Big Girls Don't Cry (The Sopranos episode)
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| The Sopranos episode | |
|---|---|
| “Big Girls Don't Cry” | |
 |
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| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 18 |
| Guest star(s) | see below |
| Writer(s) | Terence Winter |
| Director | Tim Van Patten |
| Production no. | 204 (2-5) |
| Original airdate | February 13, 2000 (HBO) |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Commendatori" | "The Happy Wanderer" |
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is the 18th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the 5th episode for the show's second season. The episode was written by Terence Winter and was directed by Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on Sunday February 13, 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Guest Starring roles
- Vince Curatola as Johnny "Sack" Sacrimoni
- Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
- John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
- Kathrine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco
- Peter Bogdanovich as Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
- Steve R. Schirripa as Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri
- Federico Castelluccio as Furio Giunta
- Louis Lombardi as Agent Skip Lipari
- Oksana Lada as Irina Peltsin
- John Fiore as Gigi Cestone
[edit] Episode recap
With Furio now working as a soldier with The Soprano family, Tony elevates Paulie and Silvio to capo and consigliere respectively. Paulie is at first befuddled by Tony's offer but then becomes very grateful. While dining at Nuovo Vesuvio, Tony asks Artie for a favor: to hire his "cousin" Furio from Italy as a mozzarella maker. Artie tells Tony that the kitchen is already fully occupied and that his wife Charmaine would not be crazy with the idea. Artie agrees to give Furio a trial run until Furio can retain full citizenship after Tony says that Artie will not have to pay Furio.
Tony then throws a party for Furio where Pussy begins to become very jealous of Tony's sudden interest in Furio. Junior and Bobby show up at the party, only to have Carmela slam the door in their face and refuse them entry, as she suspects Junior was behind the attempt on Tony's life. Tony then gives Furio his first assignment to collect from husband-wife brothel owners who owe Tony money. Furio violently completes the job by beating both and shooting the husband in the kneecap.
Meanwhile, Dr. Melfi calls Tony on his cell phone. She had continued to contemplate taking Tony back as a client with the help of her therapist, Elliot Kupferberg. Melfi vividly describes her dream of Tony to her therapist- he was in a car crash as he desperately searches for his Prozac. Melfi believes that the symbolism in the dream is that Tony's car accident is caused by her abandoning of him as a client. As Tony is waiting for Furio, she tells him that she has an open appointment the next day.
Christopher is enrolled in an acting class as a gift from girlfriend Adriana because of his dream to write a screenplay. Christopher soon finds that the class is very demanding and rigorous and the schedule overlaps with his mob life. While acting out a scene from the film Rebel Without a Cause, Christopher becomes very emotional and cries. He is forced to leave the room due to being embarrassed despite the applause and approval of his classmates. During the next class, Christopher and another acquaintance practice an acting exercise which leads to Christopher severely beating his partner. Christopher tells Adriana how the exercise reminded him of his father's murder and how betrayed he felt. That evening, Christopher rids himself of any traces of his unfinished screenplay, "You Bark, I Bite" by disposing of the papers and floppy disks in the 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. Tony's anger at Janice manifests by him ripping a telephone out of the wall and throwing it on the floor. Anthony Jr. witnesses this and is then told by Carmela to go upstairs. Tony later goes up to apologize to A.J. for his irresponsible actions and blames it "on being a new product tester for Radio Shack".
When Tony goes to Livia's house he discovers Richie Apirile has spent the night with Janice, he informs Richie that Janice is now his problem.
Later on the Stugots (Tony's boat), Tony and Irina quarrel because she is feeding Cheese Doodles to ducks swimming near the boat. He is angry because he believes this to be unhealthy for the ducks. This causes an intrusion by another boat owner. The owner suggests to Irina that if she does not like to fight she should find herself a Russian man. Tony then walks to the man's boat and tells him to mind his own business. To make matters worse, Tony then grabs the man by his testicles causing serious pain. Tony and Irina make a hasty escape before the Russian's wife alerts the police.
While visiting Hesh Rabkin, Tony regales him with the story and confesses to having episodes where he has passed out. Tony tries unsuccessfully to replicate his relationship with Dr. Melfi by talking to Hesh - Hesh seems disinterested and rambles on about other subjects. Hesh tells Tony that his father, Johnny Boy suffered panic attacks as Tony does now. Tony is surprised since no one has ever mentioned his father's mental health. Hesh reassures him that his "condition" only affected Tony's father about twice a year.
Pussy continues to meet his FBI contact, Agent Skip Lipari, and complains about Tony, who has continued to keep Pussy in the dark about his criminal plans. In addition, Paulie and Johnny Sacks ask Pussy to leave the table when they are about to discuss business.
[edit] Title reference
- The episode's title is taken from a song title by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
- It is also a reference to Melfi, who breaks down crying during her therapy with Elliot.
[edit] Trivia
- Although the episode aired fifth, it was the fourth to be produced.
