Chris' success earns him some jealousy, Adriana learns the truth about her friend, and Meadow still claims and Jackie Jr.'s death still...
Plot
Tony and Christopher are running a ghost-worker scam at a construction site: employees on the union payroll who do not actually show up, their salaries flowing into the crew. The scam requires maintaining relationships with union officials and building inspectors. Christopher is supposed to manage the day-to-day of the operation but is increasingly unreliable due to his drug use.
Meadow has broken up with Noah Tannenbaum, her Columbia boyfriend. The relationship ended badly enough that she is newly single and somewhat adrift at the season's start. Tony had openly disliked Noah and now feels some private satisfaction he tries not to show. Paulie Gualtieri is developing resentments about his tribute payments to New York, feeling he is paying too much and receiving too little protection in return.
Tony manages Paulie's complaints by listening without promising anything concrete -- a dynamic that has defined their relationship throughout the series. Christopher's drug problem is becoming visible enough that people around him are starting to notice and comment. The season is positioning multiple pressure points that have not yet reached crisis.
Credits
Written by: David Chase and Terence Winter
Directed by: John Patterson