"Kennedy and Heidi" is the 18th episode of the sixth season of The Sopranos, the sixth episode of the second half of the season, and the 83rd, and preantepenultimate episode overall. Written by Matthew Weiner and series creator and showrunner David Chase, and directed by Alan Taylor, it premiered in the United States on May 13, 2007.
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
- John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
- Ray Abruzzo as Little Carmine Lupertazzi
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- Kathrine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco
* = credit only
Guest starring[]
- Julianna Margulies as Julianna Skiff
- Sarah Shahi as Sonya Aragon
- Gregory Antonacci as Butch DeConcini
- Max Casella as Benny Fazio
- Cara Buono as Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti
- Michael Countryman as Dr. Richard Vogel
- Michael Drayer as Jason Parisi
- Frances Esemplare as Nucci Gualtieri
- Frank John Hughes as Walden Belfiore
- Marianne Leone as Joanne Moltisanti
- Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Dennis Paladino as Al Lombardo
- Joseph Perrino as Jason Gervasi
- Phyllis Kay as Rita Lombardo
- William DeMeo as Jason Molinaro
- Artie Pasquale as Burt Gervasi
- Ray DeMattis as Gerry Gaultieri
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Denise Borino-Quinn as Ginny Sacrimoni
- Elizabeth Bracco as Marie Spatafore
- Danielle Di Vecchio as Barbara Soprano Giglione
- Anthony J. Ribustello as Dante Greco
- John Cenatiempo as Anthony Maffei
- John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia as Albie Cianflone
- Jeffrey Marchetti as Peter LaRosa
- Vinnie Orofino as Bryan Spatafore
- Ed Vassallo as Tom Giglione
- Joe Pucillo as Beppy Scerbo
- Daniel Baldwin as Himself
- Jonathan LaPaglia as Himself
- Joey Perillo as John Stefano
- John Wu as Morgan Yam
- Matt Sauerhoff as Victor Mineo
- Chris Bashinelli as Kevin
- Bambadjan Bamba as Cyclist
- Mark La Mura as Alan Kaplan
- Elizabeth Dennis as Andrea
- Lindsay Campbell as Professor Kline
- Christiana Anbri as Heidi
- Leah Bezozo as Kennedy
- Gregory Zaragoza as Croupier
- Michelle Maryk as Jo Lewis
- Al Roffe as Operations Manager
- Dina Pearlman as Ellen Reinstein
- Mickey Pizzo as Sal Pisano
- Sejal Shah as Chandrakanta Pisano
- Zuzanna Szadkowski as Elżbieta
- Marc Wolf as Mark Lewis
- Edward Furs as Driver
- Alexander Flores as Kid
Episode recap[]
The heads of the Lupertazzi and DiMeo families meet to discuss the removal of asbestos from a building project. Phil refuses to allow Tony to illegally dump the asbetos in his territory unless he is given a 25% cut of the money. Tony rejects Phil's demand. While driving home with Tony from the meeting, Christopher suggests that Tony take Phil’s offer, but Tony disagrees claiming it would show weakness. Chris is visibly agitated and repeatedly changes the radio station, finally settling for a CD soundtrack of The Departed. Chris continues to be distracted by the stereo as the road curves, causing him to drive into the opposite lane and swerve his Cadillac Escalade EXT off the road in a rollover crash. Tony exits the wreckage with minor injuries, but Chris is seriously injured and has difficulty breathing. He tells Tony to call a taxi for him as he will not pass a drug test. Tony begins to call for help, but after noticing that a tree branch has impaled Chris' vehicle directly where his daughter's baby seat was located, Tony suffocates him by pinching his nose shut, killing him before calling an ambulance. At the hospital, he leads the staff and his family to believe that Chris died instantly from the crash.
In a dream, Tony admits to Dr. Melfi that he killed Chris along with Pussy and Tony B. He also regrets ever placing Chris in a position of power, and is relieved that his death has now eliminated his "biggest blunder." After he awakens the next day, Tony asks Carmela if she feels any relief at Chris' death, which she denies. During his actual session with Melfi, he simply recalls Chris as a liability and an embarrassment, and says he resents having to feign remorse in front of his family. At Chris' wake, Tony is disgusted by the ostentatious display of sorrow. He and Carmela make an appearance at the wake of Paulie's adoptive mother Nucci, who has died of a stroke; Paulie is angered by the poor attendance and thinks Chris has upstaged him once again.
A.J. continues to spend time with Jason Parisi and Jason Gervasi at their frat house. They are amused to learn that Victor, whom they injured with sulfuric acid, had to have two toes amputated. A.J. impresses his therapist by telling him he is taking college courses again. Jason Gervasi is hanging out with some friends when a Somali boy on a bicycle collides with their car. The boys beat the immigrant, which is witnessed by A.J. and causes him to relapse into depression. However, A.J. tries to take steps to get a grip on himself and prevent the depression from festering. He talks over the situation with the therapist and wonders if he should have intervened. He is also keeping current with his classes, and remarks how one course discussed the Arab-Israeli conflict. A.J. makes a philosophical remark: "Nobody knows who started it".
Tony eavesdrops on Joanne, Carmela and Kelli discussing Chris' death. On a private trip to Las Vegas, he receives another call from Phil, who refuses to assist with the asbestos removal and mocks him over Chris' death. Tony meets Sonya, a stripper Chris knew, and tells her about his death. They have sex and smoke marijuana; she tells him he seems sad. They take peyote and win in roulette. Tony mumbles "he's dead" and collapses on the floor laughing, seemingly attributing his winning streak to the fact that Chris is no longer in his life. In Jersey, the asbestos is dumped into a lake. Tony and Sonya watch the sunrise over the Red Rock Canyon, where Tony cries: "I get it!"
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- Six factors can be counted to have influenced Christopher crashing the car: the crash happens when he is high, changing the radio, Tony is asking him a question, the road turns in a curve, it is nighttime, and an opposing-direction car emerges.
- The episode has frequently been cited by critics and fans as one of the show's best and is noted for its thematic complexity and the plot twist early in the episode. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for writing and won for directing.
- The episode's name may be a reference to the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident involving US Senator Ted Kennedy.