AllMovie

The final episode of the HBO crime series' first season contains several startling plot twists. After she suffers a disorienting episode, Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand), the manipulative mother of a powerful New Jersey crime boss, is moved to the nursing wing of her retirement home. Her son Tony (James Gandolfini) doesn't want to face the possibility, raised by his therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), that his own mother may have been in on an assassination attempt that nearly took his life. Later, however, the FBI plays tapes of Livia's conversations with Tony's uncle and family rival, Junior (Dominic Chianese), which proves she knew about the attempt and that Junior ordered it. Visiting with Livia, Tony's friend Artie Bucco (John Ventimiglia) discovers Tony's role in the destruction of his restaurant and confronts Tony with a shotgun, but Tony is able to convince his friend that Livia is losing her mind. Tony's cousin and muscle man Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) and Soprano family lieutenant Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico) murder Junior's top soldier, Mikey (Al Sapienza), while he's out jogging. Before Tony can also rub out his uncle, Junior and his men are arrested by the Feds on racketeering charges. Tony informs Dr. Melfi that a gang war could be brewing, putting her life in danger, and that she should leave town for a while. Livia has a stroke, and an incensed Tony confronts her about her role in the attempt on his life as she is wheeled away. "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" first aired on April 4, 1999.