Melfi wants to hear about the young lady. Tony grins and says that she's "drop-dead gorgeous." Melfi's smirk has disappeared. Jealous? Maybe? Tony adds, "Someone like her, I could...I could do it right this time. Start a whole new family. I'm young enough. Fuck 'em all!" I think Tony sees Adriana as a younger, more pliant version of Carmela. Too bad he doesn't know about her infertility. Melfi asks if this is something he's really contemplating. Tony says that it would be "a disaster of major proportions." He's get "hosed financially" by Carmela, and that it would kill Christopher, "after years of grooming him to be [Tony's] number two." ["Hee, 'number two.'" -- Wing Chun] Tony grimaces and says it would also be very bad for Adriana, and that she doesn't deserve that. Tony says he's not stupid, and that part of Adriana's attraction to him is "this father-figure thing, on account of hers ran off." Melfi calls it "an act of symbolic incest." Tony's reaction is much like mine: "Whatever." He wrings his hands and asks what he's going to do, adding that he got lucky the first time because he was able to control himself. Heh. It wasn't so much controlling himself as being interrupted. Melfi scoffs at the idea that Tony can't control himself. Tony thinks that it's different for women. Melfi advises Tony to think about how he will establish limits and boundaries. Like Melfi has with Tony? As an example, Melfi suggests that if Adriana comes on to him, Tony should say that he thinks of her as a daughter. Tony pouts, "Even if I want to fuck her brains out."

Melfi grins that this is "a milestone" and "a very important crossroads," because Tony wants to avoid doing something he knows is wrong and destructive to himself and those he cares about. I think it's more that Tony wants to avoid messing up his business. Notice that his concern for Adriana was third on his list of reasons to avoid the relationship. If Tony thought he could bang her and get away with it, he'd do it in a minute. Melfi concludes, "That's growth. That's progress!" She is way too excited about this. Tony wants to know what he's supposed to do. Melfi says, "I know this is a powerful urge, but if you can't keep it in your pants, you have to stay away from her." Tony grimaces. Melfi hesitates, and then reminds Tony that not long ago, he called Melfi drop-dead gorgeous and said that he had to have her. She adds that even though she turned him down, Tony survived. Tony smiles, "What a horrible fucking job you have. How do you do it?" That sentence is a callback to what Tony said to Carmela earlier when he asked why she would do something that is so difficult. Melfi says that now Tony can choose to "act and create a bed of misery or look at this as a chance to do something good." Tony doesn't seem convinced. Melfi advises Tony to be worthy of Adriana's respect, and to remain her friend and help her. Yeah, that's going to work out well. Tony seems to realize that it won't, but he stays silent.