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The Sopranos
Season 2
Region 1 DVD cover art
Starring
No. of episodes13
Release
Original network HBO
Original releaseJanuary 16 (2000-01-16) –
April 9, 2000 (2000-04-09)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 1
Next →
Season 3
List of episodes

The second season of the American crime drama series The Sopranos aired on HBO from January 16 to April 9, 2000. The second season was released on DVD in region 1 on November 6, 2001. [1]

The story of the season focuses on Tony's growing mistrust of one of his closest friends Big Pussy Bonpensiero, who is revealed to be an FBI informant. Dr. Melfi continues meeting with Tony despite her growing disgust with his actions and contemplates the nature of their relationship. Tony's sister Janice also returns to New Jersey, and their collectively strained relationship with their mother Livia and each other continues.

Meadow is accepted into college, but her personal life intersects with Tony's crime life for the first time. Uncle Junior gets sent to prison again for his crimes. Tony introduces his new enforcer straight from Italy, Furio. Former boss Jackie Aprile's brother Richie is released from prison and causes trouble for Tony and his business.

Main cast

Cast

Recurring cast

Episodes

Season 2 episodes
No.
overall		 No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
141" Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office..." Allen Coulter Jason CahillJanuary 16, 2000 (2000-01-16)7.64 [2]
Four months later, Pussy returns, claiming he was getting his back treated, although Tony remains suspicious. He has Junior's successor Philly Parisi killed for talking about Tony trying to kill Livia. Janice comes to town to take care of Livia, but Tony soon angers when he realizes she may be trying to profit off of him selling their mother's house. He calls Melfi and informs her that she can come out of hiding, and tries to continue seeing her when he has a panic attack while driving. Enraged that him putting her in danger led to one of her patients dying by suicide, she rejects him.
152" Do Not Resuscitate" Martin Bruestle Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and Frank RenzulliJanuary 23, 2000 (2000-01-23)5.33 [3]
Junior is released from prison and placed on house arrest. He informs Tony that the director of Livia's nursing home is the one who is spreading the rumors about his attempt to kill her, so Tony has the man killed. Tony deals with black workers demanding jobs at his construction sites by colluding with the protestors' leader behind their backs. Janice decides to move in with Livia when she is released from the hospital. Tony and Janice sign a DNR for Livia, which A.J. reveals to her without knowing what it is. Junior slips in the shower and is taken to the hospital by Tony, and he urges him to make peace with his mother.
163" Toodle-Fucking-Oo" Lee TamahoriFrank RenzulliJanuary 30, 2000 (2000-01-30)5.60 [4]
Meadow uses Livia's house for a party, but manipulates her parents into giving her a mild punishment. Janice initially takes her side, but changes her tune when she sees the state of the house, causing an argument between her and Carmela about the latter's parenting. Melfi has an awkward encounter with Tony at a restaurant, confiding in her own psychiatrist, Elliot Kupferberg, that she feels guilt over no longer wanting to treat him. She later has a nightmare about him passing out while driving and dying in a car crash. Jackie Aprile's older brother Richie is released from prison after ten years, claiming to have reformed but crippling a debtor that Tony promised to protect. As Tony goes to Livia's to get the locks changed, he is perplexed to find a guilty Meadow cleaning the floor inside.
174" Commendatori" Tim Van Patten David ChaseFebruary 6, 2000 (2000-02-06)7.16 [5]
Tony, Paulie and Chris go to Naples to negotiate the price of stolen cars with a crime family. Tony learns that the boss of the family's daughter is running things. She tries to seduce him but he turns her down due to their business relationship, and he decreases the price on the cars in exchange for taking her best man, Furio Giunta. Paulie, excited to go to Italy for the first time, is frustrated to find that he does not fit in. Chris, determined to see Mount Vesuvius, instead spends the whole trip in his room, high on heroin. Pussy is seen by an associate meeting with his FBI handler, so he tracks down the man and kills him. His wife Angie expresses her desire for a divorce to Carmela, but she guilts her into staying with him. Tony returns home and announces himself, and Carmela hesitates before going to him.
