The Sopranos episode “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (season 2, episode 5) premiered on HBO on February 13, 2000. Directed by Tim Van Patten and written by Terence Winter, it comes smack dab in the middle of what I feel is the BEST season of The Sopranos. On that note, here are some more of my thoughts on The Sopranos “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
Big Girls Don't Cry Over Some Management Changes
First, there are various significant moments in “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Rather than listing everything that happened, I prefer to touch on certain scenes that stick out to me. And from a 30,000-foot level, this episode’s most important plot development comes in the form of some personnel changes.Â
At Furio’s welcoming party, Puss expresses his frustration to Silvio that nobody “tells [him] nothing.” Honestly, though, he can really only blame himself. After he ghosted everyone and disappeared at the end of season one, what did he expect? In fact, that wasn’t even his first ghosting offense, although we’ll learn more about that in season three.
Now, let’s turn to Christopher Moltisanti. Or is it McAveety? When girlfriend Adriana La Cerva buys him an acting for writers class as a birthday gift, it seems like a match made in heaven. Christopher’s really good at this, huh? Sure, as long as he gets the scene, character, and role he wants. Even so, many of Christopher’s classmates are impressed with his apparent ability to channel his raw, vulnerable self into powerful performances.
"Well, in those days we called it a 'condition.'"
An additional interesting plot development in Big Girls Don’t Cry occurs when Hesh Rabkin tells Tony that his father also had anxiety and panic attacks. Well, according to Hesh, “In those days, we called it a condition.” (That almost reminds me of Carmine Lupertazzi calling them “spells.”)
Dr. Melfi's Wrong Decision
Next, doctors are not always right, and here, I’m speaking about Dr. Jennifer Melfi on The Sopranos. Though I feel I should preface this by saying there’s a whole lot Dr. Melfi got right, not least of which is the life she leads and the values she holds as a law-abiding member of society with a conscience.
With that said, in “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Dr. Melfi describes to her therapist a dream she has of watching Tony get into an accident as a result of having a panic attack while driving. It’s this dream that leads her to consider taking Tony back as a patient. Her therapist, Dr. Elliot Kupferberg, speculates that Melfi wants to take Tony back as a patient to experience “the vicarious thrill of being terrified without the consequences.” (She politely reminds him that this isn’t all vicarious. She had to actually go on the lam!)
Furio Giunta Has Checked In, And He Makes Big Girls AND Boys Cry
Speaking of personnel changes, welcome to America, Furio Giunta! besides Big Pussy’s demotion, when Tony, Paulie, and Christopher go on their business trip to Italy, they meet a young man named Furio Giunta with whom Tony is very impressed. As part of his business deal with Annalisa Zucca, Furio goes to the U.S. to do some work for Tony. And boy, does Furio know how to jump into the job. On his first assignment from Tony, he goes to a brothel to collect a late payment, and let’s just say, it got a little noisy. And did I mention Furio’s also a master cheesemaker?
The Sopranos Big Girls Don't Cry Conclusion
Finally, enough about me and my thoughts. What do you think about “Big Girls Don’t Cry”? I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and send me a tweet or message letting me know what you think!