History Recap / TheSopranosS1E12Isabella

* ShoutOut: Tony nearly getting killed by Rasheen and Petite has a lot of similarities to when Vito was shot during ''Film/TheGodfather''. Vito starts by buying oranges from an outdoor vendor. Tony starts by buying orange juice from an outdoor vendor. A pair of hitmen approach in each instance just as either is ready to return to his car. Both wind up unconscious, face down, and clinging to life after barely surviving the respective attempts on their lives.

* PlotArmor: Admit it, Tony was wearing a suit of it in this episode. Clayborn and Rasheen were just about to get out of their car and then corner Tony in a donut shop where they could have ambushed him and shot him at close range. Guess who pulls up and blocks their way? Christopher, who is completely unaware of their intentions, and tells them to shove it when they tell him to pull ahead and out of the way. The next time they try and take out Tony, it's in the much more open space of the street, with the result that Tony can both see them coming, and they miss at a longer range, allowing Tony to survive. Tony and his circle immediately begin to suspect Uncle Jun and his supporters, giving them the opportunity to turn the tables. The events can also invite speculation as to AlternateHistory had either attempt to kill Tony succeeded. It is likely that both Mikey Palmice and Chucky Signore would have survived and helped Uncle Jun continue to run the Jersey Mob. The story wouldn't have been about the Sopranos anymore, and who knows how things would have played out between Jersey and New York down the road.

* ForWantOfANail: Clayborn and Rasheen were just about to get out of their car and then corner Tony in a donut shop where they could have ambushed him and shot him at close range. Guess who pulls up and blocks their way? Christopher, who is completely unaware of their intentions, and tells them to shove it when they tell him to pull ahead and out of the way. The next time they try and take out Tony, it's in the much more open space of the street, with the result that Tony can both see them coming, and they miss at a longer range, allowing Tony to survive. Tony and his circle immediately begin to suspect Uncle Jun and his supporters, giving them the opportunity to turn the tables. Were it not for this little twist, it is likely that both Mikey Palmice and Chucky Signore would have survived and helped Uncle Jun continue to run the Jersey Mob. The story wouldn't have been about the Sopranos anymore, and who knows how things would have played out between Jersey and New York down the road.

* PlotArmor: Admit it, Tony was wearing a suit of it in this episode.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Carmela really lays into Tony:

* FalseFriend: Both Livia and Uncle Junior put this trope into play by showing up to Tony's get well party after hearing about the failed hit on the news. Uncle Junior in particular puts on the FauxAffablyEvil really thick. Even Chris, Paulie, and Silvio are thrown off by the sudden display, but they're not completely freed from their suspicions either.
* ForWantOfANail: Clayborn and Rasheen were just about to get out of their car and then corner Tony in a donut shop where they could have ambushed him and shot him at close range. Guess who pulls up and blocks their way? Christopher, who is completely unaware of their intentions, and tells them to shove it when they tell him to pull ahead and out of the way. The next time they try and take out Tony, it's in the much more open space of the street, with the result that Tony can both see them coming, and they miss at a longer range, allowing Tony to survive. Tony and his circle immediately begin to suspect Uncle Jun and his supporters, giving them the opportunity to turn the tables. Were it not for this little twist, it is likely that both Mikey Palmice and Chucky Signore would have survived and helped Uncle Jun continue to run the Jersey Mob. The story wouldn't have been about the Sopranos anymore, and who knows how things would have played out between Jersey and New York down the road.

At the funeral for a mob associate, Junior is having second thoughts about the hit on Tony. He's also bothered by Jimmy showing up and saying pointed questions about [[ContinuityNod Brendan Filone's death]]. Junior tells him to mind his own business before leaving. Afterwards, Mikey arrives and tells him that the preparations have been made, and that two hitmen will kill Tony at a newsstand.

Chris meets with Tony, who is distracted and still feeling the effects of the pills. Tony tells him that he doesn't want to hear any more about Pussy, and not to do anything about Jimmy until they can prove he's wearing a wire. Afterwards, Tony goes outside and finds the same woman in the white dress at the Cusamano residence. She tells him that the Cusamanos went on vacation, and that she's a foreign exchange student who's working as a maid over the summer.

