[s2e5] Big Girls Don't Cry -

The episode title, taken from the Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons song playing in the background, serves as a sarcastic commentary on the characters' inability to process emotion. Whether it’s Tony learning from Hesh that his father also suffered from "panic attacks" (then called a "condition") or Melfi deciding she is "ready" for the pain of treating a sociopath, the episode is a study in the high cost of emotional repression.

Encouraged to tap into his real emotions, Chris delivers a searing monologue from Rebel Without a Cause . For a brief moment, he isn’t a mobster; he’s just a grieving son processing the early death of his father. [S2E5] Big Girls Don't Cry

One of the most poignant subplots involves Christopher Moltisanti ’s short-lived foray into an "Acting for Writers" class. The episode title, taken from the Frankie Valli