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Live Free or Die (The Sopranos episode)
Encyclopedia
"Live Free or Die" is the seventy-first episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos
and the sixth of the show's sixth season. It was written by David Chase
, Terence Winter
, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
, was directed by Tim Van Patten
and originally aired on April 16, 2006.
dancing in a gay bar have spread the news. An unnamed associate, who said Sal Iaccuzzo from Yonkers, New York
saw Vito at the gay bar, tells the story to Christopher Moltisanti
and his friend "Murmur" outside an Alcoholics Anonymous
meeting, they then repeat it to Tony Soprano
and his crew at the Bada Bing
. Paulie Gualtieri describes the news as slander, and Tony insists more proof is needed before they condemn him.
Benny Fazio, Dante Greco and Terry Doria visit Vito and his mistress at a beach house on the Jersey Shore, where he's been lying low. They try to escort him to see Tony but Vito speeds away. Vito returns to his home later that night, looks in on his sleeping children, grabs clothes, a couple of family pictures and a stash of money, and drives off into the rainy night. He throws his cell phone out of the window, when its incessant ringing (from his cronies wondering where he is) drives him crazy. After his car hits a downed tree branch, Vito finds himself stranded in a small town in New Hampshire
.
Vito's hasty disappearance suggests to Christopher and others he has something to hide. Further testimony is gained from Silvio
, who, after speaking to the mobster's wife, Marie Spatafore, declares, "In my business, I'm around a lot of women, and that one ain't getting laid." All the while, Tony continues calling Vito, but to no avail. A road crew worker finds Vito's phone as it rings; after being offended and puzzled by Tony's questions, the worker throws the phone into the path of a steamroller, crushing it into the freshly laid asphalt.
The gossip soon spreads further, as Meadow
reveals to Carmela
and Rosalie that Finn witnessed Vito performing oral sex
on a security guard of the construction site where Vito and Finn worked (in the season 5 episode "Unidentified Black Males"). Tony takes Finn to the back room of Satriale's
and asks him to repeat the story for the assembled wiseguys. The fact that Vito was "catching" instead of "pitching" the favor seems worse to the group, especially to Paulie. Finn is intimidated by the interrogation and repulsed by the thought the mobsters will "mete out their own justice" on Vito over his sexual orientation. Finn later challenges Meadow's rationalization of her father's business as Italian tradition.
Meadow also has her values and relationships questioned when she sympathizes at the law center with an Afghan
Islamic family whose son was detained by police on suspicion of terrorist activity, but can find no support at home. Her recounting of the tale prompts Tony to ask Christopher if his Arabic friends, Ahmed and Muhammad, are possibly "al-Qaeda
s". Christopher tells Tony the pair seem too tolerant and Americanized to be terrorists, but is somewhat concerned by the suggestion.
Paulie, feeling personally betrayed, leads the cries for Vito's head. Rumors grow about how the fugitive Capo's crew won't follow his orders and some state their desire to kill Vito themselves. Tony, who expresses to Dr. Melfi
his ambivalence over whether Vito's sexual orientation truly matters, manages to quell immediate calls for bloodshed while he considers the impact of Vito's death on Vito's wife and children and on his own income. After Tony suggests to Silvio he will not go after Vito, Silvio notes Tony's men will use clemency as an excuse to kick up even less money.
Phil Leotardo arrives to comfort his distraught cousin Marie, both of them now informed of the accusations against her husband Vito. Phil asks if Marie can help him locate Vito, ostensibly to get Vito some sort of help. In his New Hampshire hideaway, Vito tries unsuccessfully to locate a cousin, socializes with the townsfolk and tourists, and notices a gay couple being welcomed warmly at a local diner. Among the peace and quiet, Vito stops by a picturesque whitewater river, then visits an antique shop where, after admiring the most expensive piece in the store, he is told by the proprietor he has "a good eye" and is "a natural."
