"He doesn't care. With all the stuff he has? He got to go to the Olympics and everything. I love where he lives. I don't wanna come back here."
— Tony Blundetto
As tensions rise in New York, Little Carmine is recruiting supporters in exchange for new washing machines; their business is interrupted when Carmine's party boat, recently refurbished, is found damaged and in the middle of sinking.
Phil is angry over his car crash during his previous confrontation with Tony during the previous episode. Johnny Sack sides with him and presses his claim against Tony, in order to preserve Phil's loyalty. Tony has Phil bring in his car to Big Pussy's body shop, which has now been taken over by his widow Angie Bonpenseiro. Phil proceeds to manufacture any and every possible claim for repair on Tony's bill, some of them frivolous or even outright fraudulent, out of pure spite towards Tony.
Carmela plans a surprise 75th birthday party for her father Hugh; Carmela and Tony agree beforehand that Tony should not attend given their marital situation. Junior spoils the surprise to Hugh over the phone and when Hugh finds out Tony will not be coming to the party, he demands the "man of the house" attend. Carmela reluctantly invites Tony on short notice.
Tony gifts Hugh with a Beretta Giubileo shotgun, to Hugh's delight. But Mary feels embarrassed by Tony's behavior, coupled with the fact that he's a mob boss. That embarrassment is heightened in front of her friend, Dr. Fegoli, whom she considers a proper and good Italian, despite his elitist and snobbish demeanor. Carmela eventually lays into Mary for being ashamed of her Italian American heritage. The evening culminates in Tony and Carmela making love in the pool, hinting at a possible reconciliation.
Tony Blundetto meanwhile is not making as much as he'd hoped running airbags for Tony S. Tony B gets courted by Rusty Millio and Angelo Garepe, supporters of Little Carmine, for a hit job on Joey Peeps. Tony B struggles with whether he's willing to go as far as murder in order to make ends meet. The sight of the luxuries that the Soprano family has enjoyed, including the house, gets to Tony B and his kids, who steal from their cousin A,J. because he already "has so much". It becomes a tipping point for Tony B to accept the hit job.
Joey Peeps is about to retire for the night with a prostitute when Tony B shoots both Joey and his prostitute to death in the car, but the car itself runs over Tony B's right foot.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Both Tony B and Joey Peeps smirk and chuckle over Phil's insistence that his car seat has been fixed wrong. Considering that's somebody both as high up and as dangerous as Phil, it also has shades of Bullying a Dragon.
- Agony of the Feet: Tony B gets his right foot run over by the front wheel of Joey Peeps' car after shooting him.
- Apple of Discord: Uncle Junior deliberately creates one by tipping Hugh off about the Surprise Party, and it works spectacularly.
- Beer Goggles: After being carried out of his party the worse for alcohol, Hugh mistakes either his wife Mary or daughter Carmela (perhaps both) for Virginia Mayo.
- Boomerang Bigot: Carmela accuses Mary of being ashamed of her Southern Italian heritage with "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Bottle Episode: Downplayed. A higher than usual proportion of the episode takes place at the Soprano home, although there are still many scenes away from it.
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: The episode itself plays out as one for Tony S and Carmela, culminating in their Two-Person Pool Party.
- Broken-Window Warning: Johnny Sack has Little Carmine's boat sunk as a message.
- But Not Too White: Mary was apparently disappointed that Meadow was born darker-skinned.
- Celebrity Impersonator: Tony B does some Jackie Gleason impersonation for the amusement of Angelo, while Rusty remains stone-faced.
- Conspicuous Consumption: Johnny Sack splashes out for a Maserati in anticipation of really raking it in as the new Boss. Tony S even lampshades it: "You're spendin' like you're already on the throne."
- Continuity Nod:
- Sal Vitro is seen landscaping at the Sacrimoni residence per the deal that was set up in "Where's Johnny?"
- Tony says to Fegoli, "A doctor in the house? That's good, because somebody usually goes down at these affairs." In the pilot, Tony had a panic attack while barbecuing.
