Proshai, Livushka (4 Mar. 2001)

Livia dies of a stroke, bringing the family together one more time for the funeral where old tensions resurface.

Director:

Timothy Van Patten

Writers:

David Chase (creator), David Chase

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
Federico Castelluccio	...	Furio Giunta
Steve Schirripa	...	Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri (as Steven R. Schirripa)
Robert Funaro	...	Eugene Pontecorvo

Storyline

Tony is stressed and having to deal with a number of problems. Big garbage collecting contracts are up and several crews want a bigger share of the pie. As well, he's afraid his mother may testify against him in the stolen airline tickets scam. When Meadow comes home with a classmate to get some work done Tony takes an immediate disliking to the young man who describes himself as Jewish and African-American. Tony gets a reprieve on at least one front when they get the news that his mother Livia has died. He's torn between jumping for joy and maintaining a proper sense of loss. He insists that Janice return from Seattle assuring her there will be no problem with the Richie Aprile issue. She comes back reluctantly but soon decides to have a proper funeral for Livia, even though the dead woman specifically requested there be none. When Janice asks people at the wake to say something nice about their dealings with Livia no one has much to say. Carmela lays it on the line however. At ...

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | returning character killed off

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Silvercup Studios - 4222 22nd Street, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Grey Television, Chase Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony brings his mother the audio book Omerta by Mario Puzo. The actor reading the book is 'Michael Imperioli' who plays Christopher on the show.

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Goofs

During the first shot of Tony lying on the kitchen floor there are several blood stains on the floor and an opened package of cheese can be seen on the counter. During the rewind shot there are no blood stains anymore and the opened cheese package isn't on the counter.

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Quotes

Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: I brought you some books on tape since you say you can't concentrate to read.
Livia Soprano: I wish The Lord would take me now!
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: Well... in the meantime.

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Connections

References Little Caesar (1931)

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Soundtracks

"If I Loved You"
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by Jan Clayton

User Reviews

Goodbye, Nancy

Nancy Marchand certainly knew how to pick her TV roles: she won four Emmys for playing Mrs. Pynchon on Lou Grant, appeared on Cheers as Frasier Crane's mother and ended her career with the first two seasons of The Sopranos, for which she won a Golden Globe and received her last two Emmy nominations. Unfortunately, she passed away before production on the show's third season had begun, requiring David Chase to revise the whole outline for the series (originally Series 3 was centered around the possibility of Livia Soprano testifying against her son in court).

As such, the episode opens with one last scene between Tony and his mother (the sequence was achieved with CGI trickery), before cutting to the boss suffering another panic attack. The trigger of the event, however, is not Livia but Meadow's new boyfriend, whom Tony despises for being half African-American and half Jewish. He doesn't have much time to express his anger, though, as the family soon receives a call announcing Livia's death. New problems ensue at the funeral, as Janice (Aida Turturro) initially refuses to show up out of fear she might be arrested (she famously murdered her crazy lover Richie Aprile in Episode 25) and tensions manifest between Tony and one of his captains, the potentially dangerous Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano).

It is the latter character who somehow dominates the events of Season 3 (and 4, for that matter), spitting obscenities at whoever he pleases and caring absolutely nothing about the consequences of his actions. Pantoliano, no stranger to villainous roles (The Matrix and Memento above all), retrieves the cheekier side he showed in comedies like Risky Business and Midnight Run and merges it with a latent psychosis that helps craft an instantly compelling colorful persona.

At the end of it all, though, the episode is entirely in Marchand's hands, despite the fact she was already dead when it was filmed. Okay, so her "final scene" looks quite bad (you can tell it's a lookalike on whom a digital image of the actress has been superimposed), but the energy, wit and cruelty Marchand displayed in 26 episodes as the calculating Soprano matriarch more than make up for that one flaw, lending the central section of Proshai, Livushka ("Farewell, little Livia" in Russian) an almost solemn atmosphere. A fitting goodbye to an excellent actress.