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Walk Like a Man (The Sopranos episode)
Encyclopedia
"Walk Like a Man" is the eighty-second episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos
. It is the fifth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, the seventeenth episode of the season overall. It was written and directed by executive producer Terence Winter
in his directorial debut. It originally aired on May 6, 2007 and was watched by 7.16 million viewers.
struggles with depression
over his breakup with Blanca. He quits his job at the pizza parlor, sulks around the house, and disturbs Meadow
with suicidal comments that remind her of a girl from college who threw herself out of a window. Tony
and Carmela
have disagreements about how to help A.J. but for lack of better options, assign him to a therapist who prescribes an anti-depressant. Through his father's orders (and to the chagrin of his mother), A.J. goes to a party with fraternity members who are his age and relatives of fellow mobsters. He begins to associate with the sports betting business they are running at school, from which they are profiting considerably. At a frat party, they use A.J.'s SUV to take a gambler who fails to pay into the woods to beat and torture him by pouring sulfuric acid
on his toes.
Meanwhile, Al Lombardo (Kelli Moltisanti's father) is the unwilling catalyst of a new feud between Christopher Moltisanti
and Paulie Gualtieri
when Paulie's nephew, Little Paulie Germani begins breaking into Al's hardware store along with Jason Molinaro and boosting power tools. After Al gets upset and Christopher has to deal with it, he warns Paulie about flouting his authority. When Jason and Little Paulie take advantage of the elderly employees at Al's store and continue their dealings with the power tools, Chris finds out and beats Little Paulie before throwing him out a window. Although he is badly hurt, Little Paulie survives the incident but suffers six broken vertebrae. In retaliation, a visibly very irate Paulie destroys Chris's front yard by running over flower beds, crushing bushes and doing burnouts in the grass in his Cadillac CTS
. Kelli Moltisanti is shaken and scared by the ordeal.
Tony tells Christopher that his frequent disappearances are alienating him from the family and making large problems out of simple ones. Christopher vents his frustration about Tony's ingratitude and insensitivity at an AA
meeting. The money situation is worked out between Chris and Paulie and the two reconcile their differences over at the Bada Bing
. The two go to toast and Paulie orders a club soda for Chris, but Chris decides to have whatever Paulie is having. Throughout the night at Bada Bing, Chris becomes drunk and begins to ramble about his daughter, causing Paulie to make some off-color remarks about her, including joking about Caitlin's working at the Bing in twenty years. Christopher (in his drunken state), believes the group is mocking him, and he leaves to see J.T. Dolan, whom he originally met in AA
. He makes veiled references to the sacrifices he has made for the sake of the family, and implies that he knows sufficient information to bring down the entire mob family if he wanted to. He attempts to tell J.T. about Adriana La Cerva
and Ralph Cifaretto, but Dolan does not want to hear the details, and requests that he be kept in the dark because "you are in the Mafia". After hearing this remark, Christopher decides to leave the apartment, but he shoots J.T. in the head before he departs.
Tony and A.J. return home at the same time to find Carmela and Meadow bonding over a late night snack, which they join. The episode ends with Christopher's arriving home, propping up one of the partially destroyed trees in his yard, and then staggering into his house.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. It is the fifth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, the seventeenth episode of the season overall. It was written and directed by executive producer Terence Winter
Terence Winter
Terence Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire...
in his directorial debut. It originally aired on May 6, 2007 and was watched by 7.16 million viewers.
Episode recap
A.J.Anthony Soprano, Jr.
Anthony John "A.J." Soprano, Jr. , played by Robert Iler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually just called "A.J.", he is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano. He is a prototypical underachiever and is a constant source of stress and anxiety for his parents...
struggles with depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
over his breakup with Blanca. He quits his job at the pizza parlor, sulks around the house, and disturbs Meadow
Meadow Soprano
Meadow Mariangela Soprano , played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Character:Meadow is the first-born child of Tony and Carmela Soprano...
with suicidal comments that remind her of a girl from college who threw herself out of a window. Tony
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
and Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
have disagreements about how to help A.J. but for lack of better options, assign him to a therapist who prescribes an anti-depressant. Through his father's orders (and to the chagrin of his mother), A.J. goes to a party with fraternity members who are his age and relatives of fellow mobsters. He begins to associate with the sports betting business they are running at school, from which they are profiting considerably. At a frat party, they use A.J.'s SUV to take a gambler who fails to pay into the woods to beat and torture him by pouring sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
on his toes.
