With Uncle Junior still in jail, Tony has taken over the family. He's surprised when Big Pussy returns from hiding in Puerto Rico, but after some hesitation he is welcomed back into the fold. Tony begins settling accounts elsewhere however. Dr. Melfi is seeing her patients in a dingy motel and wants nothing to do with Tony Soprano. This is bad news for him as he's starting to have blackouts again. Meanwhile Christopher is operating a boiler room selling cheap or non-existent stocks to unwary investors but some of the men he has working for him lack the finesse you might normally expect. Tony's sister Janice appears out of the blue after many years absence. He's not pleased when he realizes her plans. Written by garykmcd

Livia plays her guilt games on Janice, saying her children have abandoned her in her time of need. Things don't get better when Anthony Jr. tells her Janice has been talking about a DNR order for her. Tony is upset when he finds that Janice has taken down the For Sale sign in front of their mother's house. Janice says she just wants to change real state agents to save money but Tony doesn't trust her. There are problems at one of Uncle Junior's construction site when a civil rights activist begins protests over the few African-Americans on the work site. Tony sends a message to his uncle via Bobby Baccalieri about who is in charge. For his part, Uncle Junior gets bail but is subject to house arrest and has to wear an electronic bracelet. Uncle Junior has a fall in the shower. Big Pussy has a meeting with someone interesting. Written by garykmcd

Tony gets a call from one of his police sources when they break up a party Meadow had secretly organized at her grandmother's empty house. Tony and Carmella agree that she needs to be punished but Meadow prove to be quite an expert at manipulating them. Jackie Aprile's brother Richie is out of prison after 10 years and he wants things to be like they were before he left. Richie visits Beansie Gaetta, a one-time business associate,and let's him know in no uncertain terms that he's the boss now that he's back. Richie has his eye on Janice, an old high school flame. He even tells Christopher to be careful how he treats his niece Adriana. Dr. Melfi meanwhile meets Tony in a restaurant and embarrasses herself. She tries to talk about her feelings of guilt with her own psychiatrist. Written by garykmcd

Tony, Paulie and Christopher go to Italy to discuss business with their counterparts in his recently acquired (from his Uncle Junior) business in exporting stolen cars. Tony pushes to meet the patriarch of his Italian counterparts but finds the man, Zi Vittorio, to be old and feeble-minded. He's even more surprised however when he realizes who is now in charge. As part of the deal, it's agreed that enforcer Furio Giunta will travel to the US and work for Tony's crew. Back in the US meanwhile, Pussy tells FBI Agent Skip Lipari about the trip and the stolen car business. Pussy's wife Angie isn't necessarily happy that he's back and she shocks Carmella and Rosalie Aprile by saying that she wants a divorce. Written by garykmcd

Now Back from Italy, Tony decides it's time to re-organize. Silvio is named consigliere and Paulie is promoted to Capo, with Pussy and new arrival Furio reporting to him. Pussy's not too happy with the arrangement and complains to his FBI contact about how he's being treated. Tony and Carmella throw a party to introduce Furio but she refuses to let Uncle Junior in the house when he shows up unexpectedly. Tony is none too pleased when he finds that Richie Aprile and his sister Janice are sleeping together at his mother's vacant house. Adriana pays for Christopher to attend an acting for writers class in the hope that it helps him with his screenplay. His emotions get the better of him. Meanwhile, Dr. Melfi recounts her dreams about Tony's to her psychiatrist and still feeling guilty, decides to take Tony back as a patient. Written by garykmcd

An old high school friend of Tony's, David Scatino, talks him into letting him play in a high stakes poker game. David's on a streak of bad luck and he's also in debt to Richie Aprile, who has banned him from his games until he catches up a bit. When Richie sees David at Tony's game there's trouble. David's problems grow when he can't pay Tony back and has no way out but to give him his son's four wheel drive as partial payment. It puts Meadow in an awkward situation. Richie continues to be a problem for Tony who sees him, Janice and his mother together at a family funeral. Janice eggs Richie on adding to the tension with her brother. Written by garykmcd

