"Five fucking families. And we got this other pygmy thing over in Jersey. There's no scraps in my scrapbook. Make it happen."
— Phil Leotardo
Silvio garrotes Burt Gervasi in his home for collaborating with the New York family. Phil declares war on New Jersey, and his strategy is to have Tony, Silvio and Bobby murdered so that New York can co-opt what's left of the Jersey mobsters as subordinate business partners.
Dr. Melfi has dinner with several colleagues. One of the colleagues talks about the same study that Dr. Kupferberg told her about last week, that talk therapy enables criminals rather than helping them become better people. An argument ensues during which Kupferberg reveals to the others that Melfi is treating Tony Soprano. The other colleagues suddenly become curious and fascinated. Dr. Melfi is later seen reading that same study in detail.
She has a final session with Tony, where after feeling used over the years she lashes out angrily at him. She decides that he's beyond any help that she can give, and terminates their doctor-patient privilege permanently. Tony in turn leaves the office angry and hurt.
Uncle Junior has run out of money, and can no longer stay in the Wycoff facility any longer. Janice pleads with Tony to pay the lion's share of the expenses. But Tony is still angry over having been shot by Uncle Junior. He mocks Janice by offering her a dollar bill and then telling her "Exile On Main Street" as a way to thumb his nose at hers and Bobby's request.
Tony announces that Italo and Salvatore are flying in from Naples to assassinate Phil. He entrusts the setting up of the hit to Bobby, Paulie, and Corky. Italo and Salvatore arrive at the residence of Phil's goomah. They received information from Corky and Paulie that Phil visits her every Friday night. The problem is that it's her father, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Phil, who visits her every Friday night. Italo pretends to be delivering a DHL package and then shoots both of them to death.
Italo communicates to Corky that the goomah referred to the old man as "daddy", and that they both spoke Ukrainian. Neither Corky nor Patsy are able to appreciate the significance of the information, that it was the goomah's father who was hit, and that Phil is still alive and well. Paulie and Silvio learn that Phil is still alive after reading about the murder of the goomah and her father in a newspaper.
Silvio tells Tony about the failed hit. Phil has gone into hiding. Tony has Silvio tell everyone to break their routines and be extra careful. They try to call Bobby but are a moment too late as Bobby has entered a toy train store while leaving his cellphone in his car just before they dial him. He starts to purchase a miniature version of the historic Blue Comet train when two hitmen from New York enter the store and shoot him to death.
Silvio and Patsy attempt to leave the Bada Bing, but they are intercepted by two other New York hitmen before they can get out of the parking lot. Silvio is shot multiple times and winds up in the hospital barely alive. Patsy manages to escape unscathed. Tony and Paulie later learn that Silvio is in a coma, and is unlikely to regain consciousness.
Tony rushes home and urges Carmela to go into hiding. He goes up to A.J.'s room, and at first tries to gently talk his son into packing up and joining Carmela. A.J.'s emotional state worsens when he hears of Bobby's death. But Tony loses patience and throws A.J. onto the floor, and demands that he pack up immediately. The Jersey mobsters go into hiding in their safe houses.
Tropes:
- Actor Allusion: Paulie's line, "I lived through The '70s by the skin of my nuts when the Colombos were going at it", alludes to a mob war in the 1970s that involved the Colombo crime family and in particular to the battles between Mafia factions led by Joseph Colombo and Crazy Joe Gallo. Tony Sirico, who plays Paulie, was also an alleged associate of the crime family during this time.
- Anyone Can Die: The series doesn't disappoint by having Bobby, probably the nicest and most sympathetic of the main characters killed off.
- Bearer of Bad News: Silvio tells Tony about the failed hit on Phil.
- Blatant Lies:
- Tony to Carmela, "I quit therapy".
- Tony tells Janice he's draining the pool because it's too expensive to keep heating it, when of course it's because of A.J.'s suicide attempt.
- Both Tony and Carmela tell Artie and Charmaine that they're both relieved that Meadow quit pre-med.
