Accomplished character actress
Annabella Sciorra joins the cast of this popular crime series. As Thanksgiving approaches, New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (
James Gandolfini) deals with the fallout of his beating his garbage business subordinate Ralph Cifaretto (
Joe Pantoliano). A violation of the Mafia code, Tony's now obliged to either kill Ralph or apologize, but finds himself loathe to do either -- and instead embarks on a torrid affair with a beautiful but troubled Mercedes Benz dealership sales rep, Gloria Trillo (Sciorra). In the meantime, Tony's daughter Meadow (
Jamie-Lynn Sigler) has begun dating shiftless Jackie Aprile Jr. (
Jason Cerbone), the wannabe gangster son of Tony's one-time boss. While Jackie Jr.'s mother (
Sharon Angela) is thrilled at the union, Tony and his wife Carmela (
Edie Falco) are less enthused about the young man's questionable prospects. The holidays bring resolution to at least one of Tony's problems: when a Soprano family crew boss dies unexpectedly, Tony's able to heal the rift with Ralph by promoting him to captain, a position of authority Cifaretto has long craved. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide