Eloise (1 Dec. 2002)

Carmela and Furio grow too close for safety, while Paulie discovers that he's not as big a fish as he thought he was.

Director:

James Hayman

Writers:

David Chase (creator), Terence Winter

Stars:

James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi (credit only)
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti (credit only)
Dominic Chianese	...	Junior Soprano
Steven Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano
Drea de Matteo	...	Adriana La Cerva (credit only)
Steve Schirripa	...	Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri (as Steven R. Schirripa)
Aida Turturro	...	Janice Soprano (credit only)
Vincent Curatola	...	Johnny 'Sack' Sacrimoni
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco (credit only)
Federico Castelluccio	...	Furio Giunta

Storyline

Tony's not happy with Carmine and Johnny's new proposal and he retaliates by trashing Johnny's soon to open restaurant. Carmine responds by sicking the laborers union on the Esplanade site, which is shut down. With everybody hurting financially, Paulie takes it on himself to speak to Carmine and try to settle the dispute. He has a rude awakening when he realizes Carmine has no idea who he is. Out on the town with Tony and a few women, Furio is disgusted and very nearly takes a fatal step. He leaves suddenly for Italy without saying goodbye to anyone and Carmela is depressed over his sudden disappearance. Meadow hosts a dinner at her new apartment for her parents but it's apparent that Carmela is not happy. Meanwhile, an outing with his mother and two of her friends drives Paulie to extremes.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Montclair, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Grey Television, Chase Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

A character named Uncle Zio appears in one scene. "Zio" is actually Italian for "uncle".

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Goofs

At the start of the episode when Carmela is placing the scones on the dish, she places 7 on it but when she answers the door and we see the same dish again there are only 2 on it.

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Quotes

Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: You're a wormy cocksucker, you know that?

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Connections

References The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Little Bird"
(uncredited)
Annie Lennox

User Reviews

"She's the Don's wife"

It is an essential characteristic of any respectable gangster epic that one of the main players cheats on the missus. The Sopranos is no exception, with only Bobby Baccala sticking with one woman at a time. The penultimate episode of Season Four, written by the talented Terence Winter, reverses the template by having the frustrated Carmela Soprano fantasizing about another man.

The man she pines for is Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio), Tony's henchman who moved to Jersey from Naples back in Season 2, and the attraction appears to be mutual. However, Furio has either too much respect for Tony, or too much fear, to the point that he profits from the opportunity to return to Italy for a funeral to seek some interior peace and sound advice on how to behave. Speaking of inner turmoil, Paulie's experiencing one with a vengeance, as he thinks he is an important member of the crew and discovers Carmine doesn't even know who he is, despite his connection with Johnny Sack.

Juggling poetry and foul-mouthed comedy, Eloise piles up material for the finale, and the two following seasons, with precise elegance, the belly-laughs of Paulie's misadventure perfectly balancing Carmela's aching heart. The latter subplot is especially poignant as it sets a fundamental point: no matter what you do, if you're a gangster's wife you will always be nothing more than that, meaning you won't get everything you desire. However, Carm has always proved to be her husband's match, so upcoming events are likely to get fiery. Ouch!