For All Debts Public and Private  (Episode 40)

As the new season opens, the overarching sentiment in both Tony's families is: there must be more money. Tony still meets with Junior in Dr. Schreck's office and lately the old boss' main preoccupation - aside from flirting shamelessly with Schreck's comely new nurse - is his growing stack of legal bills. Junior's trial is fast approaching and by his estimate, it's going to cost a million dollars to keep from spending the rest of his life in an orange jumpsuit. "We need to change our arrangement," he tells his nephew. But Tony has a different take on the situation. Junior's financial problems are of his own making, and Tony's advice to his uncle is to reorganize and "get your shy running right."

No Show  (Episode 41)

Tony's finding out that his plan to protect himself by shunting more responsibility to Christopher, while sound in theory, lacks something in the execution. The problems start when Tony decides that while Paulie is in stir, the Gualtieri crew needs an interim capo. Everyone agrees that this is a good idea, until Silvio announces that the guy getting the bump is going to be Christopher - not Patsy Parisi, who has seniority, or Little Paulie Germani, who is Paulie's nephew. Blissfully oblivious to the mood of his new subordinates, Christopher jokingly tells Silvio, "The first thing I'm doing is getting wings in my hair." But Silvio, who sees his place within Tony's inner circle being usurped, is not amused. Neither is Paulie; since he went to jail, nobody's been to visit his mother.

Christopher  (Episode 42)

It's October and at long last, time for opening arguments in the case of the United States v. Corrado John Soprano. But even though it's the first Soprano family trial in sixteen years and Junior could very well be sent away for the rest of his life, Tony's crew is preoccupied with charges being leveled against another Italian: Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day is only days away and the New Jersey Council of Indian Affairs is planning to disrupt the annual parade. At Satriale's, the feeling is unanimous: indignation at the Native Americans' effrontery. Silvio pretty much speaks for everybody -- even Furio, who dislikes Columbus because he was northern Italian -- when he asserts, "Ultimately, it's anti-Italian discrimination, " he says, "Columbus Day is a day of Italian pride, it's our holiday, and they want to take it away."

The Weight  (Episode 43)

Forget the Feds. Never mind marital problems, Meadow's meltdowns and Junior's RICO trial. Right now, the biggest problem facing Tony is . . . Ginny Sack's rear end. Not literally, but Ralph's now--nfamous remark about Ginny's weight* has created a situation that could have the direst of consequences.

Pie-O-My  (Episode 44)

Tony Soprano...horse whisperer? As unlikely as it may seem, when Ralph buys a filly named "Pie-O-My," Tony discovers he has a knack for horseracing strategy. At the track to see Ralph's new acquisition, Tony off-handedly suggests that the jockey hold Pie-O-My - normally a frontrunner - back with the pack, in order to "keep something for the finish." Although the trainer rejects Tony's strategy, it turns out to be the winning one: Pie-O-My is bumped by another horse leaving the gate and comes from behind to win. Ralph, flush with good will and forty G's in winnings, insists on giving Tony a taste. "Fluke...whatever the fuck," Ralph tells him, "She ran your race, you called it." Although Tony's gratified to have the cash, for him the greater thrill is simply being around Pie-O-My. He's smitten with her; he hollers encouragement when she races and his tough-guy demeanor softens whenever he strokes her muzzle.

Everybody Hurts  (Episode 45)

Christopher's at home, on the sofa - and on the nod - when he gets a call from Tony. He wants to see Christopher right away, which gives him all of twenty minutes to put down the syringe and get himself straight. When he shows up at the rendezvous point, both Tony and Furio notice that he's more than a little under the influence. "You been drinking?" Tony asks. Christopher tells him that he and Adriana had "a little wine" that evening, an explanation that Tony seems to accept. Then he gets down to business. "More and more I'm gonna be givin' my orders through you," he tells Christopher. Although one of the other guys might seem like a logical successor, they all have one insurmountable drawback: they're not blood. So Tony tells his heroin addict heir apparent, "You're gonna take this family into the 21st century."

Watching Too Much Television  (Episode 46)

After four months as a guest of the Ohio State Correctional System, Paulie is once again a free man. As custom dictates, Tony and the guys throw him a "welcome home" party at the Bing, replete with booze, women and some cash to get him back on his feet. In addition to the regulars, Brian Cammarata is in attendance, enjoying the festivities so much that the following morning he wakes up on the stage, sans pants. Brian accompanies Ralph and Tony to breakfast, where Ralph asks the young financial adviser for investment tips. Brian lays out a way to use bogus real estate deals to con money out of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, but he's not serious about pursuing it.

Mergers and Acquisitions  (Episode 47)

By his own admission, Tony may not be the most moral man on earth, " . . . but I do have rules." And one of those rules is that you don't move in on another guy's goomara. So when he and Valentina La Paz, Ralph's latest, discover a mutual attraction, Tony makes it clear it can't go anywhere - well, anywhere beyond the hotel room where they've already spent an afternoon together. Besides, Tony tells her, "I don't like to go where Ralph Cifaretto has been." It's then that Valentina tells Tony something very unsettling about Ralph: he doesn't have sex - not as Tony defines it - with women. Creeped out but curious, Tony consults Janice. For three thousand dollars she confirms that Ralph doesn't have regular intercourse and "can't even get a hard-on unless he's in some kind of pain." So according to Tony's rules, Valentina is fair game.

Whoever Did This  (Episode 48)

Junior was having a rough day. His trial went overtime, so he missed the Early Bird Special. Then, while hurrying through a swarm of reporters, he was hit on the head by a boom mike and sent tumbling down the courthouse steps. But that knock on the head may turn out to be a golden opportunity: his attorney decides to use it to get the charges against him dismissed, via a claim of reduced mental capacity. As Tony puts it, all Junior has to do is "act oobatz" and his legal problems will be over.

The Strong, Silent Type  (Episode 49)

Where is Ralph Cifaretto? If there were a "New Jersey Wiseguy's FAQ," that's the question that would top it. Ralph hasn't been seen in days - not even at the hospital, where his son is still on a respirator - and not everybody's convinced that Tony's as equally in the dark as they are. In fact, while sharing a meal with Silvio and Patsy, Albert Barese dares to say out loud what the others won't: "What next? We get clipped for wearing the wrong shoes?"