Carmela reflects upon her relationship with Tony and seeks help.
This is a great episode with incredibly good character focus.
The story takes a fairly in depth look at the character Carmela, the life she leads, the suffering involved in being married to Tony and how she justifies it to herself.
Some of the early scenes with her parents and also Dr Melfi lay the foundations superbly well.
In the great first season episode 'College' we saw her have a similar meltdown and seek the council of Father Phil in a memorable scene. Here she gets a second opinion from Dr Krakower in what is arguably an even more memorable scene. Sully Boyer is great has a memorable cameo.
In the multiple scenes involving Tony we see the complexities of his character and how he functions in a largely corrupt and immoral world. It brilliantly paints a picture of a serially unfaithful husband, who is capable of heinous acts of violence. Yet, in certain situations, such as when dealing with an extorting college dean, a manipulative widow or an uncaring cancer surgeon, you would want Tony to be the one looking out for you and your family.
The final scene is fantastic. Her exchange with Tony is very subtle and sensitively written and performed by both Edie Falco and James Gandolfini. What are the writers implying behind her behaviour in this scene? I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect it's a test of his commitment to the family. If he is committed enough to do what she asks, then she is ultimately committed to him.
There is plenty of dark humour in the episode, particularly in the scenes involving Chris, Adriana, Paulie, Angie, Uncle Junior, Bobby and Dr Kennedy.
Falco is there star of this one, closely followed by Gandolfini, who is immense as always. Dominic Chianese has a great episode, as does Tony Serico and Michael Imperioli.
It's a 9.5/10 for me, but I round upwards.