Meanwhile, Carmela discovers that Angie Bonpensiero has secretly branched out into business with some members of Christopher's crew, putting money up for street loans and buying stolen car parts. Carmela tries to pressure Tony into having the local building inspector allow her to move forward with work on her spec house, but to no avail; Tony seems to forget her request, and Carmela is appalled to find that her father Hugh De Angelis has set about selling materials salvaged from the construction site.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and the sixth of the show's sixth season. It was written by David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
, Terence Winter
Terence Winter
Terence Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire...
, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
Mitchell Burgess
Mitchell Burgess is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. He worked extensively on the HBO hit-series The Sopranos. He was a creator and executive producer for Blue Bloods. He frequently works with his wife Robin Green.-Career:...
, was directed by Tim Van Patten
Tim Van Patten
Tim Van Patten is an American television director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. As a director, Van Patten has directed episodes of The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire, Rome, The Pacific, Game of Thrones, Ed, and Sex and the City. Van Patten is perhaps best known for portraying...
and originally aired on April 16, 2006.
Guest starring
- Tom AldredgeTom AldredgeThomas Ernest "Tom" Aldredge was an American television, film and stage actor.-Life and career:Aldredge was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Lucienne Juliet and W. J. Aldredge, a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps...
as Hugh De Angelis - Edoardo BalleriniEdoardo BalleriniEdoardo Ballerini is an actor, writer and director. He is best known for his work on screen as junkie Corky Caporale in The Sopranos , a hotheaded chef in the indie hit Dinner Rush , and an NFL businessman in the blockbuster Romeo Must Die...
as Corky Caporale - Elizabeth BraccoElizabeth BraccoElizabeth Bracco is an American actress who is best known for her role as Marie Spatafore, wife of Vito Spatafore, on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos....
as Marie Spatafore - Max CasellaMax CasellaMax Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
as Benny Fazio - Will JanowitzWill JanowitzWill Janowitz is an American film, television and stage actor as well as writer. He is first generation American with his mother having been born in the Czech Republic and his father Berlin, Germany.- Biography :...
as Finn De Trolio - Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Suzanne ShepherdSuzanne ShepherdSuzanne Shepherd is an American actress and theater director. She is best known for her portrayal of Karen's overbearing mother in the film Goodfellas, and Carmela's overbearing mother in the television program The Sopranos. Shepherd studied acting with Sanford Meisner, and later went on to teach...
as Mary De Angelis - Lenny VenitoLenny VenitoLenny Venito is an American actor who has made appearances in movies such as Gigli, Men in Black II, and War of the Worlds.Starting in 2006, Venito has been featured in The Sopranos as the character nicknamed "Murmur," who helped shake down actor Ben Kingsley and violently mug actress Lauren Bacall...
as James "Murmur" Zancone - Maureen Van ZandtMaureen Van ZandtMaureen Van Zandt is an Italian-American television actress best known for her small role Gabriella Dante, a close friend to Carmela Soprano on the HBO series, The Sopranos....
as Gabriella Dante
Episode recap
The New York wiseguys who spotted a leather fetish clad Vito SpataforeVito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
dancing in a gay bar have spread the news. An unnamed associate, who said Sal Iaccuzzo from Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
saw Vito at the gay bar, tells the story to Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
and his friend "Murmur" outside an Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting, they then repeat it to Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
and his crew at the Bada Bing
Bada Bing
The Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO drama television series The Sopranos. It was a key location for events in the series, named for catchphrase "bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan in The Godfather. The popularization of the fictional club benefited the real-life go-go...
. Paulie Gualtieri describes the news as slander, and Tony insists more proof is needed before they condemn him.
Benny Fazio, Dante Greco and Terry Doria visit Vito and his mistress at a beach house on the Jersey Shore, where he's been lying low. They try to escort him to see Tony but Vito speeds away. Vito returns to his home later that night, looks in on his sleeping children, grabs clothes, a couple of family pictures and a stash of money, and drives off into the rainy night. He throws his cell phone out of the window, when its incessant ringing (from his cronies wondering where he is) drives him crazy. After his car hits a downed tree branch, Vito finds himself stranded in a small town in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
.
