Tony starts cleaning house, while Artie feels torn between keeping the peace in his household, and getting even with Tony for destroying…
Plot
This installment opens with our protagonist in a state of profound despondency. Following the disappearance of Pussy, Tony Soprano is hitting rock bottom. He has completely neglected his business operations and pushed away his wife, Carmela, along with his children. His physical decline matches his mental one; he is barely maintaining personal hygiene and seems unable to move out of bed without assistance. Dr. Melfi attempts to force a recovery by increasing Tony's medication dosage significantly, combining Prozac and Lithium until the regimen resembles its own distinct food group, yet the treatment yields no immediate results.
The turning point arrives when Tony spots Isabella, a beautiful young Italian woman residing next door at the Cusamano household. One morning, he sees her through the window and manages to drag his weary body out of bed to speak with her. She reveals she is an exchange student studying dentistry. Their conversation turns toward the old country, a topic that momentarily lifts Tony out of his fog. However, this brief spark of hope proves insufficient to shake the deep funk he is in. He realizes that pills and a pretty face are not enough; he requires a genuine shock to the system.
That shock comes in the form of an attempted murder. Junior Soprano finally executes his plan. Tony, while out purchasing juice at a newsstand, is ambushed by two young would-be assassins. The exchange goes exactly as Tony expects when it involves violence; he does not let people shoot at him without responding. Once the smoke clears from the shooting, one of Junior's men is dead, and the other is ejected from Tony's suburban vehicle with enough force to resemble an empty soda can being tossed aside.
Following the incident, Tony ends up in the hospital. Agent Harris from the FBI visits him and Carmela, attempting to convince them that this event signals the need for the Witness Protection Program. While Tony does not view the assassination attempt as a sign of anything specific, the sheer fact that someone tried to kill him convinces him he wants to live. Consequently, his mood improves drastically compared to his state in weeks. Meanwhile, Junior and Livia are left agitated. Knowing that Tony will inevitably hunt down those responsible, they realize their current plan has failed.
The episode concludes with a twist regarding Isabella. As the haze clears, it is revealed that she never existed. Dr. Melfi explains to Tony that she was merely a side effect of his Lithium treatment, a hallucination born from his subconscious need for a nurturing maternal figure. The analysis suggests that if anyone truly required such a motherly connection, it was Tony Soprano himself.
Credits
Directed by Allen Coulter and written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess.
Music
- "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano"
- "The Way We Were"
- "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
- "Je ne regrette rien"
- "My Way"
Analysis
There is a distinct irony in the episode's title and content that only a fan of the show would catch immediately. The title references the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, where a genie grants wishes to a man who treats her poorly until he learns to appreciate her care. Here, Tony hallucinates Isabella, a woman who represents everything he lacks: youth, beauty, and specifically, a maternal figure. Dr. Melfi's reveal that she is a product of his lithium overdose highlights the fragility of Tony's mind when pushed to the edge.
The episode serves as a crucial pivot point for Tony's character arc in the first season. We see him at his lowest ebb, physically deteriorating and emotionally numb. The hallucination of Isabella is not just a random trip; it is a desperate wish fulfillment. He wants to be young again, he wants to be loved without condition, and he wants someone to take care of him. When the hallucination fades, the reality of his situation remains: he is an aging mob boss who has lost his edge and his family.
The violence of the hit attempt contrasts sharply with the softness of the hallucination. In the dream world, Isabella offers comfort and conversation about Italy. In the real world, Junior sends hitmen to kill him. This juxtaposition underscores the central conflict of Tony's life: he exists in a reality where he must be tough, yet his psyche constantly seeks a softer, nurturing existence that the mafia lifestyle cannot provide.
The assassination attempt also marks a shift in Tony's relationship with the law and his own mortality. For the first time, he considers staying alive not just for business reasons but because he genuinely fears death. The FBI's push for witness protection is initially met with skepticism, but the event forces him to confront the fact that he is no longer invincible. The humor in the description of the surviving hitman being tossed like a soda can is typical of the show's ability to find comedy in life-or-death situations, reminding us that even Tony Soprano has moments of levity amidst the chaos.
Ultimately, this episode is about the hollowness of Tony's internal world. The "shock" he needed came from a bullet, not a conversation with a hallucinated girl. It reinforces the show's thesis that Tony cannot be saved by external forces or fantasy; he must confront his own issues, which Dr. Melfi will continue to try to do in subsequent sessions. The fact that he felt better after nearly dying suggests a survival instinct that is stronger than his depression, but it also sets the stage for the paranoia and suspicion that will plague him later as he tries to find who sent the hitmen.
You can find this episode available on where to watch.