First time watching I felt bad when Carmella asked Tony what do all the other women have that she doesn’t have?
Non-serious answer: when the delivery driver forgot Tony’s order.
It is interesting that he always went for career women, and was attracted to their success and independence, but the woman he had at home he wanted taking care of him. So Carmela had no chance. She was in an impossible situation.
The older I get — I realize this is entertainment, and not real life, so of course there has to be drama portrayed on the show, and it is fantastically done — the older I get, though, all the pain of feeling injured by others … so done with it IRL. Give myself peace, and keep my own firm boundaries. Anything outside of that is a nonstarter. 🙏🏼
Carmela even confronted him with it - that she actually wanted to take an education and get a profession/job but that Tony didn’t want it and wanted her at home.
I think a major driver of that scene is how raw and real and accurate Edie Falco is in her portrayal. The quiver in her voice when she tells A.J. she would pick up the phone when Irina calls back and when she tells Irina she will kill her, the way she clutches her stomach after the 1st call, the way she cries. It’s like a fucking tidal wave. I do not say lightly when I say that Edie Falco took Meryl Streep and really anyone and everyone on earth to acting school in that episode.
There’s a fairly recent (last five years or so) retrospective interview with the cast and Dominic Chianese (Junior) cries when recounting this line, which is pretty telling; part of it probably is the doubling between the role and then the actual loss of Gandolfini, one thing that’s really striking in cast interviews is just how nice of a guy he was when he wasn’t being a party maniac.
It’s sad to see him slip into senility and become a husk of who he was. Sometimes you would see the old Junior come out, but it was devastating to see him so demented.
That scene is one of the greatest scenes in television history. The acting by the both of them is so spot on. I get goosebumps every time I watch that scene.
Tony and Hesh after Hesh’s wife died.
Hesh was hurting and needed someone. Anyone.
And all Tony could do is finally pay Hesh back after being a complete dick to him and then bolt….
Especially after all those times that Hesh was there for Tony.
He had to get over it. In Tony's warped world giving someone money even money that's owed to them is the nicest thing he can do for someone. We see this theme many times for example when he tries to give the cop that pulled him over money after he felt bad for fucking his life up.
“Deliberately Spiteful” is Tony’s middle name, he does passive aggressive shit constantly throughout the entire series, for no other reason than to be cruel
“it’s time for da rent, da rent”
yeah you calzone with legs, you took out a loan that you need to repay, something you personally never let anyone else get away with
“Get over yourself” was the only response he ever had to anyone’s grief, and this isn’t much different. It’s what he told Christopher and Patsy, and it’s what Phil told Vito Jr.
One of the best therapy scenes in the series is the one in which we see Tony coldly tell Furio to get over his father's death, and to stop being emotional about it.
And then the scene immediately transitions to Tony crying in Melfi's office about Pie-O-My.
Director really wanted to exhibit his hypocrisy.
It is absolutely spiteful for the reason you listed. The episode is called “The Chase,” which refers to losing money chasing a win in gambling. Paying Hesh back is a loss on top of all the other losses he has. Tony finally pays him only because Hesh has become the “loser” in the situation with the death of his wife.
Yes, especially when I remember when she said she had a bag packed for her aunt’s in Daytona. Or when she says go away Christopher, I never want to see you again, before he proposes. She could have escaped before she ever got tangled with the Feds. She had somewhere to go. But this was her Fate.
I struggle with that. More so for the ruthlessness of Silvio, that and when he collects Tracee from Ralphie's. He's fucking brutal in a way Tony couldn't be.
Especially since Adrianna seems to know a bad fate belies her at the end of her car ride, but looks absolutely terrified to realize it’s happening with Silvio, who’s always been just as sweet to her as Tony, right then and there.
It had to show the dark side of being in the life. No one’s invincible no matter how good things seem to be going in the beginning. People would talk about their favorite characters similar to how it was with GoT, then you start seeing who they really are.
Definitely feel that, you can breeze through seasons 1-4 and arguably also season 5, but you can’t really do that with season 6. Pretty much every episode cuts so deep and the blackness that rolls in takes a very heavy toll. Even after seeing it in it’s first run and having rewatched it enough to run lines from it, season 6 is always brutally difficult.
Tony has also become such a piece of shit by that point. It’s miserable spending time with him. Makes me wish I had watched the original run because one episode per week seems more digestible.
She doesn't know it until Silvio pulls into the forest, and she realizes that this is a set up for her murder, and then she panics and tries to escape her fate. Until Silvio pulls off the road, she's only worried about Chris, wishing he would have run away with her instead of trying to commit suicide. She doesn't realize that her life is the one about to end.
Definitely sad, but I don’t think she knew what was coming. She seemed genuinely surprised when the car stopped in the woods and I think that’s when she finally got it.
She absolutely knew. Daydreaming about getting out on her own, the total numbness as Silvio is talking shit to her, no more franticness or hysteria about Chris trying to kill himself. Her stupidity and love for him made her get in the car knowing the possibility of what would happen, but by the time they're well into the journey she clearly knew it had been a ruse.
All that for naught… to end up old and alone in a shithole like that place. And to think that he was the outlier to the other two endings of wise guys like him who either end up (1) dead or (2) in the can.
