At a brothel, Paulie is getting a massage from a madam while complimenting another prostitute. They're interrupted when another woman runs in and mentions that someone is having a heart attack upstairs.
Paulie runs upstairs to find Pussy moaning in pain on a bed. The madam calls in someone she refers to as "Dr. Mop-N-Glo" to help diagnose him, but Pussy reveals that his back is in serious pain. The group helps him walk down the stairs to leave. It's also revealed that Vin Makazian is also at the brothel, and stares at them as they leave...
Four days later, Pussy and Jimmy Altieri are playing poker at a pool hall owned by the latter. After Jimmy rags on him for his back injury, they hear a loud knock on the back door. Suddenly, a group of FBI agents busts in and reveal that they're under arrest. As the agents pull up a pool table and find a cache of guns underneath, Pussy uses the distraction to run out a side door and down the street. Jimmy is handcuffed, while Pussy runs headlong into an FBI officer just down the street...
Tony, Junior, Chris, and others meet to discuss the raid afterward at the Bada Bing. After Chris points out how Pussy shouldn't have been able to run considering his injury, and how Jimmy is still in jail, the group is surprised when Pussy makes his way into the bar and begrudgingly greets them. He says that the raid made him throw his back out again, and the FBI stole money from him while arresting him afterward. He goes to get a drink, while Tony stares at him as the rest of the group laughs.
Tony meets with Makazian for another clandestine meeting. After Tony once again antagonizes him by saying he doesn't care about him or his family, the latter reveals that Pussy was wearing a wire, and that he's in league with the FBI. Tony is horrified after hearing the revelation, and Makazian tells him that he has a Friend on the Force who saw it himself and can provide a report attesting to the same fact. Makazian tells Tony that Pussy loves his family above all else, and was trafficking heroin on the side until he was caught by the feds a year earlier.
At an open house held by Carmela later that day, she tells Tony that his mother doesn't want to show up and that she does the same thing every year. Tony is still bothered over the revelation about Pussy, and his suspicions are heightened even further when Paulie tells him that he referred Pussy to an expert chiropractor who diagnosed that there was nothing wrong with his back.
Tony goes to Melfi and asks for her advice on the matter, but obfuscating it by telling her it's in regards to a friend of his. She says a person convincing themselves that they have back problems is a possibility, and that it could be caused by a person being in doubt or harboring a lot of secrets.
Afterward, Tony goes to the brothel and further antagonizes Makazian to get the report he needs. Makazian tells him about his life as a child and says that he has a lot of demons and that Tony shouldn't insult him so often. He says that the madam at the brothel, Debbie, has looked after him for years before Tony leaves. At the same time, Carmela goes to visit Livia at Green Grove, and listens to the latter complain about how no one loves her and crying before she leaves.
Tony goes to Pussy's house to drop off some cannoli and uses the opportunity to ask him how things are. Pussy tells him that he's stressed because of everything that's happening in his life. Tony tells him that he always has options, and asks if there's anything he wants to share. Pussy says he's fine otherwise and goes to make some coffee. Soon after, Tony meets with Paulie at the Bada Bing and reveals Pussy's duplicity to him. He authorizes Paulie to perform a hit on Pussy, but only if Paulie sees in person that Pussy has a wire on.
Paulie invites Pussy to a steam bath, ostensibly to help him relax his back and get himself back to normal. When Paulie asks him to disrobe and put a robe on, Pussy refuses and says the doctors have told him that heat is bad for his back. The situation escalates, and Pussy repeatedly tells him that he's not disrobing before storming off.
Soon after, Silvio arrives at the Bada Bing and tells Tony that he's learned that Makazian is in serious debt to Pussy, and is lying about his otherwise-platonic relationship with the madam at the brothel. Tony wonders out loud whether Makazian would feed them a story just so they would kill Pussy. At the same time, Makazian is having a shower at the brothel when it's raided by FBI agents, who arrest him, Debbie, and other patrons.
Tony finds out about the raid on the news the next morning and chuckles upon hearing that Vin was arrested. Sometime later in the day, Vin is released from jail and goes to drive home, taking his possessions with him. After being stuck in a traffic jam and becoming frustrated with how his life is collapsing around him, Vin drives to a nearby bridge and jumps off, killing himself. Tony finds out about the suicide soon after and is further horrified when he learns that Makazian trusted him, despite the abuse he levied towards him.
Junior visits Livia at Green Grove. Incensed at feeling abandoned by her family and finding out that Tony sold her house, she tells him that Tony has been holding clandestine meetings with Raymond Curto, Jimmy Altieri, Johnny Sack and Larry Barese at the retirement home. Junior is shocked to hear the news and asks why he didn't find out sooner. Livia reasons that Tony was actively scheming behind his back, and believes that Tony may be trying to depose him as the head of the organization.
That night, Tony receives a visit from Jimmy, who has just been released from jail, and asks him several pointed questions about certain murders and mob activities. Realizing what's happening, Tony plays dumb and avoids answering any questions, then sends Jimmy on his way.
