History Recap / TheSopranosS6E1MembersOnly

''[[caption-width-right:350:"Cazzata Malanga!"]]''

* VillainousFriendship: Johnny Sack's and Phil's interactions with each other convey this dynamic, at least on the surface.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: Agent Harris opens the passenger side door of the car and then unleashes on the pavement.

* DiabolusExMachina: Leaving aside the AgonizingStomachWound Uncle Junior gives Tony, having both Curto and Eugene die without him even realizing they were working against him as [[TheMole The Moles]] is truly a lucky break for Tony. Assuming he survives (and he does), his KarmaHoudiniWarranty hasn't expired, at least not yet ...

* DoubleMeaningTitle: Eugene Pontecorvo is shown wearing a "Members Only" jacket and is made fun of for it by Vito Spatafore. It could refer to the Mafia code of being a member only and never a retiree, just what Eugene Pontecorvo attempted to become

** It becomes plot-relevant in this episode since Tony decides to take care of Uncle Junior himself since he's [[SurroundedByIdiots had enough of trying to get others to take care of it]]. That ends up putting Tony in mortal danger from a ScatterbrainedSenior in Uncle Junior, who just happens to have a gun of his own tucked away.
** It becomes plot-relevant in future episodes as well.

Tony decides to look after Junior himself for a night after deciding he can't trust other family members to look after him. He's preparing a pasta meal for Junior. Junior emerges with a gun and shoots Tony in the gut under the delusion that Tony is his old nemesis, Pussy Malanga. Junior runs up the stairs and hides in his bedroom closet. Tony struggles through the pain of his wound and manages to dial 911 before passing out.

Eugene also turns out to be another FBI informant, and he's become even more crucial following Curto's death. The FBI also shut the door on his desired move to Florida. His wife becomes increasingly angry at him for not being able to make the move to Florida, and they have numerous arguments with each other. His marriage is on its way to a breakdown. Eugene decides everything is too much for him and hangs himself in his garage.

Eugene receives a $2 million inheritance from his Aunt. He wants to retire to Florida, under considerable pressure from his wife. He also has a son who's addicted to heroin. He pleads his case to Tony, who postpones the inevitable refusal. Eugene desperately tries to garner an acceptance by making a plea through Chris. Chris grabs the opportunity to extract a free and risk-free (for himself) hit job on Teddy, who's run out of time to make good his sports gambling debt to Chris. Eugene carries out the hit, but is shown to be extremely stressed and wanting to leave the mob life more than ever. Tony refuses the request afterwards, and has Silvio deliver the bad news to Eugene.

* InSeriesNickname: Gerry Torciano is known in-universe as "The Hairdo" owing to his [[DarkSkinnedBlond wavy blonde hair]].

* DiabolusExMachina: Leaving aside the AgonizingStomachWound Uncle Junior gives Tony, having both Curto and Eugene die without him even realizing they were working against him as [[TheMole The Moles]] is truly a lucky break for Tony. Assuming he survives [[spoiler: and he does]], his KarmaHoudiniWarranty hasn't expired, at least not yet ...

* ThePreciousPreciousCar: The Maserati has become such for Johnny Sack, and it "breaks his heart" to have to sell it. [[UpToEleven That much more]] when it's [[IrrationalHatred Chris of all people]] who's the interested purchaser. But he ends up relenting as a matter of PragmaticVillainy.

* SurroundedByIdiots: Tony always feels this way, but [[UpToEleven moreso]] during this episode. He's particularly irate over the whole Uncle Junior situation.

* BeforeAndAfterPictures: Vito is shown participating in a weight loss commercial by holding out his older pants well beyond his former waistline.

** It becomes plot relevant in this episode since Tony decides to take care of Uncle Junior himself since he's [[SurroundedByIdiots had enough of trying to get others to take care of it]]. That ends up putting Tony in mortal danger from a ScatterbrainedSenior in Uncle Junior, who just happens to have a gun of his own tucked away.
** It becomes plot relevant in future episodes as well.

** Dr. Melfi calls the home that Tony put his mother in a "retirement community" and Tony corrects her and calls it a nursing home. Before this, whenever somebody called it a nursing home, Tony always corrected them and called it a retirement community.

** Further punctuated when Eugene is constantly checking his rear view mirror in a stressed and worried way after carrying out the hit on Teddy. He's also clearing off blood spots off his face, which serve as a grisly reminder of his most recent crime.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Raymond Curto dies of a stroke while trying to give evidence to Agent Sanseverino. It's rather sudden, and he's barely remembered if at all afterwards.