Meanwhile, Al Lombardo (Kelli Moltisanti's father) is the unwilling catalyst of a new feud between Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
and Paulie Gualtieri
Paulie Gualtieri
Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri played by Tony Sirico, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is a caporegime and later underboss in the Soprano crime family.-Plot details:...
when Paulie's nephew, Little Paulie Germani begins breaking into Al's hardware store along with Jason Molinaro and boosting power tools. After Al gets upset and Christopher has to deal with it, he warns Paulie about flouting his authority. When Jason and Little Paulie take advantage of the elderly employees at Al's store and continue their dealings with the power tools, Chris finds out and beats Little Paulie before throwing him out a window. Although he is badly hurt, Little Paulie survives the incident but suffers six broken vertebrae. In retaliation, a visibly very irate Paulie destroys Chris's front yard by running over flower beds, crushing bushes and doing burnouts in the grass in his Cadillac CTS
Cadillac CTS
The Cadillac CTS is a mid-size car manufactured by the Cadillac marque of General Motors currently available in three body styles: Sedan, Coupe, and Sport Wagon. It was introduced in 2002 as a sports sedan, replacing the Cadillac Catera. The CTS and the supercharged CTS-V variant have been named...
. Kelli Moltisanti is shaken and scared by the ordeal.
Tony tells Christopher that his frequent disappearances are alienating him from the family and making large problems out of simple ones. Christopher vents his frustration about Tony's ingratitude and insensitivity at an AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting. The money situation is worked out between Chris and Paulie and the two reconcile their differences over at the Bada Bing
Bada Bing
The Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO drama television series The Sopranos. It was a key location for events in the series, named for catchphrase "bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan in The Godfather. The popularization of the fictional club benefited the real-life go-go...
. The two go to toast and Paulie orders a club soda for Chris, but Chris decides to have whatever Paulie is having. Throughout the night at Bada Bing, Chris becomes drunk and begins to ramble about his daughter, causing Paulie to make some off-color remarks about her, including joking about Caitlin's working at the Bing in twenty years. Christopher (in his drunken state), believes the group is mocking him, and he leaves to see J.T. Dolan, whom he originally met in AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. He makes veiled references to the sacrifices he has made for the sake of the family, and implies that he knows sufficient information to bring down the entire mob family if he wanted to. He attempts to tell J.T. about Adriana La Cerva
Adriana La Cerva
Adriana La Cerva played by Drea de Matteo, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the long-time girlfriend and, later, fiancée of Tony Soprano's protégé, Christopher Moltisanti.-Character history:...
and Ralph Cifaretto, but Dolan does not want to hear the details, and requests that he be kept in the dark because "you are in the Mafia". After hearing this remark, Christopher decides to leave the apartment, but he shoots J.T. in the head before he departs.
Tony and A.J. return home at the same time to find Carmela and Meadow bonding over a late night snack, which they join. The episode ends with Christopher's arriving home, propping up one of the partially destroyed trees in his yard, and then staggering into his house.
First appearances
The episode marks the first appearance of:- Jason Parisi: son of Patsy Parisi and a friend of A.J. Soprano and Jason Gervasi. He attends Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
and is part of a small-time crew that runs sports book operations at his college. He and Jason Gervasi are known as "The Jasons". - Walden Belfiore: soldier in the Gervasi crew.
Guest starring
- Cara BuonoCara BuonoCara Buono is an American actress, screenwriter and director, probably best known for her role as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men.-Early life:...
as Kelli Moltisanti - Carl CapotortoCarl CapotortoCarl Capotorto is an American actor, known for his portrayal of Little Paulie Germani on The Sopranos. He is also the author of Twisted Head: An Italian-American Memoir.-External links:*...
as Little Paulie Germani - Max CasellaMax CasellaMax Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
as Benny Fazio - John Cenatiempo as Anthony Maffei
- Michael Countryman as Dr. Richard Vogel
- Tim Daly as J.T. Dolan
- William DiMeo as Jason Molinaro
- Michael Drayer as Jason Parisi
- Frank John HughesFrank John HughesFrank John Hughes is an American film and television actor best known for his portrayal of "Wild Bill" Guarnere in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, Tom Fox in Catch Me If You Can, Tim Woods in 24 and Walden Belfiore in The Sopranos.-Early life and career:A native of the South Bronx, Hughes...
as Walden Belfiore - Michael KellyMichael Kelly (American actor)Michael Joseph Kelly is an American actor.-Early life:Kelly was born in Philadelphia and raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the son of Maureen and Michael Kelly. He has one brother and two sisters . He graduated from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia...
as Agent Ron Goddard
- Marianne LeoneMarianne Leone CooperMarianne Leone is an American film and television actress, screenwriter, and essayist. She is likely best-known for her recurring role as Christopher Moltisanti's mother on The Sopranos....
