The Ride (The Sopranos)
"The Ride" | |
---|---|
The Sopranos episode | |
Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 9 |
Directed by | Alan Taylor |
Written by | Terence Winter |
Cinematography by | Phil Abraham |
Production code | 609 |
Original air date | May 7, 2006 |
Running time | 54 minutes |
"The Ride" is the 74th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's sixth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Alan Taylor, it originally aired on May 7, 2006.
Starring
- James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
- Dr. Jennifer Melfi
- Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
- Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
- Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr. *
- Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
- Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
- Anthony Soprano, Jr.
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
- Janice Soprano Baccalieri
- Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
- Phil Leotardo
- Artie Bucco
- Little Carmine Lupertazzi
- Patsy Parisi
* = credit only
Guest starring
- Corky Caporale
- John Bianco as Gerry Torciano
- Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti
- Little Paulie Germani
- Benny Fazio
- John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia as Albie Cianflone
- Miryam Coppersmith as Sophia Baccalieri
- Larry Boy Barese
- Jason Molinaro
- Jonathan Del Arco as Father Jose
- Nucci Gualtieri
- Louis Gross as Perry Annunziata
- Finn DeTrolio
- Brianna and Kimberly Laughlin as Domenica Baccalieri
- Julianna Skiff
- Angelo Massagli as Bobby Baccalieri, Jr.
- Liz La Cerva
- Carlo Gervasi
- Artie Pasquale as Burt Gervasi
- James "Murmur" Zancone
- T.R. Shields III as Dale Hutchins
- Vic Noto as Viper
- Jeremy Schwartz as Biker #1
- Sylvia Kauders as Mrs. Conte
- Sal Darigo as Old Man
- Tanya P. as The Virgin Mary
- Lou Di Gennaro as Judge
- Sonny Passero as Man in Crowd
- Francis W. Erigo as Old Woman in Church
- Liz Ross as Nurse (voice)
- Barry Sigismondi as Dr. Cipolla (voice)
- Crazy Legs Conti as Himself
Synopsis
On their way home from a trip to Pennsylvania, Chris and Tony stop outside a town because Tony needs to urinate. They see two bikers stealing vintage wine from a liquor store. As the bikers go back into the store, Chris and Tony plunder their wine. They speed away and Chris exchanges gunfire with one of the bikers, wounding him. Exhilarated, Tony and Chris celebrate at a restaurant. Chris decides to break his abstinence when Tony toasts his wedding. Later, as they drink more wine in the parking lot, they reminisce about good and bad times, including the day when Chris told Tony about Adriana and the Feds. They express their long-lasting love and support for each other.
Chris pays
During the Feast, Tony and his crew manage a five-day street festival for the benefit,
Paulie's penny-pinching is blamed for an accident on a teacup ride at the festival, which leaves several people injured, including a child.
Paulie later encounters
First appearance
- Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti: Christopher's new girlfriend and later wife.
Title reference
- The episode's title most directly refers to an Bobby III, and Domenica were all riding.
- Tony spins Domenica around as in a ride.
- The title may also refer to the ride to Pennsylvania Tony and Christopher were taking when they stole the wine and bonded.
- It may refer to the philosophical "thrill ride" discussed by Tony and Dr. Melfi—something people are ready to pay their money for and actively seek to temporarily escape their mundane lives.
Production
- The episode includes a flashback scene of Christopher's emotional revelation to Tony that Adriana had been working for the FBI. That scene was originally shot as part of episode 5.12, "Long Term Parking" (directed by Tim Van Patten and photographed by Alik Sakharov), but had been cut to heighten the suspense surrounding Adriana's murder.