185" Big Girls Don't Cry"Tim Van Patten Terence WinterFebruary 13, 2000 (2000-02-13)5.34 [6]
Furio is brought to America, prompting Tony to promote Paulie and their friend Silvio Dante, but not Pussy, angering him. Tony discovers that Janice and Richie have restarted their old relationship. While he learns from Hesh Rabkin that his father also had panic attacks, Kupferberg tries to get Melfi to see that she experiences a thrill from treating Tony, but she takes him back anyway. Adriana enrolls Chris in an acting class as a birthday present. He struggles until he performs the final scene of Rebel Without a Cause, wowing the class but causing him to storm out. In the next class, Chris beats up the actor who played his father. When Adriana suggests he only hit him because he reminded him of his real father, Chris throws out all his writing.
196" The Happy Wanderer" John PattersonFrank RenzulliFebruary 20, 2000 (2000-02-20)5.83 [7]
Tony admits to Melfi that he feels an innate anger towards absentmindedly happy people he sees on the street. He takes over Junior's gambling game and is accosted by his non-mob friend, David Scatino, asking to play. Knowing that Scatino is a compulsive gambler, Tony tries to stop him, but eventually relents, resulting in Scatino being in debt. Tony warns Richie to stay away from Scatino, who already owes him a smaller sum, until he gets his money, angering him. As Scatino continues to stall, Tony beats him, forcing him to sell his son Eric's car to him as partial payment. Tony tries to give it to Meadow, but she recognizes it as Eric's and rejects it. At her cabaret night, Eric refuses to perform with her, giving her the solo she had wanted earlier. Carmela notes Meadow's luck and wonders what happened as Scatino and his wife leave the theater, and Tony shrugs.
207" D-Girl"Allen Coulter Todd A. KesslerFebruary 27, 2000 (2000-02-27)6.66 [8]
Chris meets his cousin's fiancée, who works for Jon Favreau. Adriana, having saved a copy of Chris's screenplay, encourages him to show it to Favreau, who quickly takes a liking to Chris. He discovers that Favreau has written a confidential mob anecdote into his newest script, enraging him. Favreau returns to Hollywood and the woman does not answer Chris's calls, so he confronts her in person and she claims that there is no longer an interest in mob films. A.J. begins to question the existence of God right before his confirmation, fueled when he has an existential talk with Livia. Pussy's handler orders him to wear a wire at the confirmation. Tony catches A.J. smoking marijuana after the ceremony, and Pussy talks to him and encourages him to enjoy his life with his father, later becoming overcome with grief at wearing the wire. Tony learns of Chris's activities and orders him to choose between him and his writing, which Chris considers before choosing Tony.
218" Full Leather Jacket"Allen CoulterRobin Green & Mitchell BurgessMarch 5, 2000 (2000-03-05)6.29 [9]
Carmela asks Jeannie Cusamano to get her Georgetown University alumna sister to write a letter of recommendation for Meadow. When the woman refuses, Carmela talks to her directly, her status as Tony's wife intimidating her into writing it. After a fight with Chris, Adriana leaves him, but he goes to her and proposes engagement, which she accepts. Richie gives Tony a leather jacket that belonged to a feared mobster as a sign of respect, but later sees the Sopranos' housekeeper wearing it. Chris's underlings, Matt Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte, continue to be shorted by Chris and Tony. They take action after Chris does not show up to a meeting, attacking and shooting him. Sean is killed during the ambush, while Matt tries to seek shelter with Richie, who throws him out after he learns what he has done.
229" From Where to Eternity" Henry J. Bronchtein Michael ImperioliMarch 12, 2000 (2000-03-12)7.18 [10]
Chris briefly dies on the operating table, but survives despite losing his spleen. When he wakes, he claims he saw Hell and that Satan told him he is destined for it, delivering a message to Tony and Paulie. While Tony dismisses the message, Paulie is deeply frightened by it, going to a psychic who claims the spirits of those he killed are watching him. He complains to his priest that the donations he has made to the church should protect him, and declares he will no longer give money if they cannot preserve his soul. Pussy and Tony track Matt down and kill him. Carmela asks Tony to get a vasectomy to prevent any children out of marriage, but he refuses. He eventually gives in, only for Carmela to reveal she has changed her mind, asking him to no longer practice infidelity and promising "all I want is you" before having sex with him.