Carmela, A.J. and Meadow meet Tony at the hospital, who has suffered from several cuts and bruises. The family is hustled out after he assures them he's fine. Afterward, he's visited by [[Recap/TheSopranosS1E8TheLegendOfTennesseeMoltisanti Agent Harris]], who indicates that he knows Tony was almost killed in a mob hit and offers to put him in a witness protection program. Despite Harris' offer, he tells Harris to stop talking to him and leave. Silvio and Paulie arrive soon after to guard Tony, while the kids indicate to each other that they know it wasn't just a simple carjacking.

Tony meets with Melfi after-hours and asks if she ever told anyone who he was. She admits that she [[Recap/TheSopranosS1E8TheLegendOfTennesseeMoltisanti mentioned it to her family offhandedly]], but never identified him in any way, shape or form. Tony admits that the attempted hit has made him feel alive again, and talks about the experiences with Isabella. Melfi realizes that Tony's description is actually a hallucination, and Isabella was actually the [[ParentalIssues idolized version of his mother]]. Tony [[ShipTease strokes Melfi's cheek]] in appreciation before leaving and driving off with an associate. He realizes afterwards that everything, including the meeting the previous night with Melfi, was AllJustADream, and confirms it to incredulous responses from Bruce Cusamano and Carmela. Melfi tells him to flush his lithium medication.

** Junior is heartbroken over ordering the hit on his nephew and only does so because he firmly beleives Tony is a threat to his position as boss.

** Tony's attitude switching between morose and depressed to civil and upbeat (in the course of two subsequent shots) in Melfi's office is the first indicator that he's undergone SanitySlippage due to the combination of drugs he's taking.

* FalseFriend: Both Livia and Uncle Junior put this trope into play by showing up to Tony's get well party after hearing about the failed hit on the news. Uncle Junior in particular puts on the FauxAffablyEvil really thick. Even Chris, Paulie and Silvio are thrown off by the sudden display, but they're not completely freed from their suspicions either.
* ForWantOfANail: Clayborn and Rasheen were just about to get out of their car and then corner Tony in a donut shop where they could have ambushed him and shot him at close range. Guess who pulls up and blocks their way? Christopher, who is completely unaware of their intentions, and tells them to shove it when they tell him to pull ahead and out of the way. The next time they try and take out Tony, it's in the much more open space of the street, with the result that Tony can both see them coming, and they miss at longer range, allowing Tony to survive. Tony and his circle immediately begin to suspect Uncle Jun and his supporters, giving them the opportunity to turn the tables. Were it not for this little twist, it is likely that both Mikey Palmice and Chucky Signore would have survived and helped Uncle Jun continue to run the Jersey Mob. The story wouldn't have been about the Sopranos anymore, and who knows how things would have played out between Jersey and New York down the road.
* GutFeeling: Almost every character not in Uncle Junior's camp suspects him of being behind the "car jacking". Even A.J. has an inkling of it. And Chris puts two and two together when hearing the black guys who tried to kill Tony were driving a Taurus.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Livia puts this trope into motion almost the instant that she hears on the news that Tony survived the assassination attempt. She shows up at Tony's get well party, and pretends that she doesn't recognize Meadow in order to feign the onset of dementia. The purpose is to try and throw off any suspicions of having anything to do with the botched job. Junior [[SpottingTheThread figures out what she's up to]], and its causes him to get angry with her because he's worried that it will [[{{Scapegoat}} leave him holding the bag]].

* PlotArmor: Admit it, Tony was wearing a suit of it this episode.

** Livia also begins to show signs of senility, and fails to recognize Meadow for several moments when everyone meets to console Tony at the house after he's injured, although there's [[ObfuscatingStupidity suspicious timing]] on this.
* ShoutOut: Tony nearly getting killed by Rasheen and Petite has a lot of similarities to when Vito was shot during ''Film/TheGodfather''. Vito starts by buying oranges from an outdoor vendor. Tony starts by buying orange juice from an outdoor vendor. A pair of hitmen approach in each instance just as either is ready to return to his car. Both wind up unconscious, face down and clinging to life after barely surviving the respective attempts on their lives.

