Bust Out

"Bust Out" is the twenty-third episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the tenth of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on March 19, 2000.

Starring

• James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
• Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi
• Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
• Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti *
• Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr.
• Vincent Pastore as Pussy Bonpensiero
• Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante *
• Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
• Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
• Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva *
• David Proval as Richie Aprile
• Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano
• and Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano

* = credit only

Guest starring

• John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco

Also guest starring

Episode recap

The police locate an eyewitness to the Bevilaqua killing who identifies Tony Soprano from a book of suspect photos. He didn't get a good look at Pussy, but describes the second man as "a husky accomplice". Tony is panicked when word of the case reaches him, and he makes plans to flee until the witness can be identified and dealt with. He gives a sports bag full of cash to his lawyer, Neil Mink, to provide for his family. Luckily for Tony, the witness realizes (via a newspaper article) that the murder relates to the Mafia, and is not a drug-related dispute as the detectives had let him believe, and he urgently contacts the police department to retract his statement.

Tony and Richie Aprile squeeze money out of David Scatino's store, ordering Ramlösa bottled water, coolers, airline tickets, and sneakers on the store's credit and selling the merchandise on the street. They inform Davey the squeeze will continue unless he is able to pay the money he owes them. Davey is distraught over his situation and at one point, he lies on a pool table in his basement while pointing a pistol into his mouth. When his wife enters the room he hides the weapon in the ceiling tiles and claims to be fixing a light. Later, his wife and Carmela Soprano have lunch at Nuovo Vesuvio and she expresses concern about Davey's gambling, mentioning that the sporting goods store is in her name. Artie Bucco serves them the mineral water that Tony had Davey order, mentioning that he got a great deal on the price.

Unhappy with the cut he is getting from Davey's store and the deal he has with Barone Sanitation, Richie discusses with Junior Soprano the possibility of getting rid of Tony. When Junior admonishes him, Richie reminds him of Junior's plan to kill Tony the previous year.

Too embarrassed to go home, Davey has taken to sleeping in a small tent set up at the store. In a late-night conversation with Tony, he asks how this will end. Tony explains that he and Richie will keep charging items to the store's credit and selling them until there is no more credit available and bankruptcy is the only option for the store. Davey is inconsolable even after Tony explains that Davey's debts to both Tony and Richie will then be considered satisfied. Tony also explains to Davey that this is one of his primary sources of income, he only let Davey in the game because he knew this store was available to bust out, and reminds Davey that the Executive Game was fair; Davey could just as easily have won a lot of money as lost it.

After imploring Tony to stop cheating on her in the previous episode, Carmela is attracted to a new handyman, Victor Musto. Musto is the brother of Davey's wife and also a widower. He and Carmela share a passionate kiss, and then realize the futility of the situation. However, when he calls her, she invites him over for a "discussion" and gourmet meal, which she prepares herself. In the meantime, he learns of Tony's involvement with his brother-in-law (Davey) and sends an assistant to meet her instead of arriving himself.

Tony tries to get closer to A.J. and Meadow, but does not succeed until Tony takes A.J. on his boat at the end of the episode, where they crank the boat up to full power and capsize two men in a canoe.

Title reference

• A "bust out" is a common tactic in the organized crime world, wherein a business' assets and lines of credit are exploited and exhausted to the point of bankruptcy. Richie and Tony profit from busting out Davey Scatino's sporting goods store in this episode.
• To "bust out" is also a poker term that refers to losing all of one's chips.

Cultural references

• In bed, Carmela is reading Memoirs of a Geisha.
• Livia references Rose Kennedy, wealthy matriarch of the Kennedy family.
• When Richie visits Junior at his home, Junior is watching the CBS daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
• Carmela tells Tony about a Harvard study examining the importance of the father-son relationship she read about in Time magazine.
• Tony mentions The Frog and the Scorpion to David Scatino.
• In home, the eyewitness is reading Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by Robert Nozick.

Music

• The piano instrumental playing at Nuovo Vesuvio during lunch with Carmela and Christine Scatino is "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".
• The song "Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli appears for the third time this season, played as Carmela thinks about and receives a phone call from the handyman. This song was especially prominent in "Commendatori", playing (among other places) when Carmela and her friends discussed hoping to be free of their husbands.
• The music playing during the scene wherein the witness realizes the murder victim was a Mafia associate is the second movement from Anton Webern's Variations for Piano, Op. 27.
• When Carmela is preparing the food for her lunch with Vic Musto, "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain is heard playing in the background.
• The song played over the end credits is "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey; this song was also heard in the scene wherein painters were painting the Sopranos' living room.

External links

• "Bust Out" at HBO
• "Bust Out" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Bust Out" at TV.com