- Boom, Headshot!: How both Phil's Goomah and her father get finished off by Italo.
- Butterfly of Doom: If only Bobby took his cellphone with him before he entered the store ...
- Call-Back:
- Drs. Melfi and Kupferberg are at a social dinner with several colleagues. One of the colleagues brings up the same study Kupferberg talked about that says sociopaths are better enabled by talk therapy rather than genuinely helped to become better people by it.
- In the pilot episode, when Tony first comes to therapy, Jennifer Melfi opens the door to her office and shows him in. In this episode, after dropping him, she opens the doors and shows him out.
- Tony tells Carmela he "quit therapy" at an Italian Restaurant (Nuovo Vesuvio) over red wine. She says it was actually a good idea. In the pilot episode, Tony also first tells Carmela he is starting therapy in an Italian restaurant over glasses of red wine and Carmela thinks it is a wonderful idea.
- Chekhov's Hobby: Bobby's love of toy trains ends up dooming him since it makes him a predictable target.
- Close to Home:
- Dr. Melfi stirs uncomfortably in her chair when one of her colleagues relates another study about how sociopaths "quite glibly engage on key issues like mother, family".
- She visibly squirms in her office chair during the session, when Tony praises her for "helping him".
- The Confidant: Subverted by Dr. Kupferberg, who reveals to several colleagues that Dr. Melfi is treating the infamous Tony Soprano.
- Continuity Nod: When Phil Leotardo starts listing his grievances about the DiMeo family, they include the beating of "Coco", "Fat Dom" Gamiello's disappearance (murder), and his brother Billy's murder.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Bobby is shot in the neighborhood of two dozen times, and struggles to stay standing until finally succumbing to his wounds.
- Deadly Delivery: How Italo and Salvatore make an initial approach against Phil's goomah and her father.
- Decapitated Army: Phil's approach to the Mob War is to have Tony, Silvio and Bobby assassinated, and then co-opt the remainder of the Jersey mob as subordinate business partners. "Plain and simple, we decapitate and we do business with whatever's left".
- The Dog Bites Back: Dr. Melfi feels used by Tony after reading the study on sociopaths and talk therapy. So she goes into full Sarcasm Mode against him during their last therapy session before pulling the plug on their relationship for good.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Paulie has this reaction towards Bobby and Silvio, and vice versa, when they argue over whether the order to hit Phil is actually coming from Tony. All three men are sensitive about their place in the Jersey mob hierarchy.
- Enemy Mine: Neither Tony nor Agent Harris have any love for Phil, so they start to work together against him. It begins with Harris warning Tony that Phil is planning something against Tony and those closest to him.
- Epic Fail: What the attempt to take out Phil amounts to.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Tony feels hurt and betrayed, and lashes out angrily, after Dr. Melfi cuts him loose for good. He has a similar reaction when Janice tells him that Bobby wants to do right by Junior, whom Tony is still unable to forgive. His bitter euphemism suggests Bobby will presently find himself booted from the inner circle for this insolence and ingratitude; but given Bobby meets his fate minutes later, the earnestness of Tony's wrath is left a Riddle for the Ages.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
- Janice, on behalf of Bobby and Uncle Junior, pleads with Tony to fund Uncle Junior remaining at the Wycoff institution.
- Tony does his utmost to get his family into hiding once he knows the Mob War is truly on.
- Evil Is Petty: Tony puts the torn page back into the magazine, as a last act of spite towards Dr. Melfi.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Tony, during a session with Dr. Melfi, exhibits fears that Meadow will become a Mob lawyer, which he doesn't necessarily want for her.
- Flashback: Tony gazes at the AR-10 Assault Rifle that Bobby gave him for his birthday. He then remembers when he and Bobby were out on the lake in a boat, discussing the probable fate of anyone in the Mafia.
- Foreshadowing: Tony notices that A.J. is doing internet research on The War on Terror.
