Meadowlands (The Sopranos)

4th episode of the 1st season of The Sopranos

"Meadowlands"

The Sopranos episode
Episode no.| Season 1
Episode 4
Directed by| John Patterson
Written by| Jason Cahill
Cinematography by| Alik Sakharov
Production code| 104
Original air date| January 31, 1999 (1999-01-31)
Running time| 53 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Denial, Anger, Acceptance"  | Next →
"College"

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The Sopranos season 1
List of episodes

"Meadowlands" is the fourth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It was written by Jason Cahill, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on January 31, 1999.

## Synopsis

[edit]

Tony becomes increasingly paranoid over his sessions with Dr. Melfi, especially after seeing Silvio leaving a dentist's office opposite her suite. He is also becoming attracted to Melfi and has corrupt police detective Vin Makazian secretly follow her. Makazian, who owes Tony money from gambling, assumes Melfi is Tony's mistress. When he sees her with a date he pulls the pair over, then assaults and arrests the man. Tony is beginning to consider quitting therapy, but Carmela—under the impression that Tony's therapist is male—insists he continue or risk their marriage.

Christopher is scared after his mock execution leaves him in a neck brace. He becomes more unnerved when he and Adriana discover Brendan's body. Assuming that Tony is punishing him for giving speed to Meadow, he angrily confronts her; she assures him she has not told anyone. After finding that Uncle Junior and Mikey are responsible, Christopher is inflamed and wants revenge. Tony orders Christopher to stand down because Mikey is a made man, but then assaults Mikey himself. He then confronts Junior, who rejects an offer of compromise and tells him he should "come heavy" (i.e. with a gun) for his next visit or not at all.

The prospect of war with Junior looms large for Tony, especially after Jackie, the DiMeo family's acting boss, dies without a clear successor. Tony has the backing of other DiMeo capos, but seeks a diplomatic resolution with his uncle. After some unwitting inspiration from Melfi about giving the elderly the "illusion of control", Tony cedes leadership of the family to Junior in exchange for his uncle's income-earning properties and contracts, so war within the family is avoided while Junior becomes the primary target for federal investigations. Content with his decision, Tony opts to remain in therapy.

A.J. scuffles with a physically bigger classmate, Jeremy Piocosta. Jeremy backs down from a second formal fight and pays A.J. compensation for a shirt that was torn in the scuffle. A.J. is baffled by this. Meadow explains that Jeremy was not intimidated by A.J. but by Tony's reputation as a mobster. Tony had coincidentally run into Jeremy's father the day before at a plant nursery; Tony was friendly but happened to be holding an ax, and Jeremy's father quickly and nervously backed away. Meadow rhetorically asks A.J. how many other garbage men live in a house as expensive as theirs, and shows him a Mafia-themed website. At Jackie's funeral, Meadow gives A.J. a knowing look and nods in the direction of the federal agents taking pictures.

## Deceased

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* Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile, Sr. : passes away due to complications of stomach cancer.

## Starring

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* 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.
* Vincent Pastore as Pussy Bonpensiero
* Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
* Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
* Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
* Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
* Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano

### Guest starring

[edit]

* John Heard as Vin Makazian
* Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
* Michael Rispoli as Jackie Aprile, Sr.
* Mark Blum as Randall Curtin

#### Also guest starring

[edit]

* Al Sapienza as Mikey Palmice
* Anthony DeSando as Brendan Filone
* Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
* Tony Darrow as Larry Boy Barese
* George Loros as Raymond Curto
* Joe Badalucco, Jr. as Jimmy Altieri
* Sharon Angela as Rosalie Aprile
* John Arocho as Kid #2
* Oksana Lada as Irina Peltsin
* Michael Buscemi as Lewis Pantowski
* T.J. Coluca as Jeremy Piocosta
* Michele DeCesare as Hunter Scangarelo
* Guillermo Diaz as Salesperson
* Daniel Hilt as Kid #3
* Ray Michael Karl as Teacher
* Theresa Lynn as Stripper
* Shawn McLean as Yo Yo Mendez
* Annika Pergament as News Anchor
* Sal Petraccione as George Piocosta
* James Spector as Kid #1
* Corrine Stella as Woman
* Anthony Tavaglione as Lance

## Title reference

[edit]

The Meadowlands is a wetlands area in northern New Jersey. Christopher identifies it as the place where his mock execution took place. It also indirectly refers to Tony’s daughter’s name, Meadow, who is the center of the conflict of her use of crystal meth that Christopher scores for her, and mistakenly believes Tony had found out about it.

