Fortunate Son (11 Mar. 2001)

Chris becomes a made man, while Tony experiences another panic attack. Meadow continues to seethe over Tony's treatment of her boyfriend.

Director:

Henry Bronchtein

Writers:

David Chase (creator), Todd A. Kessler

Stars:

James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti
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
Aida Turturro	...	Janice Soprano
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco
Steve Schirripa	...	Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri (as Steven R. Schirripa)
Federico Castelluccio	...	Furio Giunta
Robert Funaro	...	Eugene Pontecorvo

Storyline

Tony follows through on his promise and Christopher becomes a made man reporting to Paulie. His dreams of making lots of money are quickly shattered however. Paulie gives him the sports book but expects $6000 per week in tribute. When they have something of a setback and he can't pay Paulie the full amount, he quickly learns that there's no friendship when it comes to cash. Tony is still seeing his psychiatrist and they have a breakthrough of sorts when Tony recalls his father cutting off a butcher's pinkie finger when the man couldn't pay up. It leads to Tony having his first panic attack. Meadow is still giving her father the cold shoulder over his treatment of her new boyfriend. At school, AJ becomes something of a leader on the football field but it leads to him passing out from a panic attack.

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Plot Keywords:

father dislikes daughter's boyfriend | gangster

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramus, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Grey Television, Chase Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Christopher is brought to the house where he's going to be "made", he's clearly nervous about possibly getting whacked. Tony tells him his problem was too many movies. This is most likely a reference to Goodfellas, where Joe Pesci's character was killed when he was going to be "made". In that movie, Michael Imperioli's character was killed by Joe Pesci's character.

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Quotes

Adriana La Cerva: I love you, Chris.
Christopher Moltisanti: You better!

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

"The Happy Organ"
(uncredited)
Written by Dave 'Baby' Cortez, James Kriegsmann, and Ken Wood
Performed by Dave 'Baby' Cortez

User Reviews

"Once you're into this family, there's no getting out"

Back in Season 2 (the finale, to be more precise), Tony told Christopher he might finally become a made guy, i.e. join the family full-time. On that occasion, Chris replied with a joke ("I think I earned it. Got no spleen, Gene"), not knowing what kind of trouble was waiting for him.

Receiving a phone call in the middle of the night is usually very bad news if you're in organized crime, as it tends to mean you're about to get whacked. Adriana expresses a similar concern when Chrissy is woken up by Paulie and asked to show up at a meeting. In the end, it turns out the young wise-guy was right: he and another mobster, Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), get promoted, which means that from now on, their job comes before everything, even their wives and kids. While he watches his dreams come true, Chris soon realizes life ain't that easy, as he now officially works for Paulie and has to give him part of his income on a regular basis. Tony, on the other hand, goes through a more private kind of crisis, stirred by Meadow's half Black boyfriend, and tells Dr. Melfi he had panic attacks as a kid too, expressing doubts on whether that sort of problem is hereditary or not. Considering A.J. passed out during a football game, he might have a point.

Following the emotional ordeal of the previous episode, Fortunate Son is quite mannered, with nothing too painful or devastating. In fact, for the most part it's quite funny, especially in its depiction of the Christopher/Paulie conflict, which reaches almost absurd extremes. Thanks to the skilled writers and director, the humor never feels at odds with the nearly mythical opening, a clever spin on the more glamorized aspects of mafia life; instead, the two sides complement each other. With hindsight, though, this particular show is important in establishing the Anthony Jr. character (if you've seen the last episodes of the series, you know what I mean), always further and further from the traditional "TV brat" image.