Two Tonys

Synopsis

A year after separating from Carmela, Tony is living in his mother’s old house. One night, a big black bear shows up in the Soprano backyard while A.J. is there. A.J. panics and calls for Carmela, who scares the bear away and alerts the authorities. When Tony comes by the next day, their conversation quickly turns sour after she complains he’s buying A.J. too many presents.

The argument shifts to money, and Carmela brings up Tony calling Italy on his cellphone. Tony responds that if certain people find Furio, he’s a dead man. He then assigns Benny and Little Paulie to watch the backyard, and Carmela reluctantly hands over a rifle. After watching The Prince of Tides with his mistress Valentina, Tony feels compelled to reconnect with Dr. Melfi.

He sends flowers and a card to her office, then calls to arrange a date. Melfi turns him down, saying it would be unprofessional to date a former patient. She later has a sexual dream about him. Tony books a session instead and uses it to tell her he loves her.

He tries to kiss her forcefully, but she gently stops him. In her own therapy, Melfi admits she was initially attracted to Tony. He makes another attempt by offering cruise tickets, but she refuses again. When he asks her to list what she couldn’t accept about him, some things are too hard for him to hear, and he storms out.

Tony goes back home and takes over guard duty from Benny. Four mobsters who were locked up in the 1980s get paroled: Soprano capo Michele “Feech” La Manna, Lupertazzi consigliere Angelo Garepe, Lupertazzi capo Phil Leotardo, and Tony’s cousin Tony “Tony B” Blundetto. Feech wants to get back into shy and sports betting, and Tony and Uncle Junior allow it as long as he doesn’t step on other operators. Tony is thrilled about Tony B’s release—they were close once—and plans a big welcome party.

While having lunch with Tony, Angelo, and Johnny Sack, Carmine Lupertazzi suffers a stroke and ends up in the hospital. There, Johnny tells Tony he’s still angry that Tony backed out of their deal to kill Carmine the year before.

Production

Season 5 introduces Matthew Weiner as a new writer, and he also appears onscreen as the Mafia expert on a news broadcast who presents the new gangster characters. Steve Buscemi joins the main cast as Tony Blundetto, earning a spot in the opening credits, though he only appears in this episode through photographs shown during the "Class of '04" news report. Buscemi had previously directed two episodes of the series, "Pine Barrens" in Season 3 and "Everybody Hurts" in Season 4, and he continues both directing and acting for the show.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler is credited under her married name, Jamie-Lynn DiScala, for this season. Vince Curatola receives an individual credit from this point onward, whereas in Season 4 he was often paired with another actor in the billing; he still only gets credited for episodes he appears in. Miryam Coppersmith takes over the role of Sophia Baccalieri from Lexie Sperduto, who played her in Season 4. Tony trades his familiar red 1999 Chevrolet Suburban for a 2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV.

Toni Kalem, who portrays Angie Bonpensiero, becomes a story editor for the series starting with this episode. For the first time in a season opener, Tony does not pick up The Star-Ledger at the foot of his driveway; instead, Meadow runs over the newspaper with her car. This episode also marks the first mention that the Sopranos live in North Caldwell, the same location as the filming house. The Season 5 story arc was inspired by a Star-Ledger article about the RICO trials of the 1980s.

Music

The episode opens with Emmylou Harris's "Heaven Only Knows," which later plays on Carmela's radio and again during the end credits. Meadow blasts "Bichu Rap" by Titi Robin and Gulabo Sapera from her car when picking up A.J. To motivate A.J. with chores, Carmela sings a line from the jazz standard "It's So Nice To Have A Man Around The House." At the restaurant dinner with their goomahs, the guys hear "Mia Serenata" by Jimmy Fontana. During the Atlantic City restaurant scene with Tony's crew, Freda Payne's "Band of Gold" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" are both heard.

Reception

When "Two Tonys" debuted on HBO on March 7, 2004, it drew 12.1 million viewers, earning a 6.2 rating and a 15 share among adults 18 to 49. The only network show to outperform it in that time slot was NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent. That 12.1 million figure marked a 25 percent drop from the season four premiere in September 2002. Washington Post critic Lisa de Moraes blamed the decline on the fifth season launching in March instead of the usual September. Still, among HBO subscribers, the episode set a new network record with a 23.8 rating.

Critics were mostly impressed. Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times noted that the episode played with "variations on the big themes of trust, betrayal, strength and vulnerability" that have always defined The Sopranos. Tom Shales of The Washington Post observed that the characters "grow and evolve; they even learn and, in one or two cases, mature." Robert Bianco of USA Today gave the season three and a half out of four stars, calling Tony Soprano "a character more complex, perplexing and believably real than anything a reality show can convey." Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times compared A.J.'s hostility toward his mother Carmela to the dynamic on The O.C.

Television Without Pity awarded the episode an A-minus, calling the use of clips from The Prince of Tides "a spot-on parody of [Tony Soprano's] relationship with [Dr.] Melfi" and "subtextually relevant." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger found tragic humor in Tony's marital troubles and his ongoing affair with Dr. Melfi. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the episode for hinting at "a season of major upheaval and emotional resonance." Charlie McCollum of the San Jose Mercury News gave the first four episodes of season five a perfect four out of four stars, writing, "The writing sparkles, the acting is unmatched and no TV series has ever been as well directed and produced."

Not everyone was sold. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a C, questioning choices like Tony making a reference to Dr. Phil McGraw.