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Rat Pack (The Sopranos)

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"Rat Pack" is the 54th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and is the second of the show's fifth season. Written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Alan Taylor, it originally aired on March 14, 2004.

"Rat Pack"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 2
Directed byAlan Taylor
Written byMatthew Weiner
Cinematography byAlik Sakharov
Production code502
Original air dateMarch 14, 2004 (2004-03-14)
Running time57 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Two Tonys" 		Next →
"Where's Johnny?"
The Sopranos season 5
List of episodes

Starring

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* = credit only

Guest starring

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Also guest starring

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Synopsis

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Carmine dies; Little Carmine and Johnny both claim to succeed him as head of the Lupertazzi family. Tony has a meeting with Jack Massarone, who presents him with a painting of the Rat Pack. Tony does not know, at first, that he is now an FBI informant; he receives the tip from a source of Patsy’s. Tony arranges another meeting and hugs Massarone, trying to find the wire, which is hidden in his baseball cap. He does not know what to think but realizes that Massarone said one thing out of key: he complimented Tony on losing weight. Tony spends a restless night, then drives to the Pulaski Skyway and tosses Massarone's painting into the river below. Massarone is found dead in the trunk of his car the next day.

Another informant, Soprano capo Ray Curto, visits FBI Headquarters to help agents correct a transcript of a meeting he recorded. A third informant, Adriana, is immensely uncomfortable leaking information from Christopher and Tony. Her handler, Agent Robyn Sanseverino, tells her about a family tragedy that compelled her to join the Bureau and says Adriana is with "the good guys now", but Adriana is not comforted. At a social gathering with Carmela and other mob wives, Adriana's guilt is inflamed when Rosalie tells her that Big Pussy Bonpensiero's widow, Angie, is not welcome in their group. A tearful Adriana nearly admits the truth but instead flees, and stumbles and hurts herself in the driveway. She refuses the women's offers of first aid and speeds away in her car. She then tells Sanseverino that her friend Tina, who has been flirting with Christopher, is embezzling money from the company where she works.

Tony greets Tony B after he is released from prison. At his welcome-home party at Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony tells the guests how important his cousin was to him when he was growing up. Tony B is disappointed that his ex-wife and twin sons are not there. There is some awkwardness when the circumstances of his arrest are raised, and when he seems to mock Tony's weight. Tony offers his cousin a place in a stolen airbag operation, but Tony B is not eager to return to the business and seeks to go legitimate by becoming a state-licensed massage therapist. A disappointed Tony tells Christopher and Silvio that his cousin is "useless." He rebukes Tony B for making jokes about him, as he is now "the boss," and for giving massages in the office. However, in a late-night phone call, he seems to soften his tone and they reconcile.

First appearances

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  • Lorraine Calluzzo: loan shark working for the Lupertazzi crime family, also known as "Lady Shylock."
  • Jason Evanina: Lorraine Calluzzo's loan-sharking partner and lover.
  • Tony Blundetto (first physical appearance): Tony's cousin and DiMeo/Soprano crime family member who was sent to federal prison in 1986 for hijacking a tractor-trailer.
  • Phil Leotardo (first physical appearance): Captain in the Lupertazzi crime family, recently released from prison after serving 20 years.

Deceased

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  • Joseph "Joey" Cogo: killed offscreen in a payment dispute. Agent Sanseverino shows photos of his corpse to Adriana, who confirms his identity and having seen him previously with certain mob members.
  • Carmine Lupertazzi Sr.: died of complications due to stroke
  • Jack Massarone: killed for being an FBI informant. Massarone is found dead in the trunk of a car by FBI agents.

Title reference

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  • Jack Massarone gives Tony a painting of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., who were all members of the "Rat Pack."
  • The three informants are all "rats." University of Ottawa professor of Italian studies Franco Ricci summarizes the symbolism: "In an episode...where informants seem to crawl out of the woodwork like rats, Tony's ideal world of Rat Pack camaraderie has been reduced to a painted dream."[1]
  • Junior refers to the newly released ex-cons as "the Class of 2004, old rats on a new ship."

References to other media

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Reference to real events

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Music

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Reception

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Television Without Pity graded the episode with an A-.[2] In 2020, Nick Braccia described "Rat Pack" as "the most noir and hard-boiled episode of The Sopranos".[3]

Robert Bianco of USA Today praised the episode for introducing "an unusually strong influx of new Sopranos characters" such as Feech and Tony B.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Ricci, Franco (2014). The Sopranos: Born Under a Bad Sign. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 244. ISBN 9781442615717 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Aaron (March 20, 2004). "Rat Pack". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on June 29, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Braccia, Nick (2020). Off the Back of a Truck: Unofficial Contraband for the Sopranos Fan. New York: Tiller Press. p. 252. ISBN 9781982139063 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Bianco, Robert (March 4, 2004). "The family is back, and life is good". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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