for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

References

  1. ↑ Derrik J. Lang, AP Entertainment Writer (20 April 2012). "'Call of Duty' latest fiction to inspire nightmare". =Boston Globe. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Son sentenced to 25 years for mother's murder". nctimes.com. Santa Ana, California: North Country Times. 9 April 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
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