This article contains references to sexual assault.
The Sopranosis one of the greatest TV shows ever made — so great, in fact, that its very best episodes are considered masterpieces of the medium.David Chase revolutionized televisionwhen he createdThe Sopranos. Every subsequentTV antiherohas followed in the footsteps of Tony Soprano. There are no badSopranosepisodes, but these ones are bona fide masterpieces.
10The Sopranos
Season 1, Episode 1
The Sopranosdidn’t need any time to find its feet;it kicked off with one of the greatest pilot episodes in TV history. In its opening moments, it set itself apart from other entries in the gangster genre by having its central mob boss visit a psychiatrist after suffering a panic attack.
The pilot has some moments that still rank among the show’s most iconic scenes, like Tony’s discovery of a family of ducks in his pool. It also established the show’s unique blend of mundane family situations, like a birthday party or an overbearing mother, with sinister criminal situations, like a mafia hit.
9The Knight In White Satin Armor
Season 2, Episode 12
The penultimate episode of season 2, “The Knight in White Satin Armor,”encapsulates the show’s massive tonal range. It has goofy slapstick humor when Pussy is playing FBI agent and crashes his car, and it has shocking, harrowing drama when Janice and Richie’s marital squabble turns violent, and when Irina’s breakup with Tony sends her into a spiral.
The most iconic moment in the episode is when Richie attacks Janice, Janice leaves the room to grab a gun, and she comes back and shoots him dead. Don’t mess with a Soprano.It shows how far Tony would go for his familythat he doesn’t hesitate to help his sister cover up the murder of a made man.
8The Strong, Silent Type
Season 4, Episode 10
When a lot of movies and TV shows depict addiction, they tend to romanticize or sensationalize it. ButThe Sopranoswent in the opposite direction and showed the mundanity of Christopher’s heroin dependence. It’s not likeTrainspottingorThe Basketball Diaries; it’s much more banal than that. The final straw is when he sits on Adriana’s dog and kills it.
The crown jewel of this episode — the scene that elevates it above a typical Sopranos episode — is the intervention sequence.
The crown jewel of this episode — the scene that elevates it abovea typicalSopranosepisode— is the intervention sequence. It only takes a couple of minutes for Christopher’s hotheaded mafioso friends to abandon all the rules the counselor laid out and start beating him up.Only inThe Sopranoscould an intervention end with a trip to the ER.
7Employee Of The Month
Season 3, Episode 4
The Sopranoswas renowned for flouting the conventions of drama to present a more realistic reflection of the world. Season 3’s “Employee of the Month”denied the audience closure as a poignant way of capturing the trauma of sexual assault. Dr. Melfi is assaulted on her way to her car in the parking lot, and spends the whole episode reeling.
The namesake of the episode is when Dr. Melfi is in a fast-food restaurant and sees her attacker’s picture on the wall, labeled “Employee of the Month.” She could’ve given this man’s name to Tony to exact gruesome revenge, and it would’ve been very satisfying to see. But it wouldn’t change anything for Dr. Melfi, so we’re denied that satisfaction.
It’sa masterclass in subverting expectations. In any other show, the gangsters would’ve gone to this guy’s house and beaten him to death, and the audience would’ve cheered. But by avoiding that easy-fix trope,The Sopranosreflected the devastating psychological toll of assault much more accurately.
6Whoever Did This
Season 4, Episode 9
WhenRalph Cifarettowas introduced as a boorish, abusive monster, no one in their right mind ever expected to empathize with him. ButThe Sopranos’ writers said, “Challenge accepted,” and dida whole episode dedicated to showing Ralphie’s rarely seen human side. After his son is hit with an arrow and sent to the hospital, Ralphie begins to unravel.
Joe Pantoliano won a much-deserved Emmy for his heart-wrenching portrayal of Ralphie’s emotional breakdown.
Joe Pantoliano won a much-deserved Emmy for his heart-wrenching portrayal of Ralphie’s emotional breakdown. The writers cleverly snuck lyrics from “Sympathy for the Devil” into this episode, becausethat was their intent: to get audiences to feel sympathy for a character who, up to that point, might as well be the Devil.
5Made In America
Season 6, Episode 21
The Sopranos’ final episodeis often named one of the most disappointing series finales in TV history, but anyone who says that wasn’t paying attention to the show. They wanted to see the missing Russian reappear and exact his vengeance. ButThe Sopranosnever provided closure; it was always ambiguous and left things open to interpretation.
A lot of the discourse around this finale has focused onThe Sopranos’ closing cut-to-black, butthat ignores what a great hour of television it was leading up to that jarring cut. The scene where Tony visits Junior and realizes he should’ve come sooner, because his uncle has lost his mind and no longer recognizes him, is heartbreaking.
4Funhouse
Season 2, Episode 13
The writers came up with the most unorthodox way for Tony to figure out that Pussy is a rat in the season 2 finale. “Funhouse” begins with Tony getting sick from food poisoning and going through a long bout of vomiting and diarrhea. In between cartoonishly exaggerated bowel movements,Tony has a series of fever dreams that reveal his subconscious.
In one of these dreams,his subconscious tells him through a talking fishthat Pussy has turned against the family. No other crime drama on television could start an episode with a diarrhea gag and still have audiences take it seriously when it morphs into a story about dealing with betrayal and killing a brother-in-arms.
3Long Term Parking
Season 5, Episode 12
Drea de Matteo gave the performance of a lifetimein season 5’s “Long Term Parking.” Adriana’s long-running informant storyline comes to a head when she’s tasked with flipping Christopher into witness protection. Initially, Chris is on board with the idea and even seems excited about starting a new life. But when he steps out to get some air, something seems amiss.
By the time Adriana figures out what’s going on, it’s too late.
Adriana gets a call that Chris is in the hospital and Silvio will take her to see him. But instead, Sil drives her to the woods. By the time Adriana figures out what’s going on, it’s too late. This episode chillingly highlights that no matter who you are, or how beloved you are, the family won’t hesitate to have you killed.
2College
Season 1, Episode 5
The Sopranoswas a great show from the outset, butit truly perfected its mix of high-stakes gang violence and relatably mundane family drama in episode 5, “College.”As Tony takes Meadow on a road trip to check out a college campus, he spots an old colleague who turned state’s evidence and went into hiding.
He has to balance his feigned interest in Meadow’s higher education with his pressing quest to track this guy down and kill him.“College” encapsulates what a unique life Tony leads, and does so through a gripping hour of television.
1Pine Barrens
Season 3, Episode 11
The greatest episode ofThe Sopranosis unlike any of the others. Season 3’s “Pine Barrens” is essentiallya bottle episode. It starts out like any other, with Paulie and Christopher sent on a routine assignment to make a collection from a Russian. But when things go south, they have to drive to the woods to bury the Russian’s corpse.
But it turns out the Russian isn’t actually dead. So, Paulie and Christopher spend the whole episode wandering through the snowy wilderness, bickering and bantering with each other, in their futile search for the missing Russian. It feels more along the lines of a two-man play likeWaiting for GodotorThe Dumb Waiterthan an episode ofThe Sopranos.
The Sopranos
Cast
The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges of managing his family and criminal enterprise. He seeks guidance from psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi while dealing with complex dynamics involving his wife Carmela, cousin Christopher Moltisanti, and other Mafia associates. Released in 1999, this series delves into organized crime and personal struggles.
