"Unidentified Black Males" is the 9th episode of Season 5 of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It is the 61st overall episode of the series. Written by Matthew Weiner & Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on May 2, 2004.
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 DiScala as Meadow Soprano
- Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
- Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Baccalieri *
- Vincent Curatola as Johnny Sack
- John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
- and Steve Buscemi as Tony Blundetto
* = credit only
Guest starring[]
- Ray Abruzzo as Little Carmine Lupertazzi
- Chris Caldovino as Billy Leotardo
- Carl Capotorto as Little Paulie Germani
- Max Casella as Benny Fazio
- Robert Funaro as Eugene Pontecorvo
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
- Will Janowitz as Finn DeTrolio
- Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Joe Santos as Angelo Garepe
- Frankie Valli as Rusty Millio
- Frank Vincent as Phil Leotardo
- Karen Young as Agent Robyn Sanseverino
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Allison Dunbar as Nicole Lupertazzi
- William DeMeo as Jason Molinaro
- Paula Garcés as Felicia Galan
- Tony Siragusa as Frankie Cortese
- Jeffrey Marchetti as Peter LaRosa
- Aleksa Palladino as Alex
- Joel Blum as Golfer
- Andrew Eisenman as Priest
Episode recap[]
Tony notices Tony B's foot injury, which he blames on an attempted assault by several black men. The next day, Tony learns from Johnny that Joey's killer walked with a limp. He nearly passes out from a panic attack. When he is confronted by Tony outside the Bada Bing, Tony B calmly denies his involvement. Tony, noting his cousin's tough financial situation, decides to put Tony B in control of an illegal casino on Bloomfield Avenue and have him made. Christopher is angered by what he sees as Tony's favoritism towards his cousin. Adriana calls her FBI handler, Agent Sanseverino.
Little Carmine meets with his supporters to discuss their standing in the Lupertazzi family after Joey's murder. Angelo expresses doubts about how Joey was handled, while Rusty and his bodyguard Eddie convince Little Carmine that he made the right decision. Little Carmine agrees with Rusty, and asserts that he is ready to take over the family and potentially become a more effective leader than his own father. At Joey's funeral, Johnny realizes that Little Carmine engineered the hit as payback for Lorraine's murder. Johnny suspects Tony B's involvement because one of his informants had seen him near the scene of the crime. Upon being confronted by Johnny, Tony quickly makes up an alibi for Tony B. Johnny reluctantly accepts the story, but warns him of dire consequences if Tony is lying.
Faux pas cause tensions between Meadow's boyfriend, Finn DeTrolio, and Tony. After they make amends, Tony gets Finn a job at a mob-run construction site, where several members of Tony's crew have "no-work" jobs. Finn becomes uneasy at the sycophancy addressed at him over his association with Tony. This turns into fear after he witnesses a violent encounter between Eugene Pontecorvo and Little Paulie over homophobic jibes. The next morning, Finn accidentally catches Vito performing oral sex on a male security guard. Later, Vito coerces Finn into attending a New York Yankees game with him. Fearing for his life, Finn considers leaving New Jersey for the time being, prompting a heated argument with Meadow. When she accuses him of lacking commitment to her, Finn proposes to her.
In a traumatic session with Dr. Melfi, Tony's panic attacks are traced to his recent encounters with Tony B. He admits the truth about what he was doing the night Tony B was arrested: he had a panic attack after arguing with his mother Livia, and covered it up with a story of being beaten by black men. Tony realizes that he has not been making things right with his cousin, but rather assuaging his own guilt and shame. Meanwhile, Carmela decides to divorce Tony when he avoids her. Tony reacts very angrily to the news, and vows to deny her any of his illegal profits. After contacting several lawyers, Carmela realizes that Tony contacted them all to keep them from taking her case. She becomes tearful looking out the window seeing Tony floating peacefully in the swimming pool, as Meadow is on the phone talking about her engagement to Finn.
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