Mergers and Acquisitions
- Episode aired Nov 3, 2002
- TV-MA
- 56m
Paulie has to take care of some rough relationships for his mother, while Tony's fancy for a fellow horse fancier lands him in trouble with Carmela.Paulie has to take care of some rough relationships for his mother, while Tony's fancy for a fellow horse fancier lands him in trouble with Carmela.Paulie has to take care of some rough relationships for his mother, while Tony's fancy for a fellow horse fancier lands him in trouble with Carmela.
- Nucci Gualtieri
- (as Frances Esemplare)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCarmela is humming while in the shower. The tune is from the Italian song that she and Furio danced to at his housewarming in episode 4 The Weight.
- GoofsTony pays the artist $6,500 by pulling out a few bills counting them in a half hazard manner and handing them over. The largest denomination bill in circulation is the hundred dollar bill, nothing larger is in use. $6,500 would require 65 bills, not something that can be counted in a few seconds, and the stack of bills would be much larger than he handed the artist.
- Quotes
[In the nursing home, where his mother lives]
Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: I don't understand. All the money I put in this place, and my mother is getting picked on by the others. I want it stopped.
Nursing home supervisor: You'll have to excuse these girls. Sometimes they think it's a high school with wheelchairs.
- ConnectionsFeatures The Fugitive (1993)
This is an excellent episode with great reflective character moments and dark humour.
There are a number of characters in focus, such as Tony, Carmela, Ralph and Valentina, who all have superbly written interactions and connected themes.
This show more than any other derives outstanding drama and humour from the most ordinary concepts. Who would think a fingernail could be so significant and cinematic? How can a glass of cold water thrown into a hot shower reveal so much underlying issues? Elderly care homes again are central to problems. The general "regularness of life" causes far more intrigue than the stories we usually associate with mafia life.
The plot associated with Carmela making certain discoveries about Tony, then reacting and taking action is brilliantly worked, plus it fits perfectly into the larger arc associated with her character. Everything connected to Ralph and his sex life weaves into it perfectly.
This couldn't be better timed considering what happens between Tony and Ralph in the next episode. When Tony asks Silvio if he thinks Ralph is "a little weird about women", Silvio's answer contains epic, dark comic timing and is a clever reminder of the episode 'University'.
The power dynamics between various characters asserting and relinquishing control of situations like Tony, Carmela, Ralph, Adriana, Paulie, Nucci (and various others who impact her well-being), are very interesting.
Paulie's scenes have some of the best humour. He is a hilarious character at times and Tony Serico embodies his toughness, sneakiness, limited intelligence to great effect and with epic comic timing. How this character caused so much trouble between the New York and Jersey families, with Tony completely oblivious, is ironically funny.
I love the Easter egg references to Joe Pantoliano with 'The Fugitive' and Lorraine Bracco as a 'Goodfellas' mob wife in Tony's discussion about Friday and Saturday nights.
All performances are strong, but the standouts for me are Serico, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, and Frances Esemplare.
As ever the cinematography, editing and general art design is excellent and visually conveys the story.
It's a 9.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
- snoozejonc
- Sep 7, 2022
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1