"Cold Stones" is the 11th episode of Part 1 of Season 6 of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It is the 76th overall episode of the series. Written by Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider and David Chase and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on May 21, 2006.
Episode cast[]
- 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
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
* = credit only
Guest starring[]
- Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
- John Bianco as Gerry Torciano
- Elizabeth Bracco as Marie Spatafore
- Ron Castellano as Terry Doria
- John Costelloe as Jim Witowski
- Tony Cucci as Dominic "Fat Dom" Gamiello
- Louis Gross as Perry Annunziata
- Geraldine LiBrandi as Patty Leotardo
- Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Vinnie Orofino as Bryan Spatafore
- Lenny Venito as James "Murmur" Zancone
- Frank Borrelli as Vito Spatafore Jr.
- Paulina Gerzon as Francesca Spatafore
- Vincent Piazza as Hernan O'Brien
- Emily Wickersham as Rhiannon Flammer
- Jeffrey Marchetti as Peter LaRosa
- Nathalie Walker as Lori
- Alexandre Varga as Michel
- Michel Winogradoff as Head Waiter
- Clyde Baldo as Photographer
- Anne Assante as Caterina Cella
- Doug Rand as Gendarme
Episode recap[]
Carmela discovers that A.J. was fired from his job and has kept this a secret for three weeks. During the heated argument that ensues, A.J. complains that the job did not pay enough to sustain his regular nights out in expensive New York nightclubs. Tony observes, and is disgusted by, A.J.'s lazy behavior. In therapy with Dr. Melfi, Tony discloses that he has been feeling hatred towards A.J. and states that if Carmela had not been so protective of his son, he would be a better person. Melfi sees A.J.'s life as a product of his father's own brutality, taking his anger out on others and having a desperate need to dominate and control. She points out that Carmela's supposed protectiveness is exactly what Tony used to mention in their sessions that he wanted from his own mother, but never received.
A.J. invites over Hernan and Rhiannon to play video games. Tony asks A.J. to join him in the garage, where he reveals he has provided him with a construction job. Tony threatens to take away his possessions and kick him out if he refuses. When A.J. rolls his eyes, Tony smashes A.J.'s windshield with a football helmet and threatens to destroy the car entirely. Tony then warns his son, "Don't put me to the test." The next morning, A.J. gets up early to leave for work at the construction site. Elsewhere, Meadow talks to her parents about following Finn to California. Meadow bristles and dismisses Carmela's musings about what she had perceived as mounting friction between the couple.
Carmela takes a trip to Paris that she won at the silent auction during the Feast of St. Elzear, taking along Rosalie. In Paris, Carmela reacts to the surroundings with emotional intensity and philosophy, while Rosalie exchanges telephone numbers with a much younger local man named Michel. Over dinner, Carmela brings up Rosalie's grief over the loss of her husband and son. Rosalie becomes angry that Carmela would bring up such memories during their vacation, but does reveal that she feels her grief is futile. Rosalie invites Carmela to go along on her date with Michel. However, Carmela decides she will walk along the Seine instead. Later, Carmela dreams of Adriana walking her dog by the Eiffel Tower. In the dream, a gendarme with an American accent asks Carmela to tell Adriana that she is dead.
Vito approaches Tony at a mall and tries to convince him he is not really homosexual, claiming that his blood pressure medication temporarily confused him; Tony is unimpressed by this explanation. Vito asks to buy his way back into the crew, proposing to run a business in Atlantic City involving prostitution and meth trafficking. Tony brings up the offer with Silvio, Christopher, and Paulie. Silvio recommends abandoning Vito, while Paulie silently leaves the room. Vito has a reunion dinner out with his family in Rockefeller Center, where he tells his children that he has been working as an undercover spy in Afghanistan and demands that they keep quiet about his return. As Vito and Marie watch their kids ice skate, she asks if he will seek therapy and speak with a priest. Vito scoffs at this and recommends they have another child.