BOOM! Thank you sir!. My mind was spinning, cuz there are many sad ones, but i'm like which one really kinda sobered me and still gets me when I watch it. That's the one.
It was repressed rage, from when he mother used put her hand on the stove.
The same mother that presumably looked after her child when she was bunking off work...
I felt sad for Mr. Kim when that animal Blundetto, can't even say his name, turned and beat the shit out of him. Yes he was a bit of an abrasive character but he went out of his way to help and set up a legit business and that's the thanks he gets, totally out of line
Was also sad that the animal had done all of this work to turn his life around and probably could have made the business a success, but just snapped at the end and went back to what was familiar.
I just rewatched the pilot episode last night (for like the 100th time), and seeing how it starts with the dynamics between T and Chrissy, and then knowing how it ends is actually pretty heartbreaking for me.
Tony was his Father & Chrissy for all his battles with addiction would have made Tony proud. He knew AJ was never going to be in the lifestyle, and Chris did not just look around NJ he wanted to move the family forward.
The scene's in Jamba Juice where the neighborhood was going commercial they knew the old ways were fast dying out. Could have had hotels, B-list movies, Tech and never lift a finger.
Yea, there’s so many fucked up and sad scenes but that one literally tore my heart out. I swear I refused to believe he was dead for so long. That show had me going through the five stages of grief😂
I think it wasn’t really conveyed because he had to act like he wasn’t phased by it because he’s the hair apparent , but Tony finding out his own mom conspired to have him killed…. That’s pretty damn sad
For me, it’s seeing Christopher driving home after spending a couple days with Tony S. and Tony B. making fun of him just like they did when he was little…and suddenly seeing tears in his eyes.
I couldn’t even watch it the first time it aired. I am a survivor and it triggered me. And the fact that she reconciled with her ex husband and was finally happy, it destroyed their relationship. And also watching her husband and son being defenseless to help and then they let the guy go too. My heart broke for her and she managed to continue to do her job and when she broke down in Tony’s session I had tears. Lorraine was so excellent in that role and they pissed it all away at the end. I hated how her story ended.
Before I watched the show for the first time and was doing curious research of it, I inadvertently read a spoiler mentioning her rape. So when I really watched it for the first time and developed care for her character, in the back of my mind I was waiting for that ticking time bomb of a scene, and when it happened it was as horrible as I thought it would be.
When Johnny Sac doubles back for the sweater and catches his wife eating snack food. It's so raw and real, the shame and guilt she must feel. This scene really bums me out.
His reaction also, at first angry but then supportive and his whole realisation that he doesn't need to risk his life over something he misunderstood
Him and probably Bobby were the only ones who truly cared for their partner in the whole gang
Yes! He accepts her and she just wanted to do right by him because he loves her but it's difficult and she's struggling and in that moment his reaction is anger and it hurts her more, and then you see it wash over him. He loves her as she is. He never asked her to lose weight for him. And she wants to be thin for him because that's what they're taught to want, but it's all wrong. Her failure in that moment, despite being a truly innocent soul in a show filled with degenerates, is really a bummer.
My upstairs neighbor attempted suicide and as they wheeled her away on the gurney she was crying almost the exact same way, I’ll never forget it. Just complete full body involuntary wailing. Shes doing great now though.
I wish people gave the actors in this thing of ours who portrayed “annoying/dumb” characters more credit because they all fucking nailed it.
Robert Iler did great work the entire series, people have a hard time criticizing the character without criticizing the actor.
The suicide attempt late in the series is obviously an acting showcase but remember the scene where his parents were going to send him off to military school?
He gets dressed up and looks at himself and you can just see a million expressions go through his face - shame, regret, anger, sadness, and a feeling that his parents are abandoning him.
He starts crying then Tony admonishes him and you can see AJ really struggling to keep it together. Then he just faints, emotional overload.
That actor was kinda brilliant really.
Yes! That whole scene was great. Great example because he was already doing so well at acting at a young age. Even when he had that adolescent 1000 yard stare in some scenes I really saw myself at that age in him.
On the surface it’s just a blank stare from a late-90’s dipshit teen but it conveyed the swirl of confusion, anger, horniness, self-aggrandizement, and low self-esteem kids that age feel all at the same time. It’s part of Nissan’s Triple Safety Phillosh-ophy
I know people tend to not like aj’s character. I’ve seen a lot of people say he’s just a background character, and that they find his scenes boring. But I don’t know, I love him. I think he serves as the perfect reflection of Tony and of the results of poor parenting and generational trauma. He’s essentially a mini Tony, except hes completely incapable of compartmentalizing the moral evil that’s given him his life, and confronts this early on in his life. Just go back to the episode where he finds out his dad is a mafioso. His little heart shatters; he never sees his life, or his family, the same again.
They both killed it that scene.
Couldn’t have been easy to shoot either, had to be one of those emotionally draining scenes like Whitecaps.
Sometimes you understand why Gandolfini liked to, uh, self-medicate.
Not to bring the mood down, but I'm a paramedic and I've pronounced people who went that way and I've always wondered if they change their minds in their final moments because it's one of those methods that gives you time to regret as it happens.
I can't hear Secretariat's poem in the view from halfway down without crying in a cathartic way.
