The Sopranos, which ran on HBO from 1999-2007, is one of the most influential and popular television series of all time. Almost two decades after its final episode aired, the crime drama set in New Jersey which followed the life and times of mob boss Tony Soprano is just as well-known and loved now. It features some of the best scripts, costume design, and acting performances seen on network TV, and many shows produced today can only hope to live up to its success.
In a cast of incredibly well-written and engaging characters, Furio Giunta is widely hailed as one of the best. He is certainly an audience favorite, with his well-mannered temperament, old-school charm, and suave style serving as a soothing departure from the macho and overly assertive attitudes of Tony and the other New Jersey mob members. His abrupt disappearance from the show comes at the end of season 4 when he returns to his home in Italy and leaves the Sopranos behind for good. His endearing presence is missed in the remaining two seasons, and audiences are only given hints as to why he left so suddenly.
Tony Brought Furio Over From Naples, Italy
In The Sopranos Season 2, Tony travels to Naples, Italy with Christopher and Paulie to discuss a luxury car smuggling scheme with the boss of the Camorra family. Distantly related to the Sopranos, the Camorra family had recently been taken over by the former boss’s daughter, Annalisa. Per Annalisa’s order, the New Jersey mobsters’ main point of contact in Naples was an enforcer named Furio, who served as a translator between the two families. As part of the smuggling deal, Annalisa agrees to send Furio back to the States with Tony, who would come to value him as an intimidating and loyal soldier for the Soprano crime family.
Furio became one of the family’s most feared enforcers, dutifully and brutally laying down the law on anyone who got on Tony’s bad side. He was also granted an intimate relationship with Tony and the Soprano family, acting as Tony’s bodyguard and driver and a frequent house guest of Tony and Carmela’s. His steady demeanor and gracefully stoic presence made him a respectable character and presented a stark backdrop against which to show the crass and often vulgar natures of the newer mob families in America.
Carmela Became Infatuated With Furio
When it comes to couples and representations of romance and love in The Sopranos, they run the gamut of emotional intensity and passion. Every couple is marked by a clear power dynamic, wherein the wives and mistresses of high-ranking men in the families play second fiddle to the whims and directives of their lovers and grapple with issues most couples would never have to face. Carmela Soprano and her marriage to Tony is a fantastic example of this juxtaposition; although she does love Tony and enjoys the material wealth and comfort that he provides, she struggles to navigate the moral landscape of being party to organized crime and the guilt she feels from benefiting from it.
Given Tony’s abrasive nature, stubbornness, and quick temper, it is no surprise that Carmela longs for a gentler man in her life. Like any woman stuck in domesticity with a husband who has long forgotten the tender days of early courtship, she wishes to be romanced and prioritized; when Furio — a calm, steadfast man with a dominant yet gentle nature — entered the picture, she fell in love. He is the first man who truly listens to Carmela and values what she has to say. Sure, Tony buys her expensive jewelry and provides for her materially, but Furio’s understanding of and respect for her is utterly priceless. He was likewise infatuated with Carmela, and was often critical of the dismissive and outright rude way Tony would treat her. Although this romance was doomed from the start, given the impossible nature of their circumstances and places within the family’s hierarchy, Furio and Carmela’s relationship is one of the most genuine portrayals of love on the show.
Furio Quietly Left New Jersey
Furio remained on the series as a well-liked character for almost two full seasons. The show’s 51st episode, “Eloise,” saw Furio’s abrupt departure to his home in Italy the morning after a night at the casino with Tony. Although the reason for his sudden absence was not explicitly stated in the show, there is one pretty clear and emotionally explosive driving force that made him pack up his bags in one night and fly back to Italy.
Throughout his time in New Jersey, the romantic desire between Furio and Carmela grew stronger, alongside Furio’s distaste for Tony and his treatment of Carmela. Both Furio and Carmela silently grappled with the strong feelings between them but never opened up a real conversation about the obvious sexual and romantic tensions between them. Realistically, there was no reason for them to do so — there was no way for them to pursue one another in the context of the Soprano crime family, and expressing their mutual longing would end only in disaster. Furio’s uncle said as much when he approached him for advice, pointing out that Furio would either have to kill Tony to be with Carmela or just move on.
Furio wrestled with this up until the day he returned to Italy. On the night when he accompanied Tony and some of his fellow enforcers to the casino, he witnessed Tony’s infidelity firsthand as he spent the evening heavily drinking and flirting with other women with seemingly no regard for his wife back at home. This pushed Furio to a breaking point; while waiting to board a helicopter, Furio grabbed Tony’s lapels and nearly shoved him into the chopper’s spinning tail blades. At that moment, he made his decision. He released the boss with the muttered excuse that Tony was standing too close. He flew back to Italy the next day without saying goodbye to anyone. He simply could not be party to Tony’s mistreatment and brazen disloyalty to Carmela, but was unwilling to take such drastic action against him that he removed himself from the situation in an attempt to move on. When Carmela eventually revealed her attraction to Furio to her husband, Tony swore that the Neapolitan mobster could never come back to the States again, thus cutting Furio off completely and throwing away any future chance of seeing him.
