The Fleshy Part of the Thigh

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Fleshy Part of the Thigh
Series = The Sopranos
Season = 6
Episode = 69
Guests= "see below"
Airdate = April 2, 2006 (HBO)
Production = 604
Writer = Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider
Director = Alan Taylor
Episode list = Episode chronology


Prev = Mayham
Next = Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request..."The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" is the sixty-ninth episode of the HBO original series, "The Sopranos" and the fourth of the show's sixth season. The episode was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, directed by Alan Taylor and originally aired on April 2, 2006.

Guest starring

* Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
* Max Casella as Benny Fazio
* Carl Capotorto as Little Paulie Germani
* John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia as Albie Cianflone
* Chris Diamantopoulos as Jason Barone
* Frances Ensemplare as Nucci Gualtieri
* Hal Holbrook as John Schwinn
* Lord Jamar as Da Lux
* Will Janowitz as Finn DeTrolio
* Turk Pipkin as Aaron Arkaway
* Anthony "Treach" Criss as Marvin
* MuMs da Schemer as Mop
* Paul Schulze as Father Phil Intintola

Episode recap

Tony Soprano has surgery to close the opening in his abdomen. With his condition improved, the insurance company representative wants to send Tony home as soon as possible. Before leaving, Tony interacts with two patients on his floor, John Schwinn, a former Bell Labs scientist, and Da Lux, a rapper.

Da Lux expresses admiration for Tony, referring to him as an "Original G" (meaning "gangster"). Like Tony, he is hospitalized for gunshot wounds, injuries that many of his followers and colleagues believe will help his career by providing him "street cred". Bobby Baccalieri proposes an idea to Marvin, one of the other rappers visiting the hospital: Bobby will help jump start Marvin's career by shooting him in the "fleshy part" of the thigh. Marvin agrees, but later when the rapper doesn't come up with the entire fee for the "hit" Bobby instead shoots Marvin in the buttocks.

Paulie Gualtieri visits his dying Aunt Dottie and she informs him that she is actually his mother. Because she was a nun and did not want to ruin her career and shame her family, she had her sister raise Paulie as if he were her son. Devastated with the news, Paulie struggles to remain focused at work and questions his own identity. He confronts Nucci, the woman who raised him, and tells her he will no longer support her financially, and furthermore wants nothing more to do with her. While watching a prize fight on satellite TV with Tony and Da Lux in Da Lux's hospital room, and when Paulie moans about how alone we all are, Schwinn discusses the interconnectivity of all life, telling them how no event or entity can be understood independent from the rest of the world (referencing the work of Erwin Schrödinger). Schwinn has ideas that are at odds with the beliefs of an Evangelical Christian minister who visits Tony. Da Lux agrees with Schwinn: "everything is everything, I'm down with that." Later, Tony confides to Schwinn he's starting to believe we're all part of something bigger.

Following Dick Barone's death, his son Jason takes over ownership of Barone Sanitation (for which Tony is a paid consultant), and tries to sell the company without first getting approval from Tony. After Tony, Paulie and Patsy Parisi make it clear that it will not be in his best interests to proceed with the sale, Jason discovers he is too far along in the process to back out. The company trying to buy Barone's routes is associated with Johnny Sack. After a violent encounter between two garbage crews trying to work the same route, and after some negotiation, Tony agrees to terms with Sack (with Phil Leotardo working as intermediary) and allows the sale to go through. "Truth be told, there's enough garbage for everybody," Tony tells Phil. Tony also acquiesces to Jason's mother, who begs Tony to make sure no harm comes to her son. The pleading of a mother for her son drives Paulie to leave the hospital room in tears. As Tony is leaving the hospital, he again avoids confrontation by allowing an EMT worker to keep money Tony originally claimed was taken from his wallet the night his uncle Junior shot him.

Upon his release from the hospital, and after a few moments of observing the bustle of life outside while in a wheelchair, Tony observes, "from now on, every day is a gift." At the docks, Paulie viciously beats Jason, warning him not to say a word to Tony as he brandishes his gun. Paulie demands from Jason a monthly cut equal to the cost of Nucci's retirement home expenses.

First appearances

* Albie Cianflone: Soldier in Phil Leotardo's crew.

Deceased

* Aunt Dottie: Paulie's biological mother who dies of natural causes.

Title reference

* When discussing ways to increase a rapper's popularity, Bobby proposes delivering to him a relatively benign gunshot wound to "the fleshy part of the thigh". Further, when Paulie approaches Aunt Dottie from the foot of her death-bed, he attempts to cover her with a blanket, which she immediately pulls back away. Paulie is apparently disturbed by the view of her uncovered lower limbs.

References to other media and events

* When a protester accompanying the Christian minister was visiting Tony in his ICU room, he was wearing a shirt bearing the name of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman who, being in a persistent vegetative state, was a center of controversy in the late-1990s and early-2000s, in regards to sustaining her life through artificial means.
* After moving to a regular hospital room after his surgery, Tony was watching the 1970s television series "Kung Fu"; Tony commented to Paulie that he loved watching that show when he was a kid.

Music

*The song playing during the end credits is "One of These Days" by Pink Floyd.
*The song that plays as Jason Barone was rowboating is the first verse of "The Three Bells" by The Browns. The song would be used again in the next episode, "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request...".
*The song that Tony plays on the stereo under his meeting with Phil is "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston.
*During the scene in the hospital as Tony and Paulie watch the fight, Schwinn makes a comment of everything being related to which DeLux responds "Everything is everything, I can dig that." The actor playing Delux is Lord Jamar from the rap outfit Brand Nubian. Brand Nubian's third album is titled "Everything Is Everything".