Vito's hasty disappearance suggests to Christopher and others he has something to hide. Further testimony is gained from Silvio
Silvio Dante
Silvio Manfred Dante, often referred to as "Sil", played by Steven Van Zandt, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is the consigliere to Tony Soprano in the Soprano crime family. Silvio has one of the lowest profiles on the show. He is usually a behind the scenes figure...
, who, after speaking to the mobster's wife, Marie Spatafore, declares, "In my business, I'm around a lot of women, and that one ain't getting laid." All the while, Tony continues calling Vito, but to no avail. A road crew worker finds Vito's phone as it rings; after being offended and puzzled by Tony's questions, the worker throws the phone into the path of a steamroller, crushing it into the freshly laid asphalt.
The gossip soon spreads further, as Meadow
Meadow Soprano
Meadow Mariangela Soprano , played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Character:Meadow is the first-born child of Tony and Carmela Soprano...
reveals to Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
and Rosalie that Finn witnessed Vito performing oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on a security guard of the construction site where Vito and Finn worked (in the season 5 episode "Unidentified Black Males"). Tony takes Finn to the back room of Satriale's
Satriale's Pork Store
Satriale's Pork Store is a fictional establishment on the HBO series The Sopranos. As told in the television show, during the 1970s, the pork store was taken over by Johnny Boy Soprano, a member of The DiMeo Crime Family, when Francis Satriale failed to make payments on a gambling debt and later...
and asks him to repeat the story for the assembled wiseguys. The fact that Vito was "catching" instead of "pitching" the favor seems worse to the group, especially to Paulie. Finn is intimidated by the interrogation and repulsed by the thought the mobsters will "mete out their own justice" on Vito over his sexual orientation. Finn later challenges Meadow's rationalization of her father's business as Italian tradition.
Meadow also has her values and relationships questioned when she sympathizes at the law center with an Afghan
Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
Islamic family whose son was detained by police on suspicion of terrorist activity, but can find no support at home. Her recounting of the tale prompts Tony to ask Christopher if his Arabic friends, Ahmed and Muhammad, are possibly "al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
s". Christopher tells Tony the pair seem too tolerant and Americanized to be terrorists, but is somewhat concerned by the suggestion.
Paulie, feeling personally betrayed, leads the cries for Vito's head. Rumors grow about how the fugitive Capo's crew won't follow his orders and some state their desire to kill Vito themselves. Tony, who expresses to Dr. Melfi
Jennifer Melfi
Jennifer Melfi, M.D., is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the psychiatrist of Mafia boss Tony Soprano. She is portrayed by Lorraine Bracco.-Character description:...
his ambivalence over whether Vito's sexual orientation truly matters, manages to quell immediate calls for bloodshed while he considers the impact of Vito's death on Vito's wife and children and on his own income. After Tony suggests to Silvio he will not go after Vito, Silvio notes Tony's men will use clemency as an excuse to kick up even less money.
Phil Leotardo arrives to comfort his distraught cousin Marie, both of them now informed of the accusations against her husband Vito. Phil asks if Marie can help him locate Vito, ostensibly to get Vito some sort of help. In his New Hampshire hideaway, Vito tries unsuccessfully to locate a cousin, socializes with the townsfolk and tourists, and notices a gay couple being welcomed warmly at a local diner. Among the peace and quiet, Vito stops by a picturesque whitewater river, then visits an antique shop where, after admiring the most expensive piece in the store, he is told by the proprietor he has "a good eye" and is "a natural."
Meanwhile, Carmela discovers that Angie Bonpensiero has secretly branched out into business with some members of Christopher's crew, putting money up for street loans and buying stolen car parts. Carmela tries to pressure Tony into having the local building inspector allow her to move forward with work on her spec house, but to no avail; Tony seems to forget her request, and Carmela is appalled to find that her father Hugh De Angelis has set about selling materials salvaged from the construction site.
