"Members Only" is the 1st episode of Part 1 of Season 6 of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It is the 66th overall episode of the series. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on March 12, 2006.
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 Sigler as Meadow Soprano
- Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Baccalieri
- Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
- Vincent Curatola as Johnny Sack
- Frank Vincent as Phil Leotardo
- John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
- Dan Grimaldi as Patsy Parisi
- Joseph R. Gannascoli as Vito Spatafore
- Toni Kalem as Angie Bonpensiero
Guest starring
Also guest starring
- Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
- Frankie Valli as Rusty Millio
- Robert Funaro as Eugene Pontecorvo
- Tom Aldredge as Hugh DeAngelis
- Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
- John Bianco as Gerry Torciano
- Denise Borino as Ginny Sacrimoni
- Joe Caniano as Teddy Spirodakis
- Carl Capotorto as Little Paulie
- Max Casella as Benny Fazio
- Greg D'Agostino as Jimmy Lauria
- Suzanne Di Donna as Deanne Pontecervo
- Danielle Di Vecchio as Barbara Soprano Giglione
- Will Janowitz as Finn DeTrolio
- Michael Kelly as Agent Ron Goddard
- George Loros as Raymond Curto
- Lou Martini, Jr. as Anthony Infante
- Arthur J. Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Matt Pepper as Agent Ron Gosling
- Anthony J. Ribustello as Dante Greco
- Thomas Russo as Robbie Pontecorvo
- Matt Servitto as Agent Dwight Harris
- David Shumbris as Eli Kaplan
- Tracey Silver as Beth Kaplan
- Lenny Venito as James "Murmur" Zancone
- Karen Young as Agent Robyn Sanseverino
- Nick Annunziata as Eddie Pietro
- Brianna and Kimberly Laughlin as Domenica Baccalieri
- Grace Van Patten as Ally Pontecorvo
- Daniel Stewart Sherman as Ron Senkowski
- Ai Kiyono as Sushi Waitress
- Lisa Sue Miller as Bada Bing Waitress
Episode recap
Nearly two years have passed since Johnny Sack's arrest. Vito Spatafore has gotten thinner and is now a spokesperson for a weight loss company; Janice Soprano is raising a daughter with Bobby Baccalieri, who has taken up model railroading as a hobby; Eugene Pontecorvo and his wife inherit $2 million from his aunt; Meadow Soprano continues her relationship with Finn DeTrolio; Raymond Curto exercises on a treadmill and later dies of a stroke; A.J. Soprano is now attending college; Adriana La Cerva is remembered by a worrying Carmela; and Tony Soprano helps Uncle Junior locate a large amount of money Junior thinks he buried in his backyard thirty years before.
Phil Leotardo, now the acting boss of the Lupertazzi crime family, performs day-to-day tasks for the imprisoned Johnny Sack. At Satriale’s, Vito jokes about Eugene’s Members Only jacket before being greeted by Phil, having been revealed that Vito is his cousin-in-law. After dining at a Chinese restaurant in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, Hesh Rabkin and his son-in-law Eli Kaplan are assaulted by Lupertazzi associates, causing Eli to also be the victim of a hit-and-run when he steps into the middle of street and gets struck by a passing NYC Medallion Taxi. At Hesh's behest, Tony tries to reach out directly to Johnny through his optometrist brother-in-law, Anthony Infante, but Johnny is too concerned with his immediate family's financial troubles.
Tony, Vito, and Christopher Moltisanti – now a caporegime in the DiMeo crime family – meet Phil and Gerry "The Hairdo" Torciano behind the Bada Bing. Disputes between Tony and Phil are resolved, and it's revealed that the New York associates were protecting Gerry's area and did not know Eli associated with the Sopranos; they agree to compensate Eli $50,000. After the meeting, Tony observes to Chris that Phil has stopped being openly hostile and more open to compromise since becoming acting boss. Chris remains wary, remembering Phil once wanted him dead.
