History Recap / TheSopranosS3E5AnotherToothpick

'''Uncle Unior''': This Sally's a tough kid, Bobby, what if things don't go your way?\\

* {{Determinator}}: Bacala Sr. kills Mustang Sally and his friend while coughing his lungs out.

* DirtyCoward: When he finds out that Bryan is the brother of a mobster, Mustang Sally goes into hiding and starts looking for a pass.

-->'''Uncle Junior''': This is an outrage! He can't have you clip someone in this condition!
-->'''Bobby Sr.''': Junior, I wanna do it. Eight years sitting on my ass. It'll feel good feeling useful for a change.
-->'''Uncle Unior''': This Sally's a tough kid, Bobby, what if things don't go your way?
-->'''Bobby Sr.''': If they don't, they don't. What the fuck? I'm dead anyway.
* {{Determinator}}: Bacala Sr. kills two men while coughing his lungs out.

** Officer Wilmore suffers a PunishmentDetail for doing his job by the book and giving Tony the speeding ticket.
** Chris almost stabs Artie in the eye with a fork for making lustful comments about his girlfriend and would have done so if Tony didn't intervene.

** Johnny Sack tries to discuss Bobby Sr. being assigned the hit job on Mustang Sally with Tony. And that leads Tony to become visibly upset over Sack bringing up information that was supposed to stay in the Jersey family. Paulie immediately asserts that [[NotMeThisTime Sack never learned of it from him.]] That's true in this instance. The future will be a quite different story.

---> '''Bobby''': I'm worried about my father - he can't do this! He's been retired seven years!
---> '''Junior''': What's this we're in, the Navy?

---> '''Junior''': You choose this life, it comes with responsibility. No one knows that better than your old man.

* StandardEvilEmpireHierarchy: Tony does his best to support Gigi as captain, and against challenges from either Ralph or Johnny Sack, in order to preserve the structure of the DiMeo crime family.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: It turns out that being a violent, temperamental jerkass who brutally attacks the family of made men is not going to endear you to others or give you a long life expectancy, especially if you bring nothing else to the table and are only tolerated because of a parent who is long dead, as Mustang Sally finds out the hard way.

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: An unusual example, as Bobby Sr. went out as a DeadManHonking. But many fans of the show consider him as getting one, as it was still on the heels of him taking out an absolute HateSink of a character in Mustang Sally. The fact that he did it as a much older, coughing mess and pulled it off even after he lost the element of surprise adds to this.

* AssholeVictim: Nobody still alive in-universe is going to shed a tear or miss Mustang Sally in any way.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: Charmaine's refusal to cooperate with Artie's desires to branch out with the help of Tony is that it will turn the restaurant into a front for the Jersey mob.

* {{Revenge}}: Vito, Bryan's brother and a made man, demands it. The rest of the DiMeo mob concur. Bobby Sr. delivers it to Mustang Sally.

* {{Revenge}}: Vito, Bryan's brother, and a made man demands it. The rest of the Jersey mob concurs. Bobby Sr. delivers it to Mustang Sally.

* {{Revenge}}: Vito, Bryan's brother, and a made man demand it. The rest of the Jersey mob concurs. Bobby Sr. delivers it to Mustang Sally.

* InLoveWithTheGangstersGirl: Artie towards Adriana.

* FlatWhat: The FBI's (and likely the audience's) reaction to learning that the bugged lamp had been "neutralized."

* TheDreaded: Bobby Bacala Sr. was one of the most feared hitmen/enforcers in the mob, with even Tony referring to him as [[''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' "The Terminator"]] with awe and respect.

* AlasPoorVillain: As awful a man as Baccala is, seeing this reportedly “proud man” and feared mob enforcer reduced to a walking asthma attack who can barely stand up can be pretty upsetting.

* DeadManHonking: Bobby is suffering from an IncurableCoughOfDeath as he's driving away from the hit on Mustang Sally. He loses hold of his ventilator, passes out, and falls face-first into his horn. The car crashes with the horn on full blare. The scene concludes with a now very dead Bobby Sr. in the driver's seat.

* HairTriggerTemper: Mustang Sally. He makes even the likes of Tony, Paulie and Chris look downright zen by comparison. The whole plot is kicked off by his intense jealousy and anger leading him to brutally attack Vito's brother Bryan just for talking to his girlfriend and he's mentioned as having seriously injured and possibly even killed a hot dog vendor just for putting to many onions on a dog.

* AffablyEvil: Bobby Sr. can engage in banter with his son and friends, then gleefully enjoy sadistically murdering his targets the next moment. He also has a reputation as the "Terminator" for the mob.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: It turns out that being a violent, temperamental jerkass is not going to endear you to others or give you a long life expectancy, especially if you bring nothing else to the table, as Mustang Sally finds out the hard way.