- From Bad to Worse: A.J.'s emotional state worsens even more after learning about Bobby's death. Then Tony is really callous and rough about forcing A.J. to pack up and leave the house.
- Gut Feeling: Italo has the entirely correct suspicion that he ended up taking out the wrong target because he recognized that the target and his daughter spoke Ukrainian.
- Heteronormative Crusader: Phil doesn't know that Tony had actually ordered a hit on Vito. So Phil invokes Tony "harboring a faggot" as an additional justification for declaring war on New Jersey.
- Idiot Ball: Paulie chews Silvio out for not having his phone on all night; apparently Sil's wife Gabby was feeling poorly. In the middle of a Mob War that could get him killed, not to mention the same night a strike against the enemy camp at the highest level is going down, you'd think Number Two would keep a better line of communication open.
- I Just Want to Be Badass: Dr. Melfi's colleagues exhibit shades of it when they become curious about and fascinated with Dr. Melfi's work with Tony.
- Improperly Paranoid: Dr. Melfi assumes Dr. Kupferberg convinced another colleague to bring up the study they talked about last episode.
- Irony: Bobby, during the Flashback of when he and Tony were out on the boat on the lake, asks Tony, "You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" Bobby hears and FEELS every shot as he's being gunned down.
- It's All My Fault: Subverted. Paulie tells Silvio to tell Tony that he accepts responsibility for the failed hit on Phil, but that "he didn't do nothin'!"
- It's a Small World, After All: A.J. meets Rhiannon, the ex-girlfriend of one of his past friends, in the psychiatric ward. They hit it off pretty much immediately.
- Jerkass:
- Tony refuses to pay for Uncle Junior to live at Wycoff. He mocks Janice's request by offering her a dollar bill and then telling her "Exile on Main Street", the name of The Rolling Stones album. It's his way of saying Bobby and Janice can take their request and screw themselves with it. Tony is also absolutely brutal about forcing A.J. to pack up and leave the house. Although given the severity of the situation, you could make a case for it being Tough Love too.
- Elliot blatantly manipulates Melfi and breaks her confidentiality agreement while at dinner with colleagues. This is illegal and will likely make him lose Melfi as a client.
- Killed Off for Real: Bobby.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Dr. Melfi, after reading the study indicated by Dr. Kupferberg and reflecting on previous sessions, decides that Tony is beyond her help and terminates their doctor-patient relationship permanently.
- Learned from the News: Paulie and Silvio learn that the hit on Phil missed its target when Chris' former sponsor shows them a newspaper article on the goomah and her father getting murdered.
- Malaproper: Phil, "Let me tell you a couple of three things".
- Meaningful Look: Dr. Kupferberg gives Dr. Melfi one, while one of their colleagues brings up the same study Kupferberg previously told Melfi about.
- Mistaken Identity: Italo and Salvatore murder the father of Phil's goomah, and the goomah herself, instead of Phil. They acted on the flawed information they received from Corky and Paulie. It doesn't help that the father bears an uncanny resemblance to Phil himself.
- Mob War:
- Tony brings in Italo and Salvatore from Italy to take out Phil. But they end up murdering Phil's goomah and her father by mistake after receiving faulty information from Corky and Paulie.
- Tony orders everyone to break their routines and be extra careful, but it's too late. The New York plan has already been set in motion.
- Two hitmen enter a toy train store and shoot Bobby to death.
- Another pair of hitmen ambush Silvio and Patsy in the parking lot of the Bing. Patsy escapes alive, but Silvio is shot multiple times and is left in an apparently permanent coma.
- Tony sends his immediate family into hiding since he doesn't trust Phil to leave them alone. He and the rest of the Jersey mobsters go into hiding in their safe houses.
- Murder by Mistake: Tony entrusts Italo and Salvatore to kill Phil. Unfortunately, thanks to some false information, they kill the father of Phil's goomah, along with the goomah.
- Nervous Wreck: Carmela becomes one once Tony hints that a Mob War has started and that everyone needs to go into hiding.
