Big Girls Don't Cry (''The Sopranos'')

"Big Girls Don't Cry"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 5
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Written by Terence Winter
Cinematography by Phil Abraham
Production code 205
Original air date February 13, 2000
Running time 51 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"Big Girls Don't Cry" is the eighteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and is the fifth of the show's second season. It was written by Terence Winter, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on February 13, 2000.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Also guest starring

Episode recap

With Furio Giunta now working as a soldier with the Soprano crime family, Tony elevates Paulie and Silvio to capo and consigliere respectively. While dining at Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony asks Artie to hire Furio as a mozzarella-maker. Artie tells Tony that the kitchen is already fully occupied and that his wife, Charmaine, would not be fond of the idea. Artie agrees to give Furio a trial run until he can attain full citizenship after Tony says that he will pay Furio's wages.

Tony then throws a welcome party for Furio, where Pussy becomes jealous of Tony's sudden interest in his new soldier. Junior and Bobby show up, only to have Carmela slam the door in their faces for the attempt on Tony's life. Tony assigns Furio to collect from husband-wife brothel owners who owe him money. Furio viciously completes the job by beating both and shooting the husband in the kneecap.

Meanwhile, Dr. Melfi contemplates taking Tony back as a client over the objections of her therapist, Dr. Kupferberg. Melfi vividly describes her dream of Tony to her therapist, believing that the car accident symbolizes her abandoning of him as a client. As Tony is waiting for Furio to finish his "first assignment," Melfi calls to tell him that she has an open appointment for him the next day. Tony first declines the offer, since things have been going well without therapy, but he keeps the appointment later on.

Christopher is enrolled in an acting class as a gift from Adriana. However, he soon finds that the class is very demanding and that the schedule overlaps with his mob duties. While acting out a scene from Rebel Without a Cause, Chris becomes very emotional and cries. Embarrassed and troubled, he leaves the room, despite the applause and approval of his classmates. During the next class, Chris and another student practice an acting exercise which leads him to violently attack his partner. Adriana suggests that the exercise reminded him of his father's murder. That evening, Chris disposes of the papers and floppy disks containing his screenplay in a dumpster.

Tony's anger and resentment come to a head after Janice decides to take out a loan on Livia's house in order to renovate it. There, he is shocked and angered to discover that Richie spent the night with Janice. On Tony's yacht, he and Irina argue when she feeds cheese puffs to ducks swimming near the boat. This causes an intrusion by another boat owner, who happens to be Russian and suggests to Irina that if she does not like to fight she should find herself a Russian man. Tony walks to the man's boat and grabs him by his testicles. Tony and Irina make a hasty escape before the Russian's wife calls the police.

While visiting Hesh Rabkin, Tony regales him with the story and confesses to having episodes where he has passed out. Tony points out that other famous leaders like Carlo Gambino, Lucky Luciano or Douglas MacArthur didn't lose their cool and "go around punching walls" like he does. He tries unsuccessfully to replicate his relationship with Dr. Melfi by talking to Hesh, but he seems uninterested and rambles on about other subjects. Hesh tells Tony that his father, Johnny, sometimes suffered panic attacks as Tony does now. Tony is surprised, since no one has ever mentioned this. Hesh reassures him that his "condition" only affected Tony's father about twice a year.

Pussy continues to meet his FBI contact, Agent Lipari, and complains about Tony favoring Paulie and Silvio over him. Later, Paulie and Johnny Sack ask Pussy to leave the table when they are about to discuss business, even though Furio is allowed to stay.

Title reference

  • The episode's title is taken from the name of a song by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, which can be heard in the background during the restaurant scene during the episode. Valli would later have a role on the series as Rusty Millio.
  • It is also a reference to Dr. Melfi, who breaks down crying during her therapy with Elliot.

Production

  • Although the episode was the fifth of Season Two, it was the fourth to be produced.

Music

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