- Creepy Uncle:
- Tony B still has this vibe going on as he holds Meadow under a Male Gaze. Implied again when he looks uncomfortably at Tony S having a little closeup fun with Meadow. However, it's unclear whether it's him being a perv, or him being reminded of his absent daughter Kelly.
- Dating What Mommy Hates: No matter how many years go by, Mary still disapproves of Carmela having married Tony. Strongly implied to have been a factor in Carmela and Tony getting back together.
- A Day in the Limelight: Carmela's parents are more of a focus in this episode than perhaps any other in the series.
- Dead Man Honking: Joey Peeps, after he's been shot to death by Tony B.
- Disposable Sex Worker: Implied to a degree. Tony B has to work himself up to taking out Joey Peeps, with whom he had friendly acquaintances. He doesn't hesitate in also taking out the prostitute once he gets around to killing Joey Peeps.
- Don't Look At Me: Meadow picks up that Tony B is ogling her, so she gives him an Armour-Piercing Question in reply: "Any luck with Kelly?" She thereby indicates that she has the Hyper-Awareness to realize that Tony B has the Creepy Uncle thing going on.
- Embarrassing Last Name: AJ initially mishears the name 'Fegoli' as 'Faggo', much to the chagrin of Mary.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Even if he and Carmela are in the Temporary Divorce at the moment, it's easy to tell Tony S feels hurt by the initial exclusion from the birthday party, no matter how much he tries to hide it under a brave face.
- Evil Is Petty:
- Phil makes up any and every bullshit claim for repairs he can think of on Tony S' bill. It's partly trying to claw back as much of the $40 grand he had to pay on what he felt was a Leonine Contract, and partly out of pure spite towards Tony S.
- Uncle Junior ruins the surprise for Hugh simply because he wasn't invited. He justifies it as "At our age, it's enough of a surprise when we wake up in the morning." Carmela immediately realizes what happened, but Hugh buys it hook, line and sinker, even repeating the line to his wife and daughter.
- Every Man Has His Price: Little Carmine is doling out washing machines in an attempt to court allies in his Enemy Civil War against Johnny Sack.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Tony B initially struggles with and refuses a hit job on Joey Peeps. But he takes up Rusty on the offer, because he wants very much to improve his material situation, especially for his kids.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Tony B struggled with one during the previous episode about whether to leave the straight life and return to the mob life. He struggles with a different one in his episode about how far he's willing to take it, and if he's willing to defy Tony S who has forbidden getting involved with the New York Succession Crisis. He's started off as running airbags for Tony S, but it's not bringing in as much as he'd like. He struggles with whether to take on a hit job on Joey Peeps for that extra cash and initially refuses. But his kids being resentful about their own living situation provides a tipping point, and he accepts the Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job.
- Hypocrite:
- Mary claims to be proud of her Italian heritage, but Carmela realizes she's actually ashamed of it.
- Tony B lectures his kids on stealing from A.J., and yet his first line of work for Tony S involves stolen airbags.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Johnny Sack takes the loyalty angle when it comes to Phil. He takes up Phil's grievance over damages to his car against Tony S. The purpose is to preserve Phil's loyalty, whom Johnny needs as his Dragon.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Implied to a degree when the short and slight Hugh accepts the gift of a Beretta rifle from Tony S with a definite relish and begins pretending to aim it.
- Improbably Cool Car: The Maserati that Johnny Sack buys. It will become a MacGuffin in its own way shortly.
- In-Series Nickname: It's in this episode where Tony first anoints Phil as "The Shah of Iran".
- In Vino Veritas: Several characters are more honest than usual about their feelings at Hugh's party, including Carmela and Tony B.
- Large Ham: Once he does come to the party, Tony S really enjoys himself.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Possibly. The dinner during which Rusty and Angelo offer the hit job to Tony B is unclear as to whether Little Carmine was himself in the know. The hints continue in a later scene when Tony B calls up Rusty to accept the job. Little Carmine is himself getting shaved by a barber a few feet away, and it's ambiguous whether Rusty deliberately spoke the name 'Blundetto' quietly enough so that Little Carmine can't hear it. It's Rusty who gives the final nod for the order to kill Joey Peeps. It may reinforce that Rusty's ambition is to become The Man Behind the Man, while Little Carmine ostensibly sits on the throne.
