The Test Dream - Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

After having just slept together, Tony's girlfriend Valentina catches the sleeve of her kimono on fire while making Egg Beaters for Tony in her apartment. After Tony spends time with her in a hospital burn unit (with a delirious Valentina thinking he is a surgeon), he drops in on Tony B., at his mother's house. Although Tony senses something is wrong with his cousin, he does not know that Tony B. had just learned about the murder of his old prison friend and cell mate, Angelo Garepe.

Angelo had picked up a toy car at Costco for his grandson and was returning home with it when Phil and Billy Leotardo flag him down, they lie to him saying that Johnny Sack wanted to see him immediately, when he turns around and walks back to his car, they grab him and throw him into the trunk of Phil's car, and shoot him in the head. After Tony checks himself into the Plaza Hotel in New York City, and nearly runs into his therapist Dr. Melfi, he hears about the murder from Silvio and tries to call Tony B. His cousin does not answer his cellphone and Tony is worried about how he might handle the news of Angelo's death.

That evening Tony calls Charmaine Bucco, earlier admitting to Tony B. his attraction to her. When she answers he does not speak, and she hangs up after asking the anonymous caller to stop calling, suggesting that Tony has called her more than once. After seeing an advert for an escort agency on television he calls for an Asian girl. Afterwards, Tony goes to sleep and has a dream, which lasts the majority of the last half of the episode, involving people who have made an impact on his life. This dream is the most vivid and detailed dream yet in the series, full of ideas, symbolism and imagery, with characters both living and dead. In the beginning of the dream, he awakens next to the deceased Carmine Lupertazzi who tells Tony how lonely he is on "the other side" and how he misses his wife. Tony then receives a phone call and is told by the voice that he needs to kill somebody. Next, Tony is sitting in Dr. Melfi's office, but instead of Dr. Melfi, he is counseled by his deceased ex-comàre Gloria Trillo who talks about their toxic relationship and how she died too young to have children of her own. She then points to a television set in the corner and says, "Are you ready for what you have to do?" Tony then finds himself riding in the backseat of his father's 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, being driven by his long deceased father Johnny Boy Soprano; also in the car are several deceased characters who have either died by his hand or on his orders, including Big Pussy Bonpensiero and Mikey Palmice. When Tony looks at Mikey and tells him he knows he's dreaming, Mikey replies simply, "I got no opinion. One way or the other." Mikey briefly turns into Artie Bucco who simply looks at Tony and asks, "What?" When Tony asks where they are going, Pussy - who has now turned into Ralph Cifaretto - turns around and says, "We're driving you to the job." as they pull up to Tony's former house.

The next segment of his dream involves him waking up at home and getting ready to go to dinner to meet Finn's parents at Nuovo Vesuvio, and Tony distractedly watching clips from several films on the kitchen television, including Chinatown and A Christmas Carol. When they finally arrive, Finn's father is actually Detective Vin Makazian, who committed suicide in the first season, but is seemingly Finn's father in the dream. Annette Bening, who plays herself, has taken the role of Finn's mother in the dream. Finn occasionally turns into A.J. during the course of the dinner, whenever they discuss their disappointment with Finn. Next, Tony's teeth also start to fall out spontaneously. After some symbolic interaction between everyone, Tony and Finn's father go to the restroom. When Tony enters the bathroom stall, he reaches behind the vintage style toilet tank looking for a gun which is not there, an allusion to the The Godfather. Vin then asks Tony, "Are you gonna be able to come through on the thing?" Tony replies, "I did my homework," reaches into his pocket, and takes out a paperback copy of The Valachi Papers. Then, Tony hears shots firing outside and sees Tony B. shooting Phil Leotardo in his car. A bystander shouts, "Why didn't you stop him?" He says he doesn't have a weapon but the crowd bears down on Tony, suddenly day turns into night and he starts running from an angry mob, including Annette Bening (who was blatantly identified by Gloria Trillo, now apparently a reporter) and Carmela; some of the mob wearing period German clothing and carrying torches and pitchforks, a la Frankenstein.

Tony runs down a long, dark alleyway, and Lee Harvey Oswald shoots at him with a high-powered rifle from a third floor window. At the end of the alley an ominous black SUV is idling, playing rap music. Suddenly Artie Bucco pops out of a nearby door, and he and Tony escape together, again in his fathers old car, this time with Artie driving. Tony looks in the backseat and sees the deceased Richie Aprile and Gigi Cestone, two former Aprile Crew capos who had met their demise shortly after taking control of the "cursed" crew. Tony is then suddenly having wild sex with Artie's wife Charmaine Bucco, who is sucking Tony's thumb and is kinkily dressed in black silk lingerie while Artie oddly coaches him along; it is another ironic symbol in the dream because she and Tony slept together back in high school while Tony was still dating Carmela. Artie then tells Tony that "she likes it when you rub her muzzle," after which the dream jumps suddenly to Tony then appearing in his living room mounted on top of Pie-O-My, the ill-fated racehorse that was put to sleep after being severely burnt in a barn fire, and Tony is rubbing her neck. He tells Carmela he wants to move back in. Carmela replies by repeating her response when A.J. asked to move back home: "There are some non-negotiable conditions." In this case, the horse can no longer stay in the house since Tony never cleans up after it, in this case the horse represents his girlfriends and mistresses and how, if he and Carmela reconcile, they can no longer affect her or the family's lives.

Several of the characters in his dream eventually make it clear that Tony's job is to kill his cousin to prevent Tony B. from starting a war between Tony's family and Johnny Sack's crew. Tony's last encounter in his dream is at his former high school from the football coach, Coach Molinaro. The coach criticizes Tony, pointing out how Tony had "all the perquisites to lead young men on to the field of sport" and how he didn't have to be a criminal and live with all the stress and guilt that comes from that. When Tony has enough and tries to shoot Molinaro, his gun malfunctions and the bullet seemingly melt in his hands, the coach continues to taunt him about not being prepared until Tony awakens with a start.

Shortly afterward, Tony receives a visit from Christopher, who informs him that Tony B. indeed went after the Leotardo brothers. He killed Billy and wounded Phil. Later, Tony calls Carmela and talks to her while waiting for the sun to rise. They joke with each other and Tony tells her he had "one of Coach Molinaro dreams." Carmela guesses that the coach gave him his usual advice.