"Whoever Did This" is the 48th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's fourth season. Written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on November 10, 2002.
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. 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 * Aida Turturro as Janice Soprano Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco Joe Pantoliano as Ralph Cifaretto
* = credit only
Guest starring
Synopsis
Junior is hospitalized with a concussion after a boom mic sends him falling down the courthouse steps. He soon recovers and enjoys his hospital stay as a respite from the RICO trial. Tony recognizes this as a potential advantage and convinces Junior to feign dementia during his competency hearings. He gives a good performance but begins exhibiting actual signs of dementia in private.
Ralphie's 12-year-old son Justin is hit in the chest with an arrow while play-acting The Lord of the Rings with a friend, resulting in significant blood loss and brain damage. While delivering some cash to Tony, Ralphie cries openly. Expressing a desire for some kind of redemption, he meets with Father Phil and establishes a scholarship at Rutgers in Jackie Jr.'s name. Everyone sympathizes with him except Paulie. His mother recently received a traumatic prank phone call, and Paulie correctly suspects that it was from Ralphie, retaliating against him for ratting him out to Johnny.
At the stables, a fire breaks out, apparently caused by faulty electrical wiring. Pie-O-My is badly burned and has to be euthanized. Tony is devastated and immediately suspects Ralphie, later confronting him at his home over the suspicious timing of the fire: the $200,000 insurance pay-out would cover Justin's medical bills. Ralphie vehemently denies the accusation, but their argument escalates into a physical fight, culminating in Tony strangling Ralphie to death. Tony calls Christopher for help; he arrives late and high on heroin. Tony never outright admits to Christopher that he killed Ralphie, and Christopher never expresses outright suspicion. Together, they dismember Ralphie's body in his bathtub with a meat cleaver, and meticulously clean the place before leaving. They bury his severed head, toupee, and hands on a farm; they throw the rest of his body off a cliff into the water below, and into a flooded quarry. After the disposal, they clean up at the Bada Bing, where Tony passes out and wakes up alone the following morning.
Deceased
Pie-O-My: and several other horses: Killed in a stable fire. Cause is deemed accidental by fire marshal. Ralph Cifaretto: beaten and strangled to death by Tony Soprano due to suspicion that he caused the fire that killed Pie-O-My, which Ralph denies, but also due to his murder of Tracee, the 20-year old stripper Ralph kills in "University". His body is then dismembered and decapitated with the help of Christopher Moltisanti.
Title reference
Tony uses the phrase "whoever did this" when discussing with Christopher who exactly was responsible for Ralphie's death. Earlier, he used the phrase in reference to the guilty party responsible for the prank call to Paulie's mother.
Connections to prior episodes
When Tony confronts Ralph about the fire, he asks him about Corky Ianucci. Tony believes Ralph hired him to start the stable fire which killed Pie-O-My. Corky was also apparently used by Silvio to help blow up Vesuvio, the restaurant owned by Artie Bucco, in the pilot episode. When Tony looks in the mirror the morning after killing Ralph, he sees a picture of Tracee, the Bada Bing stripper whom Ralph killed in the episode "University".
Other cultural references
Carmela is seen wearing a Columbia University T-shirt when talking to Tony and her son in the kitchen. After Ralph's murder, Tony and Christopher watch The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) on Ralph's television. Ralph mentions Shamu the whale in a passing reference to Ginny Sacrimoni.