Tony goes to Satriale's and tells Silvio that Jimmy is the rat and that Makazian's information was mixed up. Paulie arrives soon afterward and says that he doesn't know where Pussy is. Tony doesn't know either and realizes that Pussy may have fled town. Paulie tells him about the incident at the sauna, but Tony says that Jimmy is the actual mole...
Elsewhere, Mikey is given word that Junior has given him instructions to organize an assassination on Tony, and smiles in response...
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: It is revealed that Vin's father was very abusive towards his mother when he was young, and he hid under his own bed to drown out his mother's screams. It is this childhood trauma that reportedly led him to seek solace in the arms of the madam and the girls at the brothel.
- Affectionate Nickname: The madam refers to Dr. Edelstein as "Dr. Mop-N-Glo".Madam: Don't worry, he's a real doctor.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Makazian was a Jerkass Dirty Cop but his death is painted in a somber light and even Tony is saddened by it.
- Black Comedy: The doctor who comes in to diagnose Pussy's apparent heart attack, "Dr. Mop-N-Glo", nonchalantly walks into the room and asks what's wrong ... while dressed in a tiara, rubber gloves, and a towel.
- Close to Home: Tony looks like he got hit with flood lights right in the eyes when Deb asks him an unintentional Armor-Piercing Question: "Hey, who wouldn't want to sleep with their shrink?"
- Continuity Nod: Junior, already angry at Tony due to the latter's statements mocking him for his preference of going down on women officially begins the Enemy Civil War when Livia informs him of Tony and his capos' secret meetings at Green Grove.
- Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story: The crew is already having mild suspicions over Jimmy getting out on bail so quickly on a gun charge, but not Pussy. It becomes one of the first cracks in Jimmy's cover as The Mole, especially in combination with Jimmy being dumb enough to press Tony about the murder of the Colombian dealer and his stash of money. Jimmy tries to explain his early bail as being crafty arguments by his lawyer, but Tony only pretends to buy it. The crack will widen into a completely blown cover come the season finale.
- Crocodile Tears: Livia is a fountain of them when Carmela comes to visit her.
- Dark and Troubled Past: It's revealed that Makazian had a troubled childhood, watching his father beat his mother and hiding under the bed in his room in his response. He suggests that this behavior is what led him to be a chronic gambler and alcoholic.
- A Death in the Limelight: Vin Makazian gets a lot of dialogue talking about his childhood trauma and feelings of inferiority after Tony repeatedly antagonizes him. He eventually gets fed up after being arrested and jumps off a bridge in despair.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Invoked by Tony when he tells Meadow why they won't talk about sex at the breakfast table.Meadow: It's The '90s. Parents are supposed to discuss sex with their children.Tony: Yeah, but that's where you're wrong. Out there, it's the 1990s, but in this house, it's 1954. So now and forever, I don't want to hear any sex talk!
- Despair Event Horizon: Makazian finally crosses the line when he's arrested at the brothel, hauled out in handcuffs, mocked on the six-o'clock news, and stuck in a seemingly endless traffic jam. After looking through the possessions returned to him by the jail, he drives to the nearest bridge and takes a fatal dive into the river.
- Driven to Suicide: Vin, who takes a header off a bridge after getting busted at the brothel and being fed up with life in general.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Invoked.Tony: Hey, fuckface, where are you going?Vin: Why do you talk to me like this, you know? I do a lot of risky shit for you.Tony: You're not doing charity work, remember? (sees the look on Vin's face) Alright, I'm sorry. Hey, Vin? How ya doing? What have you got for me?
- Enemy Civil War: Junior instigates one against Tony in response to the latter supposedly making moves behind his back, and orders Mikey to set up an assassination on him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Tony is in denial about Pussy's betrayal due to their longstanding friendship.
- Faster Than They Look: Pussy is surprisingly agile and quick for a man who had a back injury just four days earlier. This later becomes the basis for why Tony and the group suspect that Pussy is a rat.
- Foreshadowing: Tony tells the administrator to relay a message to Livia that her home has been sold, but has received a counteroffer from another buyer...
- The Gambling Addict: Makazian is revealed to be this, having gone $30,000 into debt to Pussy because of football gambling.
- Hidden Wire: A major plot point as Tony strongly suspects that Big Pussy is wearing one. He makes it crystal clear to Paulie that there will be no green light to kill Pussy unless Paulie actually sees the wire on Pussy. And Paulie tries to force the issue by taking Pussy to a sauna and trying to force Pussy to strip down. But Pussy rebuffs Paulie and leaves the sauna.
- I Have This Friend: Tony explains the problem with Pussy possibly being a mole in this way to Melfi, so he can hear her opinion on the matter.
- I Need a Freaking Drink:
- The first thing Pussy does after arriving at the Bada-Bing is tell Tony and the others that he's going to get a drink.
