Sopranos Season One, Episode 04 - "Meadowlands"

Sopranos Season One, Episode 04 - "Meadowlands"

Tony hadn't been sleeping well.

He had dreams - not nightmares, exactly, but unsettling just the same. He didn't dream about the ducks; they've been replaced...by Dr. Melfi - a not-completely-dressed Dr. Melfi. And what did this self-respecting capo do when he found himself having racy dreams about his therapist? He had her followed, of course.

Tony called in Vin Makazian - a police detective with a gambling habit - to get information on Jennifer Melfi, but didn't tell him why. So Makazian, assuming Melfi was one of Tony's goomahs, did Tony a "favor" by beating up a guy she was on a date with.

Meanwhile, Christopher, leaving the emergency room after his beating, was frantic. He thought Tony had him mock-whacked for giving Meadow speed, but he's not sure. And when he went to Brendan's place for answers, he found him in the bathtub with a brand new hole in his head. But Tony didn't order the hit, Junior did. And when Tony found out, he made a beeline for the Sit-Tite Luncheonette, where he stapled a parking ticket to Mikey Palmice and confronted his uncle. Junior may be old, but he's not the kind of guy who kowtows to his own nephew. He tells Tony that the next time he comes to see him, "come heavy, or not at all."

After the Sit-Tite incident, Tony decided to resolve his issues with Junior. Over lobsters at the Bada Bing, he and the other capos decide that, with Jackie Aprile in a coma and not long for this world, Tony should take over as Boss. But they also agree that Junior should be allowed to think he's running things. After all, it makes the old loffa happy and gives the rest of them a lightning rod to take the hits from the FBI.

While it seems things are finally falling into place in one family, they're falling apart in the other. When Tony tells Carmela he wants to quit therapy, she tells him she'll leave him if he does. Anthony, Jr. is getting into fights at school, and Meadow complicated things by telling him what their dad really does for a living.