2310" Bust Out"John PattersonFrank Renzulli and Robin Green & Mitchell BurgessMarch 19, 2000 (2000-03-19)7.62 [11]
A witness to Matt's murder identifies Tony to the police, but withdraws his statement when he learns who he is. Tony's crew runs a fraud on Scatino's store, and they use him to get scalped airline tickets. Angry with his reduced cut of the store, Richie suggests to Junior that Tony should be killed, reminding him that he tried to do the same thing when Junior admonishes him. Carmela meets Scatino's widowed brother-in-law Victor Musto, and the two develop an attraction to each other and kiss. He promises to come over the next day, but does not show up when he learns who Scatino is in debt to. Feeling slighted when A.J. hangs out with his friends instead of him, Tony misses his swim meet. Pushed by Carmela to make it up to him, Tony takes A.J. out on their boat and lets him steer, their trajectory making a smaller boat capsize.
2411" House Arrest"Tim Van PattenTerence WinterMarch 26, 2000 (2000-03-26)5.51 [12]
When Junior and Richie sell cocaine on Tony's legitimate garbage routes, Tony argues with Richie and has a panic attack, almost having another when Janice and Richie announce their engagement. Tony's lawyer advises him to keep his nose clean following Matt's murder, but he finds himself bored at his no-show job. Junior is released from the hospital but placed back on house arrest, and he gets his hand stuck in a drain for hours. Melfi begins drinking more before her sessions with Tony, but continues to treat him despite Kupferberg's warnings to stop. She suggests to Tony that he may have an antisocial personality and uses his criminal activities to distract himself from his immorality, but he shrugs her off. He returns to Satriale's, the deli he and his friends use as a front, and is welcomed back by them and a recently discharged Chris. A car crash happens out front and the men observe it before going about their day.
2512" The Knight in White Satin Armor"Allen CoulterRobin Green & Mitchell BurgessApril 2, 2000 (2000-04-02)5.44 [13]
After another argument about the garbage routes, Richie goes to a capo to get approval for a hit on Tony, but Junior, correctly suspecting Richie will not be able to turn him, instead rats him out to Tony. Before Tony can have him killed, Richie punches Janice during an argument and she shoots him. Tony and his men clean up the body and arrange for Janice to leave New Jersey, and he speaks to Livia for the first time since he tried to kill her, during which they argue about her parenting and she cries. Her crying turns to quiet laughter when he trips leaving the house. Pussy turns against Tony and tries to get in good with the FBI by busting Chris, but winds up in a car crash. Tony's comare Irina Peltsin attempts suicide after he leaves her, and Tony has Silvio pay her to leave him alone. Upset by this, Carmela visits Musto, but realizes he never came to her because of Tony. Tony returns home and Carmela announces her plans to go to Rome for three weeks with Rosalie. When Tony demands she not go, she states she may kill herself if he does not let her.
2613" Funhouse"John PattersonDavid Chase and Todd A. KesslerApril 9, 2000 (2000-04-09)8.97 [2]
Fed up with Livia's stressing over her living situation, Tony gives her Scatino's airline tickets. He contracts food poisoning, having a series of intense fever dreams where he learns from Pussy, in the form of a fish, that he is an informant. Tony wakes and goes to Pussy's house, pretending to be sick so he can search Pussy's room and find his wire. He takes Pussy, Silvio and Paulie out on a boat, where they kill Pussy and dump his body in the Atlantic Ocean. Livia is detained after trying to use the tickets, and the FBI arrests Tony. After his release, Melfi tries to get him to talk about Livia's attempt on his life and if it corresponds to him giving her the tickets, but he leaves. At Meadow's high school graduation, Tony ejects Junior when he spots him talking to Meadow and speaks to a recently divorced Scatino, who reveals that he is moving out west and that Eric got accepted into his top college but cannot afford to go. As a montage of Tony's various illegal endeavors is shown, Tony smokes a cigar by himself at Meadow's party before the shot fades to the Atlantic.