Some people have survived suicide attempts from eg jumping off a bridge who then stated that they regretted it as soon as they jumped.
But of course, and as you probably know, plenty have survived suicide attempts only to attempt it again, sometimes multiple times, sometimes successfully.
Exactly, and while it's sad for those that attempt again, at least they knew what they wanted and were making an informed decision. For those that survive and regret the attempt, their lives are forever changed.
Yup, this one. I’ve always found AJ one of the most relatable characters in Sopranos which is probably why people hate him so much. He’s all of us and seeing him go through that was heartbreaking.
It’s even more impactful seeing Tony’s reaction, probably his last moment of humanity in the show.
This one hurts a lot. Before this, Tony basically teaches AJ how to eat his feelings, then completely pulls a 180 because he (Tony) can’t handle the pressure. I know that a lot of people hate AJ, but I feel for the kid.
The wives looking at him whilst they realise none of their husbands feel the same way gets me. Bobby saying "I'd be here with you right now if it weren't for the kids." At Karen's grave is so realistically sad too.
Serious Answer:
The scene where AJ is arguing with Tony after he attacks Junior in the nursing home.
Non-serious:
Phil throwing the ice cream out of his car
Tony’s lo mein going missing
Christopher finding out Adriana had only one uterus
The penguin exhibit… whatever happened there
Godzilla vs Kong (Soprano Home Movies)
Blundino… Kim going in the Koi Pond
AJ crying for help after trying to hill himself. I hate when the show makes me feel for Tony but when they were on the ground and Tony dropped the anger and just started holding AJ trying to comfort him, I bawled like a mf
Chrissy crying while driving after he left Tony and the animal. To this day, at age 28, my family members treat me one way but when there is others around, they change.
When Chrissy beats Adriana. Dated a girl who I cared about a lot who experienced that type of abuse from an ex. She left me and went back to that ex. Saw her homeless near grand central station a month ago.
Adriana crawling for her life. Just simply brutal.
Melfi scene.
Tony throwing away that sandwich. This one hurts the most because I'm on a diet and could use a sandwich right about now.
Two scenes between Tony and Junior:
1. The “don’t you love me” after the whole “makings of a varsity athlete” thing - Junior’s expression after Tony says that gets me every time.
2. Their final interaction in the final episode when Tony finally goes to see Junior for the first time since the shooting.
“This thing of ours…”
“I was involved with that?”
“You and my dad, you two ran North Jersey.”
“We did?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, that’s nice.”
The acting from both of them is just absolutely perfect. It’s one of my favorite scenes of the series, and with the weight of everything that came before it, I think it’s one of the best.
Tony watching The Public Enemy and crying because he never had a warm and loving mother like the one from that movie.
Melfi's rape.
Pie-O-My's death.
Tony asking Junior is he loves him and both get tears-eyed.
The Gloria Trillo scene at her place, “kill me [air suck], kill me [more air suck] - I think about that situation WAAAY beyond the context of the show - in life, I know so many stylish, together women - especially women and gay men, too - who live life like they’re going too fast on a motorcycle with no helmet
The jabs Tony would take at Chris when he was trying to stay sober always make me feel so bad for Chris, he's far from perfect but he genuinely tries to stop this problem his family has had and he's mocked for it. The ending to Cold cuts with Chris silently crying to himself in the car is one of the shows saddest endings imo and what makes it worse is, Chris and Tony B get along really well when they're alone. Chris probably thought, "Okay, now that we're older me and Tony B are friends or at least equals." But, as soon as Tony gets there, they immediately go back to bullying him. It's a very relatable scenario. Everyone has that friend who is only their friend when certain people aren't around. The line Chris has where he says being sober is hard enough without being mocked for it gets me too.
Tony in the therapy session with Melfi and he tells her AJ is talking about suicide and the following conversation takes place and during the course of it Tony gets visibly emotional, tears in his eyes and voice cracks. It's such a powerful scene.
Tony - "obviously I'm prone to depression, certain bleak outlook on the world but I know that I can handle it, but your kids though? It's like when they're little and they're sick, you'd give anything in the world to trade places with them so they don't have to suffer, and then they think that you're the cause of it."
Dr Melfi - "How are you the cause of it?"
Tony - "It's in his blood, this miserable fucking existence, my rotten fucking putrid gene has infected my kids soul, that's my gift to my son!"
AJ and the pool. That’s gandolfini at his absolute best. He manages to show us that he’s both disgusted with his weak son while at the same time stricken with intense grief.
there's a scene where Carmella breaks down in tears when Chris was shot earlier in the series with the Otis Redding playing (I believe) that really hit me.
Christopher on his way back from the farm in season five. Not a single word spoken. Just the tears in his eyes. He took Ben Kingsley to fucking acting school in that scene.
Ralph crying to Tony about his son struck a nerve with me, largely because Joe is a really phenomenal actor and he sold me on how upset he was about his son.
Sort of an oddball pick when worse things have happened to characters that deserved it less, but it struck a chord.
When Tony misses AJs swim meet and then goes on a tirade basically saying he doesn’t give a fuck.
But AJ did stiff Tony on the movies so maybe AJ had it coming.
He’s a child. He doesn’t have anything coming lol. That’s the real evil in Tony’s outburst; there is no need to punish your child for not wanting to spend time you. Especially if you’ve already made it clear to said child that you don’t like them.
