The Weight (The Sopranos)
| "The Weight" | |
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| The Sopranos episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Jack Bender |
| Written by | Terence Winter |
| Cinematography by | Phil Abraham |
| Production code | 404 |
| Original air date | October 6, 2002 |
| Running time | 58 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Weight" is the 43rd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the fourth episode of the show's fourth season. It was written by Terence Winter and directed by Jack Bender, and originally aired on October 6, 2002.
* = credit only
Johnny Sack is conversing with a New York mobster, Joey "Peeps," in a bar in Little Italy. While there, Johnny spots a member of Ralph Cifaretto's crew, Donny K., and is infuriated to see him laughing and joking with the bartender, reminding him of the insulting joke Ralph had made about John's wife, Ginny, to a group of mob family insiders. As Donny K. gets up to leave, Johnny follows him outside, beats him into unconsciousness, and urinates on him. Tony Soprano learns of the encounter the following morning and is deeply troubled that Johnny inappropriately lashed out. Johnny informs Tony about Ralph's joke regarding Ginny's weight. Tony (who'd laughed when Ralph told the joke) assures Johnny that the joke is "deplorable" but feels he has to protect his capos, and Ralph is his highest earner.
Johnny then tries to convince the Lupertazzi family boss, Carmine Lupertazzi, to allow a hit on Ralph, but Carmine refuses, citing Ralph's key role in the Esplanade construction project where "millions of dollars are at stake." Carmine states that a fair punishment could be a crippling "tax" on Ralph for his disrespectful and unprofessional attitude, but a hit is out of the question. Johnny rejects this course of action. Lupertazzi then convenes a series of sit-downs involving Johnny, Ralph, Tony, Silvio Dante, and, by speakerphone, Uncle Junior, in order to make a settlement, to avoid having the situation threaten the two families' relationship. But, Johnny walks out of both of them, refusing to negotiate. After failing to gain support from either Carmine or Junior, Johnny decides to act without authorization from Carmine and orders a hitman to murder Ralph in Miami, Florida, where Tony has sent Ralph to vacation until the issue is resolved. Meanwhile, Carmine, who has determined that Johnny's uncompromising conduct is a threat to the profits from the Esplanade, makes a veiled suggestion to Tony to have Johnny killed. Surprised, Tony is advised by Uncle Junior to put a hit on Johnny using the skills of an experienced longtime crew of hitmen from Rhode Island, one of whom is Lou "DiMaggio" Gallina - nicknamed for his use of a baseball bat as a murder weapon. Silvio and Christopher Moltisanti pay a visit to the Gallina crew and find them to now be elderly, but still ready to take the contract. They pay DiMaggio half of the money for the job, $10,000, hand them a photo of Johnny, and suggest making "him disappear" in Boston, where he will be visiting his father. In Miami, however, events are already well in motion, as a hitman arrives at Ralph's hotel.
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