The FBI has trouble finding a new informant, so they attempt to bug the Soprano home. Meanwhile, Anthony continues to get into trouble at...
Plot
The FBI is trying to plant a listening device in the Soprano basement. There is a lamp they believe is used as a conversation location, and they need to get inside the house undetected while the family is away. Agent Harris and his team coordinate an elaborate surveillance operation, tracking Tony's every movement and cataloging the daily routines of the entire household to find the right window.
The episode is structured almost entirely from the FBI's point of view, using surveillance footage and radio communication. We watch Tony's life through the lens of federal investigators who know everything about his surface behavior and nothing about what he is actually thinking. Tony drives AJ to school. Tony goes to Satriale's. Tony meets with Silvio. From the outside this is all data.
The operation to plant the bug succeeds. Agents get into the house, locate the lamp, and install the device before the family returns. When Tony comes home and sits in his basement watching television, the FBI listening post a few blocks away registers every word. The irony is that the surveillance captures nothing specific they were hoping for. The FBI has access to Tony's house and still cannot quite reach the truth of him.
Credits
Written by: David Chase
Directed by: Allen Coulter