"From Where to Eternity" is the 9th episode of Season 2 of the HBO original series The Sopranos. it is the 22nd overall episode in the series. It was written by Michael Imperioli, directed by Henry J. Bronchtein and originally aired on March 12, 2000.
episode recap
- 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 Big 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
- Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva
- David Proval as Richie Aprile
- Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano
- and Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano *
* = credit only
Guest starring
- Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
Also guest starring
- Peter Bogdanovich as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
- Lillo Brancato, Jr. as Matt Bevilaqua
- Louis Lombardi as Skip Lipari
- Brian Aguiar as Jimmy
- Seth Barrish as Doctor
- Michael Cannis as Detective #2
- Tom Cappadona as Daniel King
- Nancy Cassaro as Joanne Moltisanti
- Scottie Epstein as Quickie G
- John Christopher Jones as Kevin Cullen
- Peter McRobbie as Father Felix
- Judy Reyes as Michelle
- James Sioutis as Detective #1
- Lisa Valens as Felicia Anne
- Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante
- Gameela Wright as Nurse
episode cast
With friends and family by his side, Christopher Moltisanti clings to life in a hospital ICU. During the night, his heart stops and the doctors attempt to resuscitate him. He is pronounced clinically dead for over a minute, but the doctors manage to revive him. Fearing for his life, Carmela Soprano finds an empty hospital room and admits to Jesus that the members of the family have entered their occupations with eyes open but prays that Christopher will recover and "see the light". When he is conscious, he asks to see Paulie Walnuts and Tony Soprano and tells them of a trip he made to hell, where he saw Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice in an Irish bar and they had a message for Tony and Paulie: "Three o'clock."
Tony dismisses Christopher's story, but Paulie becomes obsessed with the message. Paulie is awakened nightly at 3:00 a.m. with nightmares that wake his girlfriend's children. At the suggestion of his girlfriend, he eventually seeks the help of a psychic, who claims to see the spirits of the men Paulie killed following him. Believing his donations to a church should have prevented him from being haunted, Paulie takes out his frustration on a chain-smoking priest, telling him he feels that the Church has forsaken him and that he won't be giving any more donations. Eventually, Paulie consoles Christopher with the idea that what he saw was purgatory, instead of hell.
Meanwhile, Carmela learns from Gabriella Dante that an associate in the Soprano family, Ralphie Rotaldo, just had a baby with his longtime Brazilian comàre. Carmela tells Tony this and asks that he have a vasectomy so that he will not bring shame to the family, since she knows that he still sees women on the side. Tony tries to shake off the accusation, since he allegedly broke up with his girlfriend months ago. Carmela then reminds him of the shame that a "bastard-child" would do to the family. Tony does not feel like listening, which causes Carmela to take a pillow from the bed and sleep downstairs. Adding to Carmela's frustration is the fact that Tony lied to her about Christopher's trip to the afterlife, telling her that Christopher had been in heaven while Christopher admitted to her to being in hell. Also, a problem arises when Tony criticizes his "only male heir", his son A.J., after he spills food on the floor accidentally. Soon after, Tony apologizes to A.J. and makes amends. Tony agrees to have his vasectomy if Carmela still wants it. Carmela says "No", but what she wants him to be is pure and "to be hers". They then make love.
Big Pussy Bonpensiero is afraid that Tony knows he has been working with the FBI, so at the advice of his FBI contact, Pussy tries to "make Tony love him again." Pussy tries to regain his trust by hunting down Matthew Bevilaqua, who was responsible for Christopher's shooting. When he gets the information as to his whereabout—Hacklebarney State Park in Chester, New Jersey—Pussy calls Tony and the two execute Matt, riddling his body with bullets.
After the killing, the two go to a steakhouse where Pussy first took Tony after he committed his first murder. They tell jokes and reminisce, noting how long it has been since they first started working together. Tony asks Pussy if he believes in God, to which he responds that he does, and that He has been very grateful to him. Tony agrees, and the two toast.