- Off the Grid: Phil completely disappears into hiding places of his own, to himself avoid being taken out by the Jersey mob.
- Poor Communication Kills: Italo communicated crucial pieces of information to Corky, that the goomah addressed the old man in the house as "Daddy", and that they spoke Ukrainian. Had either Corky or Patsy clued in that it meant Phil was alive and well, Tony could have given the order to go to the safe houses sooner, meaning Bobby and Silvio could have possibly avoided their respective fates.
- Professional Killer:
- Italo and Salvatore are flown in again from Naples, this time to perform a hit on Phil Leotardo.
- New York sends two different pairs of hitmen into New Jersey. One pair takes out Bobby, and the other puts Silvio into a coma.
- Revenge Before Reason: Phil is determined to avenge Coco, Fat Dom, his brother Billy and anyone else in the New York family who's been harmed by the Jersey mobsters. The point gets emphasized when he verbally shoots down his own Consigliere, Albert, who tries to counsel that business will grind to a halt and that the war itself may result in numerous casualties for New York.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Silvio strangles Burt Gervasi to death for collaborating with the New York mobsters.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: While Melfi is right to end her association with Tony, she also lets the new study on sociopaths warp what she knows about Tony on a personal level. The parts in the study that stick out to her the most is how sociopaths lie about having affection for their pets, and how they only become better criminals after therapy. While true for actual sociopaths, Tony's love for animals was one of his few genuine empathetic traits, and there doesn't seem to be any proof that Tony became a "better" criminal due to therapy. There were also points where he made genuine attempts to be a better person. So while Melfi is right to make her decision, the logic behind it is flawed.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- The magazine that Tony puts the page back into, as he's leaving Dr. Melfi's office for the last time, is titled, "Departures".
- The very last shot of Dr. Melfi is her closing the door on Tony.
- A toy train falls off its tracks after Bobby is killed. Is the Jersey mob facing a bleak future no matter what the outcome of their Mob War against New York? Are the ties between the New Jersey and New York families irrevocably severed?
- Shout-Out: When Cavalleria rusticana starts playing on the radio during their meeting at Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony and Silvio begin mimicking boxing in slow motion. The intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana was used as the main theme of Raging Bull.
- Speak Ill of the Dead:
- All of the Jersey mobsters are elated on the assumption that Phil has been taken out.
- Paulie has a low opinion of Phil's goomah and didn't mind her becoming collateral damage, considering her a drunken embarrassment.
- The Starscream: Phil inaccurately views Tony as having stepped over Uncle Junior to become the boss of Jersey.
- Thwarted Escape: The New York hitmen cut off Silvio and Patsy before they can leave the parking lot of the Bing.
- Title Drop: When Bobby discusses the train he's about to buy from the store owner.
- Tragic Keepsake: Tony gazes in pain at the AR-10 Assault Rifle that Bobby gave him for his birthday.
- Uncertain Doom: We learn through Tony and Paulie that Silvio is in a coma and is unlikely to regain consciousness.
- Visual Title Drop: The miniature toy train version of the Blue Comet, which was actually a historical train that used to run from Atlantic City to New York.
- Waxing Lyrical: Tony's comment to Jennifer Melfi, "You don't need a gynecologist to know the way the wind blows" references lyrics from Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues": "You don't need a weatherman to know the way the wind blows".
- Wham Episode: The tensions between New York and New Jersey finally erupt into a war, where Phil authorizes a hit on Tony, Silvio and Bobby. As a result, Bobby is shot to death inside a toy train store, Silvio is ambushed outside the Bada Bing where he falls into a coma that he might not wake up from, and Tony goes into hiding with the remnants of his crew. Additionally, Melfi realizes Tony is beyond help and finally decides to cut all ties with him.
- Wham Line: Phil, "There's no scraps in my scrapbook. Make it happen".
- You're Not My Father: Tony refuses to pay for Uncle Junior to live at Wycoff after Junior runs out of money, and doesn't care if Junior ends up at a state-run facility.