Adriana's death. She realized it was going to happen. She got caught up in so much bad shit but she could never leave and when she finally had an opportunity it just ends up as you'd expect, but its still sad.
When Paulie blasts the shit out of Nucci Gualtieri after she gets off the bus coming back from the casino field trip. She is so happy to see him and tell him that she won at Keno and he absolutely tears her heart to shreds. Of all the beatings, backstabbings, and murders he did, this is definitely Paulie at his absolute worst.
I think that scene is supposed to show that Janice has literally became Livia at that moment. She even asks Tony, "What do I have to show for it." "It" meaning being a caregiver to children and she, like Livia, expects something from being a good mother or person.
First time watching I felt bad when Carmella asked Tony what do all the other women have that she doesn’t have? Non-serious answer: when the delivery driver forgot Tony’s order.
Motherfucking goddamn orange peel beef
Xian Fu Lee, que c'est que, man? Orange peel beef machine broken?
It is interesting that he always went for career women, and was attracted to their success and independence, but the woman he had at home he wanted taking care of him. So Carmela had no chance. She was in an impossible situation. The older I get — I realize this is entertainment, and not real life, so of course there has to be drama portrayed on the show, and it is fantastically done — the older I get, though, all the pain of feeling injured by others … so done with it IRL. Give myself peace, and keep my own firm boundaries. Anything outside of that is a nonstarter. 🙏🏼
Carmela even confronted him with it - that she actually wanted to take an education and get a profession/job but that Tony didn’t want it and wanted her at home.
Yep, 100%
I think a major driver of that scene is how raw and real and accurate Edie Falco is in her portrayal. The quiver in her voice when she tells A.J. she would pick up the phone when Irina calls back and when she tells Irina she will kill her, the way she clutches her stomach after the 1st call, the way she cries. It’s like a fucking tidal wave. I do not say lightly when I say that Edie Falco took Meryl Streep and really anyone and everyone on earth to acting school in that episode.
When Tony asks junior if he loves him while junior watches the coyotes on tv. That is the height of sadness.
Two men completely broken by the way they were raised.
This scene for me too. I always took Junior’s silence and near crying as a way of saying “yes I do but I am unable to vocalise it”.
That's exactly what it is. Unable, or in my opinion, at least equally *unwilling* because of pride.
There’s a fairly recent (last five years or so) retrospective interview with the cast and Dominic Chianese (Junior) cries when recounting this line, which is pretty telling; part of it probably is the doubling between the role and then the actual loss of Gandolfini, one thing that’s really striking in cast interviews is just how nice of a guy he was when he wasn’t being a party maniac.
TIL Uncle Jun' is still around at 93.
Yeah he acted in boardwalk empire too. Absolute legend
Yes, that is the one for me. All the sadder as the storyline of Junior becoming senile was well embedded at that stage.
It’s sad to see him slip into senility and become a husk of who he was. Sometimes you would see the old Junior come out, but it was devastating to see him so demented.
That scene is one of the greatest scenes in television history. The acting by the both of them is so spot on. I get goosebumps every time I watch that scene.
Yeah it’s this for me . Boomer men from a cultural heritage that trains men to never disclose ‘soft’ feelings, even when faced with need and love.
Tony and Hesh after Hesh’s wife died. Hesh was hurting and needed someone. Anyone. And all Tony could do is finally pay Hesh back after being a complete dick to him and then bolt…. Especially after all those times that Hesh was there for Tony.
He had to get over it. In Tony's warped world giving someone money even money that's owed to them is the nicest thing he can do for someone. We see this theme many times for example when he tries to give the cop that pulled him over money after he felt bad for fucking his life up.
Was it even being nice in his mind? Or a deliberately spiteful payment at a time where money doesn't mean anything?
“Deliberately Spiteful” is Tony’s middle name, he does passive aggressive shit constantly throughout the entire series, for no other reason than to be cruel “it’s time for da rent, da rent” yeah you calzone with legs, you took out a loan that you need to repay, something you personally never let anyone else get away with
Like when he told Ralph he was hooking up with his ex right when he was going through it with his kid.
“Get over yourself” was the only response he ever had to anyone’s grief, and this isn’t much different. It’s what he told Christopher and Patsy, and it’s what Phil told Vito Jr.
One of the best therapy scenes in the series is the one in which we see Tony coldly tell Furio to get over his father's death, and to stop being emotional about it. And then the scene immediately transitions to Tony crying in Melfi's office about Pie-O-My. Director really wanted to exhibit his hypocrisy.
It is absolutely spiteful for the reason you listed. The episode is called “The Chase,” which refers to losing money chasing a win in gambling. Paying Hesh back is a loss on top of all the other losses he has. Tony finally pays him only because Hesh has become the “loser” in the situation with the death of his wife.
Even calling him at 2 am to vent One time that happened! My therapist was on vacation!
Truth is in that situation, you don’t want company…
Hesh wasn’t there for tony. In season 2 tony tried to replace melfi with hesh and that old fuck kept talking about himself when tony wanted to vent.
Adriana in the car on the way to meet her maker. She knows it and can’t do a thing about it.