as Joanne Moltisanti - Arthur J. NascarellaArthur J. NascarellaArthur J. Nascarella is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of films, most often playing a mobster or police officer. Among his notable film credits include a corrupt cop in Cop Land , a hypocritical ambulance captain in Bringing Out The Dead and a fed-up casino boss in The Cooler; he has...
as Carlo Gervasi - Dennis Paladino as Al Lombardo
- Joseph PerrinoJoseph PerrinoJoe Perrino was born and raised in the Bronx, New York to Italian parents and began acting when a casting director for the film "Sleepers" saw Joe standing on a street corner and asked him to read for the film. After months of auditioning Joe won one of the lead roles of young Lorenzo "Shakes"...
as Jason Gervasi - Dania RamirezDania RamirezDania Ramirez is a Dominican-American TV and film actress.She is most recently known for playing Alex in Entourage, Maya Herrera in Heroes and Blanca during the last season of The Sopranos. She also played antagonist Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand.-Early life:Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo,...
as Blanca Selgado - Anthony J. RibustelloAnthony RibustelloAnthony Ribustello is an actor and Republican activist. He is perhaps best known for his role as Dante Greco, Tony Soprano's driver on the HBO series, The Sopranos....
as Dante Greco - Frank Santorelli as Georgie
- Matt Sauerhoff as Victor
- Matt ServittoMatt ServittoMatt Servitto is an American actor, probably best known for his role on The Sopranos as FBI agent Dwight Harris. He also appeared on all 3 seasons of the Peabody Award-winning series Brotherhood as Rep. Donatello and had a guest appearance on Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw's editor...
as Agent Dwight HarrisDwight HarrisSpecial Agent Dwight Harris, played by Matt Servitto, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is an FBI agent assigned to Tony Soprano's case...
Deceased
- J.T. Dolan: shot by Christopher
Title reference
- The episode's title refers to a song by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, which is about a father telling his son to get over a woman who left him. Tony tries to pull A.J. out of his depression over breaking up with Blanca throughout the episode. Frankie ValliFrankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
himself formerly had a role in the series as New York capo Rusty Millio, and an earlier episode ("Big Girls Don't CryBig Girls Don't Cry (The Sopranos episode)"Big Girls Don't Cry" is the eighteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the fifth of the show's second season. It was written by Terence Winter, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on Sunday February 13, 2000.-Starring:...
") also had the same title as a Valli song.
Connections to prior episodes
- A sober Christopher meets with his sponsor and alludes to the murder of his former fiancée Adriana (in the episode "Long Term Parking"), without revealing incriminating details, and explains that was when his and Tony's relationship became poisoned.
- Later Christopher, extremely intoxicated, confesses to J.T. shortly before he murders him that he knows Ralph Cifaretto was murdered, as he was the one who helped Tony dispose of his body (in the episode "Whoever Did This").
Production
- Carl Capotorto (Little Paulie Germani) is billed in the opening credits but only for this episode.
- Georgie the bartender returns in this episode, despite being severely abused by Tony in "Cold Cuts", which led to Georgie's resignation, and his insistence for Tony to stay away from him, he was later reasoned with and convinced to come back after a pay-off from Tony himself.
Music
- Tony sings a few verses from "Comfortably NumbComfortably Numb"Comfortably Numb" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, which first appears on the 1979 double album, The Wall. It was also released as a single in the same year with "Hey You" as the B-side. It is one of only three songs on the album for which writing credits are shared between Roger...
" by Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
as he descends the stairs at the start of the episode. - While Jason Parisi is talking to Tony at the Bada Bing, "Body Burn" by CubanateCubanateCubanate is a crossover band from London, founded in 1992 by Marc Heal and Graham Rayner with Phil Barry and Steve Etheridge. The group became well-known known for its early fusion of distorted metal guitars, and techno percussion .-History:Cubanate played their first UK tour in November 1992...
and "Supermassive Black Hole" by MuseMuse (band)Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
are played. - The song played at the frat party is "Hand On the Pump" by Cypress HillCypress HillCypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
- As Christopher exits the bar, Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
' version of "Walk On By" can be heard playing. - Tony is listening to "Tom SawyerTom Sawyer (song)"Tom Sawyer" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush, named after Mark Twain's literary character. The song was released on Mercury Records and PolyGram in 1981 on the Moving Pictures album and numerous compilations thereafter, such as 1990's Chronicles. It has also appeared on several live albums and...
", by RushRush (band)Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, on his way home from the bar. - The song played over the end credits is "The Valley" by Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
.