The Sopranos is highly regarded as the show that changed cable television. It changed the formula of shows by expanding characters and writing unique storylines wrapped around a mafia family. Tony Soprano led the DiMeo crime family but struggled with the existentialism of life while being the boss of a major crime organization.
As great as The Sopranos is, it wasn’t perfect. Numerous plot holes, abandoned character arcs, and appearances went unexplained. Some things seemed to be added to a season of The Sopranos just to expand it. While The Sopranos is nearly flawless, it is packed with a handful of details that just don’t make sense with the rest of the show’s story.
10. Dons Don’t Wear Shorts, but Tony Soprano Did at a BBQ
Whenever Tony Soprano had a BBQ at his home or was on his infamous boat, he wore swimming trunks or shorts. It made total sense that Tony would be wearing shorts when near water or his pool because that is what everyone else would do. However, in the rules of the mafia, a mob boss or “Don” never wears shorts.
Tony Soprano’s shorts caused such an uproar that actual mobsters contacted the creators to inform them of this inaccuracy. They had previously reached out about the show with their approval of it overall but felt inclined to bring this to the crew’s attention. It was eventually written into the show when the older mobster discusses this fact about Tony behind his back in an attempt to belittle his power as the boss of the DiMeo crime family. The creative reconstruction by the writers of this historical accuracy thankfully fixed this mishap.
9. Tony Spares Junior Soprano but Had No Problem Killing Other Family
Corrado “Junior” Soprano was Tony Soprano’s uncle who constantly butted heads with him at the start of the show. After Tony took over, becoming the boss of the DiMeo crime family, Junior Soprano continually pushed a wedge between the two of them. Tony’s mother, Livia, even implied that maybe Junior should have him killed, which Junior attempted to do. The assassination attempt failed, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Tony.
Later in The Sopranos, Junior Soprano was also diagnosed with dementia, which led to Junior accidentally shooting Tony. Tony even made peace with Junior and the shooting at the end of the show. Although he had numerous reasons and support from others to kill Junior Soprano, Tony never took that opportunity. It wasn’t that Tony wasn’t willing to kill family members because he killed Christopher Moltisanti and Tony Blundetto with limited hesitation.
8. Ralph Cifaretto Shows up Out of Nowhere in Season 3
In The Sopranos Season 3, Ralph Cifaretto shows up and is easily one of Tony’s top earners in the DiMeo crime family. While he provided great business and monetary gains for Tony, he led to numerous problems with the rival crime family in New York. Ralph made a joke at a dinner about Johnny Sack’s wife which started a dangerous feud between the DiMeo crime family and the Lupertazzi crime family.
Ralph Cifaretto’s fate occurs just as quickly as his arrival in The Sopranos. Typically, the show would usually bring a character out of prison, which would explain their absence from previous seasons. However, Ralph Cifaretto’s character arc appears to take form out of nowhere and is snuffed out soon after Tony Soprano has enough of Ralph’s erratic behavior. After a dispute over a horse (and a woman) that Ralph murders, Tony escalates a fight with Ralph and ends up killing him.
7. Tony Suddenly Becomes a Gambling Addict
Tony Soprano was a character who had the world in the palm of his hand. Anything that he wanted access to, he could easily acquire. He also had many vices, but they fit hand in hand with a complicated man who could do and get anything. In Season 6 of The Sopranos, Tony develops a gambling addiction that leads to some massive monetary losses.
Throughout the previous seasons of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano was just a social gambler. He even went as far as to insult addicted gamblers, calling them degenerates. This stemmed from his father’s hatred of addicted gamblers, which led to Tony’s harsher judgment toward addicts. By Season 6 of The Sopranos, Tony is hypocritically fully addicted to gambling. This started abruptly for his character, and it made little to no sense for it to happen so late in his story arc.
6. The Series Finale Provides Ambiguity and Little to No Resolve
In “Made In America,” The Sopranos series is drawn to a close. Fear, tension, and murder run rampant throughout the final episode of the show. However, the war occurring between the New Jersey and New York crime families drew to a close after a sit-down occurred to negotiate the end of their war. At the end of the episode, Tony meets up with his family at a diner, but he stares at the door every time it opens. The final moment of the episode is a hard cut to black, without any information or conclusion.
