Columbus Day ignites tensions between Italians and Native Americans, and Bobby receives devastating news about his wife.
Plot
Columbus Day has arrived and Tony's crew plans to march in the annual Columbus Day parade, as they have for years. A group of Native American activists, led by a man named Del Redclay, stages a counter-protest against the celebration, arguing that Columbus represents genocide and the beginning of colonial destruction. The protest intersects with the parade and generates confrontation.
Tony's crew gets into a brawl with the protesters. The optics are bad: a group of New Jersey wiseguys beating up Native American activists makes the local news in an unflattering way. Tony tries to manage the fallout. Christopher is caught in the middle, nursing a hangover and a bruised ego. The episode is an opportunity for the show to examine ethnic identity and its relationship to violence and belonging -- the Italians see Columbus as cultural heritage, the Native Americans see him as the beginning of a catastrophe.
Janice is causing friction at the Soprano house while she looks for her own place. Tony is constantly at the edge of his patience with her. Carmela has her own conflicts with Janice about the household and about their shared history with Livia. The Columbus Day storyline sits alongside the Soprano family domestic tensions with the show's characteristic refusal to let either element dominate.
Credits
Written by: Michael Imperioli
Directed by: Tim Van Patten