The Second Coming (The Sopranos): Difference between revisions

"**The Second Coming**"
"The Second Coming"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 6; Episode 19
Directed by	Tim Van Patten
Written by	Terence Winter
Cinematography by	Alik Sakharov
Production code	619
Original air date	May 20, 2007
Running time	53 minutes
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"The Second Coming" is the 84th episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos, the seventh episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, and the 19th episode of the season overall. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired in the United States on May 20, 2007.

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.*
Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Baccalieri*
Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
Frank Vincent as Phil Leotardo
Ray Abruzzo as Little Carmine Lupertazzi
Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi

* = credit only ** = photo only

Guest starring

Peter Bogdanovich as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
Gregory Antonacci as Butch DeConcini
Matt Servitto as Agent Dwight Harris
Cara Buono as Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti
Armen Garo as Salvatore "Coco" Cogliano
Michael Countryman as Dr. Richard Vogel
Daniel Sauli as Patrick Parisi
Frank John Hughes as Walden Belfiore
John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia as Albie Cianflone
John Cenatiempo as Anthony Maffei
Felix Solis as Edgar Ramirez
Michael Kelly as Agent Ron Goddard
Lindsay Campbell as Professor Kline
Dominic Chianese, Jr. as Dominic
Joey Perillo as John Stefano
Edward Furs as Driver
Taleb Adlah as Ahmed (photo only)
Donnie Keshawarz as Muhammad (photo only)

Synopsis

Tony goes with Silvio and Bobby to a sitdown with Phil in New York. He offers a compromise about the asbestos removal, but Phil rejects it out of hand. In response, Tony takes Phil's men Coco and Butchie off the payroll from another construction project. When they hear of this from the foreman, they viciously beat him up and steal the cash in his wallet.

A drunken Coco notices Meadow in a restaurant. He touches her cheek and makes some lewd comments. She reluctantly tells her father. Enraged, Tony finds Coco and pistol-whips and curb stomps him. This assault opens a deep rift between the Soprano and Lupertazzi families. Little Carmine tells Tony that he will once again broker a truce meeting with Phil, who has shut down one of their joint construction projects. Tony admits, "I lost it, timing couldn't have been worse." But Phil refuses to meet with them when they arrive at his home; from behind a second-floor window, he spews profanities as they walk away.

FBI Agents Harris and Goddard visit Satriale's and ask Tony to look at some photos. Tony identifies Ahmed and Muhammad.

When Dr. Melfi sees Dr. Kupferberg, he shares with her the results of a recent study which has shown that sociopaths are not helped by talk therapy but rather only further enabled by it, perhaps even "sharpening their skills as con men" in the process.

Meadow reveals that her new boyfriend is Patrick Parisi, Patsy's eldest son, and that, inspired by him, she has decided to enter law school.

A.J. remains depressed. Moved by W. B. Yeats' apocalyptic poem "The Second Coming", he tries to kill himself in the family pool. With one foot tied by a rope to a cinder block, and with a plastic bag over his head, he jumps in. But the rope is too long to keep him submerged. He struggles: he can neither drown nor save himself. Tony happens to come home. Hearing shouts, he goes out. He runs and jumps, wearing a suit and tie, into the pool. He saves A.J. and hauls up the cinder block. At first, he is shocked and furious, but A.J. is sobbing; he cradles his son in his lap, saying "Come on, baby, you're all right, baby."

A.J. is put on Valium and admitted to a psychiatric ward. At a session with his therapist and his parents, he speaks of resentments going back to 2nd grade, and quotes his grandmother at the end of her life: "It's all a big nothing." This session occurs just after Tony's assault on Coco; as he listens, he notices one of Coco's bloody teeth in the cuff of his pant leg. Tony and Carmela both feel guilty about the attempted suicide, and each blames the other.

Tony scornfully rejects Dr. Melfi's suggestion that A.J. was calling for help and, at some level, knew the rope was too long. "He could just be a fucking idiot. Historically, that's been the case." He tells her about his insight on peyote: "I saw … that this and everything we experience is not all there is – there's something else."

Final appearances

Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti: widow of Christopher Moltisanti

Title reference

A.J. reads the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats before his attempted suicide.

Production

Arthur J. Nascarella (Carlo Gervasi) is promoted to the main cast and billed in the opening credits but only for this episode.