## Reception

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Retrospectively, Emily St. James of The A.V. Club felt that although many elements of "Meadowlands" worked, the episode is "a bit of a step down from the previous three." She criticized the subplot involving AJ as "pretty pointless, playing out as a sort of miniature version of the Tony and Junior conflict and ending much the same way", but considered the overall episode to be "a pretty good summation of many of the things the show is going to be interested in going forward."[1] Alan Sepinwall was highly positive, calling the resolution of the Tony and Junior conflict "an elegant solution, [...] and a great indicator of what a savvy tactician Tony is". Sepinwall also praised the final scene of "Meadowlands" as "a strong way to end an episode that's been all about the crumbling walls between Tony's work and home lives."[2]

## Awards

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Jason Cahill won a Writers Guild of America award for his work on this episode.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ St. James, Emily (June 16, 2010). "The Sopranos: "Meadowlands"/"College"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
2. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (June 24, 2015). "'The Sopranos' Rewind: Season 1, Episode 4: 'Meadowlands'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.

## External links

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* "Meadowlands" Archived August 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at HBO
* "Meadowlands" at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Sopranos

Episodes|

| Season 1|

* "The Sopranos"
* "46 Long"
* "Denial, Anger, Acceptance"
* "Meadowlands"
* "College"
* "Pax Soprana"
* "Down Neck"
* "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti"
* "Boca"
* "A Hit Is a Hit"
* "Nobody Knows Anything"
* "Isabella"
* "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano"

|

Season 2|

* "Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office..."
* "Do Not Resuscitate"
* "Toodle-Fucking-Oo"
* "Commendatori"
* "Big Girls Don't Cry"
* "The Happy Wanderer"
* "D-Girl"
* "Full Leather Jacket"
* "From Where to Eternity"
* "Bust Out"
* "House Arrest"
* "The Knight in White Satin Armor"
* "Funhouse"

Season 3|

* "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood"
* "Proshai, Livushka"
* "Fortunate Son"
* "Employee of the Month"
* "Another Toothpick"
* "University"
* "Second Opinion"
* "He Is Risen"
* "The Telltale Moozadell"
* "To Save Us All from Satan's Power"
* "Pine Barrens"
* "Amour Fou"
* "Army of One"

Season 4|

* "For All Debts Public and Private"
* "No Show"
* "Christopher"
* "The Weight"
* "Pie-O-My"
* "Everybody Hurts"
* "Watching Too Much Television"
* "Mergers and Acquisitions"
* "Whoever Did This"
* "The Strong, Silent Type"
* "Calling All Cars"
* "Eloise"
* "Whitecaps"

Season 5|

* "Two Tonys"
* "Rat Pack"
* "Where's Johnny?"
* "All Happy Families..."
* "Irregular Around the Margins"
* "Sentimental Education"
* "In Camelot"
* "Marco Polo"
* "Unidentified Black Males"
* "Cold Cuts"
* "The Test Dream"
* "Long Term Parking"
* "All Due Respect"

Season 6|

| Part I|

* "Members Only"
* "Join the Club"
* "Mayham"
* "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh"
* "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request..."
* "Live Free or Die"
* "Luxury Lounge"
* "Johnny Cakes"
* "The Ride"
* "Moe n' Joe"
* "Cold Stones"
* "Kaisha"

|

Part II|

* "Soprano Home Movies"
* "Stage 5"
* "Remember When"
* "Chasing It"
* "Walk Like a Man"
* "Kennedy and Heidi"
* "The Second Coming"
* "The Blue Comet"
* "Made in America"

Characters|

* Tony Soprano
* Jennifer Melfi
* Carmela Soprano
* Christopher Moltisanti
* Junior Soprano
* Silvio Dante
* Paulie Gualtieri
* A.J. Soprano
* Meadow Soprano
* Adriana La Cerva
* Bobby Baccalieri
* Janice Soprano
* Livia Soprano

Universe|

* Satriale's Pork Store
* Bada Bing!
* Cleaver

Related|

* Awards and nominations
* Music ("Woke Up This Morning")
* Road to Respect
* Talking Sopranos
* The Many Saints of Newark
* Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama

1960s|

* William Spier for "The Unhired Assassin" (1960)
* Barry Trivers for "The Fault in Our Stars" (1961)
* Howard A. Rodman and Kenneth M. Rosen for "Today the Man Who Kills The Ants is Coming" (1962)
* Lawrence B. Marcus for "Man Out of Time" (1963)
* Arnold Perl for "Who Do You Kill?" (1964)
* John D. F. Black for "With a Hammer in His Hand, Lord, Lord!" (1965)
* David Ellis for "No Justice for the Judge" (1966)
* Harlan Ellison for "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967)
* Robert Lewin for "To Kill a Madman" (1968)
* Robert Lewin for "An Elephant in a Cigar Box" (1969)

1970s|

* David W. Rintels for "A Continual Roar of Musketry" (1970)
* Herb Bermann & Thomas Y. Drake & Jerrold Freedman & Bo May for "Par for the Course" (1971)
* Herman Miller for "King of the Mountain" (1972)
* Harlan Ellison for "Phoenix Without Ashes" (1973)
* Jim Byrnes for "Thirty a Month and Found" (1974)
* Stephen Kandel & Arthur Ross for "Prior Consent" (1975)
* Loring Mandel for "Crossing Fox River" (1976)
* Mark Rodgers for "Pressure Point" (1977)
* Seth Freeman for "Prisoner" (1978)
* Leon Tokatyan for "Vet" (1979)

1980s|

* Stephen J. Cannell for "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe" (1980)
* Steven Bochco & Michael Kozoll for "Hill Street Station" (1981)
* Michael Wagner for "The World According to Freedom" (1982)
* David Milch for "Trial By Fury" (1983)
* Steven Bochco & Mark Frost & Karen Hall & Jeff Lewis & David Milch & Michael Wagner for "Grace Under Pressure" (1984)
* Georgia Jeffries for "An Unusual Occurrence" / Anthony Yerkovich for "Brother's Keeper" (1985)
* Debra Frank & Carl Sautter for "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" / Tom Fontana & John Masius & Bruce Paltrow for "Remembrance of Things Past" (1986)
* Georgia Jeffries for "Turn, Turn, Turn" / Debra Frank & Carl Sautter for "It's a Wonderful Job" (1987)
* Susan Shilliday for "Therapy" / Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick for "Pilot" (thirtysomething) (1988)
* Karl Schaefer for "Rolling" (1989)

1990s|

* John Sacret Young for "Souvenirs" (1990)
* Racelle Rosett Schaefer for "Photo Opportunity" (1991)
* Henry Bromell for "Amazing Grace" (1992)
* Tom Fontana & Frank Pugliese for "The Night of the Dead Living" (1993)
* Tom Fontana & David Mills & David Simon for "Bop Gun" (1994)
* Lance Gentile for "Love's Labor Lost" (1995)
* Bill Clark & Theresa Rebeck for "Girl Talk" (1996)
* René Balcer & Richard Sweren for "Entrapment" (1997)
* Bill Cain for "Proofs for the Existence Of God" (1998)
* Jason Cahill for "Meadowlands" (1999)

2000s|

* Rick Cleveland and Aaron Sorkin for "In Excelsis Deo" (2000)
* Tim Van Patten and Terence Winter for "Pine Barrens" (2001)
* Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin for "Pilot" (The Education of Max Bickford) (2002)
* Evan Katz for "Day 2: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m." (2003)
* Debora Cahn for "The Supremes" (2004)
* Lawrence Kaplow for "Autopsy" (2005)
* Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer for "Pilot" (Big Love) (2006)
* Terence Winter for "The Second Coming" (2007)
* Vince Gilligan for "Pilot" (Breaking Bad) (2008)
* David Foster, Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner, and David Shore for "Broken" (2009)

2010s|

* Erin Levy for "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" (2010)
* Vince Gilligan for "Box Cutter" / Henry Bromell for "The Good Soldier" (2011)
* Semi Chellas & Matthew Weiner for "The Other Woman" (2012)
* Gennifer Hutchison for "Confessions" (2013)
* Robert King & Michelle King for "The Last Call" (2014)
* Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould for "Uno" (2015)
* Vera Herbert for "The Trip" (2016)
* Gordon Smith for "Chicanery" (2017)
* Alex Gansa for "Paean to the People" (2018)
* Will Tracy for "Tern Haven" (2019)

2020s|

* Miki Johnson for "Fire Pink" (2020)
* Tony Roche and Susan Soon He Stanton for "Retired Janitors of Idaho" (2021)
* Thomas Schnauz for "Plan and Execution" (2022)
* Georgia Pritchett and Will Arbery for "Living+" (2023)
* Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks for "Anjin" (2024)

* Complete list
* 1960s
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