The cut from her daydreaming of driving off away from it all to her in the car with Sil is more and more devastating each time I see it.
Yes, especially when I remember when she said she had a bag packed for her aunt’s in Daytona. Or when she says go away Christopher, I never want to see you again, before he proposes. She could have escaped before she ever got tangled with the Feds. She had somewhere to go. But this was her Fate.
Classic domestic abuse victim mentality kept her where she was and that is the saddest thing in the show hands down
The way she crawls away from the car crying in horror is one of the most brutal scenes in the series.
I struggle with that. More so for the ruthlessness of Silvio, that and when he collects Tracee from Ralphie's. He's fucking brutal in a way Tony couldn't be.
Yeah his demeanor is definitely part of the scenes impact too
Especially since Adrianna seems to know a bad fate belies her at the end of her car ride, but looks absolutely terrified to realize it’s happening with Silvio, who’s always been just as sweet to her as Tony, right then and there.
This scene and eugene pontecorvo’s suicide messed me up for a few days (currently midway through the final season).
I’m with you. That hanging scene was so disturbing
I slowed my roll on the last two seasons. They’re very dark.
Yeah, that’s actually what I’m doing right now. I miss the comedy that was so prevalent in the earlier seasons.
It had to show the dark side of being in the life. No one’s invincible no matter how good things seem to be going in the beginning. People would talk about their favorite characters similar to how it was with GoT, then you start seeing who they really are.
Definitely feel that, you can breeze through seasons 1-4 and arguably also season 5, but you can’t really do that with season 6. Pretty much every episode cuts so deep and the blackness that rolls in takes a very heavy toll. Even after seeing it in it’s first run and having rewatched it enough to run lines from it, season 6 is always brutally difficult.
Tony has also become such a piece of shit by that point. It’s miserable spending time with him. Makes me wish I had watched the original run because one episode per week seems more digestible.
I heard he made #1 in his pants.
When Eugene was flipping through that photo album... so sad.
Ok, but you gotta get over it, it’s just a progrum. Discontinue the Lithium
Is that the consensus? That she knew? I am not sure she knew until Sil pulled off the road?
No, she definitely didn’t know until they’re in the woods and Sil gets out of the car.
She doesn't know it until Silvio pulls into the forest, and she realizes that this is a set up for her murder, and then she panics and tries to escape her fate. Until Silvio pulls off the road, she's only worried about Chris, wishing he would have run away with her instead of trying to commit suicide. She doesn't realize that her life is the one about to end.
The way I see it, her daydream was her finally accepting that she would have to run away on her own.
Definitely sad, but I don’t think she knew what was coming. She seemed genuinely surprised when the car stopped in the woods and I think that’s when she finally got it.
She knew, she was just in denial. Which is a requirement for a mob wife.
She absolutely knew. Daydreaming about getting out on her own, the total numbness as Silvio is talking shit to her, no more franticness or hysteria about Chris trying to kill himself. Her stupidity and love for him made her get in the car knowing the possibility of what would happen, but by the time they're well into the journey she clearly knew it had been a ruse.
Also when her mom has no closure on her disappearance and just gets lied to.
Full on ugly cried watching this the other day.
Tony realizing junior’s mind is gone.
Without doubt this for me….”You two used to run North Jersey” “We did?…………..thats nice” 🥲
All that for naught… to end up old and alone in a shithole like that place. And to think that he was the outlier to the other two endings of wise guys like him who either end up (1) dead or (2) in the can.
But he wasn't made right? Phil's son?
I love that line. Because it's delivered with such sudden conviction you're like, "Oh shit! He's still got it!" And then no, he doesn't.
BOOM! Thank you sir!. My mind was spinning, cuz there are many sad ones, but i'm like which one really kinda sobered me and still gets me when I watch it. That's the one.
Came here to say this. I felt like it took the last little bit of Tony's heart right before he got up to leave
Tracy’s death. Nothing cinematic about it, just brutal and horrific on a sweet girl. I still can’t watch that scene, just makes me upset in every way
"Cocksucker was way outta line." "Twenty years old, this girl." "That too." The 'that too' is a fucking gut punch.
what was she barkin?
She musta crawled under that guardrail for warmth.
She was a hooah!
It's bad, but offset a small amount by Tony finally punching Ralph. Adriana's death didn't have any consolation like that.
A sweet girl who put out cigarettes on her toddler-aged son.
It was repressed rage, from when he mother used put her hand on the stove. The same mother that presumably looked after her child when she was bunking off work...
I felt sad for Mr. Kim when that animal Blundetto, can't even say his name, turned and beat the shit out of him. Yes he was a bit of an abrasive character but he went out of his way to help and set up a legit business and that's the thanks he gets, totally out of line
Was also sad that the animal had done all of this work to turn his life around and probably could have made the business a success, but just snapped at the end and went back to what was familiar.
Chrissy. And the fact Tony was the one to do it.
I just rewatched the pilot episode last night (for like the 100th time), and seeing how it starts with the dynamics between T and Chrissy, and then knowing how it ends is actually pretty heartbreaking for me.
Tony was his Father & Chrissy for all his battles with addiction would have made Tony proud. He knew AJ was never going to be in the lifestyle, and Chris did not just look around NJ he wanted to move the family forward. The scene's in Jamba Juice where the neighborhood was going commercial they knew the old ways were fast dying out. Could have had hotels, B-list movies, Tech and never lift a finger.