* {{Jerkass}}: Mustang Sally. Sweet Christ on a cracker, Mustang Sally. He puts poor Bryan Spatafore in a coma without provocation and has the nerve to crack a joke about the situation ''after'' he gets a "pass" from Bacala Sr.

** Both Uncle Junior and Bobby think it was really callous of Tony to send the aging and painfully ill Bobby Sr. on the job to take out Mustang Sally. [[UpToEleven More so]] after their worst fears are realized.

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Bobby Sr. has spent the whole episode coughing and wheezing from his lung cancer. It goes UpToEleven when he's driving away from the house where he took out Mustang Sally and his friend. Any lingering doubts of how it will play out vanish when he loses hold of his ventilator and passes out.

** He's the connection that helps Tony [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections get out of the speeding ticket]], and precipitates the PunishmentDetail for Officer Wilmore.

** Mustang Sally irrationally jumps to the conclusion that Bryan is taking an interest in his girlfriend, despite comments from Bryan himself indicating that he clearly wasn't. So Sally takes a golf club to his head, and taunts him for wanting to do the girlfriend.
** Chris blows up at Artie, and threatens to stick a fork [[EyeScream in his eye]], when Artie drunkenly taunts him over Adriana.
* DeadManHonking: Bobby is suffering from an IncurableCoughOfDeath as he's driving away from the hit on Mustang Sally. He loses hold of his ventilator, passes out and falls face first into his horn. The car crashes with the horn on full blare. The scene concludes with a now very dead Bobby Sr. in the driver seat.

* HateSink: Salvatore "Mustang Sally" Intile, as expected from a psychopathic DomesticAbuser. Ralph says that Salvatore threw a hot dog vendor off the second floor mezzanine at Giants Stadium for serving too many onions on his hot dog. He is callous and has a morbid sense of humor, joking about the attack on Bryan Spatafore.

** The first instance overlaps with SelfFulfillingProphecy since Artie hasn't yet directly communicated his desires to Adriana. Tony's laughter when Artie admits to having a thing for Adriana suggests that he thinks Adriana is clearly out of Artie's league. Artie's drunken behaviour suggests that he agrees.

* IHaveToWashMyHair: Or rather, "I have to go the Ladies' room" is the excuse Adriana uses to get out of the dinner with Artie.

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Bobby Sr. has spent the whole episode coughing and wheezing from his lung cancer. It goes UpToEleven when he's driving away from the house where he took out Mustang Sally and his friend. Any lingering doubts of how it will play out vanish when he loses hold of his ventilator and he passes out.

* {{Jerkass}}: Mustang Sally. Sweet Christ on a cracker, Mustang Sally. He puts poor Bryan Spatafore in a coma without provocation, and has the nerve to crack a joke about the situation ''after'' he gets a "pass" from Bacala Sr.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Subverted. Bobby Sr. makes it obvious he has nothing but contempt for his godson, Mustang Sally, and looks forward to taking him out. The only reason he ever agreed to becoming godfather was because Sally's father asked it of him as a favor.

* PetTheDog: When Tony finds out Ronald Zellman got the African-American cop who issued Tony a ticket demoted and denied overtime (forcing him to get a demeaning part-time customer service job), Tony feels bad and attempts (poorly) to get Zellman to reconsider the decision. It also turns out the cop may be suffering depression similar to Tony’s. Subverted in that, because of an argument with Meadow about racism, Tony allows Zellman to squash the cop’s attempts to have a black officers’ group to investigate his case, purely out of spite. Finally, Tony, once again out of guilt, tries to give the cop an enormous tip under-the-table at his part-time job, only for him to refuse out of disgust. He also prevents Chris from assaulting Artie.

** Mustang Sally calls Bryan "fat piece of shit" after bashing his head in with a golf club.

* {{Revenge}}: Vito, Bryan's brother and a made man, demands it. The rest of the Jersey mob concurs. Bobby Sr. delivers it to Mustang Sally.
* RuleOfThree: Junior believed that he would avoid his death by cancer if three of his associated would die from it first: Jackie Aprile, Uncle Febby and Bobby Sr.

** Tony first plays this by flashing a business card meant to suggest to the ticketing officer that he has connections with [[CorruptCop higher ups in the police force]]. It doesn't work.
** His subsequent attempt works. His call to Assemblyman Zellman not only results in his ticket getting cancelled, but also a PunishmentDetail for Officer Wilmore.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: The bugged lamp, after a whole episode chronicling its planting in the Soprano basement, is neutrilized when Meadow takes it to college.

