Tony starts having flashbacks about Pussy's betrayal, and then later discovers that Jackie Jr. has been failing in his responsibilities.
Plot
The Christmas episode revisits Big Pussy's absence. The crew is doing its annual Secret Santa exchange at the Bada Bing. Bobby Baccalieri's father-in-law ran the tradition for years, and without him the ritual is awkward and a little sad. Tony, Paulie, and Silvio talk around past Christmases with Pussy, circling the reality of what happened to him. Paulie in particular is haunted.
Flashbacks show Pussy's earlier days as an FBI informant, revealing how the relationship with his handler developed and what it cost him emotionally. Pussy was never comfortable as a rat. The flashbacks humanize him without excusing what he did. Tony in the present does not openly grieve, but the episode creates space around him where grief might be.
Janice is holding Christmas at Livia's old house, which she has taken over. The family gathering there feels wrong -- Livia's furniture, Livia's kitchen, Livia's house, but none of Livia's specific gravitational pull. Janice tries to be a center that does not quite hold. Artie Bucco's new Vesuvio is doing reasonably well, and Tony gives him genuine good wishes at the restaurant's Christmas service.
Credits
Written by: Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
Directed by: Jack Bender