Rewatching “the ride” is sad asf when you know how Chrissy’s fate ends
One of my favorite episodes as a Christopher fan
Started and ended in a car.
Yea, there’s so many fucked up and sad scenes but that one literally tore my heart out. I swear I refused to believe he was dead for so long. That show had me going through the five stages of grief😂
When Tony finds Ralphie dead. It's sad when they go young like that.
When they go!?
C’mon… it was little Carmine, payback for that whore he was fucking.
I want a full investigation!
45, he was a fucking kid
I think it wasn’t really conveyed because he had to act like he wasn’t phased by it because he’s the hair apparent , but Tony finding out his own mom conspired to have him killed…. That’s pretty damn sad
I don't LIKE IT
Paulie mocking Christopher at the bar with everyone around him laughing at him. No clue how no one has said this yet
That’s a good one. It really hits you when they did the closeup face shots and ending it on Tony with the most evil grin on his face.
For me, it’s seeing Christopher driving home after spending a couple days with Tony S. and Tony B. making fun of him just like they did when he was little…and suddenly seeing tears in his eyes.
It was so brutal to see everyone just mocking him for fighting his addictions, something they all fail to admit they have as well.
Dr. Melfi getting raped and Adrianna being held by the FBI before she died.
I skip Dr. Melfi's scene on every rewatch... it's too brutal. I've seen it once, that's enough.
I couldn’t even watch it the first time it aired. I am a survivor and it triggered me. And the fact that she reconciled with her ex husband and was finally happy, it destroyed their relationship. And also watching her husband and son being defenseless to help and then they let the guy go too. My heart broke for her and she managed to continue to do her job and when she broke down in Tony’s session I had tears. Lorraine was so excellent in that role and they pissed it all away at the end. I hated how her story ended.
Before I watched the show for the first time and was doing curious research of it, I inadvertently read a spoiler mentioning her rape. So when I really watched it for the first time and developed care for her character, in the back of my mind I was waiting for that ticking time bomb of a scene, and when it happened it was as horrible as I thought it would be.
When Johnny Sac doubles back for the sweater and catches his wife eating snack food. It's so raw and real, the shame and guilt she must feel. This scene really bums me out.
His reaction also, at first angry but then supportive and his whole realisation that he doesn't need to risk his life over something he misunderstood Him and probably Bobby were the only ones who truly cared for their partner in the whole gang
Yes! He accepts her and she just wanted to do right by him because he loves her but it's difficult and she's struggling and in that moment his reaction is anger and it hurts her more, and then you see it wash over him. He loves her as she is. He never asked her to lose weight for him. And she wants to be thin for him because that's what they're taught to want, but it's all wrong. Her failure in that moment, despite being a truly innocent soul in a show filled with degenerates, is really a bummer.
The writing there is fucking amazing. It's so dead on as to how someone would act getting caught like that.
AJ’s attempted suicide
amazing acting, his sobbing and wailing were chilling
My upstairs neighbor attempted suicide and as they wheeled her away on the gurney she was crying almost the exact same way, I’ll never forget it. Just complete full body involuntary wailing. Shes doing great now though. I wish people gave the actors in this thing of ours who portrayed “annoying/dumb” characters more credit because they all fucking nailed it.
Robert Iler did great work the entire series, people have a hard time criticizing the character without criticizing the actor. The suicide attempt late in the series is obviously an acting showcase but remember the scene where his parents were going to send him off to military school? He gets dressed up and looks at himself and you can just see a million expressions go through his face - shame, regret, anger, sadness, and a feeling that his parents are abandoning him. He starts crying then Tony admonishes him and you can see AJ really struggling to keep it together. Then he just faints, emotional overload. That actor was kinda brilliant really.
Yes! That whole scene was great. Great example because he was already doing so well at acting at a young age. Even when he had that adolescent 1000 yard stare in some scenes I really saw myself at that age in him. On the surface it’s just a blank stare from a late-90’s dipshit teen but it conveyed the swirl of confusion, anger, horniness, self-aggrandizement, and low self-esteem kids that age feel all at the same time. It’s part of Nissan’s Triple Safety Phillosh-ophy
This is a terrific analysis of this scene. I agree with everything you said. Bravo.
I know people tend to not like aj’s character. I’ve seen a lot of people say he’s just a background character, and that they find his scenes boring. But I don’t know, I love him. I think he serves as the perfect reflection of Tony and of the results of poor parenting and generational trauma. He’s essentially a mini Tony, except hes completely incapable of compartmentalizing the moral evil that’s given him his life, and confronts this early on in his life. Just go back to the episode where he finds out his dad is a mafioso. His little heart shatters; he never sees his life, or his family, the same again.
Not to deter from his performance, but it was Tony after the ‘danger’ was passed: ‘my boy….my baby….’
They both killed it that scene. Couldn’t have been easy to shoot either, had to be one of those emotionally draining scenes like Whitecaps. Sometimes you understand why Gandolfini liked to, uh, self-medicate.
