The Happy Wanderer (The Sopranos)
| "The Happy Wanderer" | |
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| The Sopranos episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | John Patterson |
| Written by | Frank Renzulli |
| Cinematography by | Phil Abraham |
| Production code | 206 |
| Original air date | February 20, 2000 |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Happy Wanderer" is the nineteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and is the sixth of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on February 20, 2000.
During College Night at Meadow's school, Tony reunites with an old school friend, David Scatino, who owns a sporting goods store in Ramsey, New Jersey. Davey then casually asks Tony if he can play in the "Executive Game", a high-stakes poker game established by Tony's father, Johnny Boy, and Uncle Junior in the 1960s, and now resurrected by Tony himself since Junior's house arrest. Tony warns Davey that because of the high stakes, he recommends that he not join the game due to the fact he believes that Davey lacks the capital to participate in such a game. The following day, Davey begins to owe serious debts after playing at Richie Aprile's small poker game, and falls behind on payments. Richie warns him that missing payments will only cause his debt to escalate faster and bars Davey from the poker game until he can catch up.
At his therapy session with Dr. Melfi, Tony discusses that things are going well for him but that he is becoming angry at everything. As an example he refers to "happy wanderers," people walking down the street with a smile and a happy manner. Tony explains that he is resentful of these people because "they always walk around with a clear head", while he cannot stave off depression and anger even when life is seemingly unproblematic, despairing at the death of his brother-in-law's father, Tom Giglione Sr., who was swept off a roof while putting up a satellite dish just one day after his retirement. Tony then tells Melfi that he is beginning to resent therapy as it encourages feelings of victimization, while his hero, Gary Cooper, was always resilient, "the strong, silent type". Tony also learns from Uncle Junior that he had another uncle who was mentally disabled. Uncle Junior tells him that his name was Ercole (nicknamed "Eckley") and that his mother could not take care of him, instead sending him to the most suitable charity home in the state. Melfi sarcastically asks Tony if having a retarded family member makes him feel better about coming to therapy.
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