"Join the Club" is the 2nd episode of Part 1 of Season 6 of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It is the 67th overall episode of the series. Written by David Chase and directed by David Nutter, it originally aired on March 19, 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
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
* = credit only
Guest starring[]
Also guest starring[]
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- Tony Darrow as Larry Barese
- Danielle Di Vecchio as Barbara Soprano Giglione
- Robert Funaro as Eugene Pontecorvo
- Will Janowitz as Finn DeTrolio
- Michael Kelly as Agent Ron Goddard
- C.S. Lee as Dr. Ba
- Arthur J. Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Matt Servitto as Agent Dwight Harris
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Suzanne Di Donna as Deanne Pontecervo
- Thomas Russo as Robbie Pontecorvo
- Grace Van Patten as Ally Pontecorvo
- Brianna and Kimberly Laughlin as Domenica Baccalieri
- Taleb Adlah as Ahmed
- Donnie Keshawarz as Muhammed
- Ron Leibman as Dr. Lior Plepler
- Danny Johnson as Detective DeLeon
- Ted Koch as Detective Klinger
- Lee R. Sellars as Salesman
- Christopher Evan Welch as ER Doctor
- Henry O as Monk #1
- Ho Chow as Monk #2
- Sheila Kelley as Lee
- Jay Edwards as Psychologist
- Edward Watts as Bartender
- Emily Vaughan as Conference Center Host
- Wendy Hammers as Fake Carmela (voice)
- Morgan Saylor as Young Meadow (voice)
- Jason Loftus as Bell Hop
- Amy Kean as TV Reporter
- Austin Jones as Omni Clerk
- Anjali Bhimani as Dr. Budraja
- Eli Harris as Camera Man
Episode recap[]
Two days after being shot by Junior, Tony remains in an induced coma. Doctors explain that the gunshot has caused several injuries, including severe sepsis, and encourage Carmela and others to talk to him and play him music in the hopes of a recovery. However, they also warn that he could die or be left with brain damage. Carmela, Christopher, Meadow and Barbara keep a vigil over Tony, while Janice starts sobbing uncontrollably whenever she sees her brother. A confused Junior is held in custody and denies that he shot his nephew, insisting that Tony must have shot himself because he is "a depression case." Chris, Paulie, and Vito vie for small opportunities to assist Tony's family during the crisis, such as sending presents to his room and bickering over giving a ride home to A.J.
During Eugene's funeral, an impromptu meeting of the DiMeo family is held and Silvio assumes Tony's responsibilities as acting boss. Vito questions why Bobby—traditionally Junior's de facto caretaker—was not in Junior's house when Tony was shot, and suggests killing Junior altogether. Ultimately, they decide on cutting Junior off from the family, making Tony the official boss. They also trade differing theories for why Eugene committed suicide. Meanwhile, A.J. becomes increasingly withdrawn and avoids Tony's hospital room, claiming to have a stomach flu. Rosalie Aprile, citing her experience with her own son, advises Carmela to be more strict with her son. A.J. admits to Meadow that he is embarrassed and angry by the actions of his family. He finally gathers enough courage to talk to his comatose father once the two are alone. Before leaving, though, A.J. emotionally vows to kill Junior. Afterwards, he admits to Carmela that he flunked junior college. She looks at him in stunned disbelief but holds in her anger and sends him away.
Chris, now driving Johnny's Maserati Coupé, again runs into FBI Agents Harris and Goddard at Satriale's. The two ask him to provide them with any information regarding terrorist activities. At the Bada Bing, Chris is seen talking with two Middle Eastern men, but he chooses not to go into discussing his crime family's matters with them.
Tony's coma[]
While he is in a coma, Tony has a long dream-like experience that is woven throughout the episode. Tony awakens as an ordinary precision optics salesman inside a hotel room in Costa Mesa, California, missing his New Jersey accent. That night, he notices a lighthouse that glows on the horizon as he looks out the window and he also goes to the hotel's bar, where he notices a TV showing a brush fire in Costa Mesa. The next morning he goes to a convention and is asked for ID to gain admittance. Unfortunately, Tony has someone else's wallet and briefcase: one belonging to a man named Kevin Finnerty from Kingman, Arizona, to whom he bears a resemblance. Tony says that he must have unintentionally picked up these items the previous evening at a bar across the street from his hotel. He returns to the bar, where a group of business travelers overhear him telling his story to the bartender (when asked what Costa Mesa is like, the bartender replies, "Around here, it's dead"). The group invites Tony to join them for dinner, during which he discusses his 'life' in more detail, alluding to a midlife crisis by saying, "I mean, who am I? Where am I going?" As he and his group leave, Tony notices a commercial on TV, which displayed the question, "Are sin, disease and death real?", followed by the Cross. After dinner, outside the hotel, Tony makes a pass at a woman from the group. She responds at first but then cuts him off. She tells him she saw his face when he got off the phone with his wife (whose voice is not Carmela's). Suddenly, a helicopter spotlight shines on the pair, to which the woman says, "They must be looking for a perp". It is here that Tony awakens from his original coma, and rips out his breathing tube. He is moaning "Who am I? Where am I going?"
The dream resumes when he is placed in another coma, as he checks into a different hotel, the Omni, under Finnerty's name. Two Buddhist monks overhear him checking in and, thinking he is Finnerty, accost him saying they had a horrible winter at the monastery because of Finnerty's faulty heating system. Tony tells them that he's not Finnerty, which makes the monks angry; they scuffle briefly and the monks flee, leaving Tony shocked at the violence. The next morning, the hotel elevator is out of order, so Tony takes the stairs. As he is walking down the stairs, he slips and falls; when brought to an emergency room, the doctor tells Tony that aside from having a minor concussion, his CT scan shows some dark spots on his brain, which indicate lack of oxygen. The doctor states that this indicates early stages of Alzheimer's disease. When the doctor leaves him at his bed, Tony is seen saying "I'm lost" to himself. After he returns to his hotel room, Tony picks up the phone, but hangs up before dialing, while the beacon of light flashes on the horizon.
Gallery[]
