In Camelot


"In Camelot" is the 59th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the seventh of the show's fifth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Steve Buscemi, it originally aired on April 18, 2004.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Synopsis

's Aunt Concetta dies. After the funeral, Tony happens to meet Fran Felstein, his father's longtime goomah, at his father's grave. They continue to meet, and Tony learns more about his father from her. He learns that, pressured by his mother Livia, his father took his childhood dog Tippy away; he gave it to Fran, and it became her son's dog. Fran also remembers Junior who, she says, almost used to stalk her; Junior tells Tony he loved her but was not bold enough to tell her. Fran also tells Tony about a one-time fling with President John F. Kennedy.
Tony and Fran tour a midget car racetrack in New Egypt; she has explained that Tony's father had promised to leave her a share of the racetrack, but that Phil and Hesh Rabkin cheated her out of it. Tony undertakes to collect the money on her behalf and has a sitdown with Phil and Hesh, mediated by Johnny. While Hesh agrees to pay, Phil objects to paying 25%, and delays payment. When Tony spots him in the street, there is a car chase that ends with Phil crashing into a truck. Later, Tony is able to collect $150,000 for Fran.
Junior, with his mental health and memory now improved due to new medication, says he is going stir crazy while still under house arrest. He begins going to every funeral he can, even when he knows the deceased only slightly, just to get out of the house. However, at the funeral of Concetta's husband, who died shortly after his wife, Junior begins crying uncontrollably and has to be helped away by Bobby and Janice. Junior later breaks down in his physician's office when he mentions the lack of purpose in his life.
Christopher begins to spend time with J.T. Dolan, a television screenwriter he met in rehab. The two offer to support one another when they get the urge to use. After he loses a sports bet to J.T., Chris introduces him to the family's high-stakes poker games. J.T. runs up $60,000 in debt and starts missing payments; Chris and Little Paulie go to his apartment and beat him up. J.T. loses some writing jobs, causing him to turn to heroin. Chris then helps direct him back toward rehab.
Tony's friendship with Fran begins to sour as he learns that his father was often with her when he was needed, including the night Livia was hospitalized for a miscarriage; on that occasion, Tony had to lie to his mother to protect his father. Furthermore, Fran starts to openly disparage Livia to Tony and, after claiming she was broke, buys expensive clothes with the money he obtained for her. Dr. Melfi suggests he could have more sympathy for Livia, forgive her, and forget. Tony remains unsympathetic, saying that Livia did make his father give Tippy away. As the episode closes, Tony starts regaling his buddies at the Bada Bing with exaggerated accounts of Fran's involvement with JFK.

First appearances

This episode had five deaths, the most of the series, although they all happened offscreen and none of them were murders.