Just like his readings of Arthur Schopenhauer, the life and struggles of the sociopathic mobster suffering from a miserable suffocating lifestyle and anxiety attacks is a subtle source of companionship for the otherwise reclusive Jason.

The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase. Set and produced in New Jersey, USA the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The show is noted for Chase’s multifaceted, heavily symbolic style of writing. Over the course of the series’ six-season run, Chase and his co-writers addressed a large number of psychological, philosophical, social and political themes and motifs.

Anthony “Tony” Soprano – is the quick-tempered and fierce de facto Boss of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family and patriarch of the Soprano household. Tony begins to suffer from depression and have many panic attacks after years of stress over his “business”, his strained relationship with his wife, repressed emotions and a difficult childhood.

Tony has suffered from panic attacks that sometimes cause him to lose consciousness since his childhood. He has his first on-screen panic attack while cooking sausages at his son’s birthday party — this occurs in a flashback in the pilot episode. Tony loses consciousness and causes a small explosion when he drops a bottle of lighter fluid onto the coals. Tony describes the experience of the panic attack as feeling like he had “ginger ale in his skull”. This prompts him to seek help for the attacks. After extensive testing no physical cause can be found. Tony is referred to psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi. Tony’s care is a major theme in the entire series. Their sessions are something that Jason watches frequently.

Tony is a tragic anti-hero. Trapped by circumstances and refuses to break free. He is Ava’s favorite character because she sees him as a victim, even though he is a criminal and a murderer. She wants to believe there is good in everyone. Jason identifies with him on so many levels, both in ways of their similarities and contradictions. Tony can go from indifferent/happy to violently angry in a split second when someone says or does something to which he is particularly sensitive. Tony occasionally uses Gary Cooper as a point of reference for how men should behave. He has reverence for traditional male roles as well.

Carmela Soprano – Carmella is Tony’s long time wife. Carmela is capable, organized and resourceful and puts her family first. Carmela tries to maintain the Soprano household while Tony is out working. At times, she seems to be the stereotypical mob boss’s wife: supportive and friendly, even strong at times, while rarely asking about details of her husband’s work. Tony has trusted his wife enough to confide in her, to a degree, about some of his Mafia dealings. However, the years of having a husband missing at all hours, coupled with his constant infidelity, have put a serious strain on their relationship at times and they even separated for a period. Carmela is also an observant Roman Catholic and has difficulty rationalizing both her husband’s profession and her subsequent separation.

While generally understood as good, Carmela’s character is a complicated one. She has sometimes sacrificed her children’s security for the sake of a few gold watches, but has defended her children when they did something wrong. She has shown herself willing to use her mob-wife status to intimidate others. She has trouble with her husband’s profession but still loves him anyway.

Clearly, Ava identifies with her character because Carmella is trapped in an impossible situation and is “making the best of it”. Jason naturally sees her as a user and in many ways, both are right.

“Uncle Junior” – Junior is Tony’s quick witted, sassy, crude old uncle. He is the technical Boss (although, eventually, semi-retired until he’s completely out of the business due to health issues) of the crime family. Tony must frequently put up with him in order to continue the fascade that he is running the show. He is Jason’s favorite character because he represents traditionalism and machismo. Ava does not like him because he’s frequently hurtful and even plots with Tony’s mother to have him killed. She cannot reconcile this with her view of good.

“Christopher” - Christopher is Tony’s nephew and is involved with his “other” family (his biological family) and their actions are a further source of conflict. Christopher struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism, and a desire to gain respect and has a violent streak. This is Jason’s least favorable character because Christopher represents everything Jason despises about humanity.

“Paulie” – Paulie is a longtime soldier and close ally to Tony who worked with Tony and his father; Paulie soon becomes capo and eventually is further promoted to underboss. He is noted for being very sarcastic, outspoken and straight forward. He is frequently comic relief because he is uneducated and very intwined in the mobster lifestyle. A very stereotypical portrayal of a second generational Italian American.

“Adriana” - Adriana is Christopher’s long time girlfriend; the two have a tempestuous relationship. Christopher is physically and emotionally abusive and when she works for the FBI, Tony and Christopher agree that she must be executed. Adriana was a good girl that got caught up with the wrong man. She was a co-dependent.

TONY’S ANXIETY

Given the pressure of his position and family complications, Tony suffers from complete panic attacks. This is shown several times and he seeks treatment. Tony cannot heal, however. He is trapped in a world that will not allow him to do so. Jason relates, but he does not seek reassurance that this fictional character “has it worse” than he does. If anything, he seeks validation that even the most “traditional” strong silent types suffer too. Tony can’t heal because he does not and cannot seek change. It is impossible for him and Jason pities this.

INEPTITUDE OF THE MOBSTERS

The mobsters in the series are depicted as tough, savvy, and street-smart but lacking heavily in formal education and a deeper understanding of themselves and their world. The mobsters’ educational and linguistic shortcomings, particularly those of Paulie Walnuts and Christopher, are often a source of humor. The characters themselves are frequently oblivious of their use of malapropisms and misunderstandings of basic history and common knowledge.

TONY’S DILEMMA’S

Tony is a walking contradiction. He possesses a black and white mentality, but frequently finds himself forced to work around his stringent view of the world. He is a traditionalist that spends little time with his biological family, a conservative that knows little about what that means, and a second generation immigrant with wealth and power that still devolves into the crime underworld that brought him possessions and status. He is a shrewd thinker and a “man’s man”, but he is tragically flawed.

