Johnny Cakes

Infobox Television episode | Title = Johnny Cakes
Series = The Sopranos
Season = 6
Episode = 73
Guests= "see below"
Airdate = April 30, 2006 (HBO)
Production = 608
Writer = Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider
Director = Tim Van Patten
Episode list = Episode chronology


Prev = Luxury Lounge
Next = The Ride"Johnny Cakes" is the seventy-third episode of the HBO original series "The Sopranos" and the eighth of the show's sixth season. It was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on April 30 2006.

Guest starring

* Peter Bogdanovich as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
* Cameron Boyd as Matt Testa
* Elizabeth Bracco as Marie Spatafore
* John Costelloe as Jim Witowski
* Joseph Leone as Vic Caputo
* Julianna Margulies as Julianna Skiff
* Artie Pasquale as Burt Gervasi
* Vincent Piazza as Hernan O'Brien
* Emily Wickersham as Rhiannon

Episode recap

To get more money for partying, A.J. sells the drum kit Tony gave him as a gift. While the pair are fishing on Tony's boat, A.J. asks what they are going to do about Uncle Junior shooting Tony. Tony tells A.J. he should not concern himself with Junior, saying, "He's incarcerated for the rest of his unnatural life."

Vito, pretending to be a writer named "Vince", spends more time at Jim's diner. One evening, he witnesses Jim performing a heroic rescue of a young child while working as a volunteer firefighter and later compliments him on his heroism. Jim takes an interest in Vito's book and questions him about the lonely life of a writer. Meanwhile, Vito manages to steal the cell phone of a fellow guest at the bed-and-breakfast where he has been staying and calls his wife. She begs him to come home and to get "treatment". Vito refuses, but tells her where to find $30,000 cash in the house. Marie puts their son on the phone, and Vito has a brief, pained conversation with him.

Burt and Patsy visit Caputo's Poultry store for their take. Next the pair visit the neighborhood's new Starbucks-like coffee store, offering "protection." But when the manager explains that corporate counts every bean and that it won't care about vandalism, Patsy and Burt retreat outside. "It's over for the little guy," Patsy says.

Tony, Silvio and Chris check out a woman outside Satriale's Pork Store. The woman is Julianna Skiff, a real estate agent who asks Tony if he is interested in selling a building he owns, the one he is renting to Caputo's Poultry. Tony rejects the deal, stating that the poultry store is part of the neighborhood, but he is interested in Skiff sexually.

Uninterested in his job or in going back to school, A.J. is spending more time hanging out in nightclubs in New York City with Hernan and his new friends, some of them underage girls. His club acquaintances are impressed with him because of who his father is. A.J. brags to one of the girls who inquires about revenge against his uncle Junior. "I'll probably have to do something," he says.

Phil Leotardo meets with Tony and asks what he is doing about Vito. Tony tells him he will take care of it his own way. This elicits a warning from Phil that he will not swallow his pride on this issue like he did when Tony Blundetto killed his brother Billy. Phil reiterates that Vito shamed his family by marrying his cousin.

Skiff seeks out Tony at the Bada Bing and makes an increased offer on the building. Tony again declines, but asks her out to dinner. Mentioning the new outlook on life brought about by the shooting, Tony tells her that he knows what he wants in life. Engaged to another man, Julianna seems intrigued by Tony and claims there was a time in her life when she might have taken him up on the offer. "For once in my life I will exercise some self control," she states.

Vito spends an evening with Jim and some of his volunteer firefighter colleagues at a local roadhouse. Later, after discussing Jim's motorcycle in the parking lot, Vito rejects his sexual advances. The two throw punches, and Jim leaves Vito beaten and bloody.

At Dr. Melfi's, Tony complains about his son. "It's like a bad smell in the house, it's always hanging there," Tony says. Tony tells Melfi that it's not a good aphrodisiac and that he couldn't be blamed for considering an extracurricular outlet, even though he's not seeking out one. He asks for advice about A.J.. Melfi suggests he and Carmela lay down some rules: "The most important thing is that you and Carmela are in agreement."

After getting little support from his parents to provide him a club to manage, and after spending the day sleeping past noon, A.J. visits Uncle Junior in the psych hospital, taking a knife with him. When he sees A.J., Junior begs him to take him home. A.J. lunges toward Junior, but drops the knife and is tackled by several hospital staff members. After calling on Assemblyman Zellman to have A.J. released from custody without criminal charges, Tony picks up A.J. at the police station and confronts him. A.J. calls his father a hypocrite because Tony admires Michael Corleone for avenging the attempted murder of his father in "The Godfather". Tony, although initially touched by his son's intentions, tells him that he needs to grow up. Tony also instructs A.J. not to tell Carmela about the incident.

At A.J.'s next night out clubbing, one of Hernan's crew hounds A.J. to get his father to lean on his landlord. Retreating to the restroom, A.J. has a panic attack.

Vito goes back to the diner for more of Jim's johnny cakes. The two patch things up and take a motorcycle ride together that results in a romantic picnic.

Julianna calls Tony with a third offer on the building, which he accepts, and she agrees to let him come to her apartment that evening ostensibly to complete the paperwork. In his bedroom, while Tony is dressing for the encounter, Carmela helps pick out a shirt for him, and assists him in buttoning up his shirt. At Julianna's, after Tony signs the paperwork the two embrace, Julianna starts unbuttoning Tony's shirt. Tony makes her stop and abruptly departs, heading home to Carmela in a rage over his sexual frustration.

Burt and Patsy visit Caputo's Poultry to collect the weekly take. Patsy first misunderstands Caputo as informing the pair that Tony sold the building to the Jews, but then Caputo reiterates that Tony sold the building to Jamba Juice. Outside, Patsy laments, "What the fuck is happening to this neighborhood?"

Title reference

* The episode's title refers to a type of pancake that is a local specialty at a diner frequented by Vito. "Johnny Cakes" also becomes Vito's pet name for Jim.

References to other media

* In a scene where A.J. spends the afternoon being lazy at home (despite asking his mother to wake him at 9 AM), he watches "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on the living room TV, when Carmela walks in to criticise his laziness.

Music

* The song played during the end credits is "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" by Ray Charles.
* The song that is played at the Bada Bing during Julianna and Tony's conversation is "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige.

Production

* The setting for the East Haledon Police Department was filmed at the police headquarters in West Orange, New Jersey. It was filmed in the back of the building to give the look of a more rural and suburban town in Northern New Jersey.