'''Season 1, Episode 12:'''
!Isabella

Carmela goes off to buy a suit for A.J.'s upcoming prom, and opens the blinds for Tony before she leaves. As he gets up from bed, he looks outside and sees a woman hanging laundry next door.

When Tony leaves to make a run to the newsstand, Chris becomes concerned and follows. As Tony arrives, the two hitmen, Rasheen Ray and William Clayborn, get ready to exit the car. However, their plan is thwarted when Christopher drives in front of their vehicle and scopes out the newsstand. Despite their efforts to tell him to leave, Chris tells them off and keeps watching the stand. Tony walks out behind the building and enters a side entrance for Melfi's office, while Chris enters the nearby donut shop and is perplexed when he can't find Tony.

The next day, Tony goes back down to the same newsstand and buys a carton of juice and a paper. On his way back to his car, two shots ring out, both of which miss him and hit the juice bottle and car window beside him. Clayborn reveals himself and advances towards Tony, who in turn gets in his car and puts it in drive. Clayborn attempts to shoot Tony, who grabs his arm and twists it away. When Rasheen runs to the other side of the vehicle and fires a round, it hits Clayborn in the temple, killing him instantly.

Carmela, A.J. and Meadow meet Tony at the hospital, who has suffered from several cuts and bruises. The family is hustled out after he assures them he's fine. Afterwards, he's visited by [[Recap/TheSopranosS1E8TheLegendOfTennesseeMoltisanti Agent Harris]], who indicates that he knows Tony was almost killed in a mob hit and offers to put hm in a witness protection program. Despite Harris' offer, he tells Harris to stop talking to him and leave. Silvio and Paulie arrive soon after to guard Tony, while the kids indicate to each other that they know it wasn't just a simple carjacking.

Junior watches a report on the assassination attempt with Livia that night [[OhCrap and realizes that his plan has failed]]. He feigns innocence when Livia asks who could have done this. They visit Tony afterwards and give well-wishes, while [[ContinuityNod Father Intintola stops by to pray for Tony's good health]]. Behind the scenes, Silvio, Paulie and Christopher speculate that Junior was behind the attempted hit.

* ApologeticAttacker: Mikey takes the time to say "Sorry!" to Donnie before whacking him on Junior's orders.

* BoomHeadshot: Petite Clayborn's death, in slow motion.

* ShownTheirWork: Halluciniations are indeed one of the possible side effects of lithium.

* ShoutOut: Tony nearly getting killed by Rasheen and Petite has a lot of similarities to when Vito was shot during ''Film/TheGodfather''. Vito starts by buying oranges from an outdoor vendor. Tony starts by buying orange juice from an outdoor vendor. A pair of assassins approach in each instance just as either is ready to return to his car. Both wind up unconscious, face down and clinging to life after barely surviving the respective attempts on their lives.

Tony continues to suffer from more and more delusions, and Melfi seemingly ups his dosage of Prozac after listening to him ramble. Soon after, he goes outside and sees the same woman, who now refers to herself as Isabella, and he invites her for lunch. At a nearby restaurant, they discuss [[NotSoDifferent their similar tastes and family histories]], but has a [[DreamWithinADream vision]] that she's breastfeeding a baby in an old Italian home.

** Livia also begins to show signs of senility, and fails to recognize Meadow for several moments when everyone meets to console Tony at the house after he's injured.

* BeingGoodSucks: Also doubles for RedemptionRejection to an extent. Tony obviously isn't game for AgentHarris' offer to join WitnessProtection, and is vehement about it once Harris leaves the hospital room. The trope shows most clearly when Carmela pleads with him to think about his family's safety and his children still having their father. His response likens life in WitnessProtection to living like "boring Mormons" in Utah.

** Christopher is genuinely worried about Tony's depression and follows him out of concern for his well-being,which unwittingly saves his life.

-->You fucking piece of shit. Going to dinner with you is a distant memory for me...but you have time to
take her to lunch? You're sinking this whole family into your misery with your complaining...while I spoon-feed you and bathe you! A half-inch of another woman's thigh gets you out of bed? What am I, a fucking idiot? If I had an ounce of self-respect, I would cut your dick off!