In the tail end of the '90s, HBO introduced to viewers around the world a new kind of dysfunctional family. But instead of a comedy, the show operated like a week-to-week Martin Scorsese-inspired film.
The protagonist of the show, New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini), was a family man but also the leader of the most powerful mob in Jersey. Though Tony was a family man, the character made several decisions that a villain would make. Over the course of the series, Tony would struggle to find that fine line between and business.
Before "Breaking Bad" or "Game of Thrones", there was "The Sopranos".
5. "Soprano Home Movies"
A Sopranos-style weekend retreat with the family, what could go wrong? Anything but peace. Peace in this show can only last for so long. A game of Monopoly quickly turns personal and ends with Tony's brother-in-law, Bobby Bacala (Steve Schirripa), beating the feared mob boss into submission, a feat no one on the show was able to achieve beforehand.
As revenge, Tony has Bobby make his first murder, which is a huge turning point for the almost child-like innocence of Bobby's character. "Soprano Home Movies" helps to solidify Tony as the villain he has started to embrace. Tony is now a man forcing his brother-in-law to commit his first murder just because Bobby was able to best him in a fight he himself initiated. Any kind of humanity Tony had left was washed away to shore.
This episode also does a great job at hinting at some key moments that will go down in the remaining eight episodes of the series.
4. "Employee of the Month"
Tony and Dr. Melfi's (Lorraine Braco) relationship is likely one of the most interesting relationships in the entire show, maybe even more than Tony's connection with his wife, Carmela, played by Edie Falco. It's not romantic or even platonic, but more on the level of respect.
This relationship makes it that much harder to watch Melfi get raped in a parking garage by an unknown man. All the while, Tony, this mob boss with all of the connections and men under his thumb who whacks (the show's main term for killing) individuals all the time, is oblivious to these events.
Melfi does figure out the identity of her attacker and it leads to another very hard scene to watch, and that is saying something for a show like "The Sopranos", where hard-to-watch scenes are commonplace. Melfi knows that she can have this man found and tortured in every way known imaginable. An eye for an eye.
But Melfi also knows that once she crosses that line, she may never go back. Instead of going down to Tony's level, Dr. Melfi remains who she is through all the horrible events she has experienced.
3. "Where's Johnny? / All Happy Families"
The Feech saga. Feech La Manna (Robert Loggia), the former enforcer for Tony's father, is released after a 20-year stint in prison. Feech is still very much living with an old school mentality while Tony is running the business to how the world operates now, which instantly creates friction between the two.
Tony clashes with several members of his crew throughout the series, but what makes Feech so memorable is that he is one of the few people on the show who does not fear Tony. Feech is not vying for control necessarily; he is just fed up with how the business he was locked up for is being run. As the relationship between Tony and Feech begins to further deteriorate, you expect Tony to just kill Feech and be done with it. But like with "Employee of the Month", the show takes what the audience thinks it will do and turns it on its head.
Power shifts and relationships change. The person who was once your whipping boy is now your superior. Life will keep on moving with or without you.
2. "The Sopranos"
The episode which introduced the world to a new dysfunctional family. Instead of a huge shootout or some kind of drug bust, this show about organized crime begins with its main character in therapy. What mob boss goes to talk to a therapist about his feelings? Certainly not a violent mob boss who kills and assaults people for a living. This is a mobster who considers whacking his own uncle/associate but still has panic attacks.
Tony's panic attacks, which will be a long-running story thread for the rest of the series, begin here. It becomes apparent out the gate that this show will be much more than just wars with other crews and whacks. At its heart, "The Sopranos" is a show about a man struggling between two identities... his mob identity and his family identity. Will one overtake the other? Stay tuned...
1. "Made in America"
Every great story must have a conclusion. The series finale, "Made in America," might be the most divisive episode of the entire show. This episode can be interpreted in many different ways through the eyes of different viewers. That is the magic of this show. All of Tony's decisions throughout the series have led to this landmark of an episode.
The rivalry between Tony's mob crew and the equally dangerous New York crew (the closest thing to a full-on mob war on the show), which had been building for a few seasons now, comes to a close. Tony seemingly vanquishes all of his remaining enemies, and things once again seem alright for everyone's favorite mob boss.
But this is "The Sopranos," and no one on this show is allowed a happy ending. Not even Tony Soprano. The ending of the episode still causes debate to this day, but it still was not a bad way to go out for one of the greatest shows to hit the air.
What "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" did for the mob genre in the '70s and '90s, "The Sopranos" introduced the genre to a whole new audience as well as an old audience of fans. "Sopranos" creator David Chase introduced a new TV protagonist who actually blurs the line between protagonist and antagonist.
Tony aside, almost everyone in the series in the 86-episode run of the series had a story to tell and felt like real people, even if they commit terrible acts. The show was less about the mob and more about the people living (or struggling to live) the lifestyle.