References to prior episodes

During their fight, Carmela angrily mentions the incident when Tony's father shot his mother through her beehive hairdo, as told to her by Janice in "Soprano Home Movies"; Tony hates the anecdote because it makes the Soprano family look "dysfunctional." The incident where Johnny Soprano shoots Livia's hairdo was later depicted onscreen in the 2021 film The Many Saints of Newark.
A.J. recalls being deeply affected by Livia's comments that life is a "big nothing" and, "in the end . . . you die in your own arms" when he visited her in the Season 2 episode "D-Girl". A.J. also recalls Carmela calling him an "animal" for smoking marijuana at his confirmation, which occurred in the same episode. It is notable that in the season finale of Season 2, Tony, after waking up from the dream that he burns himself alive, says "It's all a big nothing... Life." to Carmela.
Tony appeals to Phil to negotiate and work together, in front of all the mobsters referring to the peace-making conversation they had in the hospital after Phil had suffered a heart attack, which happened in "Kaisha."
Dr. Melfi had previously quoted from Yeats' "The Second Coming" in "Cold Cuts", reciting two lines of the poem not heard in this episode: "The centre cannot hold" and "The falcon cannot hear the falconer".

Other cultural and historical references

Tony gives Carmela an engraved Baume et Mercier watch, as a present from his trip to Vegas.
When Agent Harris asks Tony to look at some photos, Tony jokingly asks him if any of them are of Angelina Jolie.
Dr. Vogel mentions the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. A.J. says he watches CNN and is later seen reading the Al Jazeera website; he also mentions Indonesian mujahideen.
Meadow mentions to A.J. how funny Borat is.
As one reason to explain his constant interest in Dr. Melfi's mobster patient, Dr. Kupferberg says his father was a big Untouchables fan.
After A.J. makes disparaging remarks about the cattle industry during a family dinner, Tony exclaims, "Twenty years he won't crack a book; all of a sudden he's the world's foremost authority!"—possibly an ironic reference to the comedian Professor Irwin Corey.
The psychiatric study Dr. Kupferberg refers to is The Criminal Personality by Drs. Stanton Samenow and Samuel Yochelson. Although a real study, it was first published in 1977, 30 years before this episode takes place.
Describing his peyote trip, Tony refers to "Roger Corman shit". Roger Corman directed the film The Trip (1967).
When Carmela visits AJ at the psychiatric ward, the TV show Friends is playing in the background.

Music

The song "Ridin'", by Chamillionaire, is played by A.J. when he wakes up in the morning at the beginning of the episode.
The song "Please Mr. Postman", by The Marvelettes, is playing when Tony, Silvio, Paulie, Carlo, Walden, and Bobby discuss Tony's trip to Vegas and their respective drug experiences.
The song "Suspicious Minds", by Elvis Presley, is playing in the back room of Satriale's while Tony meets with Patsy and (later) Little Carmine.
The song "Into the Ocean", by Blue October, is playing during A.J. and Meadow's conversation in his room.
The song "Caravan", by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, plays when Tony beats and curb-stomps Coco following Coco's comments to Meadow.
The song "Ninna Ninna – Lullaby", that plays over the closing credits, is a traditional Sardinian song from the Smithsonian Folkways album Italian Folk Songs and Dances (1955).^[1]^[2] Its original, traditional title was "Sa corsicana".^{[citation needed]}

Awards

This episode won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the WGA Awards.

References

^ Italian Folk Songs and Dances. Folkways Records/Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 1955. Catalog Number FW06915 / FW 6915.
^ Perez, Rodrigo (May 25, 2007). "Ninna Ninna – Sopranos Song Mystery Revealed". The Playlist.

External links

"The Second Coming" Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
"The Second Coming" at IMDb

[1] Italian Folk Songs and Dances. Folkways Records/Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 1955. Catalog Number FW06915 / FW 6915.

