Who Was Julianna Skiff? Christopher's Last Temptation
Mobsters DailyJulianna Skiff is the real-estate developer and recovering addict, played by Julianna Margulies, who becomes Christopher Moltisanti's last temptation in season six of The Sopranos — the woman he relapses with in 'Kaisha,' after Tony has already tried and failed to claim her for himself. She appears in only a handful of episodes, and she detonates in all of them: every man who meets her wants something from her, and what she wants is the next drink she is not supposed to have.
The deal, and the double pursuit
Julianna enters as business: a polished developer negotiating to buy a Soprano-controlled building for a juice franchise, unimpressed by Tony's money and less impressed by his charm. Tony, mid-slump in his marriage and his appetites, pursues her and is refused — a rejection he files away with visible bitterness. Christopher meets her in the rooms, at the recovery meetings both are white-knuckling through, and there the chemistry is instant and terrible: two addicts who recognize in each other the permission each has been denying himself. The machinery of Christopher's addiction across the series is traced in watch: Christopher Moltisanti, Tony's heir and biggest failure.
Julianna is the only prize Tony and Christopher ever fight over in whispers — which is why, with November here and the holidays coming, rewatch season belongs to the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater: Tony in black-and-white stencil, nothing covering the design, built for holiday parties and long nights back in this world.
'Kaisha' and the relapse
The season six episode 'Kaisha' brings it to a head: Christopher and Julianna fall off together, drinking and using in a spiral Christopher hides from Tony — knowing exactly whose girl Tony believes she was supposed to be. When Tony learns the truth, his fury is out of all proportion to any business betrayal; it is the fury of a man watching his heir enjoy the one indulgence he was denied, and it curdles their relationship for good, feeding the contempt that ends where why Tony killed Christopher begins. Julianna herself slips out of the story as addicts in the show do — no grand exit, just absence — while the damage she represented keeps compounding. Margulies, fresh off ER and playing against every trace of TV-doctor warmth, makes her the show's most efficient late-arriving character: a mirror held up to two Sopranos, in which both of them look like exactly what they are.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Julianna Skiff? Julianna Margulies, in a guest arc in season six after her long run on ER.
In which episode do Christopher and Julianna relapse? 'Kaisha,' the season six episode where their affair and shared drug use come into the open.
Did Tony want Julianna for himself? Yes. Tony pursued her after their business negotiation and was refused — which is why Christopher's involvement with her enraged him so deeply.
Keep reading: the Christopher intervention, explained · who played Christopher Moltisanti? · who was Dickie Moltisanti? Christopher's father, explained
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