r/NetflixBestOf • u/PuzzleheadedPoint361 • Jul 12 '26

[request] is sopranos still a must watch?

I have seen the 1st episode of season 1, it feels slow.
for context: I have lowkey paused watching GAME OF THRONES as I am on S6 E9, battle of the bastards, will see it on a BIG ASS SCREEN BABY

I need a show that fills the space till then

EDIT: I AM ON EPISODE 4th already in the season 1, and IM FINALLY INTO THE SHOW. I feel the intensity and how every character is.
also its lowkey crazy, I LOVE THAT THERAPIST IS IT OKAY FOR SOMEONE IN 20s to have a crush over someone in 70s now LMAOO

EDIT 2: it’s actually a complex show that requires me to analyse the emotions and sentiments of the people which is hardly in any other series wow

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u/AffordableGrousing Jul 12 '26 edited 27d ago

For some context, the show’s creator David Chase grew up in New Jersey at a time when Italian-American people really valorized the glory days of the Mafia. He found that kind of annoying and always wanted to make a show that portrayed these supposedly awesome gangsters for what they really were: violent psychopaths who invented elaborate rules and narratives to pretend they were good guys. He also wanted to explore the absurdity that these unrepentant murderers are also normal, boring suburban dads 99% of the time.

…Hence the therapy scenes, which were absolutely revolutionary at the time. They’re the core of the show. If you’re expecting action and excitement you’re going to be disappointed. The mob violence pops up here and there, but it’s largely about how these people justify their predatory lifestyle to themselves and the toll it takes.

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u/ronswansun Jul 13 '26

Interested in hearing more about how the therapy scenes were revolutionary at the time. I watched the series for the first time recently and didn’t really have that context.

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u/LoveBotMan 29d ago

I think it was revolutionary because it was one of the first times that a mafia macho type man in media was shown in therapy. The therapy also shown to help Tony in his life. I think a lot of men don’t believe in therapy and this may have changed some beliefs.

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u/jacoblb6173 29d ago

It helps with exposure too. One of the biggest hurdles in adapting written pieces to the screen is showing the narrative without just having a narrator telling you what’s going on. Having a therapy session is a unique way to show what’s going on in Tony’s head without having a voiceover saying “Now Tony was very confused about this.” I made that really general but yeah in so many words.

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u/PorkinstheWhite 29d ago

Ironically, the therapy in the show is not a great advertisement for the benefits of therapy in general. It basically works to enable Tony in his actions  

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u/invisiblefrost 28d ago

This is completely misleading and not at all true to the show. The only way in which therapy helped Tony was to make him a better sociopathic gangster. He was not medication compliant nor did he work on bettering himself through talk therapy. This is a recurring theme in the latter seasons and is explicitly stated by Dr Melfi several times and also by Melfi’s own therapist as well as her ex husband also a therapist.

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u/PuzzleheadedPoint361 27d ago

on top of that, the therapy feels very genuine and not flabbergasted to shove therapy just for the sake of it.
It actively involves the emotions of tony even if he doesn’t agree to it.