He is complicated and depressed. He is very unhappy and finds any source of relief possible. The trouble with Tony is that, unlike Jason, he does not seek something better truly. He may talk about it, but his actions are not in line with his thinking because he is trapped by circumstances he has willingly entered. Jason was trapped in many ways too, but he isn’t anymore. He is thankful for that.

Episode 1 - The Sopranos

Directed by: David Chase
Written by: David Chase

Tony Soprano tries to be a good family man on two fronts – to his wife, kids and widowed mother – and as a capo in the New Jersey mob. The pressures of work and family life give him anxiety attacks, so Tony starts seeing a psychiatrist; which is not the kind of thing a guy advertises in the circles Tony moves in – it could get him killed. So he keeps it to himself.

What caused all this stress? On the home front his marriage is shaky and his mother needs to be put in a nursing home (he calls it a “retirement community” but she still won’t go). Uncle Junior wanted to use Tony’s childhood friend’s restaurant to whack a guy named Pussy Malenga, but Tony prevented the hit by blowing the place up. When a Czech mob attempted to move in on the Sopranos’ waste management business, Tony’s hot-headed nephew Chris “handled the problem” by murdering their representative and dumping him on Staten Island without getting the permission of the administration. To top it all off, Tony is haunted by the feeling that the glory days of mob life are long gone, and that he might not measure up to the titans of the past. ‘Madon’! It’s enough to make anyone want to see a shrink.

Episode 5 – College

Directed by: Allen Coulter
Written by: Jim Manos, Jr. and David Chase

This week Tony found that no matter where he goes, his business goes with him.

Tony escorted Meadow on a series of visits to colleges in Maine, and the trip went pretty well. Tony and Meadow even talked about Tony’s “business.” But then Tony spotted an old “friend” at a gas station, and everything changed.

The “friend” was Fabian “Febby” Petrulio, made man turned rat, who entered and then dropped out of the Witness Protection Program. Febby’s now known as Fred Peters, travel agent.

So Tony spent the better part of his trip to Maine dropping Meadow off at college interviews and then trying to get the drop on Petrulio. When he finally did catch up to him at the travel agency, Tony sent Febby on a one-way trip by means of a wire around his neck.

Meanwhile, back home, it rained like the Great Flood and Carmela was laid up with the flu. Caring for his mother made Anthony, Jr. climb the walls, so Carmela sent him to a friend’s to lose himself in Nintendo for a few hours. Soon there was a knock at the door, and it was none other than Father Phil dropping by to give her a status report on the parish clothing drive…and mangia. Carmela was happy to see him–maybe a little too happy.

While Carmela and Father Phil ate ziti and chewed the fat, the phone rang. It was Dr. Melfi, trying to reach Tony to reschedule his appointment. With Tony’s therapist’s gender now known to Carmela, all hell broke loose so it’s a good thing a priest was in the house. Carmela poured out her heart about her marriage, her fears for her children and her soul while simultaneously pouring the Father several glasses of Chianti. Before long, they wound up in a near kiss, and Father Phil–being a little too Chianti-enhanced to drive home–spent the night on the Soprano couch.

When Tony and Meadow returned, Carmela came clean about Father Phil spending the night. But before Tony could get too worked up about it, she let him know that “Jennifer” Melfi called for him. The cat’s out of the bag and Tony’s in the doghouse.

“A lot of top guys have dark moods. That Winston Churchill drank a quart of brandy before breakfast. Napoleon, he was a moody fuck, too.” – Silvio Dante

“You know when I was depressed I said I didn’t want to live? Well, I’ll tell you something – I didn’t want to die either.” – Tony Soprano

“You know my feelings: every day is a gift. It’s just, does it have be a pair of socks?” – Tony Soprano

“A wrong decision is better than indecision.” – Tony Soprano

“I wipe my ass with your feelings.” – Tony Soprano

“I know you better than anybody, Tony, even your friends. Which is probably why you hate me.” – Carmella Soprano

Christopher: “Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.”

Tony: “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Corrado Erico ‘Uncle Junior’ Soprano: How much White Castle did you have?
Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri: I had none. I swear.
Corrado Erico ‘Uncle Junior’ Soprano: I can SMELL it.

[Christopher just got out of drug rehab]
Anthony ‘Tony’ Soprano Sr.: So, what step are you at now?
Christopher Moltisanti: I did all the steps, except for the one where I’m supposed to go around and apoligize to all the people I ****ed over when I was using.
Anthony ‘Tony’ Soprano Sr.: …I think maybe you shouldn’t do that one. You know, let sleeping dogs lie.
Christopher Moltisanti: Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Are you still taking the lithium?
Anthony ‘Tony’ Soprano Sr.: Lithium, Prozac. When’s it gonna end?
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: We’re trying to give a jolt to your system. Give it a… a little kick-start.
Anthony ‘Tony’ Soprano Sr.: Why don’t you kick me in the ****in’ head?
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: I know what you’re going through must be painful.
Anthony ‘Tony’ Soprano Sr.: This isn’t painful. Getting shot is painful. Getting stabbed in the ribs is painful. This **** isn’t painful. It’s empty… dead.

Christopher Moltisanti: What do you have to be stressed about? That bar?
Adriana La Cerva: War, Christopher? The Middle East!
Christopher Moltisanti: You don’t listen to the president? We’re gonna mop the floor with the whole fuckin’ world. The whole world’s gonna be under our control. So what are you worked up about?

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