Ralphie issues his final decision on the fate of Jackie Jr., Anthony Jr. faces military school after getting expelled, Paulie and Ralphie...
Plot
Jackie Aprile Jr. tried to rob a mob card game to establish his credentials. The robbery went wrong: a dealer was killed, and Jackie Jr. fled. The family is now discussing what to do. Tony had hoped Jackie Jr. might simply disappear or be scared away, but the dead dealer makes inaction impossible. Ralph Cifaretto, as capo of the Aprile crew, bears formal responsibility for the decision.
Ralph orders the hit. Eugene Spatafore finds Jackie Jr. hiding in the Boonton projects and shoots him. Meadow is devastated. Tony has to sit across from his daughter knowing exactly what happened and who ordered it and saying nothing at all. He holds her while she cries. It is one of the series' most quietly horrifying scenes. Tony attends the funeral. He and Ralph share a look across the grave site that contains everything that cannot be said.
AJ has failed a test at school and Tony and Carmela briefly consider military school as a disciplinary response. Tony is oddly enthusiastic about the idea; Carmela is opposed. The episode runs the institutional violence the family applies to Jackie Jr. alongside the institutional remedy Tony considers for his own son -- both are expressions of control over young men the older generation cannot quite reach.
Credits
Written by: David Chase, Robin Green, and Mitchell Burgess
Directed by: John Patterson