- The feast depicted in the episode and named as the Feast of St. Elzéar is based on the annual Feast of Seventh Avenue of Newark, a historical neighborhood of Italian-Americans, which used to be known as the First Ward. In addition to the street procession with the dollar-bill-covered statue of the saint, the feast features light shows, street decorations with colors of the Italian flag, food stands, and music (including an orchestra). David Chase said that he wanted to create an episode about the feast ever since the first season.[1][2][3]
- Actor Tony Sirico, who plays Paulie, cited the final scene as probably his character's favorite thing to do with his mother as a child, going on to explain that he really has no one else who loves him, which explains Nucci's sudden change in mood and silence.[citation needed]
References to prior episodes
- Paulie is not able to sleep and anxiously calls his doctor to learn the results of the prostate biopsy at 3 AM. In "From Where to Eternity," Christopher, awoken from a coma, told Paulie a message from what he claimed to have been the afterlife he visited—"three o'clock." Paulie disavowed the Church in that episode. This time, Paulie curses at the statue of Saint Elzéar, refuses to pay for its hat to be carried on it during the procession, and insults his adoptive mother by mentioning sinful deeds until he has a disturbing vision of the Virgin Mary at the Bada Bing!.
- Kelli asks Christopher about his inability to have children from his previous relationships, unwilling to reference Adriana's infertility; he continues with the fabricated story of her running away from him, as not to admit that she was murdered.
- At the fair, Paulie demands payment from a vendor, who later pays him short; claiming he is entitled to a rebate or rain check as is customary in Ohio. Paulie later rebukes this and tells him "yet another reason I don't live in Ohio", referencing his arrest in Youngstown, Ohio prior to Season 4.
Other cultural references
- Christopher is watching the movie Saw II at the start of the episode.
- During the first scene of The Feast of San Elzear, the music playing is from the opera Cavalleria rusticana.
- Upon arriving at a house that he is looking at for a potential purchase, Christopher says, "This is what I'm talking about, stately Wayne Manor" (the residence of Bruce Wayne).
- Following Tony and Christopher's heist of the wine (and again when Tony unloads the wine in his basement), Christopher comments that one of the bikers, with scraggly hair and a full mustache and beard, looked like "Grizzly Adams," a famed 19th Century mountaineer, later made popular as the title character in the 1977–1978 NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.
- The wine Chris and Tony steal is 1986 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, an expensive Bordeaux claret. Chris sells his five cases for $300.00; a sum of $5.00 a bottle.
- The episode uses a reference to Hurricane Katrina. Tony runs into Paulie in the bathroom and says "you're doing a heck of a job there, Brownie," a reference to a similar statement made by George W. Bush to then-Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown. Bush's comment is often used to sarcastically praise someone who is doing a poor job.
- Christopher calls Tony "The Bad Lieutenant." The Christjust as Paulie sees a vision of the Virgin Mary at the Bada Bing!.
- When Tony denies Christopher killed Adriana, he mentions Scott Petersonto Carmela as examples of a lethal domestic violence case.
Music
- The song playing in the background at the Bada Bing! while Christopher announces his marriage is "Flash and Crash" by 1960s Seattle garage rock band Rocky & The Riddlers.
- The music playing while Christopher and Tony are driving and stealing wine is "All Right Now" by British rock band Free.
- The song briefly heard while Christopher and Tony are driving home is "Midnight Rider" by Buddy Miles.
- The song playing throughout Christopher's high is "The Dolphins" by folk artist Fred Neil.
- The song played when Tony Soprano and Phil Leotardo meet at the feast is "A Chi" by Italian singer Fausto Leali. The song is played again at the end of the episode when Tony and Carmela join the Baccalieris at the feast.
- The song played when Tony Soprano lifts his niece and spins her around is "Johnny & The Hurricanes.
- The polka played on accordion by Myron Floren on The Lawrence Welk Show during Paulie's visit to Nucci is the Norwegian children's song "Hompetitten" (presented as "Johnny Oslo Schottische"). The music was written by Gunnar Wahlberg and originally had lyrics by Alf Prøysen.
- A live cover version of "Pipeline", performed by Johnny Thunders, plays over the episode credits.
References
- ISBN 978-1-933821-18-4.
- ^ "Saint Gerard Maiella at St. Lucy's Church website". Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved Oct 22, 2013.
- ^ "Photos from the Feast of St. Gerard at St. Lucy's Church website". Retrieved Oct 22, 2013.
External links
- "The Ride" Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
- "The Ride" at IMDb