- The Man Behind the Man: Rusty Millio's ambition is still very much to take over the New York family de facto, with Little Carmine as his puppet.
- Not That Kind of Doctor: A revered (and rather snooty) erudite named Dr. Russ Fegoli attends the 75th birthday of Carmella’s father Hugh. Tony, upon meeting him:Tony: A doctor in the house, huh? That's good 'cause someone usually goes down at these things.Mary: He's just joking!Fegoli: Unfortunately, my doctorate is in International Affairs.Tony: So you're a doctor like Kissinger’s a doctor?Fegoli: Yes.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Hugh tumbles from the roof of the Sopranos' house. The bushes he falls into save his life.
- One of the Boys: Angie has effectively become one of the guys after having taken over Big Pussy's body shop. Given that we haven't seen her for a while, it also has shades of Ascended Extra and The Bus Came Back.
- Penny Among Diamonds: Tony B's kids are resentful about the contrast between the living conditions they're in, and the opulent house of the Sopranos. It becomes a tipping point for Tony B as he struggles with his new Heel–Face Revolving Door.
- Professional Killer: Tony B accepts a job to kill Joey Peeps for some extra cash.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Carmela ends up giving Mary one, the substance of which is accusing Mary of being a Boomerang Bigot.
- Revenge: Little Carmine and Lorraine went to school together, and were occasional lovers. It's held out to Tony B as the motivation for hiring him to take out Joey Peeps, although it's hinted at that Little Carmine himself may have been Locked Out of the Loop.
- RevengeSVP: It's implied that Tony S turned on the Large Ham and gifted Hugh with the Beretta shotgun in order to give payback to Mary, guessing that she was the source of the initial snub.
- Smug Smiler: Hugh has it going on when he lets on that he already knows about the Surprise Party.
- Soapbox Sadie: Meadow claims that the justice system is biased against minorities.
- Spanner in the Works: Tony S has adopted a strategy of waiting out the New York Succession Crisis and keeping the Jersey family out of it to minimize the damage and risks. Tony B, by killing Joey Peeps, has committed the first and not the last act that will utterly dash Tony S' hopes.
- Spotting the Thread: Dr. Fegoli notes that the best of the Beretta guns, including the Giubileo shotguns, are never exported. He has thereby figured out that Tony is a mobster who has the connections to get that kind of gun into the States. Mary's worst fears are realized, which eventually leads to Carmela giving her "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- Surprise Party: Intentionally subverted by Uncle Junior. He goes out of his way to tip-off Hugh about the party waiting for him, just because he can.
- Suspiciously Apropos Music: "Bad 'n' Ruin" by Rod Stewart is playing while Tony B walks up to and murders Joey Peeps. The lyrics as a whole place a lot of emphasis on a son feeling he doesn't live up to his mother's expectations, which in a way acts as a punctuation mark on Tony B's steps through yet another Heel–Face Revolving Door. Moreover, there's one lyric in particular that's loaded with Foreshadowing: "Here's one foot in the grave."
- Temporary Divorce: Ongoing between Carmela and Tony S, and the source of quite a bit of drama in this episode.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Tony let Angie Bonpenseiro take over Big Pussy's old body shop so she could make ends meet.
- Two-Person Pool Party: Tony S and Carmela, signalling a possible end to their Temporary Divorce.
- Visual Pun: We cut from Tony B filming Carmela's ass to a shot of the moon.
- Visual Title Drop: Numerous characters play a game of Marco Polo in the swimming pool after the party.
- Walk-In Chime-In: When Tony arrives at the party.Carmela: He always leaves it til the last minute.Tony: I heard that.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Bobby leaves the room with a Disapproving Look after Uncle Junior deliberately spoils the Surprise Party for Hugh.
