The Test Dream (16 May 2004)

Cousin Tony heads off to avenge the death of his good friend, while a dream reveals to Tony what he must do to prevent a full-scale war.

Director:

Allen Coulter

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 (credit only)
Steven Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante (voice)
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano (as Jamie-Lynn DiScala)
Drea de Matteo	...	Adriana La Cerva (credit only)
Aida Turturro	...	Janice Soprano (credit only)
Steve Schirripa	...	Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri (credit only) (as Steven R. Schirripa)
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco
Kathrine Narducci	...	Charmaine Bucco (as Katherine Narducci)
Al Sapienza	...	Mikey Palmice

Storyline

After Tony Blundetto's good friend Angelo Garepe is killed by Phil Leotardo in retaliation for the killing of Joe Peeps, Tony B. sets off to get his revenge. He and the older Angelo had become good friends in prison with the older mobster becoming something of a father figure to him. Tony B. kills Phil Leotardo's kid brother Billy and then goes on the run. Tired of it all and realizing that they're on the verge of an all-out war, Tony goes into New York City and books himself into the Plaza. There he has a strange dream, one that includes the living, the dead and even Annette Bening. It all helps him to decide that the time has come to eliminate his favorite cousin.

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Plot Keywords:

actress playing herself | gangster

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 2004 (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

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Phil Leotardo, played by Frank Vincent, kills Angelo Garepe in the trunk of his car, while Angelo is begging for mercy. Vincent's character in Goodfellas was killed in the same way.

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Quotes

Annette Bening: There is something "Bugsy" about him.

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Connections

Features High Noon (1952)

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Soundtracks

"Peanuts"
Performed by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

User Reviews

The finale - part 1

The Test Dream is beautiful, mysterious, entrancing, filled with hidden meanings. It's one of the best Sopranos episodes ever, and constitutes the first third of Season Five's finale.

The whole fifth series dealt with the return of two ex-cons, Tony's cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi) and Johnny Sack's henchman Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent), and it is these two figures who determine most of the actions in these three concluding episodes. The story starts with Phil brutally murdering a friend of Blundetto's as retribution for what the latter did to his brother (juicy detail for Scorsese fans: the guy Phil kills dies in the exact same way Vincent did in Goodfellas). Upon receiving the news, Tony tries to contact his cousin, but in vain: Tony B. is nowhere to be found, hiding away from everyone in his quest for revenge.

But that's merely the prologue, in a way: as the title suggests, the core of this show is a dream, and a test dream at that. Occupying more screen-time than anyone's ever granted a fantasy sequence, Tony's visions lead him to one logical conclusion: to avoid a full-scale war between New York and New Jersey, he will have to kill Cousin Tony.

Dream sequences have always played an important part in the Sopranos mythology, never more so than in this episode: aside from Annette Bening's presence, open for interpretation, the truly intriguing thing about The Test Dream is the fact that the characters guiding Tony towards "the light" are all people who died, in one way or another, through their association with him - Pussy Bonpensiero, Ralph Cifaretto, Mikey Palmice, Carmine Lupertazzi, heck, even Pie-o-My the horse shows up. They all died because of Tony, and their point is, in order to preserve peace, he must kill another person, and one he truly cares for at that. Now, who said the series glamorizes the mob?