AJ takes his mother's car out without permission and sideswipes a truck causing considerable damage to her car. He's in a rebellious mood, pushing all of his parents' buttons, threatening not to go through with his confirmation and saying that God is dead. Pussy is AJ's confirmation sponsor and Tony asks him to have a talk with the boy. Pussy however is forced by the FBI to wear a wire to a party at Tony's house to celebrate AJ's confirmation and he is deeply conflicted by the situation he finds himself in. Christopher meanwhile starts hanging around movie people, including Jon Favreau. He's decided he wants to be a player rather than a writer in the movie business but when Tony hears about what he's been up to, Christopher has a choice to make. Written by garykmcd

Meadow is getting anxious about college admission and wants to go to Berkely but Carmella considers taking steps to ensure that won't happen. She asks for her neighbor Jeannie Cusamano's help in getting her sister Joan, who went to Georgetown, for a letter of recommendation. When Joan refuses, Carmella pays her a personal visit. Paulie and Silvio visit Richie Aprile to suggest he help out Beansie by building a ramp for his wheelchair. Christopher is having problems with Adriana who has moved out. He asks her to marry him and gives her a gigantic engagement ring. Christopher has two new guys working for him, Matthew and Sean, but they decide they need to get ahead and try to impress Richie. Richie gives Tony a prized leather jacket that he had taken off a hood many years before, but then sees that he has given it away. Written by garykmcd

Christopher is in hospital after the shooting but goes into cardiac arrest and must undergo emergency surgery. The surgery goes well but the doctor admits that Christopher was clinically dead for about one minute. When he awakens from his surgery, Christopher believes he had a out of body experience and saw his father and uncle playing cards in hell. They tell him that's where he's headed, and when he awakens he's convinced he's going to hell. After Carmella hears that another gangster's girlfriend gave birth, she decides Tony should have vasectomy. Pussy tells his FBI contact that he thinks Tony is onto him so he sets out to find the man who shot Christopher in the hopes that it will bring them closer together Written by garykmcd

A witness saw Tony dispose of Matthew. Pussy meets his FBI contact who tells him Tony was seen. He also suspects that Pussy is the other man who was seen with him. When Tony learns there's an eye witness, Paulie and Furio go into action. Richie Aprile isn't happy with his business arrangement in the garbage business but Tony is unsympathetic. He goes to see Uncle Junior. Tony decides he wants to spend more time with AJ but is disappointed when his son would rather go to the mall with his friends. David Scatino still hasn't paid off Tony and Richie and they are driving him into bankruptcy. He considers putting an end to it all. Carmela meets a handsome home decorator. Written by garykmcd

Tony knows he's dodged a bullet when Christopher's attacker is eliminated and his lawyer suggests he lay low for awhile, maybe actually showing up at Barone waste management where he is supposed to have an office. Sitting behind a desk all day doesn't go over too easily however. He has yet more problems to solve however when he learns that Richie Aprile has at least one of his drivers selling cocaine along his garbage route. Tony orders Richie to stop what he's doing but not surprisingly that doesn't sit well with him. Uncle Junior meanwhile meets the widow of an old friend who would clearly like to spend some time with him. He's embarrassed to tell her that he's under house arrest however. Written by garykmcd

Richie Aprile continues to be a major problem for Tony and now for Uncle Junior as well. Richie knows Junior can't be too happy with the current situation either and pesters him for permission to get rid of his nephew. Junior agrees but quickly realizes that Richie will be a bigger pain than Tony and promptly tells him what Richie has planned. Janice is busy planning her wedding but when an argument erupts at home and Richie hits her, she shows him just what she's prepared to put up with. Tony meanwhile tries to end his relationship with Irina, his Russian girlfriend, but she then tries to make good on her threat to commit suicide if he leaves her. Written by garykmcd

Meadow's graduation is finally at hand and she decides on which college to attend. Tony is having something of a rough time with a severe bout of food poisoning. In his sick bed, he has interesting dreams about those around him. He also finds Pussy's wire so they go fishing along with Sylvio and Paulie. Pussy won't return. Tony is arrested at home when his mother Livia and her sister are stopped at the airport with stolen airline tickets. At Meadow's graduation, Tony has a final chat with David Scatino, the man whose gambling debts to Tony and Richie Aprile led to his ruin. Written by garykmcd