5. Dr. Melfi Willfully Aids a Morally Corrupt Mobster for Years and Then Abruptly Stops
Since the pilot of The Sopranos, Dr. Melfi played a significant role in Tony Soprano’s mental well-being. She helped him get Prozac after his anxiety attacks and provided numerous insights into his past. She even guided him in matters that she was unaware of, which likely made him sharper in his craft as a murderous mobster. However, it wasn’t until the final season that Dr. Melfi finally reflected on these notions and decided that in good conscience she could no longer be his psychiatrist.
The end of Dr. Melfi added to Tony’s isolation in the final season. Most of his crime family were casualties in a horrific mob war, weakening his entire operation. It seemed to come out of nowhere that Dr. Melfi was done with Tony as a patient in the episode “The Blue Comet.” Dr. Melfi had overlooked so many moments and infractions during her sessions with Tony that it made no sense for her to get rid of Tony as a patient so late in the show.
4. AJ’s Girlfriend, Devin, Leaves the Show With Little to No Impact
Tony Soprano’s son, AJ, had numerous girlfriends throughout The Sopranos. Most of the break-ups that AJ went through caused AJ to get very depressed afterward. His girlfriend Devin was featured twice in seasons four and five. Their relationship seemed more expansive and intricate than the other relationships that AJ had. But then she just disappeared.
It’s clear that AJ broke up with Devin by season five, even though their separation wasn’t seen on the show. However, the lack of impact of AJ splitting up with Devin doesn’t make much sense given AJ’s emotional track record on the show. Perhaps a technical reason prevented the actress from returning, or they wanted to take AJ in a different direction in the show, but this left confusion about Devin’s whereabouts in season five.
3. Artie Pulls a Rifle on Tony Soprano and Lives to Tell the Tale
Artie Bucco was established early on as one of Tony Soprano’s oldest friends. Artie had many opportunities to become involved with the mob, but Tony always prevented it as a way of looking out for Artie. However, one event in the first season brought Artie into major conflict with Tony. Tony has Silvio firebomb Artie’s restaurant so that Artie can rebuild it with the insurance money.
Artie didn’t know that Tony had blown up his restaurant until Livia Soprano, Tony’s mother, blabbed about it to Artie. When Artie learned this, he got drunk, grabbed his rifle, and confronted Tony with the rifle. Artie’s survival after a blatant death threat to Tony still causes some confusion. Artie and Tony’s relationship only seemed to blossom, with Tony preventing Artie from dying by suicide later in the show.
2. Many of the Fight Scenes Were Unrealistic
One thing that The Sopranos didn’t shy away from was violence at the hands of the mafia. The mafia crime families were ruthless in their methods and would beat up just about anyone who crossed them. When a character named Feech La Manna gets out of prison, he starts butting heads with Paulie Gualtieri. Feech beats up Paulie’s gardener, Sal Vitro, after telling Sal that his gardener crew will be taking over. However, for a character at Feech’s age, the fight scene just didn’t make sense.
Feech La Manna was one of the older characters, so fighting someone so much younger than him didn’t really work. The same goes for the struggle that occurred when the elderly Bobby Baccalieri Sr. is hired to kill someone and the scuffle ends in his favor. It could be argued that these characters were hardened by their longevity in the mob, but the way Feech and other older characters were able to beat up younger people in The Sopranos just wasn’t realistic.
- Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero Disappears and Returns With Minimal Questions Raised
At the start of The Sopranos, Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero is one of Tony Soprano’s closest allies. He was even considered an uncle to Tony’s children. As suspicions grew of an informant among the DiMeo crime family, the audience learns that it was Big Pussy. Even Tony is informed of this by a corrupt police officer, but Tony refuses to believe it. Big Pussy disappears at the end of season one, leading to further suspicions that he was working with the FBI.
Even with suspicions overflowing towards Big Pussy, he returns to Tony randomly in season two. Tony is suspicious, but still willfully lets him back into the DiMeo Crime family. It isn’t until the episode “Funhouse” that Tony confirms his suspicions are correct and has his men shoot Big Pussy to death. It was clear as day that Big Pussy was an informant to the FBI by the end of season one, and that should’ve impacted Tony’s decisions towards Big Pussy sooner. Perhaps Tony was in denial and needed definitive evidence, but the Big Pussy plot ran for too long.
