History Recap / TheSopranosS4E4TheWeight

* JerkassHasAPoint: Ralph points out the hypocrisy of the crew's grandstanding about Ginny when [[Recap/TheSopranosS3E4EmployeeOfTheMonth they were all guilty of mocking her weight as well]]. He also rails against Johnny for raising such an issue on the topic when it's Ralph, personally, whose blood money is paying for Ginny's lifestyle anyway.

** Tony hates Ralph but protects him anyway because Ralph's one of his captains, and the Jersey family's best earner to boot.

** Elliot gets a subtle moment. When he's trying to find a space in a parking garage, he sees Tony walking to his car, and despite there being plenty of room to go around him, he tries to rush Tony by crowding him with his car. When Tony understandably tells him to "take it easy", Elliot interprets this as a threatening situation [[FaceOfAThug only because of how Tony looks.]] Later, he makes a subtle jab at the "stranger" he met while talking with Melfi by claiming he was [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter most likely a repairman]], revealing him to be a judgemental, condescending person at his core.

Since learning from Paulie Walnuts that Ralph Cifaretto made a crude fat joke about his obese but beloved wife Ginny, Johnny "Sack" Sacrimoni has been struggling to contain his rage. At a bar with his subordinate Joey Peeps, he sees Donny K, a member of Ralph's crew, laughing about something with a friend. Johnny finally explodes with rage, beating Donny savagely and urinating on him. He returns home to Ginny and gently reassures her when she fusses over the blood stain on his jacket. When Tony learns of the situation he promptly visits Johnny and learns the cause for the attack, lying and denying his presence at the dinner where Ralph told the joke. Johnny wants Ralph to pay for the offense with violent retribution, but Tony defends his biggest earner.

Johnny goes to his boss, Carmine Lupertazzi, requesting permission to go ahead with a hit on Ralph Cifaretto in retribution for the insult to Ginny. Carmine rejects murder as a solution, because Ralph is integral to the highly lucrative Esplanade construction project, and offers to tax Ralph instead, but Johnny insists on violence. Attempting to de-escalate the situation, Carmine arranges for a sit-down with Tony, Ralph, and Junior, but Johnny walks out, refusing to be in the same room as Ralph. At another sit-down with Ralph absent, Tony suggests that he would be willing to hand Ralph over to Johnny if Johnny reveals who leaked information about the joke to him, but Johnny refuses this as well. Later, Tony advises that Ralph make a personal phone call to Johnny reiterating the lie that he never told the joke. However, during the call, Ralph goes off script and offers the compromise of an apology if that's what it takes, and Johnny quickly bristles, shouts at Ralph, and hangs up. Realizing Ralph's life is in danger, Tony angrily orders him to lay low in Florida.

Johnny Sack, meanwhile, orders a hit on Ralph through Joey Peeps, having located him in Florida. A hitman tracks Ralph, targeting him the same day Johnny sets out for Boston. Shortly after leaving his house for the ill-fated trip, Johnny realizes he forgot a sweater and returns home. He finds Ginny in the basement eating from a hidden stash of junk food and candy and realizes she's been cheating on her diet. Johnny loses his temper at her, but quickly reconciles, reminding her that he doesn't care about her weight. Seeing the pointlessness of the whole situation with Ralph, he then calls off the Florida hit moments before Ralph steps onto an elevator next to his would-be killer. Johnny visits Tony, finally offering to peacefully put the drama over the joke behind them, and the hit in Boston is called off as well.

* DisposingOfABody: The plan, after Carmine has given the order, is to make Johnny Sack disappear completely so that no blame can be placed on either Carmine or Tony. That leads to briefly, on [[TheConsigliere Uncle Junior's advice]], courting the [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Atwell Avenue boys]] to do the deed. An additional reason is that Johnny frequently visits his father in Boston, where the Boys themselves live.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Ralph points out the hypocrisy of the crew's grandstanding about Ginny when they were all guilty of mocking her weight as well. He also rails against Johnny for raising such an issue on the topic when it's Ralph, personally, whose blood money is paying for Ginny's lifestyle anyway.

* NoYou: Carm's retort to Tony's claim that she equates love with money.

* OhCrap: The pause and slight change in facial expression betrays that Tony is having one of these when John lets on that he knows the [[YouAreFat fat joke]] that Ralph told about [[FatComicRelief Ginny]], almost word for word.

** His purpose is to try and get it across to Johnny that he's being unreasonable in insisting on MurderIsTheBestSolution over what is in the grand scheme of things an insensitive joke. But it doesn't work, forcing Carmine to [[YouHaveFailedMe consider other options]].