A Couple of Three Things You Need to Know Before Watching “The Sopranos”

Recently I was asked about the greatest TV show of all time and, as it is often the case, I tend to overthink things when having to recommending it to a real person. I start to wonder if they will like it, if they are going into it with a wrong idea of what it is, if the show, or book or movie for that matter, contains scenes they will find distasteful, and so on. I reckon it's just one of those many idiosyncrasies related to having studied philosophy, even if only a little bit. It just comes with the job, you end up overthinking every word, always wondering if you are misleading this person, even if you are absolutely convinced the TV show they asked your opinion about is one of the absolute greatest masterpieces in all of human history... So while I'm a staunch defender of The Sopranos, even going so far as to evangelize it, I still hesitate about doing just that when presented with an actual chance, and whenever I'm asked to give my opinion I always wonder, I always thrust upon myself a far greater burden than I should. That's a story for another day, but for now I just wanted to talk about three specific things that had I known the first time I watched the show, I would have come to my humble opinion of its greatness a little bit sooner.

From an overall point of view, The Sopranos consists of a complex array of characters, all of them manipulative if not outright liars, even the ones who aren't all that closely associated with the mafia. But then again, such lesser aspects of human nature have a tendency to become widespread, like rot and mold... Those sound like very ugly words, and indeed they are, because the show does depict ugly things, but it does so in very strange and creative ways. In fact, you'll likely find yourself inexplicably rooting for characters you ought not to root for, you'll end up siding with characters who are clearly in the wrong, and you won't quite understand why. If you know the show well you can immediately think of a ton of instances of that already, but for the sake of brevity and of keeping this article as spoiler-free as I can, I'll avoid them. Let's just say that David Chase, the show's creator, is an absolute genius. He truly understood storytelling and, more importantly perhaps, he truly understood human psychology, as seen throughout every single one of those eighty-six episodes, all of which depict human behavior with an impressive depth, even in the most seemingly insignificant characters, all of whom we wish we had seen a bit more of.

So here we go, three main points I chose to talk about, and I only picked three because that way the joke works.

1. The first few episodes, and the first season in general, are a bit experimental.

The first time I watched the show I liked it but didn't exactly love it. Then again, I was sixteen and dumb. I watched the first season and then sorta dragged the rest of it along for months and months. It was only a few years later that I decided to rewatch it in one go and completely fell in love with it all, having now watched it four times over, and having spent countless hours watching random clips on YouTube, as most fans do. Still, for many reasons, I understand why most viewers don't become immediately ensnared by the pilot episode. It had some weird aspects and some characters who were later on recast or chosen for different roles, a shift that might cause some confusion. Also, in between filming the pilot and the second episode there was the time gap of one year, which could explain why certain actors look rather different. Additionally, the episodes in general have some slightly weird, though I'd rather say quaint, stylistic choices. They came up with some unnecessary and odd camera angles, making the shot seem almost dream-like, and the color temperature throughout is rather warm, with lots of red and orange tones. And lastly, in terms of the story itself, some scenes may come off as slapstick humor due to being just a bit over-the-top.

That's all true but not for the entire season. After the first few episodes those odd choices are gradually stabilized, and the humor becomes more and more natural as the characters develop and you grow to like them, even if they're all shameless crooks. The cinematography acquires a more steady style, taking advantage of the beautiful New Jersey winter landscape. And no, I'm not being sarcastic there. Furthermore, the first season ends on a very high note, with a family scene that will set the tone for the entire show. And having said all that, it's not like the entirety of the first season is to be written off, I just think you might need some time to adjust and to give it a chance if you don't immediately like it, which could happen if you only watch the pilot. I recommend that you watch the first season and then as much of season two as you can, which I think you'll like. However, if you still dislike it, skip head to episode 311, and if you still dislike it, then may God have mercy on your soul.

2. Livia Soprano is the true main character. Don't ignore her.

Nancy Marchand put on an absolute masterful performance. You might dislike her character though because, well, every other character does, and they're not wrong... She's annoying, incredibly frustrating to deal with, just a very difficult woman, and you might wonder why a show about mobsters is dedicating so much time to this elderly italian mother. Truth is, it all pays off, and when you think about it, Livia's presence throughout the show is decidedly the strongest, and if you understand her mentality and influence, especially on Tony of course, the whole story starts to make sense. She's not just some demented old bat, she's a master manipulator, and her words will be forever omnipresent, for good or for worse, but usually for worse.

Because as I previously mentioned somewhere around here, the setting of a story is just that, it doesn't mean much beyond it. The Godfather isn't one of the greatest movies of all time only for being movie about a mafia family. What makes it one of the greatest movies of all time is everything underneath – it's the story, the characters, how they think, how they act, their ensuing conflicts, their gradual transformations, the moral spirals they fall into, and so on... All else, though still very important and of course great in its own right, is a tiny bit secondary because The Godfather would still have been a great movie had it been set in ancient Rome or in the year 3500. With The Sopranos the same thing happens, it's a hell of a show in many aspects but its true ace is psychology, as bluntly illustrated by the fact that it begins with the joke “a mob boss walks into a psychiatrist's office” and just goes on from there, with Livia's ominous shadow slowly becoming darker...

3. The Sopranos is essentially a comedy.

It goes like this – at first you think it's a crime show about italian mobsters in New Jersey, then you start to realize it's actually a drama about the domestic lives of these people, especially Tony's, but only then do you realize that, while the show certainly has aspects of those two genres, at its heart it's actually a dark comedy.

As I said above, the first few episodes may have some moments you might find a little bit silly, and with good reason. But truth is, that sense of comedy never goes away, it just becomes a bit smarter. You might start to notice how in some scenes characters act a little bit stupid, or they go on bizarre rants full of malapropisms, or some of their conflicts arise from seemingly no reason, much like all the little communication breakdowns and frustrations we have in our daily lives. In that sense, the dialogue is rich, very natural and effortlessly funny, like these characters are real people. And in some moments, these evil characters shine and come up with some deep sayings, and they even hang out, have fun, enjoy their families, crack jokes and all that, and some of their humanity does shine through... But then again, David Chase isn't afraid of making them seem like funny idiots, a skill he excels at.

Trouble is, do you laugh at them or do you laugh with them? That's a proper question that slammed me in the face. Again, if you've seen the show, you know which episode I'm referring to, because while the show really is hilarious all throughout, in fact I find myself laughing at countless lines, even after hearing them for the hundredth time and only then realizing they are actually funny, it can also take you to some dark places and make you realize that these charismatic people you like to hang out with every once in a while are actually capable of some very despicable things... The fact that these two extremes are balanced so effortlessly is, in my view, the single most important aspect that makes The Sopranos one of the greatest works of art of all time...

So that's it, just a few brief things I wanted to get out of the way. Now here I stand, at the precipice of an enormous crossroad, hoping you have found my mellifluous little blog post interesting.

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