* EtTuBrute: Tony sees Jimmy Petrille ratting on Johnny Sack as worse than the usual instance of a Mafiaso flipping. That Jimmy was a [[ParentalSubstitute Father Figure]] to Johnny exacerbates Tony's outrage over the perceived betrayal.

* HateSink: The episode goes to some lengths to establish that Phil is likely the most despised among the still living characters in the show.

** Rusty Millio makes himself clear to Tony that he can't stand to be in the same room as Phil.

* {{Irony}}: Tony lets out with an angry outburst: [[PrecisionFStrike "What the fuck is it? I can't catch a fucking break!?"]] No sooner do those words leave his mouth then we get a GilliganCut to Raymond Curto dying of a stroke while trying to give sound-recorded evidence to Agent Sanseverino. And the poor-quality tape is no good as evidence without Curto alive as a witness to corroborate it. And then the second Mole, Eugene, is DrivenToSuicide.

* {{Manchild}}: Some but not all people might consider Bobby's new love of toy train assemblies to be something more for ten year old boys. But even if you cut him some slack, he still takes his new obsession to the point of neglecting adult responsibilities.
* ManipulativeBastard: Chris takes a turn at being one. He knows that Tony is extremely unlikely to just let Eugene ride off into the sunset into easy retirement. But he plays on Eugene's HopeSpot to extract a free hit job out of him.

** Raymond Curto is show watching TV while running a treadmill, as the lyrics "Ba the heart, often treacherous" come out.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Uncle Junior runs upstairs after giving Tony the gut shot. He then hides his gun under the bed, hides himself in the bedroom closet, and starts to cry. Even though he's definitely a full-blown ScatterbrainedSenior by now, there's enough of him left to realize that he just did something horrible.

* ParentalIssues: Tony, even after concerted prodding by Dr. Melfi, still can't bring himself to accept that a lot of his issues stem from having a mother who was not only extremely abusive, but also conspired to [[OffingTheOffspring have him murdered]]. He even takes it to the point of [[ItsAllMyFault blaming himself for the plot between Livia and Uncle Junior]].

* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Creator/FrankVincent goes from guest starring in the closing credits to having his name in the opening credits.

* WeightWoe: Tony takes to weighing himself and not liking the weight readings he sees, especially in conjunction with his massive consumption of sushi.

* WhamShot: Everybody, fans and in-universe characters alike, knew Uncle Junior [[ScatterbrainedSenior was losing it]]. But it was still a real shock for first-time viewers to see Uncle Junior suddenly pop up with a KubrickStare to give Tony the gut shot.
* WorthyOpponent: Tony and Phil will never like each other. But Tony develops a newfound respect for Phil's capabilities when he takes over the reigns as Acting Boss.

'''Season 6, Episode 1'''
!Members Only

Eugene also turns out to be another FBI informant, and he's become even more crucial following Curto's death. The FBI also shut the door on his desired move to Florida. His wife becomes increasingly angry at him for not being able to make the move to Florida, and they have numerous arguments with each other. His marriage is on its way to a breakdown. Eugene decides everything is too much for him, and hangs himself in his garage.

Mobsters loyal to New York capo, Gerry Torciano, brutally attack Hesh and his friend, Eli. Eli is hospitalized after getting struck by a car while desperately trying to flee the mobsters. Tony tries to arrange a sit down with Phil and Gerry, but Phil is not returning his calls. Tony in turn has to lean on Johnny Sack, through his brother in law, to get Phil to take it seriously. Tony and Phil work out a deal that sees compensation to Eli, and a split on the office park that favors New York.

Tony is constantly wrangling with both of his sisters, Barbara and Janice, as well as Bobby, over making sure that a deteriorating Uncle Junior is looked after. Tony refuses to sent Junior to a retirement home, citing expenses and living conditions. But a therapy session with Dr. Melfi reveals that sending Junior to a retirement home would fuel Tony's own fears about spending his last days as an invalid dependent robbed of dignity.

Tony decides to look after Junior himself for a night after deciding he can't trust other family members to look after it. He's preparing a pasta meal for Junior. Junior emerges with a gun and shoots Tony in the gut, under the delsuion that Tony is his old nemesis, Pussy Malanga. Junior runs up the stairs and hides in his bedroom closet. Tony struggles through the pain of his wound, and manages to dial 911 before passing out.

* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Frank Vincent goes from guest starring in the closing credits to having his name in the opening credits.