Vito tells certain people that he could take over the family if anything were to happen to Tony, since he is the best earner. Eugene and his wife aspire to use their inheritance to move to Florida. Tony reminds Eugene that he took an oath, but he will consider letting him retire. Eugene is tasked by Chris to kill a man named Teddy Spirodakis who refuses to pay off a gambling debt. Eugene tracks Teddy down and murders him in a fast food diner in Boston while wearing his Members Only jacket. Eugene gives Tony a cut of the inheritance in hopes of gaining favor, but it does no good and Silvio Dante informs him that Tony has denied his request. Unbeknownst to the family, Eugene is a reluctant informant for the FBI, which has also refused to let him move to Florida. After arguing with his wife and learning his son is using heroin, Eugene looks over a family photo album and hangs himself.
Agent Dwight Harris visits Satriale's Pork Store and tells Tony he has been in Pakistan because he was transferred to counter-terrorism. He has also contracted a "parasite", which has given him severe nausea, but has missed the Italian foods offered by Satriale's. Meanwhile, Carmela's construction of her spec house is suspended, due to a "stop order" issued by a building inspector for the use of improper lumber. Her father, Hugh De Angelis, asks about an inspector he used to work with to have him waive the criteria, only to learn that his contact had retired. Carmela asks Tony to see if he can get the stop order lifted, but he puts it off.
Artie Bucco has reunited with his estranged wife Charmaine, and is present at a dinner between Carmela and Angie Bonpensiero, who have patched up their relationship. Junior's mental state has deteriorated. Tony talks to Dr. Melfi about him, and rejects her suggestion that he be put in assisted living. One afternoon, when Junior is particularly agitated, Tony's sister Barbara, as well as Janice and Bobby, are too busy to look after him. When Tony visits the house, Junior mistakes him for a long-dead mobster and shoots him in the abdomen. While Junior hides in a closet upstairs, Tony manages to dial 9-1-1 before losing consciousness.
Trivia
- The track heard accompanying the montage in the beginning of the episode is "Seven Souls", a spoken-word adaptation of the Walter S. Burroughs novel The Western Lands.
- Burroughs' narrative references the ancient Egyptian beliefs about the seven different components of a soul—each representing the distinct aspect of human identity that is separated at bodily death. Yet another example of symbolic interpretations of death and the afterlife that is interspersed throughout the series.
- There are several connections that can be made between the seven souls depicted in the novel and the characters in the series.
- Ren, described as the first or top soul, is the driving force and director of one's life from conception to death. It can be said that Livia Soprano closely inhabits the soul as the psychological architect of Tony's life and worldview, both being the driving force and director. As Janice is the surrogate daughter, she inherits the influence of Livia after becoming a mother to a child, vis-a-vis conception.
- Sekem, described as energy power and light or action—the yes-man to the director and delegate. In the montage, Eugene Pontecorvo is shown as he acquires a large inheritance from his Aunt Edie. Eugene wishes to retire and move to Florida, but Tony forbids it. His inability to maintain control transforms his energy or will into despair. As the director gives the orders, Sekem pushes the "right buttons", Tony, as the "director", is the dictator of Eugene's moves and maintains tight control over him.
- Khu is the guardian angel, the spiritual protectorate and "third man out". The Khu is responsible for the subject and can be injured in the action of defending them, although they can only do so a finite number of times [3]; since the first three souls are eternal. Meadow Soprano is its counterpart, acting as Tony's guardian throughout the series.
- Ba is the heart and is "often treacherous". Ray Curto, revealed to be an FBI informant since Season 3, betrays the family yet never suffers any consequences as he dies of a stroke in his FBI's handlers car.
- Ka, "the double", is the mirrored self that matures at the time of bodily death and is the only reliable guide through the afterlife. A.J Soprano is shown to have numerous traits carried over from his father Tony, that he mimics throughout the series, most notably Tony's panic attacks and his depressive episodes.
- Khaibit—the shadow and memory, is the representation of the memory of one's life and past incarnations. In the montage, Carmela has a dream where she is talking to Adriana LaCerva at her spec-house. The memory of Adriana and her spectral presence in Carmela's dream as it relates to the buried guilt and truth behind her disappearance. Ade fades away as Carmela wakes up, coming to grips that she actually might be dead.
- Sekhu, the remains; is mere metaphor as it is literal. The cut away to Tony digging a hole where Junior claims money is stashed depicts the theme of him digging his own grave.
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