David Chase’s The Sopranos reigns as one of the greatest series of all time, ultimately redefining the traditional formula of drama television. Even decades after its final episode, The Sopranos continues to be revisited by original fans and rediscovered by new generations every day, making it a timeless series that is beloved around the world. The show’s massive success came as a surprise to Chase and the cast, but after an exceptional first season, The Sopranos returned for a second season that only drew audiences deeper into the life of James Gandolfini’s iconic character, Tony Soprano.
The show’s second season essentially picked up where the first left off, and while it’s hard to pinpoint any episodes from the season that weren’t great entertainment, there were a few, like ‘Funhouse’, ‘Full Leather Jacket’, and ‘The Knight and Shining Armor’, that were among the most memorable episodes of the entire show. Out of all thirteen episodes, here’s every episode from the second season of The Sopranos ranked.
Season 2, Episode 2, ‘Do Not Resuscitate,’ continues to tie up everything from season one, most notably Tony and Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) finally coming to terms and Junior finally being placed under house arrest. While Tony deals with staging a hit on Jack Massarone’s construction company for financial gain, he and Janice (Aida Tuturro) argue over Livia having a DNR.
The whole DNR thing not only pits Janice and Tony against each other, but also leads to some of the funnier antics of Livia, who eventually learns about her kids’ quarrel from Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler) and feels sorry for herself. While Livia brings the humor, the episode isn’t one that falls into a particularly entertaining niche, but ‘Don’t Resuscitate’ does introduce a few major storylines that are important to the season as a whole.
Tony begins to feel like he’s under house arrest in season 2, episode 11, ‘House Arrest’, when his lawyer advises him to keep quiet and decides to spend more time at home and at Barone Sanitation. Although his new routine isn’t as fun as Bing and Satriale’s, Tony tries to find ways to entertain himself until he eventually decides that he can’t commit to being a 9-to-5 family man. Meanwhile, Tony learns that Richie Aprile (David Proval) and Uncle Junior have been secretly selling cocaine on their garbage collection route, leading to a heated confrontation between him and Richie.
‘House Arrest’ is an interesting episode because it gives Tony too much time to dwell on his own negative thoughts as he gets bored of spending time at home and at Barone Sanitation. The extra time doesn’t help Tony’s mental state, and it comes to a head when he confronts Richie about cocaine, leading to another panic attack. It’s interesting to see Tony trying to adjust to a seemingly normal life, but in the end, his demons get the better of him, which of course leads to his excessive stress and anxiety returning.
