Second Opinion

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For the video game see Trauma Center: Second Opinion
“Second Opinion”
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 33
Written by Lawrence Konner
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Guest stars see below
Production no. 307
Original airdate April 8, 2001 (HBO)
Episode chronology
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Episode chronology

"Second Opinion" is the thirty-third episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the seventh of the show's third season. It was written by Lawrence Konner, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on Sunday April 8, 2001.

Contents

[edit] Guest starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

Uncle Junior is put under anesthesia for his surgery to remove the cancerous tumors in his stomach. As he is given the anesthetic, he hallucinates about FBI agents offering him a cure to his cancer if he cooperates with them. A newspaper is then seen, featuring the following headline: "Soprano wins freedom, indicts nephew — star witness weds Angie Dickinson". (Junior's desire to "fuck Angie Dickinson" had been revealed in a prior episode.) In reality, Dr. John Kennedy delivers news to Tony Soprano and the other mob associates that Uncle Junior will be fine and that they have removed all of the tumor that they could find. However, on a later doctor's visit, Dr. Kennedy informs Junior and Bobby Baccalieri that they have found more malignant cells and would once again like to perform surgery. Uncle Junior agrees since he puts his full confidence in Dr. Kennedy. However, Tony disagrees: he believes that Uncle Junior is more fascinated that his doctor's name is John Kennedy, who happens to have the same first and last name of President John F. Kennedy. Tony and Uncle Junior visit another doctor in New York City who recommends that Junior receive chemotherapy treatments. Junior does so but the side affects are quite unpleasant for him. Unsatisfied with the chemo, Junior waits to hear from Dr. Kennedy, who is not returning any of his calls. To appease his uncle, Tony and Furio Giunta visit Kennedy on a golf course and suggest he start taking Junior's calls, and they imply their readiness to use force by slowly moving forward, pushing the doctor backwards into the pond behind him. Furio also tells him, "There's a bee on your hat," and smacks him in the head, flicking the doctor's hat into the water. At the hospital during Junior's chemo treatment, Kennedy gives him all of his contact information in case he needs him.

Carmela Soprano attends a therapy session with Dr. Melfi alone. She begins to break down as she realizes her ignorance about Tony's job and that she has become very depressed. Melfi recommends Dr. Krakower, a colleague in Livingston, if she would like to see a therapist on a regular basis. Carmela reluctantly calls Dr. Krakower and agrees to see him for one appointment. As she describes her situation, she discusses her husband's profession and her marital woes. The doctor recommends that she leave the marriage (something Carmela has contemplated before) since Tony's life is indeed dangerous and that his steady income is derived from blood money. He refuses to accept any money for the session but advises her to leave while she still can. Krakower also suggests Tony could possibly renounce his prior life of crime, and spend time in prison reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment while reflecting on his past wrongs. He advises Carmela to use only the legitimate funds she can muster to survive on and raise the two children she and Tony have alone — a hefty task.

Christopher Moltisanti is aggravated when Paulie Walnuts asks him if he is wearing a wire during a pool game at the Bada Bing. Christopher quickly denies the accusation but when Paulie asks him to disrobe in order to prove it, he becomes very offended. Paulie humiliates a nude Chris, making fun of his penis size. Later, at 2:00 a.m., Paulie and Patsy Parisi arrive unexpectedly at Christopher's apartment and check for anything suspicious. Christopher grows extremely upset when Paulie takes all of Adriana's new (stolen) shoes for his comáre and sniffs Adriana's panties. Christopher informs Tony about this the following day, but is only told that Paulie "can be a little quirky." Furthermore, Christopher is later reprimanded by Paulie himself, who tells him to never go to the underboss again about an argument between the two of them. They agree to settle things after Christopher leaves a motel room with another woman and Paulie strategically positions his vehicle behind Christopher's, suggesting he had just found an answer to Christopher's grievance that was possibly legitimate.

Meanwhile, Carmela spots Angie Bonpensiero in Pathmark and invites her to dinner. Angie politely rejects the offer, saying that her dog is very sick and that she is worried to leave her alone. Also, Angie cannot afford veterinarian bills and needs some extra money now that Pussy has disappeared. Carmela tells Tony about their encounter which leads him to visit the Bonpensiero residence. Tony spots Angie's new Cadillac in the driveway and, because she had mentioned grievances that are Tony's (not Carmela's) business, he angrily breaks the window. He then honks the horn through the broken window with the bat. When Angie comes out, he notices the dog looks convincingly to be in good health and that Angie has most likely been lying, in addition to the issue he already has with her. Tony then tells her that if she needs money to not ask Carmela, but to come directly to him. Still embittered by Pussy's betrayal, he takes it out on Angie's car by damaging the rear lights before he leaves.

[edit] Title reference

  • Uncle Junior seeks a "second opinion" from another doctor for his cancer treatment.
  • Carmela gets a second opinion from a therapist.
  • Christopher asks Tony for his views regarding Paulie's antagonistic behavior.

[edit] Media references

[edit] Production

  • Mike Nichols was originally cast to play the role of Dr. Krakower. However, the role eventually went to Sully Boyar. During the episode's original broadcast, Nichols was credited instead of Boyar; this was corrected for repeats and the DVD release.
  • The episode features the toy Big Mouth Billy Bass, a popular singing animatronic fish from the late 1990s that most of Tony's crew gets a kick out of. However, Tony is reminded too strongly of his best friend whom he was forced to kill, so although he fakes an amused expression when he first finds the item, he is shown to be still mourning and presumably feeling other emotions about Big Pussy's betrayal.
  • The scene where Carmela waits in Dr. Melfi's waiting room, gazing at the green statue, is almost identical to the opening scene of the very first episode, with Tony in the waiting room.

[edit] Music

  • The song played over the end credits is "Black Books" by Nils Lofgren


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