Quarantine 4 - TV Analysis: The Sopranos
What’s a better way to spend infinite quarantine than spending 86 hours watching 6 and a half seasons of The Sopranos”? I have been meaning to watch “The Sopranos” for years, but it’s a time commitment - As Tommy will tell you, Tony and company have been both my best friends and archnemeses over the past few weeks of isolation - I would be remiss if I didn’t reflect on the show. A note, this is a full review of the show - please don’t proceed if you haven’t watched the Sopranos. For your convenience, I’ve put a picture of Tony below to separate the text lest you unintentionally get any spoilers.
When I started the Sopranos’, I didn’t really know what to expect. A few facts: I had taken a class on Martin Scorcese in college so I was familiar with Goodfellas and the canon of traditional Italian Mob family dramas. But, my mom, a psychologist, put up with the violence of the Sopranos. How could this be? There must be some internal twist. Additionally, I had - in a cruel twist of fate - seen the last episode already, which is one of the highlights of the show.
Instead of a Goodfellas style crime drama though, the Sopranos dove deep into an analysis of more relatable themes. Why is Tony so violent? Can he become a better person? The brilliance is that it forces you to think about questions of morality while you think you are watching someone (hopefully Phil) get whacked. Through the interplay of Tony and his psychiatrist Dr. Jennfifer Melfi, the audience digs into why Tony is violent, questioning if it is caused by nature or nurture. Eventually, Tony changes in the ways that matter to him, becoming a happier, but not better person.
Tony is a representation of the American male ideal - highly independent, strong, and proud - the mob boss with all the power. All of the traits that make him a great boss, also make him profoundly unhappy. He has so much repressed anger that he experiences panic attacks frequently. Without these panic attacks, he likely would not have ever approached therapy, but, in Season One, without another option, he begins.
Throughout the show, we can see that he is simultaneously attached to masculine ideals and out of control of his emotions. Tony’s always had a special relationship with animals, something that is considered weird, but acceptable. At the beginning of the show, the departure of a family of ducks that were nesting in his pool triggers his first episode. Later, his attachment becomes more violent. When one of his captains, Ralphie, buys a horse, he becomes attached to it - dreaming about it and visiting it frequently. When Ralphie lets it die, accidentally, Tony kills Ralphie in a fit of rage. Ralphie was annoying, but this does Tony more harm than good - forcing him to work with his nephew Christopher to cover his tracks. Later in the show, one of the henchmen of the opposing New York City boss hits on his daughter inappropriately. In a similar fit of rage and male ego, he beats the living daylights out of him, putting him on the brink of death. This cascades indirectly into a full-fledged war between the two families. Tony’s repressed emotions and attachment to male duty, cause him countless problems throughout the show.
The violence of mob life is contrasted by his discussions with his therapist who represents more sophisticated white-collar ideals. Tony’s life is stressful - he is constantly worrying if he will be whacked or dealing with violent threats with his team. Tony’s violence seems rational in his mind due to the male ideals he is trying to follow - protecting honor, family, and tradition. Similarly, Dr. Melfi herself experiences violence. She is violently raped on her way to her car one night after Tony offers to walk her to her car. The justice system fails her due to clerical errors and she can see where her white-collar ideals of order and justice fail. Even Dr. Melfi begins to understand why some of the violent protection Tony provides would be desirable.
Through her work with Tony, she uncovers some underlying issues with Tony. At the beginning of the She diagnoses, Tony’s mother with borderline personality disorder. Eventually, his mother in a bout of depressed senility plots to kill Tony with his Uncle Junior. Tony is hurt that his mother has a lack of love and acceptance of him. However, she is pushed by her friends and colleagues to question Tony’s motives with the fascination of a fanbase. Her therapist/friend goes as far as to call Tony sociopathic. She bounces back and forth between desiring to help him and getting frustrated with his lack of progress and stubbornness towards her therapy. From both sides, the therapy is inconsistent, but that does not mean it is not effective.
All the work comes to a crescendo after Tony is shot and recovering in the hospital. He has a dream that lasts two episodes, during which he has a realization about his mother, which you can see below.
As my mother said, this is “the Aha! moment”, the breakthrough that a therapist would look for in her patient. Dr. Melfi herself is taken aback, telling Tony that “That’s very insightful.” Tony realizes he’s chasing his mother’s bus, but he can just let go and focus on riding his bus. After this point, there’s a marked change in his outlook and his mood. His style of managing his business changes to a more relaxed and conciliatory tone. It seems like a real breakthrough for Tony, but the counter-question remains - can someone who is so violent really be making psychological progress, or is he a sociopath? Dr. Melfi’s friends would argue that he’s a sociopath, but the show presents him as a one making progress.
My roommate and I while discussing the show often asked: “Is Tony good or bad?” Perhaps the point is that it doesn’t matter. Each character in the show has their own issues and they are either progressing or regressing relative to their baseline. Dr. Melfi herself refuses Tony's therapy when he needs it most. Tony is progressing relative to his view of himself, but he is so far intertwined with mob life that he can never be “good”, he can just be happier. We are all just riding buses, sometimes getting off and chasing others.