‘The Sopranos’: Celebrate this prequel reveal with the best episodes
Since the finale in 2007, The Sopranos has left its mark as one of the best TV series to grace the mafia genre. Now, fans will finally see the life of young Tony Soprano, played by none other than the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael Gandolfini.
As we wait for the highly-anticipated prequel, let’s revisit some of the best episodes which made the original series so astonishing! It only takes mere seconds for an episode to go from hilarious to disturbingly violent. Here are some of our favorite episodes from The Sopranos.
Season 3, Episode 11: “Pine Barrens”
One of the first episodes directed by Steve Buscemi, “Pine Barrens” mostly remains a violent, dark comedy cherished by fans. No one can forget the hysterical misery of Paulie & Christopher treading through the snowy woods, having no clue where they’re going.
What was supposed to be a simple money collection from Valery ended in a brawl & assumed death. Paulie & Christopher attempt to dispose of the body without Tony knowing. However, as they’re about to dump the body, Valery returns to life and escapes the fumbling duo. As they attempt to find the man, they become entirely lost in the dark & freezing woods.
The series creator David Chase has reported that many fans have begged to know if Valery was ever found. Yet, Chase insists on keeping the character’s fate a mystery. “They shot a guy. Who knows where he went? Who cares about some Russian? This is what Hollywood has done to America. Do you have to have closure on every little thing? Isn’t there any mystery in the world? It’s a murky world out there,” said Chase.
Season 3, Episode 4: “Employee of the Month”
This dark episode revealed a traumatic event that changed Tony’s psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, forever. It’s clear that Dr. Melfi can’t help but sympathize with Tony, despite him clearly being a sociopathic killer. Her husband & her psychiatrist plead with Dr. Melfi to stop seeing Tony as her patient. However, she refuses.
Dr. Melfi never agreed with Tony Soprano’s use of brutality until she herself was forcibly attacked in a parking garage. She knows that one word to Tony would end her attacker’s life. She even dreams of a violent Rottweiler protecting her and killing her attacker. She knows the rabid dog represents Tony Soprano.
When Tony meets Dr. Melfi for his appointment, he sees her visible injuries. Yet, Dr. Melfi lies and tells Tony she was in a car accident, but as she looks at him she begins to cry. Tony is surprisingly gentle and asks her what’s wrong. Tony says, “What? You wanna say something?” After a rigid pause, she replies, “No.”
Season 5, Episode 12: “Long Term Parking”
Sickening to this day, this episode turned many fans from their previous admiration for Tony Soprano and his crew. No one can forget the violent murder of the unfortunate Adriana La Cerva. After her boyfriend Christopher finds out she was being forced to give information to the FBI, he nearly strangles her to death. However, he stops himself and agrees to run away with her and start a new life.
That is until Christopher witnesses a poor family on the streets and realizes this could be him if he runs away with Adriana. Later, Adriana receives a call from Tony informing her that Christopher has attempted suicide. As she begins to cry, Tony soothes her and tells her that Silvio will take her to the hospital.
You begin to feel nauseous as you see Silvio driving Adriana deeper & deeper into the woods. When he stops the car, fear begins to dawn on Adriana’s face before he drags her out of the car. Offscreen, all we can hear is screaming & crying before a loud gunshot silences her. “Long Term Parking” had viewers needing some recovery time before moving on to the next episode.
Season 6, Episode 19: “The Second Coming”
This episode showed Tony’s duality as a deranged murder yet a (somewhat) caring father. After his daughter Meadow is sexually harassed by an opposing gangster, Tony finds him and disturbingly curb-stomps him in public without thinking about any consequences. Later, as Tony is listening to AJ’s therapist, he discreetly removes a bloody tooth from the cuff of his pants.
Additionally, AJ continues to struggle with his depression and decides he will kill himself. He sits on the edge of the swimming pool with a cinder-block tied by a rope to one leg. Yet, the rope is too long and he struggles in the pool.
Tony happens to come home and begins hearing shouts. He instinctively jumps into the pool while wearing a suit & tie. At first, he is furious, but AJ is crying heavily. Tony cradles his son in his lap, saying “Come on, baby, you’re all right, baby.”
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What’s your favorite episode of The Sopranos? What do you think about the upcoming prequel? Let us know in the comments below!
