Sopranos Season One, Episode 12 - "Isabella"

Sopranos Season One, Episode 12 - "Isabella"

Ever had one of those days when you don't feel like getting out of bed?

Since Pussy disappeared, Tony's had a string of them. Madonn', this is the most depressed he's ever been. He avoided Carmela and the kids, neglected the business - and as for personal hygiene? Fuhgeddaboutit. Dr. Melfi tried to jump start his system by having him take so much Prozac and Lithium it's practically its own food group; but it still looked like nothing would ever get him up and on his feet again.

Until he saw Isabella.

Isabella was a beautiful young Italian woman staying next door at the Cusamano's. Tony saw her through the window one morning and managed to drag himself out to talk to her. She told him she was an exchange student in dentistry, and when she talked to Tony about the old country, it almost made him shake off his haze. But not quite. Shaking the kind of funk Tony was in was going to take a lot more than some pills and a pretty face. He needed a REAL shock to the system.

Like an attempt on his life.

Junior finally made his move, and when Tony stopped to buy some juice at a newsstand, two young would-be whackers went after him with guns blazing.

But Tony Soprano didn't get where he is today by letting people shoot at him. When the smoke cleared, one of Junior's assassins was dead, and the other was tossed from Tony's Suburban like an empty soda can.

While Tony was in the hospital, Agent Harris of the FBI tried to convince him and Carmela that the hit was a sign they should enter the Witness Protection Program. To Tony it wasn't a sign of anything, but it certainly convinced him that he didn't want to die. In fact, he felt a lot better than he had in weeks.

The same can't be said for Junior and Livia. Since the hit on Tony failed, they know he'll be looking for who's responsible. So they experienced more than a little agita.

And what about Isabella? Turns out she never existed. According to Dr. Melfi, she was a side effect of the Lithium, an expression of Tony's need for a nurturing maternal figure.

If there's anyone who ever needed one, it's Tony Soprano.