Later, Vito calls an upset Jim, who doesn't buy Vito's excuse that he missed his family and tells him it was the life of self-indulgence that he missed. Vito admits that he didn't want to drag Jim into his lifestyle. Jim tells Vito never to call him again and hangs up. Meanwhile, Tony and Phil, now the acting boss of the Lupertazzi crime family, disagree over "no-show" jobs on a new construction project. When they meet later in Paterson, Phil is extremely angry that Vito is back in town and confronts Tony about the matter. After arguing with Phil, Tony walks away from the meeting. Tony later decides Vito must be killed in order to appease Phil, who might otherwise harm their business and possibly start a mob war. Both agree that Carlo would be the best choice for the job, due to Carlo's apparent homophobia.
Phil and his wife, Patty, discuss Vito's sexuality. Patty expresses her disappointment and resentment for having a homosexual in the family. She tells Phil that Vito "has to be made to face his problems squarely." Meanwhile, Vito phones Tony, who arranges a meeting at the mall the following morning, planning for Carlo to lie in wait for him. However, when Vito arrives at his motel he is ambushed by New York mobsters "Fat Dom" and Gerry Torciano who knock him down and duct tape his mouth. Vito tearfully pleads to spare him as Phil comes out of the closet and watches Dom and Gerry beat Vito to death with batons, after telling Vito he is a "fucking disgrace."
The Soprano crime family learns from Bobby Baccalieri that Vito was found dead with a pool cue inserted in his rectum. The room falls silent as Tony deduces it was likely Phil Leotardo who killed his capo. Carlo comes in and states that "you have to admire Phil — it's not all talk with him." Patsy remarks that he wishes he had borrowed money from Vito as Terry subtly smiles to himself. Tony takes Silvio aside and tells him that the murder is not about Vito but about Phil's defiance of his authority, Tony believes Phil is sending the family a message that he can kill one of Tony's captains and Tony cannot do anything about it. Tony tells Silvio he does not want a war with Phil, as it would likely be protracted and cripple their earning capacity. He decides to hit back at Phil financially, noting that Phil has "a wire room in Sheepshead Bay."
Phil and Patty Leotardo console Marie Spatafore over her husband's death. She tearfully insists Vito was a good husband and father. Patty maintains that homosexuality is a sin but adds one has to "hate the sin and love the sinner," quoting her parish priest. Phil, on the other hand, remains firm and tells Marie that, although he loved Vito "like a brother-in-law," it may be for the benefit of her children not to have their father as their role model. However, Phil is later seen being unable to fall asleep in bed that night.
At Satriale's, Carlo and Silvio prepare a meal. "Fat Dom" arrives to make a payment to Silvio. Dom, who was one of the men involved in the murder of Vito, starts making crude jokes about Vito's death. When he insults the entire Jersey family and jokes that Carlo was involved with Vito sexually, tempers snap and Silvio hits him over the head with a dustbuster while Carlo repeatedly stabs him with a chef's knife. Dom collapses backward on to the full dinner table and dies. Silvio tells Carlo to call the others and say dinner is canceled; they then devise a plan on how to dispose of the body and evidence. As they wait for the night to fall and play cards, Tony enters despite Silvio's warnings not to. When Tony sees what has happened, he wordlessly exits the store with his hands up, letting Silvio and Carlo deal with it. Silvio, likewise exasperated, promises to take care of the body and shouts blame at Vito for the unplanned incident.
At the Spatafore home, Francesca and Vito, Jr. read the news article about their father's death late one evening and realize that he lied about his involvement with the CIA and he was in fact a mobster. Elsewhere, Vito's Thin Club photographer recognizes his picture in the paper. He finds an album of his work and shows his assistant the cover photo he shot of Vito.
Trivia[]
- The game that Anthony was playing with his friends before Tony tells him about his new job he gave him was Perfect Dark Zero.
Gallery[]
