Carlo disposes of
Fat Dom's head in a sewer drain in
Connecticut, while
Benny blows up
Phil's
wire room. By chance, Phil is walking towards the place with a woman when it explodes, and they are blown onto their backs. At a sit-down mediated by
Little Carmine, Phil and Tony agree to end hostilities. However, things go wrong when Carmine thoughtlessly mentions Phil's murdered brother
Billy; Phil, enraged, insults Tony and Carmine before storming off. Phil then discusses his next step with his
capos Gerry,
Butchie DeConcini, and
Albie Cianflone. When Phil rejects Butchie's suggestion to kill Tony, Butchie suggests picking "
somebody over there." Later, Agent
Harris quietly tells Tony that his sources in the
FBI are saying that someone in
his organization may be in danger of retaliation by the Lupertazzi family. Phil has a
heart attack. At first, Tony finds joy in his misfortune; but later surprises the New York mobsters by visiting Phil at the hospital. Tony shares with Phil the spiritual knowledge that came to him in his
coma; tells him to take his time recovering and enjoy his grandchildren and the good things in life, and says that later there will be enough for everyone. Phil is left emotional by the scene, silently tearing up. Tony completes the
Jamba Juice deal and tries to revive his relationship with
Julianna, only to learn that she is now
Christopher's mistress, having met him at an
AA meeting. The two
relapse into drug use, telling themselves that they can integrate the drugs into their lives. Chris tells Tony and the crew he is seeing a black girl named Kaisha, who he prefers not to introduce to them. Eventually, he tells Tony the truth in order to prevent him from finding out that he is using drugs again. Tony acts indifferent, but to
Dr. Melfi he expresses his anger that his reward for marital fidelity is Chris's relationship with the woman he desired for himself.
Carmela is thinking about
Adriana again because of her
dream in Paris, and because her mother,
Liz La Cerva, has tried to kill herself in despair. Carmela wants Tony to hire a
private investigator to track Adriana down; he tells Silvio to lean on the building inspector so that she can work again on the
spec house. When the stop order is lifted, Carmela immediately realizes that it is Tony's work and thanks him profusely. She throws away the detective agency's business card.
Bobby visits
Junior Soprano at his mental care facility and returns his Christmas gift, an envelope of money, saying he cannot accept it after Junior shot Tony. Junior says that that he is "mounting [his] case" with the help of an ex-lawyer, another patient in the institution. At the construction site,
A.J. meets
Blanca Selgado, a Dominican woman who works in the office; she is 10 years older than him and has a toddler named Hector. On their first date, while they watch television in her apartment, a group of youths begin playing loud music outside, waking Hector. She says her ex-boyfriend used to beat the youths. A.J. resolves the dispute by
bribing them with an expensive mountain bike given by his parents. He and Blanca then have sex. The Baccalieris, DeAngelis, and Moltisantis join the Sopranos at their home for
Christmas Eve, although
Meadow has stayed in
California. A.J. arrives with Blanca and Hector. His parents welcome her but, aside, murmur their reservations. Carmela takes Tony's hand; the Christmas tree is piled high with gifts; Christmas music is playing; almost the entire extended family is gathered, it seems, peacefully. ==First appearances==