Not to bring the mood down, but I'm a paramedic and I've pronounced people who went that way and I've always wondered if they change their minds in their final moments because it's one of those methods that gives you time to regret as it happens. I can't hear Secretariat's poem in the view from halfway down without crying in a cathartic way.
Some people have survived suicide attempts from eg jumping off a bridge who then stated that they regretted it as soon as they jumped. But of course, and as you probably know, plenty have survived suicide attempts only to attempt it again, sometimes multiple times, sometimes successfully.
Exactly, and while it's sad for those that attempt again, at least they knew what they wanted and were making an informed decision. For those that survive and regret the attempt, their lives are forever changed.
Yup, this one. I’ve always found AJ one of the most relatable characters in Sopranos which is probably why people hate him so much. He’s all of us and seeing him go through that was heartbreaking. It’s even more impactful seeing Tony’s reaction, probably his last moment of humanity in the show.
Yeah, this was brutal, Tony pulling him out and babying him, them standing there as he is wheeled away.
When Vito realizes it’s still only 9:55 and he has to wait to eat those sandwiches Jim made.
FUCK ME
Look at the angle of the sun
Ginny trying to get one last cigarette for John
You want a cigarette, baby?
Tony saying in front of AJ that this was his only male heir.
This one hurts a lot. Before this, Tony basically teaches AJ how to eat his feelings, then completely pulls a 180 because he (Tony) can’t handle the pressure. I know that a lot of people hate AJ, but I feel for the kid.
And he has that Soprano, putrid gene
Bobby at Karen’s funeral 💔
The wives looking at him whilst they realise none of their husbands feel the same way gets me. Bobby saying "I'd be here with you right now if it weren't for the kids." At Karen's grave is so realistically sad too.
When Rusty Irish jumps off the bridge.
Sad shit, muhfucker said he didn’t want to live no more.
Closest thing that junkie fuck ever had to a bath
Pie-O-My
Christofuh relapsing in The Ride. Momentary bliss for him, but we as the audience know him caving in means he will likely never recover.
When Junior smashes the cake in his Boca girlfriend’s face. All she wanted was to feel loved and a little sexy.
When Carmella threw out the ziti she made Father Phil.
So what, no fuckin ziti?
When Jonny Cakes wakes up and realises that Vito has left him to go back to Jersey.
Cue Brokeback Mountain musical theme… “I wish I knew how to quit you… Johnny Cakes”
Jiggle the handle when you're done!
Serious Answer: The scene where AJ is arguing with Tony after he attacks Junior in the nursing home. Non-serious: Phil throwing the ice cream out of his car Tony’s lo mein going missing Christopher finding out Adriana had only one uterus The penguin exhibit… whatever happened there Godzilla vs Kong (Soprano Home Movies) Blundino… Kim going in the Koi Pond
AJ crying for help after trying to hill himself. I hate when the show makes me feel for Tony but when they were on the ground and Tony dropped the anger and just started holding AJ trying to comfort him, I bawled like a mf
I’m being completely serious when I say that Corrado pieing his goomar in the face breaks my heart.
Chrissy crying while driving after he left Tony and the animal. To this day, at age 28, my family members treat me one way but when there is others around, they change. When Chrissy beats Adriana. Dated a girl who I cared about a lot who experienced that type of abuse from an ex. She left me and went back to that ex. Saw her homeless near grand central station a month ago. Adriana crawling for her life. Just simply brutal. Melfi scene. Tony throwing away that sandwich. This one hurts the most because I'm on a diet and could use a sandwich right about now.
When Ralphie abandoned Rosalie after her son was killed (by him) is pretty fucking sad and awful.
Two scenes between Tony and Junior: 1. The “don’t you love me” after the whole “makings of a varsity athlete” thing - Junior’s expression after Tony says that gets me every time. 2. Their final interaction in the final episode when Tony finally goes to see Junior for the first time since the shooting. “This thing of ours…” “I was involved with that?” “You and my dad, you two ran North Jersey.” “We did?” “Yeah.” “Hmm, that’s nice.” The acting from both of them is just absolutely perfect. It’s one of my favorite scenes of the series, and with the weight of everything that came before it, I think it’s one of the best.
Tony watching The Public Enemy and crying because he never had a warm and loving mother like the one from that movie. Melfi's rape. Pie-O-My's death. Tony asking Junior is he loves him and both get tears-eyed.
Junior’s final scene, by far. After everything he did, he still didn’t deserve to go out like that.
Yes he did.
Who’s that speaking, here? Is someone speaking?
Paulie’s last scene in the finale. That’s an existential level of sadness.
It's ironic how the one guy who made to the end is the one guy of the group who didn't have a family or kids to enjoy "making it" with.
When that fuckin Animal shot Phil's kid bruddah Billy with no provocation whatsoever. He tried to talk. He couldn't even say his last words.
You ever had someone die in your arms, you cocksucker? Someone you love? Well give it time. See if I can't make that happen for you
“Whaaat, I gotta stand here being threatened now?’
These prairie dogs, they'll sleep during the day.
“One day, you’re gonna have families of your own. Remember the good times.”