Reception

Critical response

The second season of The Sopranos received universal acclaim from critics—garnering a 97 out of 100 on Metacritic, [14] and a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 9.5/10. The latter aggregator reports a critical consensus of "The Sopranos' strong cast and solid writing add depth to the show's occasionally unlikable characters and their repellent deeds, making for thought-provoking, consistently compelling viewing." [15] Ed Bark of Dallas Morning News wrote, "[It] could be the best TV series of our times. Not for everyone, no. But for what it is, The Sopranos is near magical." [14]

Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune praised the series for accurately portraying human communication, observing how the show reveals "matters of the greatest consequence stem from misunderstandings and misinterpretations." [14] Eric Mink of The New York Times wrote of the show's unique writing and multifaceted characters: "The Sopranos remains a showcase for ferociously distinctive writing, inventive direction and brilliant portrayals of surprisingly, even disturbingly, sympathetic multilayered characters by a perfectly cast group of actors who hold back nothing." [16]

Awards and nominations

52nd Primetime Emmy Awards

  • Nomination for Outstanding Drama Series
  • Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini) (Episode: "The Happy Wanderer")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Lorraine Bracco) (Episode: "Big Girls Don't Cry")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco) (Episode: "Full Leather Jacket")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Dominic Chianese)
  • Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Nancy Marchand) (Episodes: "Do Not Resuscitate" + "Funhouse")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Allen Coulter) (Episode: "The Knight in White Satin Armor")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (John Patterson) (Episode: "Funhouse")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Chase, Todd A. Kessler) (Episode: "Funhouse")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess) (Episode: "The Knight in White Satin Armor")

7th Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • Nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (Entire Cast)
  • Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini)
  • Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (Edie Falco)

58th Golden Globe Awards

  • Nomination for Best Drama Series
  • Nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini)
  • Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Lorraine Bracco)
  • Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco)

5th Golden Satellite Awards

  • Nomination for Best Drama Series
  • Nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series (James Gandolfini)
  • Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco)

Writers Guild of America Awards 2000

  • Nomination for Best Drama Episode (Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green) (Episode: "The Knight in White Satin Armor")
  • Nomination for Best Drama Episode (Terence Winter) (Episode: "Big Girls Don't Cry")

Directors Guild of America Awards

  • Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Henry J. Bronchtein) (Episode: "From Where to Eternity")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Allen Coulter) (Episode: "The Knight in White Satin Armor")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (John Patterson) (Episode: "Funhouse")

16th TCA Awards

  • Nomination for Program of the Year
  • Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Drama
  • Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Drama (James Gandolfini)

References

  1. ^ "The Sopranos - The Complete 2nd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "The comeback". Chicago Tribune. March 14, 2006. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  3. ^ Brownfield, Paul (January 26, 2000). "'Millionaire' Outshines Golden Globes, Streisand". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 2, 2000). "Super Bowl, 'Millionaire' Put ABC in Lofty Position". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 9, 2000). "'Millionaire,' 'Practice' Give ABC Early Sweeps Lead". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 16, 2000). "Sweeps Programs Give Networks Memorable Sunday". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  7. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 24, 2000). "'ER' Loses a Character, Earns High Ratings". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Lowry, Brian (March 1, 2000). "Grammys, 'Perfect' Boost CBS; ABC Sweeps February". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Brownfield, Paul (March 8, 2000). "'Millionaire,' 'Carey' Help Give ABC Another Win". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Lowry, Brian (March 15, 2000). "'Millionaire's' Roll Keeps ABC's Streak Going". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  11. ^ Brownfield, Paul (March 22, 2000). "Walters' Interview of Ramseys Gives ABC Added Boost". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  12. ^ Lowry, Brian (March 29, 2000). "Oscar Programming, 'Millionaire' Give ABC Honors". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Lowry, Brian (April 5, 2000). "New Spring Series, Basketball Missing Their Shots". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  14. ^ a b c "The Sopranos: Season 2". Metacritic. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  15. ^ "The Sopranos: Season 2 (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  16. ^ James, Caryn (January 14, 2000). "TV WEEKEND; The Ziti's in the Oven and the Matriarch's Still Not Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2017.

External links

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