Title reference
- The episode's title, "Live Free or DieLive Free or Die"Live Free or Die" is the official motto of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, adopted by the state in 1945. It is possibly the best-known of all state mottos, partly because it speaks to an assertive independence historically found in American political philosophy and partly because of its contrast...
", refers to the New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
state motto, which Vito notices on a license plate while he is browsing an arts and crafts shop. The motto means that living free is the only way to live, and a person might as well die if he/she is not free. This is important in Vito's case, as he was forced to live a lie for years, and now perhaps has a chance to "live free." - The title also refers to the decision that must be made about Vito: i.e., whether to let him live free or die.
Production
- The scenes filmed for the town of Dartford, New Hampshire were actually filmed in Boonton, New JerseyBoonton, New JerseyBoonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in 1867. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 8,347. The town was originally called "Boone-Towne" in 1761 in honor of the Colonial Governor Thomas Boone....
. - The highway Vito was travelling on when his car broke down, New Hampshire RouteNew Hampshire Highway SystemThe New Hampshire Highway System is the public roads system of the U.S. state of New Hampshire containing approximately maintained by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation...
228, is also fictitious. - At a diner in Dartford, Vito is introduced to jonnycakeJonnycakeJonnycake is a cornmeal flatbread that was an early American staple food and is prepared on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Jamaica. The food probably originates from the native inhabitants of North America...
s, pancakes made with white corn meal, which is also the title of the sixth season's eighth episode. - This is the final episode to be written by the married writing team of Robin Green and Mitchell BurgessMitchell BurgessMitchell Burgess is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. He worked extensively on the HBO hit-series The Sopranos. He was a creator and executive producer for Blue Bloods. He frequently works with his wife Robin Green.-Career:...
. They left the series, which they had been with since the first season, to produce a new project for HBO, which never took shape. - Sharon AngelaSharon AngelaSharon Angela is an American film, television actress, screenwriter and director. Angela is probably most well known for her portrayal of Rosalie Aprile on the HBO series, The Sopranos....
(Rosalie Aprile) is now billed in the opening credits but only for the episodes in which she appears. - In the scene with Dr. Melfi, Tony referenced the controversial commentsSantorum controversyThe Santorum controversy arose over Republican former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum's statements about homosexuality and the right to privacy. In an interview with the Associated Press taped on April 7, 2003, and published April 20, 2003, Santorum stated that he believed mutually consenting adults do...
made by SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Rick SantorumRick SantorumRichard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
(pronouncing his last name as "SanatoriumSanatoriumA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
") who once claimed the government's allowance of gay marriage would be the first step in a slippery slopeSlippery slopeIn debate or rhetoric, a slippery slope is a classic form of argument, arguably an informal fallacy...
leading to tolerance of more taboo practices, including bestiality. - Also in the scene with Dr. Melfi, Tony referenced a Showtime series (The L WordThe L WordThe L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
) when talking about "that lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
show with Jennifer BealsJennifer BealsJennifer Beals is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former...
." - After Finn confirms to the Soprano crew that he caught Vito performing a sex act on a security guard ("Unidentified Black Males"), Christopher suggests that he should cut off his penis and "feed it to him." This same fate befell actor Michael Imperioli's character at the hands of the Viet Cong in the film Dead PresidentsDead PresidentsDead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film written by Michael Henry Brown and also written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers , starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright and Bokeem Woodbine...
. - Also, in the scene where Finn confirms Vito's sexual preference, the table and the seating of the crew around the table suggests The Last Supper in placement, as well as mood, as "betrayal" is an oft-repeated suggestion by Christopher, Paulie among others.
Music
- The song played during the end credits is "4th of July" by X.
- After Meadow tells Carmela and Rosalie Aprile about Vito and the security guard, Tony comes down the stairs singing the opening line of "AqualungAqualung (song)"Aqualung" is a song by the English progressive rock band Jethro Tull, and the title track from their Aqualung album. The song was written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife Jennie Franks....
" by Jethro TullJethro Tull (band)Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
.