[2] Perez, Rodrigo (May 25, 2007). "Ninna Ninna – Sopranos Song Mystery Revealed". The Playlist.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox television episode
-| series       = [[The Sopranos]]
+| series         = [[The Sopranos]]
+| image_size     =
-| image        = Thesecondcomingsopranos.jpg
-| image_size   = 300px
+| caption        =
-| caption      = Tony, A.J. and Carmela in group therapy
+| season         = 6
-| season       = 6
+| episode        = 19
-| episode      = 19
+| director       = [[Tim Van Patten]]
-| airdate      = {{Start date|2007|5|20}}
+| writer         = [[Terence Winter]]
+| photographer   = [[Alik Sakharov]]
-| length = 53 minutes
-| production   = 619
+| production     = 619
-| writer       = [[Terence Winter]]
+| airdate        = {{Start date|2007|5|20}}
-| director     = [[Tim Van Patten]]
+| length         = 53 minutes
-| photographer = [[Alik Sakharov]]
+| prev           = [[Kennedy and Heidi]]
+| next           = [[The Blue Comet]]
-| episode_list = List of The Sopranos episodes
-| season_article = The Sopranos (season 6)
+| season_article = The Sopranos season 6
+| episode_list   = List of The Sopranos episodes
-| prev         = [[Kennedy and Heidi]]
-| next         = [[The Blue Comet]]
 }}
-"'''The Second Coming'''" is the 84th and third to last episode of the [[HBO]] television series ''[[The Sopranos]]'', the seventh episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, and the 19th episode of the season overall. Written by [[Terence Winter]] and directed by  [[Tim Van Patten]], it originally aired in the United States on May 20, 2007.
+"'''The Second Coming'''" is the 84th episode of the [[HBO]] television series ''[[The Sopranos]]'', the seventh episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, and the 19th episode of the season overall. Written by [[Terence Winter]] and directed by [[Tim Van Patten]], it originally aired in the United States on May 20, 2007.
 ==Starring==
@@ Line 61: / Line 60: @@
 ==Synopsis==
-Tony goes with [[Silvio Dante|Silvio]] and [[Bobby Baccalieri|Bobby]] to a sitdown with [[Phil Leotardo|Phil]] in [[New York City|New York]]. He offers a compromise about the asbestos removal, but Phil rejects it out of hand. In response, Tony takes Phil's men [[List of The Sopranos characters#Coco Cogliano|Coco]] and [[Butch DeConcini|Butchie]] off the payroll from another construction project. When they hear of this from the foreman, they viciously beat him up and steal his wallet.
+Tony goes with [[Silvio Dante|Silvio]] and [[Bobby Baccalieri|Bobby]] to a sitdown with [[Phil Leotardo|Phil]] in [[New York City|New York]]. He offers a compromise about the asbestos removal, but Phil rejects it out of hand. In response, Tony takes Phil's men [[List of The Sopranos characters#Coco Cogliano|Coco]] and [[Butch DeConcini|Butchie]] off the payroll from another construction project. When they hear of this from the foreman, they viciously beat him up and steal the cash in his wallet.
-A drunken Coco notices Meadow in a restaurant. He touches her cheek and makes some lewd comments. She reluctantly tells her father. Enraged, Tony finds Coco and [[Pistol-whipping|pistol-whips]] and [[curb stomp]]s him. This assault opens a deep rift between the [[Soprano family|Soprano]] and [[Lupertazzi family|Lupertazzi families]]. [[Little Carmine]] tells Tony that he will once again broker a truce meeting with Phil, who has shut down one of their joint construction projects. Tony admits, "I lost it, bad timing." But Phil refuses to meet with them when they arrive at his home; from behind a second-floor window, he spews profanities as they walk away.
+A drunken Coco notices Meadow in a restaurant. He touches her cheek and makes some lewd comments. She reluctantly tells her father. Enraged, Tony finds Coco and [[Pistol-whipping|pistol-whips]] and [[curb stomp]]s him. This assault opens a deep rift between the [[Soprano family|Soprano]] and [[Lupertazzi family|Lupertazzi families]]. [[Little Carmine]] tells Tony that he will once again broker a truce meeting with Phil, who has shut down one of their joint construction projects. Tony admits, "I lost it, timing couldn't have been worse." But Phil refuses to meet with them when they arrive at his home; from behind a second-floor window, he spews profanities as they walk away.
 [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] Agents [[Dwight Harris|Harris]] and [[List of The Sopranos characters#Ron Goddard|Goddard]] visit Satriale's and ask Tony to look at some photos. Tony identifies [[List of The Sopranos characters#Ahmed and Muhammad|Ahmed and Muhammad]].
-When [[Jennifer Melfi|Dr. Melfi]] sees [[List of The Sopranos characters#Dr. Elliot Kupferberg|Dr. Kupferberg]], he shares with her the results of a recent study which has shown that [[Antisocial personality disorder|sociopath]]s are not helped by [[psychotherapy|talk therapy]] but rather only further enabled by it, perhaps even "sharpening their skills as [[con men]]" in the process.