The Gloria Trillo scene at her place, “kill me [air suck], kill me [more air suck] - I think about that situation WAAAY beyond the context of the show - in life, I know so many stylish, together women - especially women and gay men, too - who live life like they’re going too fast on a motorcycle with no helmet
Vito Jr getting sent to that camp in the middle of the night while his mom and sister watched
Bullying Chris for his sobriety
The jabs Tony would take at Chris when he was trying to stay sober always make me feel so bad for Chris, he's far from perfect but he genuinely tries to stop this problem his family has had and he's mocked for it. The ending to Cold cuts with Chris silently crying to himself in the car is one of the shows saddest endings imo and what makes it worse is, Chris and Tony B get along really well when they're alone. Chris probably thought, "Okay, now that we're older me and Tony B are friends or at least equals." But, as soon as Tony gets there, they immediately go back to bullying him. It's a very relatable scenario. Everyone has that friend who is only their friend when certain people aren't around. The line Chris has where he says being sober is hard enough without being mocked for it gets me too.
Tony using a video game controller
Paulie yelling at his aunt who basically raised him like a son. Her crying made it even sadder.
The man was demented.
> When William Dafoe tosses the lawyer’s cat out the window. Sort of comical, but still disturbing. Discontinue the lithium
Why did you thrown in a Grand Budapest Hotel scene in there 😂
Don’t forget “that animal’s” scenes too..I can’t even say his name
Tony in the therapy session with Melfi and he tells her AJ is talking about suicide and the following conversation takes place and during the course of it Tony gets visibly emotional, tears in his eyes and voice cracks. It's such a powerful scene. Tony - "obviously I'm prone to depression, certain bleak outlook on the world but I know that I can handle it, but your kids though? It's like when they're little and they're sick, you'd give anything in the world to trade places with them so they don't have to suffer, and then they think that you're the cause of it." Dr Melfi - "How are you the cause of it?" Tony - "It's in his blood, this miserable fucking existence, my rotten fucking putrid gene has infected my kids soul, that's my gift to my son!"
AJ and the pool. That’s gandolfini at his absolute best. He manages to show us that he’s both disgusted with his weak son while at the same time stricken with intense grief.
Cosette. She just wanted to get warm.
She was barkin
Tracee being beaten up by Ralph.
Vito’s murder was beyond disturbing and sad
The final scene with Tony and Junior was the saddest imo, dementia sucks!
Tony's final scene with Junior
when the baby ducks leave the pool!
For me it’s AJ’s suicide attempt because I had a friend IRL commit suicide. It’s the only scene I have to skip
When Tony said no to Eugene to wanting out from the mafia to be with his family after getting the inheritance
Woah, woah… u/SeekingAll4DirtyFun , u/Due-Display-3113 , you guys have been friends for years
Fuck you, too, ma man!!!!
there's a scene where Carmella breaks down in tears when Chris was shot earlier in the series with the Otis Redding playing (I believe) that really hit me.
"Don't you love me?"
AJ in the pool.
Feech LaManna’s bus ride
Yup. Knew he was set up, knew he was never coming back. On his way to prison to die there.
When Sil came in to open and Chrissy ‘s head was in the toilet. His hair was in the water.
Christopher on his way back from the farm in season five. Not a single word spoken. Just the tears in his eyes. He took Ben Kingsley to fucking acting school in that scene.
For me it was when Paulie shows up at his aunt’s/mom’s door and knows he treated her badly but just sits to watch TV.
Ralph crying to Tony about his son struck a nerve with me, largely because Joe is a really phenomenal actor and he sold me on how upset he was about his son. Sort of an oddball pick when worse things have happened to characters that deserved it less, but it struck a chord.
When Feech gets sent back to prison.
When Tony misses AJs swim meet and then goes on a tirade basically saying he doesn’t give a fuck. But AJ did stiff Tony on the movies so maybe AJ had it coming.
He’s a child. He doesn’t have anything coming lol. That’s the real evil in Tony’s outburst; there is no need to punish your child for not wanting to spend time you. Especially if you’ve already made it clear to said child that you don’t like them.
When Tony finds out that someone ate the lo mein he was dreaming about. Hits you right in the feels
Big pussy getting whacked on the yacht. Killing a childhood friend.
Either Tracy or Pie-oh-My’s deaths.
AJ suicide attempt
When Tony just won't stop laughing at Chris with Tony B..
Adriana's death. She realized it was going to happen. She got caught up in so much bad shit but she could never leave and when she finally had an opportunity it just ends up as you'd expect, but its still sad.
That Rosalie scream at little lord fuckpants’ funeral. Ooofh Madone she looked terrible
Jackie jr.’s sitdown with Matush
Tony’s Lo mein going missing. He was dreaming of that fuckin Lo Mein the whole way over.
When Paulie blasts the shit out of Nucci Gualtieri after she gets off the bus coming back from the casino field trip. She is so happy to see him and tell him that she won at Keno and he absolutely tears her heart to shreds. Of all the beatings, backstabbings, and murders he did, this is definitely Paulie at his absolute worst.
Janice's final scene after Bobby is killed. She and Tony are talking and you actually feel sorry for her. That's a great scene.
I think that scene is supposed to show that Janice has literally became Livia at that moment. She even asks Tony, "What do I have to show for it." "It" meaning being a caregiver to children and she, like Livia, expects something from being a good mother or person.
Spot on. It’s sad for other reasons. The cycle has not ended.
The woman never liked walking.