The time is one year before the turn of the 21st century. Everything is perfect. To make it even better, the best TV show on earth premiered.
It is time to go down memory lane and invoke some nostalgia remembering a time we convinced ourselves that life was better than it is today.
The Sopranos was a great show. It was one of a kind. During a time when people were focused on making soapy teen shows. I’m not saying Teen shows were necessarily bad, but this epic drama was a welcome alternative.
We have revisited nineteen of the most important storylines in the show that you may have forgotten about.
The show boasted bold storylines, many memorable, but what of those that were key but altogether forgettable?
1. Jackie Aprile Sr died of cancer.
This was the event that set everything in motion.
It elevated Tony from a small-time crime boss to the big boss of the crime families in New Jersey.
Tony was not quite ready to take over because of his mental issues, but when duty calls, duty calls.
2. Carmela was in love with a priest.
This was bound to happen with a cheating husband who was depressed half the time and had little to no interaction with members of the opposite sex.
Their feelings built up over a period camouflaged as a typical priest-parishioner relationship.
On one rainy, stormy night, the priest made a move, shocking Carmela into reality.
3. Uncle Jun got a cunnilingus scare.
Without a wife or children, Uncle Jun was free as a bird.
He might have exercised that freedom way too much because word about his sexual prowess went from his goomar’s mouth to the bored housewives and their husbands.
For whatever reason, this didn’t sit well with other guys. We may never know whether it was jealousy because, despite being old, Uncle Jun outshone them in that department, or they were genuinely uncomfortable with it.
4. Big Pussy was whacked.
Whatever happened to Puss?
To confuse Tony, someone lied and said Big Pussy was a mole, ratting them out to the FBI.
In the true fashion of the Mafia, Puss was invited to a boat ride by some of his best friends and whacked without a chance to explain himself. Tony never got over that ordeal, and it haunted him years later.
5. Christopher wanted to make a film.
Sometimes, the life we are born into does not align with what we want for ourselves. No one knew this better than Christopher.
He always had a fascination with film, but being in a crime family, things he’d done should not be put in someone’s resume.
It helped him when some drug addict started swindling him with the false promise of introducing him to Dick Wolf.
6. Christopher became a made man.
Apart from being the boss, being made was among the highest honors and a big aspiration for many of the men on the crew.
Being made came with its perks. A bigger cut, respect, calling dibs on women, and what have you.
Christopher realized it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be with the responsibilities entailed. We’ve all been there.
7. Meadow got involved with Jackie Jr.
After Jackie Aprile’s death, he left a son the same age as Meadow. Their parents were stoked at the thought of them being together. The boy was bright, and Jackie wanted a different life for him.
Finally, they started dating.
Jackie Jr became too ambitious because he was an in-law to the Sopranos, and his father was one of the big men.
Let’s say that robbing a card game can be a quick way to die.
8. Christopher and Paulie got lost.
These two never really trusted each other. Paulie was never pleased with the decision to make Tony the boss.
One cold winter day, in one of their endeavors, they got lost in the woods.
Hunger and cold started making them paranoid.
Paulie could have sworn Christopher wanted to whack him.
9. Meadow did some soul-searching.
The luckiest thing for Meadow was that she had a good head on her.
It was not lost on her just how privileged she was to be living this life in the mansion at the expense of others.
She was alive because there was so much injustice in the world, and many people suffered.
This informed her decision to join law school and work pro bono in the legal aid office.
10. Columbus Day got interrupted.
One of the most valued days, apart from the catholic holy days the mob used to absolve themselves of all the terrible things they had done, was Columbus Day.
It was a day full of pomp and celebration in the streets.
This didn’t sit well with Native Americans, who came to protest this.
Silvio and Ralph considered this a great insult and decided to take care of it.
11. Johnny Sack and his obese wife.
The Sopranos never shied away from confronting eating and mental disorders head-on. Many of the characters were overweight, Tony included.
Someone made an obscene joke about Johnny Sack’s wife one day. Despite being absent during this, word got around to him. This bothered him a lot.
Anyway, he made a plan with his wife to reduce her weight. This included her not eating sugary processed foods. It turns out that when Johnny left, his wife deviated from the plan. One day Johnny caught her, but since he loved her a lot, he understood.
12. Tony develops a taste for horses.
With so much money to burn, Tony was looking for the next thing to be obsessed about.
At one point, he developed a liking for horses and horse racing.
But honestly, I think he loved the betting part of it most.
He lost interest as quickly when he literally bet on the wrong horse and kept losing.
13. Adrianna made a friend.
Danielle, Adriana’s new friend, was an Angel. She went out with her, listened to her, sympathized with her, and did everything Adrianna wanted.
It turns out she was getting paid to do so.
Danielle was the downfall of Adriana and Christopher.
She was gassed up into admitting to being a rat for the FBI to Christopher. That was the last she was heard off.
14. Paulie got a shock about his mother.
Never was there a more devoted son than Paulie. He indulged his mother and might have even spoiled her.
Things went wayward when he learned that she was his auntie and that his biological mother was a nun and was dying.
Paulie felt like his whole life had been torpedoed upside down. He felt betrayed. He hated his mom until she died.
15. Christopher met Sir Ben Kingsley.
If he was going to make a movie, he wanted a big name attached to it.
So, Christopher made a trip to meet with and try to woo Sir Ben into starring in his movie. He spent the day following Sir Ben around and was enthralled by the life of a celebrity. He was shocked to see how much free stuff Sir Ben got.
Eventually, Sir Ben turned him down, and Christopher went on to make his movie, much to Tony’s dismay when he watched it.
16. Vito Corleone’s secret was found out.
To be Queer and in the mafia are two things that never married. This was a season-long arc.
In all honesty, Vito tried. He led the life that he was expected to. He had a house, a wife, and two point four children and even became made.
His fake existence and true self morphed at one point, and he was caught in a compromising position. Phil Leotardo took it personally despite it not having anything to do with him and what he did to Vito was inhuman.
17. AJ Soprano tries to commit suicide.
AJ could never seem to get anything right. He flopped at school, made terrible decisions, failed in business, and even entered questionable relationships.
He seemed unlucky when something as simple as making friends was hard. No one seemed to understand that AJ was sensitive. Like many boys his age, he was trying to make his mark in the world without being under his dad’s shadow.
He saw everything wrong with the world, including religion, racism, inequality, and his privilege. He couldn’t get over it. Once, he unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by drowning himself.
18. Janice killed Richie
Meadow wasn’t the only one involved with an Aprile.
At some point, Janice married Richie. Theirs was not a healthy relationship by any standards. Richie was abusive, and she had anger issues.
One day, Richie made the mistake of hitting her during an argument.
Her anger boiled over, and Richie didn’t live to see the sunrise the following morning.
19. Tony had a Muslim scare.
Post 9/11, America was weird. Everyone was suspicious of their neighbor. It was worse for you if you were Muslim.
Tony was not immune to this. He started suspecting his Muslim and Arab friends when he heard rumors that they might be terrorists.
He took it as his mission to uncover what they were up to the point of following them around.
He even broke a cardinal rule in the mafia and started talking to the FBI.
•••••
And there you have it, The Sopranos Fanatics.
Which one of these storylines had you forgotten? Which ones made you want to rewatch The Sopranos?
We would love to hear your thoughts about it so let us know in the comments section below.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.