+When [[Jennifer Melfi|Dr. Melfi]] sees [[List of The Sopranos characters#Elliot Kupferberg|Dr. Kupferberg]], he shares with her the results of a recent study which has shown that [[Antisocial personality disorder|sociopath]]s are not helped by [[psychotherapy|talk therapy]] but rather only further enabled by it, perhaps even "sharpening their skills as [[con men]]" in the process.
 Meadow reveals that her new boyfriend is Patrick Parisi, Patsy's eldest son, and that, inspired by him, she has decided to enter [[Law school in the United States|law school]].
-[[Anthony Soprano, Jr.|A.J.]] remains depressed. Moved by [[W. B. Yeats]]' apocalyptic poem “[[The Second Coming (poem)|The Second Coming]]”, he tries to kill himself in the family pool. With one foot tied by a rope to a cinder block, and with a plastic bag over his head, he jumps in. But the rope is too long to keep him submerged. He struggles: he can neither drown nor save himself. Tony happens to come home. Hearing shouts, he goes out. He runs and jumps, wearing a suit and tie, into the pool. He saves A.J. and hauls up the cinder block. At first, he is shocked and furious, but A.J. is sobbing; he cradles his son in his lap, saying "Come on, baby, you're all right, baby."
+[[Anthony Soprano, Jr.|A.J.]] remains depressed. Moved by [[W. B. Yeats]]' apocalyptic poem "[[The Second Coming (poem)|The Second Coming]]", he tries to kill himself in the family pool. With one foot tied by a rope to a cinder block, and with a plastic bag over his head, he jumps in. But the rope is too long to keep him submerged. He struggles: he can neither drown nor save himself. Tony happens to come home. Hearing shouts, he goes out. He runs and jumps, wearing a suit and tie, into the pool. He saves A.J. and hauls up the cinder block. At first, he is shocked and furious, but A.J. is sobbing; he cradles his son in his lap, saying "Come on, baby, you're all right, baby."
 A.J. is put on [[Valium]] and admitted to a psychiatric ward. At a session with [[List of characters from The Sopranos – friends and family#Dr. Richard Vogel|his therapist]] and his parents, he speaks of resentments going back to 2nd grade, and quotes [[Livia Soprano|his grandmother]] at the end of her life: "It's all a big nothing." This session occurs just after Tony's assault on Coco; as he listens, he notices one of Coco's bloody teeth in the cuff of his pant leg. Tony and Carmela both feel guilty about the attempted suicide, and each blames the other.
@@ Line 79: / Line 78: @@
 ==Final appearances==
 * '''[[Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti]]''': widow of Christopher Moltisanti
+==Title reference==
+* [[A.J. Soprano|A.J.]] reads the poem "[[The Second Coming (poem)|The Second Coming]]" by [[W. B. Yeats|W.B. Yeats]] before his attempted suicide.
 ==Production==
@@ Line 84: / Line 86: @@
 ==References to prior episodes==
-* During their fight, Carmela angrily mentions the incident when Tony's father shot his mother through her beehive hairdo, as told to her by [[Janice Soprano|Janice]] in "[[Soprano Home Movies]]"; Tony hates the anecdote because it makes the Soprano family look "dysfunctional." The scene where Johnny Soprano shoots Livia’s hairdo was later depicted onscreen in the 2021 film ''[[The Many Saints of Newark]]''.
+* During their fight, Carmela angrily mentions the incident when Tony's father shot his mother through her beehive hairdo, as told to her by [[Janice Soprano|Janice]] in "[[Soprano Home Movies]]"; Tony hates the anecdote because it makes the Soprano family look "dysfunctional." The incident where Johnny Soprano shoots Livia's hairdo was later depicted onscreen in the 2021 film ''[[The Many Saints of Newark]]''.
 * A.J. recalls being deeply affected by Livia's comments that life is a "big nothing" and, "in the end . . . you die in your own arms" when he visited her in the Season 2 episode "[[D-Girl (The Sopranos)|D-Girl]]". A.J. also recalls Carmela calling him an "animal" for smoking [[marijuana]] at his [[confirmation]], which occurred in the same episode. It is notable that in the season finale of Season 2, Tony, after waking up from the dream that he burns himself alive, says "It's all a big nothing... Life." to Carmela.
-* Tony appeals to Phil to negotiate and work together, in front of all the mobsters referring to the peace-making conversation they had in the hospital after Phil had suffered a heart attack, which happened in "[[Kaisha]]."
+* Tony appeals to Phil to negotiate and work together, in front of all the mobsters referring to the peace-making conversation they had in the hospital after Phil had suffered a heart attack, which happened in "[[Kaisha (The Sopranos)|Kaisha]]."
 * Dr. Melfi had previously quoted from Yeats' "The Second Coming" in "[[Cold Cuts (The Sopranos)|Cold Cuts]]", reciting two lines of the poem not heard in this episode: "The centre cannot hold" and "The falcon cannot hear the falconer".
@@ Line 92: / Line 94: @@
 * Tony gives Carmela an engraved [[Baume et Mercier]] watch, as a present from his trip to Vegas.