* StupidEvil / TooDumbToLive: Mustang Sally is so impulsively violent and hostile that he makes even the likes of Christopher look like devious bastards by comparison. He beats up Bryan Spatafore in a public place in broad daylight without provocation while there are several bystanders around who could easily write down his register plate (he even assaults him without considering the possibility of Bryan being related to a mobster). Surprisingly, he gets off the hook due to the bystanders being too afraid to get closer. Next, his godfather who is feared by his status as a brutal hitman for the mafia, talks with him about the aforementioned attack and seemingly gives him a pass - before turning his back at him and making himself more vulnerable to an assassination. With these traits it's surprising that Sally didn't get himself killed much earlier.
* SuperstitionEpisode: Uncle Junior reveals yet another reason he didn't want Bobby Sr. on the hit job. Cancer "comes in threes". Junior was hoping Bobby Sr. would be the third cancer death, so that he could avoid death by the stomach cancer he now has. Tony's angry reaction mixes OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions with an implicit accusation to Uncle Junior of being [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]].
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: It turns out being a violent, tempermental jerkass is not going to endear you to others or give you a long-life expectancy, especially if you bring nothing else to the table, as Mustang Sally finds out the hard way.
* TemptingFate: Artie revealing to high-ranking made guy Chris that he has a thing for Adriana, along with a veiled threat that he could [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink poison him]], clearly qualifies.

** Bobby Sr. knows that [[TheTopicOfCancer lung cancer]] isn't going to leave him long for this world, and that knowledge fuels his actions in this episode.

'''Season 3, Episode 05'''
!Another Toothpick

Tony and Carmela attend their first therapy session with Dr. Melfi. During it, Carmela is bothered by Tony and Melfi's rapport and apparent criticism of her, feeling ganged-up on. This leads to an argument, and Melfi can only offer that she sees they are both very angry. While Carmela and Tony drive home she complains about the session, and Tony loses his temper, not realizing he has surpassed the speed limit. He is pulled over by Officer Leon Wilmore. Tony attempts first to charm, then bribe his way out of the ticket, but Wilmore proves an upstanding ByTheBookCop, who rebuffs Tony's attempts at acting as if he is above the law, and a visibly fuming Tony eventually gives in and lets the traffic cop write him up a speeding ticket. Angry over the encounter, Tony calls up corrupt Assemblyman Ronald Zellman, who is in his pocket, and has the ticket voided.

A small-time goon named Mustang Sally has a fight with his girlfriend near a pair of contractors. When Sally's girlfriend approaches one of the contractors asking for a ride, Sally violently assaults the man, cracking his skull open with a golf club. Unbeknownst to Sally, the victim is Bryan Spatafore - brother of Vito, a member of the Aprile crew. As the crew sit with Vito and a comatose Bryan at the hospital, Tony arrives to make sure a plan is in motion. Gigi, head of the crew, resolves to have Mustang Sally killed. Jackie Jr. volunteers, but is quickly shut down and chastised by Tony for associating with made men. Ralph Cifaretto volunteers as well, but is also shown to be disrespectful to Bryan, Vito and Gigi, cracking jokes and taking Gigi lightly when he orders him to stop.

Tony and Meadow remain antagonistic regarding his racism, a conflict reignited when Tony learns Meadow's bike was stolen and tauntingly speculates as to who could have done it. Meadow leaves and returns to college, taking the bugged lamp with her and unceremoniously putting an end to the FBI operation. While shopping at a pottery store, Tony runs into Officer Wilmore. Amused by this, Tony taunts him and learns that after the incident with the ticket Wilmore was transferred to the property office, losing his overtime and forcing him to work a second job. Tony is a bit remorseful, and calls Zellman asking about it. Zellman reveals some details of Wilmore's transfer, explaining that he had a temper problem and possibly depression. Tony seems troubled, but when Zellman offers to quash the investigation into Wilmore he refuses, saying Wilmore "got what he deserved".

Tony offers to go into business with Artie, combining the Satriale's and Vesuvio's businesses. Artie is open to the idea but Charmaine quickly shuts it down, pointing out the obvious dangers of going into business with a mobster. They argue in the middle of the restaurant in front of many patrons, and when Artie asks mockingly if Charmaine will divorce him, she announces that their marriage is over. Following this, Artie gets a single ear piercing and asks Adriana to share a "farewell dinner" with him. As Artie becomes increasingly physical during the dinner, Adriana realizes what's going on and quickly excuses herself.

Bacala Sr. carries out the hit against Mustang Sally. He enters the home under the guise of informing Sally that he got him out of trouble with the mob, then attempts to shoot Sally from behind while at the sink. Sally's friend unexpectedly enters the room, leading to a violent scuffle. Robert manages to kill Sally along with his friend, but has a severe coughing fit from the physical exertion of wrestling with Sally. He drives away from the hit still coughing and covered in blood. After dropping his inhaler and attempting to recover it, he loses consciousness and drives into a billboard, leaving him dead at the wheel.