Johnny Sac finds out he only has 3 months to live. Meanwhile, 'Cleaver' premieres and is a hit, while Carmela has mixed emotions about it,...
Plot
John Sacrimoni, known as Johnny Sack, is dying of lung cancer in federal custody and has been transferred to a prison hospital. Tony and several other New Jersey and New York figures visit him. Johnny, who was always meticulous and controlled, is reduced by the disease to something thin and exhausted. He and Tony have a final genuine conversation. Johnny Sack dies in federal custody, having never made it to the retirement he wanted and the freedom he bargained for.
Phil Leotardo is now the official boss of the Lupertazzi family in New York. This transition is significant: Phil is more aggressive, holds older grudges more tightly, and has less of the diplomatic patience that Johnny maintained even while incarcerated. Tony's relationship with New York under Phil is going to be different and more dangerous than what came before. The episode establishes this shift with the matter-of-factness of a weather change that has already happened.
Christopher's horror film 'Cleaver' has been completed and is being screened for a private audience that includes Tony and the crew. The movie is about a mob boss killed by his protege -- the parallels to Tony and Christopher are unmistakable and uncomfortable. Tony watches the screening with a fixed expression, not revealing what he is thinking. Christopher has made a film about killing Tony, and Tony has to decide what to do with that information.
Credits
Written by: Terence Winter
Directed by: Alan Taylor