Isabella (The Sopranos)

"Isabella"
The Sopranos episode
Tony's new neighbor Isabella.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 12
Directed by	Allen Coulter
Written by	Robin Green Mitchell Burgess
Cinematography by	Phil Abraham
Production code	112
Original air date	March 28, 1999 (1999-03-28)
Running time	47 minutes
Episode chronology
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The Sopranos (season 1)
List of episodes

"Isabella" is the 12th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. Written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Allen Coulter, it originally aired on March 28, 1999.

Starring[]

• James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
• Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi
• Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
• Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
• Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr.
• Vincent Pastore as Pussy Bonpensiero *
• Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
• Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
• Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
• Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano

* = credit only

Guest starring[]

Synopsis[]

Tony is deeply depressed after Pussy's unexplained disappearance. He sees a beautiful Italian woman in the Cusamanos' back yard next door. She tells him her name is Isabella and that she is a foreign exchange student staying there while the Cusamanos are away. He takes her out to lunch and she describes the beauty of Avellino, where Tony's grandfather came from. He has a daydream about Isabella in a rocking-chair in a village house, nursing a baby named Antonio.

One day Isabella is no longer there. When the Cusamanos return Tony asks about her and realizes he has been hallucinating. Dr. Melfi instructs him to stop taking lithium, and theorizes that Isabella was an idealized maternal figure.

Mikey, acting through Donnie Paduana, contracts two black gunmen to carry out the hit on Tony. Junior cannot bear to hear the details of the plan when Mikey tries to report.

Chris is concerned about his boss's emotional state and secretly follows him, unknowingly preventing the hit when he pulls his car up next to the assassins'. There is an urgent outdoor meeting between Mikey and Donnie, with Junior hiding in the back seat of Mikey's car. Donnie promises the hit will be the next day and casually remarks that even Tony's mother wants him dead. Junior, fearing the gossip, gestures to Mikey that he should kill Donnie, and he does it.

The next day, the assassins make their move. In a ferocious struggle, one of them is killed and the other is briefly dragged along the street as Tony drives away. Elated, he can't help crashing into a parked car. In the hospital, Tony says that his injuries, only minor, occurred in an attempted carjack, a story that not even A.J. believes. FBI Agent Harris comes to his bed and offers a deal, including immunity from prosecution, which Tony scornfully rejects.

The next day, Livia and Junior call on Tony at home. Livia claims that she doesn't know who Meadow is; Junior later comments on the "good timing" of this apparent memory loss.

Deceased[]

• Donnie Paduana: shot by Mikey Palmice on orders of Uncle Junior.
• William "Petite" Clayborn: accidentally shot by his partner, Rasheen Ray, in the failed attempt on Tony Soprano's life.

Title reference[]

Isabella is the Italian exchange student Tony hallucinates.

Music[]

• The song played at the Bada Bing when Christopher and Silvio discuss Tony's depression is "Ugly Stadium" by Tipsy.
• The song that is played twice during this episode (when Tony is in his bedroom, and again during the "carjacking") is "Tiny Tears" by Tindersticks.
• The song played as the would-be assassins are stalking Tony at the newsstand is "Cry" by Thornetta Davis
• The song that is played briefly after Tony's meeting with Dr. Melfi, when he runs into Isabella, is "Ballad of Tindersticks (instrumental)" also by Tindersticks.
• The song played when Tony and Isabella have lunch is "Milonga del Angel" by Al Di Meola.
• The song played while Mikey kills Donnie Paduana is "Temptation Waits" by Garbage.
• The song played over the end credits is "I Feel Free" by Cream.

Filming locations[]

Listed in order of first appearance:^[1]

• Belleville, New Jersey
• Satin Dolls in Lodi, New Jersey
• North Caldwell, New Jersey
• Montclair, New Jersey
• Greenpoint, Brooklyn
• Van Vleck House in Montclair, New Jersey
• West Orange, New Jersey

Reception[]

Alan Sepinwall has lauded "Isabella" as one of the greatest episodes of The Sopranos.^[2] Emily VanDerWerff found the subplot with the titular character to be outlandish, but still described the episode as featuring "classic scene after classic scene".^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• "Isabella" at HBO
• "Isabella" at IMDb