- This is also what Tony, Paulie, and Silvio do after finding out that Jimmy is The Mole.
- The Immodest Orgasm: Subverted. Paulie hears someone moaning upstairs in the brothel, and chuckles at "another satisfied customer". A few seconds later, another prostitute runs in and tells them that it's actually a man having a heart attack.
- Ironic Echo: Paulie tells Tony early on that when it comes to back pain, "nobody knows anything". Tony later says the same thing to Paulie after realizing that Pussy has skipped town.
- Kick the Dog: Tony never stops treating Makazian like shit. Even after Makazian tells Tony about his abusive father, Tony just makes fun of him.
- Kill the Ones You Love: Averted. Tony absolutely refuses to give the order to kill Big Pussy, who has long been one of his closest friends, unless it's "110 percent" proven that Pussy is wearing the Hidden Wire. He won't give the green light unless he gets a copy of the fed's report proving that Pussy is The Mole. He makes it clear to Paulie that he is not to touch Pussy unless Paulie actually sees the Hidden Wire on Pussy. Paulie tries to force the point with the trip to the sauna, but Pussy leaves while absolutely refusing to take his clothes off.
- Lady Macbeth: Livia has Uncle Junior come to visit her, for the very purpose of telling him that Tony and the Capos have been holding meetings behind his back. For Uncle Junior, This Means War! For Livia, it's Revenge.
- Living a Double Life: The prostitute who is ordered by the madam to service Paulie in the opening is mentioned by him as a writer in her spare time, and her work is supposedly very good.
- Manipulative Bastard: Livia's frustration over supposedly being left to rot in a retirement home by Tony (who has also sold her house) leads her to reveal confidential information — namely, that Tony and other capos have been holding clandestine meetings at Green Grove — to Junior, who decides to assassinate Tony.
- The Mole: Jimmy (and possibly Pussy) are revealed to be this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Tony realizes that because he treated Makazian like a Butt-Monkey (in tandem with Vin's other life problems), the latter was Driven to Suicide.
- No Sympathy: Tony rolls his eyes and could not care less as Vin explains his Dark and Troubled Past. And when Vin finishes arguably the most important point for him from that past, that hiding under the bed became a partial refuge? Tony goes Deadpan Snarker and expresses a wish to hide under the bed himself.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Livia continues to characterize herself as someone who has no friends and no companionship, even after Carmela points out that Livia was invited to the family's open house and pointedly asked not to attend. After being called on this, Livia starts crying and says that nobody loves her.
- Oh, Crap!: Tony has one, and a Gut Feeling afterward, when he learns that Uncle Junior frequently visits Livia.
- Open Heart Dentistry: Played for Laughs. After hearing a hefty sound from Pussy from his brothel room, Paulie comments that Pussy must be having a good time... then the prostitute he's with runs in and tells everyone that Pussy might be having a heart attack. The madam sighs and fetches "Dr. Mop-N-Glo", a doctor client of the brothel...who is a dermatologist.
- Precision F-Strike: When Big Pussy tells Paulie to get out of his way in the sauna locker room.
- Red Herring: Vin Makazian being Trapped by Gambling Debts to Big Pussy, Vin being Driven to Suicide before he can definitely prove that Big Pussy is The Mole, Jimmy Altieri taking over as the prime suspect of being The Mole in Tony's mind, all of these conspire to delay Tony and those loyal to him from discovering that Big Pussy actually is The Mole. At least for the time being ...
- Self-Serving Memory: Livia continues to proclaim that her late husband, Johnny Boy, "was a saint". Carmela even lampshades that Livia's opinions of Johnny Boy, while he was still alive, were far different.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Pussy seemingly flees town after the conversation with Tony at his house, and is nowhere to be found afterward.
- Spotting the Thread: Chris is the first to ask why Pussy was running from the police raid, considering that he had just suffered a back injury four days earlier and was in no shape to do strenuous physical activity.
- Tempting Fate: Tony's repeated putdowns of Makazian (including a line that Makazian is a "degenerate fucking gambler with a badge") contribute to the latter spiraling into depression and, ultimately, killing himself. This prevents Tony from getting the information he needed to find out whether Pussy was the informant or not.
- This Bed of Rose's: Makazian claims that he has a platonic relationship with Debbie (the madam at the brothel), who not only allows him to stay at the brothel whenever he is drunk or despondent but takes care to be respectful and honest around him. Later subverted when Silvio tells Tony that Makazian's story is a lie and that he's heavily into prostitutes.
- Title Drop: The title is said twice during the episode, first by Paulie in reference to Big Pussy's back problems when he tells Tony a doctor found nothing wrong and at the end of the episode by Tony in regards to Pussy's whereabouts.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: After Makazian is arrested at the brothel, a newscaster twists the knife by claiming that the (unmentioned) cop is going to have a bad time explaining the situation to his family, and hopes the experience was worth it.
- Wham Episode: The revelations in this episode have serious consequences for the rest of the season (and series).
