Remember Robert Patrick? Menacing guy, best known for squaring off with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 (as well as reprising the same role in Wayne's World)? Not really the person you'd expect to play a vulnerable, desperate man, right? Well, he proves all the naysayers wrong in this poignant episode of The Sopranos, which is less about blood and more about psychological conflict.
Patrick plays David Scatino, a childhood friend of Tony Soprano. The two still hang out occasionally since their kids attend the same school, and one night David pops up at a poker game Tony has taken over from Uncle Junior and asks if he can participate. His old friend accepts, only to regret it soon after-wards: not only does David end up thousands of dollars in debt, it turns out he was trying to win just so he could pay Richie Aprile, who banned him from another game. At this point, Tony and Richie are reluctantly forced to cooperate, although this means Meadow Soprano could lose one of her few real friends (John Hensley, from Nip/Tuck).
Unusually, by the show's standards, the violence is practically absent, at least physically speaking. What really matters here is the psychological pressure Tony puts on his old friend, and the devastating effects of these actions are clearly written on Patrick's face: miles away from the coldness he is famous for, the actor conveys a genuine sense of tragedy with his eyes, setting the tone for future events (Scatino appears in two more episodes).
But while the blood-letting is rather low-key, the same cannot be said of the show's benchmark profanity. In particular, The Happy Wanderer gives Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt) the opportunity to stand out: a calm consigliere in previous episodes, he literally explodes when a dumb friend of Christopher tries to clean the floor (Tony suggested it 'cause he knew what would happen) while he is still playing poker. "I like f*cking cheese between my feet!" he rants. "I stick motherf*cking provolone in my socks at night, so they smell like your sister's crotch in the morning! Just leave the f*cking, c*cksucking cheese where it is!". Joe Pesci must be envious.
Patrick plays David Scatino, a childhood friend of Tony Soprano. The two still hang out occasionally since their kids attend the same school, and one night David pops up at a poker game Tony has taken over from Uncle Junior and asks if he can participate. His old friend accepts, only to regret it soon after-wards: not only does David end up thousands of dollars in debt, it turns out he was trying to win just so he could pay Richie Aprile, who banned him from another game. At this point, Tony and Richie are reluctantly forced to cooperate, although this means Meadow Soprano could lose one of her few real friends (John Hensley, from Nip/Tuck).
Unusually, by the show's standards, the violence is practically absent, at least physically speaking. What really matters here is the psychological pressure Tony puts on his old friend, and the devastating effects of these actions are clearly written on Patrick's face: miles away from the coldness he is famous for, the actor conveys a genuine sense of tragedy with his eyes, setting the tone for future events (Scatino appears in two more episodes).
But while the blood-letting is rather low-key, the same cannot be said of the show's benchmark profanity. In particular, The Happy Wanderer gives Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt) the opportunity to stand out: a calm consigliere in previous episodes, he literally explodes when a dumb friend of Christopher tries to clean the floor (Tony suggested it 'cause he knew what would happen) while he is still playing poker. "I like f*cking cheese between my feet!" he rants. "I stick motherf*cking provolone in my socks at night, so they smell like your sister's crotch in the morning! Just leave the f*cking, c*cksucking cheese where it is!". Joe Pesci must be envious.