 * When Agent Harris asks Tony to look at some photos, Tony jokingly asks him if any of them are of [[Angelina Jolie]].
-* Dr. Vogel mentions the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]. A.J. says he watches [[CNN]] and is later seen reading the [[Al Jazeera]] website; he also mentions [[Indonesia]]n [[mujahideen]].
+* Dr. Vogel mentions the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]. A.J. says he watches [[CNN]] and is later seen reading the [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] website; he also mentions [[Indonesia]]n [[mujahideen]].
 * Meadow mentions to A.J. how funny ''[[Borat]]'' is.
-* As one reason to explain his constant interest in [[Dr. Melfi]]'s mobster patient, [[List of The Sopranos characters#Dr. Elliot Kupferberg|Dr. Kupferberg]] says his father was a big ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|Untouchables]]'' fan.
+* As one reason to explain his constant interest in [[Dr. Melfi]]'s mobster patient, [[List of The Sopranos characters#Elliot Kupferberg|Dr. Kupferberg]] says his father was a big ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|Untouchables]]'' fan.
 * After A.J. makes disparaging remarks about the [[cattle industry]] during a family dinner, Tony exclaims, "Twenty years he won't crack a book; all of a sudden he's the world's foremost authority!"—possibly an ironic reference to the [[comedian]] [[Professor Irwin Corey]].
 * The psychiatric study Dr. Kupferberg refers to is ''The Criminal Personality'' by Drs. [[Stanton Samenow]] and Samuel Yochelson. Although a real study, it was first published in 1977, 30 years before this episode takes place.
@@ Line 106: / Line 108: @@
 *The song "[[Into the Ocean]]", by [[Blue October]], is playing during A.J. and Meadow's conversation in his room.
 *The song "[[Caravan (1936 song)|Caravan]]", by [[The Brian Setzer Orchestra]], plays when Tony beats and curb-stomps Coco following Coco's comments to Meadow.
-*The song "Ninna Ninna – Lullaby", that plays over the closing credits, is a traditional Sardinian song from the [[Smithsonian Folkways]] album ''Italian Folk Songs and Dances'' (1955).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://folkways.si.edu/italian-folk-songs-and-dances/world/music/album/smithsonian|publisher=Folkways Records/Smithsonian Folkways Recordings|title=Italian Folk Songs and Dances|authors=Various Artists|date=1955}} Catalog Number FW06915 / FW 6915.</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=The Playlist|url=https://theplaylist.net/ninna-ninna-sopranos-song-mystery-20070525/|title=Ninna Ninna – Sopranos Song Mystery Revealed|author=Perez, Rodrigo |date=May 25, 2007}}</ref> Its original, traditional title was "Sa corsicana".{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
+*The song "Ninna Ninna – Lullaby", that plays over the closing credits, is a traditional Sardinian song from the [[Smithsonian Folkways]] album ''Italian Folk Songs and Dances'' (1955).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://folkways.si.edu/italian-folk-songs-and-dances/world/music/album/smithsonian|publisher=Folkways Records/Smithsonian Folkways Recordings|title=Italian Folk Songs and Dances |date=1955}} Catalog Number FW06915 / FW 6915.</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=The Playlist|url=https://theplaylist.net/ninna-ninna-sopranos-song-mystery-20070525/|title=Ninna Ninna – Sopranos Song Mystery Revealed|author=Perez, Rodrigo |date=May 25, 2007}}</ref> Its original, traditional title was "Sa corsicana".{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
-*The song "[[I Wanna Be Your Lover]]", by [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], is playing when Tony discusses A.J.'s suicide attempt at Bada Bing.
 ==Awards==
-* This episode was nominated for and won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the WGA Awards.
+* This episode won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the WGA Awards.
 ==References==
@@ Line 116: / Line 117: @@
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/episodes/index.html#/the-sopranos/episodes/6/84-the-second-coming/index.html "The Second Coming"] at [[HBO]]
+*[http://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/episodes/index.html#/the-sopranos/episodes/6/84-the-second-coming/index.html "The Second Coming"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818123846/http://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/episodes/index.html#/the-sopranos/episodes/6/84-the-second-coming/index.html |date=2016-08-18 }} at [[HBO]]
 *{{IMDb episode|0995837|The Second Coming}}
@@ Line 124: / Line 125: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Second Coming, The}}
-[[Category:The Sopranos (season 6) episodes]]
+[[Category:The Sopranos season 6 episodes]]
 [[Category:2007 American television episodes]]
 [[Category:Television episodes directed by Tim Van Patten]]
+[[Category:Television episodes written by Terence Winter]]