The Ride (The Sopranos)


"The Ride" is the 74th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's sixth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Alan Taylor, it originally aired on May 7, 2006.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Synopsis

and Phil work out a deal to split the profits from the illicit distribution of multivitamins acquired by Tony's crew. Phil suggests that Johnny be left out of the transaction and Tony agrees.
Chris is tremulously told by his girlfriend, Kelli, that she is pregnant. He is thrilled; they get married and buy a large house.
On their way home from a trip to Pennsylvania, Chris and Tony stop outside a town because Tony needs to urinate. They see two bikers stealing vintage wine from a liquor store. As the bikers go back into the store, Chris and Tony plunder their wine. They speed away and Chris exchanges gunfire with one of the bikers, wounding him. Exhilarated, Tony and Chris celebrate at a restaurant. Chris decides to break his abstinence when Tony toasts his wedding. Later, as they drink more wine from the bottle in the parking lot, they reminisce about good and bad times, including the day when Chris told Tony about Adriana and the Feds. They say they love each other.
On a later night, during the Feast of Elzéar of Sabran, Chris pays Corky for the hit on Rusty, partly in heroin. Chris ends up using heroin with Corky, spending the night in a stupor.
During the annual Feast, Tony's crew have always managed a 5-day street festival for the benefit, Paulie says, of a non-profit foundation. But a new priest has looked into the finances and tells Paulie and Patsy that their donation to the church should be raised from $10,000 to $50,000. When Paulie refuses to pay, he tells them they will not be permitted to display the traditional golden hat which adorns the statue of the saint. Several parishioners notice that the hat is missing, and word begins to spread that Paulie scrimped on the festival. His penny-pinching is blamed for an accident on a teacup ride that leaves several people injured. Little Paulie is left to deal with the police investigation. Janice and her daughter Domenica are on the ride and unhurt, but Janice pretends to develop a neck injury after hearing Meadow's suggestion that the injured should be compensated monetarily. Janice presses Bobby to get the money. Threatening the ride operator, Bobby learns from him that Paulie refused to pay for a repair crew, or for newer, safer rides. In a public confrontation at the feast, Paulie refuses to compensate Bobby. Tension lingers; Tony instructs Paulie to work things out with him.
At the festival Paulie meets Nucci, who says his low spending was not only wrong but sinful; Paulie swears at her and departs, leaving his adoptive mother in tears. At home, he is sleepless. Another source of stress is his fear that he has prostate cancer. Very early the next morning, at the Bada Bing where he has gone for a meeting, he sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. A shaken Paulie visits Nucci at Green Grove that night. He sits quietly next to her on the sofa and they watch The Lawrence Welk Show together.

First appearance