Chasing It

"Chasing It"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 6B
Episode 4
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Written by Matthew Weiner
Cinematography by Alik Sakharov
Production code 616
Original air date April 29, 2007
Running time 50 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"Chasing It" is the eighty-first episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos. It is the fourth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, the sixteenth episode of the season overall. It was written by executive producer Matthew Weiner and was directed by Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on April 29, 2007 and was watched by 6.76 million viewers upon its premiere.[1]

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Also guest starring

Episode recap

Tony Soprano is gambling with increasing ferociousness and frequency. He hits a particularly unlucky gambling stretch and his continuing losses begin to impact his financial obligations as boss. Vito Spatafore's widow, Marie, turns to Tony for help with her son, Vito Jr., who has become markedly antisocial following his father's murder. Vito, now a Goth, desecrates a graveyard, hangs a cat, and constantly misbehaves at school. Having been previously told by her late husband that she "would be taken care of" in case of his death, Marie approaches Tony with a request for $100,000 to move her family to Maine, where she believes her family could escape the contempt of the neighborhood for Vito's homosexuality and her son could be resocialized. Tony, to Marie's disappointment, resists and suggests that Phil Leotardo (Marie's cousin, who murdered her husband and who now, Tony believes, should compensate for any fallout of his actions) should get involved. Tony meets Phil in a party where he is celebrating becoming the boss of the Lupertazzi crime family, complete with a private singing performance from Nancy Sinatra. Phil agrees to talk to Vito's son. Both Phil and Tony each have a man-to-man talk with Vito Jr. to try to make him stop his delinquency, but their attempts seem to be fruitless and neither of them are willing to help with the move financially. However, Tony changes his tune after Vito Jr. publicly defecates in the school shower after being teased and is expelled from school. Tony proclaims to his closest subordinates that he will pay for the relocation of the Spatafores and receives their commendations for his claimed goodwill; Tony also angrily adds he will "never forgive" Phil for not coming through on the financing for the family's move. However, Tony soon gambles away the $100,000 he had reserved for the family's move to Maine on a football bet. In a change of plans, he offers Marie to pay her to sign her son up to a boot camp program in Idaho instead. He plays down Marie's worries that corporal punishment is permitted in such places, assuring her not to "worry" about the expenses as he would pay the $18,000 for it. Marie takes her time swallowing the disappointing offer but ultimately accepts it. Vito Jr. is then soon promptly taken away from his home against his will by the boot camp's representatives, leaving his mother and sister in tears at the sight.

At the same time, Hesh Rabkin begins to regret lending $200,000 to Tony as a bridge loan. Tony only grudgingly and disrespectfully pays Hesh his points, often making a show of the act. Hesh, increasingly worried and suffering from hypertension, later discusses with his son-in-law, Eli Kaplan, his concerns that Tony will find it easier to kill Hesh than pay him back and that debts end up destroying friendships. In fact, two of Tony's crime family's members, Bobby Baccalieri and Carlo Gervasi, encourage Tony to stiff Hesh, but Tony angrily responds that if Carlo earned as well as Vito had, he would not be in the financial situation he is in and that he has to maintain his public image of a boss paying his dues.

One day, from his car, Tony spots and eyes Ahmed and Muhammad mingling with traditionally dressed Middle-Easterners in a street.

A.J. proposes to Blanca, and she initially accepts, but later surprises him when she ends the relationship during the Puerto Rican Day Parade, citing her uncertainty whether she loves him.

Carmela and her father Hugh finally sell their spec house to her cousin Brian Cammarata. During the final inspection, Carmela worries about the sub-standard building materials her father used, going as far to call him during the night when a rain storm causes her to question the wood for the studs they used, but Hugh is not worried saying he has used the same material before. When she tells Tony that she has cleared $600K on the house, he passionately informs her about a "sure thing" gambling tip and encourages her to bet some of "his half" on a football game, but Carmela refuses, disappointed Tony would claim ownership of her earnings, although he quickly apologizes, accepting the money as hers. However, when Tony's pegged team does indeed win the football game, he gets furious Carmela did not bet and this way lost on winning big. They get into a heated and violent argument in which Tony brings up Carmela stealing money from his bird feed container to make market investments some years ago and reminds her of his contribution to her spec house venture by making the building inspector ignore the construction regulation shortcomings, for all of which he never got any proceeds. Carmela storms off when Tony speaks malice when he says her spec house's poor roof will collapse and kill Brian's unborn child.

In a session with Dr. Melfi, she confronts Tony about his habit of missing their meetings and only seeing them as his "vacation" time or a way to deal with his panic attacks he used to have. She says she has tolerated this enough, and tells him to either participate in therapy diligently or quit it altogether. Tony assures her he will attend the sessions. On the subject of his gambling fever, Melfi questions Tony if what he is "chasing" is really the money or the "high from winning." Tony admits there would be no attraction to gamble if the practice did not carry the inherent danger of losing.

Tony approaches Carmela to once again apologize to her. They seem to reconcile, and she expresses she feels their family is constantly vulnerable to various threats which never stops worrying her. Tony says that, although he lately lost a lot of money gambling, he survived a serious life-threatening gunshot wound and therefore, in the bigger picture, is "up" in life.

After Hesh's girlfriend suddenly dies of an apparent stroke,[2] Tony finally brings the full sum of owed money to a distraught Hesh, expressing his condolences.

First appearance

Deceased

Final appearances

"Chasing It" marks the final appearances in the series of these longtime recurring characters:

Title reference

Production

Connections to prior episodes

Other cultural and historical references

Music

References

External links

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