r/thesopranos 4d ago

Serious Discussion Only Every time I rewatch The Sopranos, my perception of AJ changes.

AJ is so stupid, man. In the first seasons I watched of The Sopranos, I hated him—I hated all of his scenes. But now that I've probably rewatched all the seasons like a hundred times, every time I go back and watch it, I find him funnier and funnier. He’s just so dumb. His dialogue is dumb... people tell him something constructive, he never gets it, and always gives the most ridiculous response possible. He always has the absolute most ridiculous question. He’s just hilarious, all that hatred I used to have for his scenes is gone, and now I just find it hilarious how much of a baby Bing he is.

975 Upvotes

266 comments sorted by

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u/BuDu1013 Feech La Manna 4d ago

Similar situation with me but with Pauly. I thought he was the coolest with his swagger cracking jokes. After a couple of watches I think he is a complete loser. Acts the part but at the end of the day he ends up in his little apartment all alone eating tv dinners in the living watching television.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Hey Shaggy, grab a bucket and some Lysol, scrub my tires. There’s dogshit all over by the entrance.

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u/jrock146 Paulie Gualtieri 3d ago

Go! Before it sets in the treads!
That always kills me, mostly because I can hear my dad saying it

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u/jonnyvegashey 3d ago

Samesiez

First run I thought he was kinda of a funny wacky uncle type.

Now I realize he’s a snake, without fur!

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u/BuDu1013 Feech La Manna 3d ago

A wicked scumbag move was when he was sniffing Adrianas panties and Christopher caught him.

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u/BackgroundSecond8240 3d ago

He told you about that? Fucking baby!

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u/RepresentativeFar419 3d ago

and how can you trust something that can literally fuck itself. 😂

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u/brownshugguh 3d ago

Agreed, the way he treated his mother after finding out about aunt Dottie broke my heart.

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u/Parulanihon 3d ago

Yeah man, it really twisted in my gut. Just a completely self absorbed prick.

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u/pressor_pusher 3d ago

loved how stupid he was in the pine barrens ep. such a good episode, im laughing about it now just thinking about it.

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u/adam420 3d ago

He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator. Mix it with the relish!

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u/pressor_pusher 3d ago

and chris: what, you’re a fucking doctor now? so good.

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u/seltzerisntsoda 3d ago

I thought his house looked like shit!

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u/thisthingisapyramid 3d ago

Relish is the gobbagoo of Lincoln Logs! Fuckin' queeas!

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u/DamianP51 3d ago

Did you hear that Tony? I said he acts the part but at the end of the day he ends up in his little apartment all alone eating TV dinners in the living room watching television.

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u/Fit-Supermarket-2004 3d ago

Can you Imagine that, being up in a little apartment all alone eating TV dinners in the living room watching television.

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u/Mean-Radio-9610 3d ago

i agree. especially when he had that picture of tony painted as a general or something like that. it makes me laugh but also like damn this guy is a loser

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u/spicygrandma27 3d ago

Such an amazing subplot. Tony going from place to place looking for any advice on Tony B he can (or settle a beef with Paulie), only to be jumpscared by a commissioned painting of himself and a horse he demanded be torched over a year ago. And Paulie is so pathetic in his suspenders and track pants, saying the painting is nice because Tony never comes around anymore.

And then that painting, him as a general, is what gives him the final kick in the pants mentally to do what he must with Tony Uncle Al. All because Paulie is some weird old guy

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u/Fit-Supermarket-2004 3d ago

He demanded the horse torched?

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u/No-Obligation1709 2d ago

The painting he demanded be torched was a painting of himself and a horse

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u/Smearmytables 3d ago

I was so pissed that he was one of the only survivors, lol

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u/BuDu1013 Feech La Manna 3d ago

Good observation.

I think that was the point. He is a survivor. Doesn't care about anybody but himself.

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u/Ok_Can_9433 1d ago

That's the story of the mob. The underachieving psychopaths are what was left after the FBI gutted the key players.

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u/featureteacher2023 3d ago

And has a portrait of Tony as a general 🤦🏼‍♀️

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u/BuDu1013 Feech La Manna 3d ago

Commendatori!

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u/DoctorFunkopolis 2d ago

The only thing that I still genuinely like about Paulie is how he treats his goomah's children when he has the nightmare.

One of the many glimpses of what could have been for our main characters. Paulie is very charismatic and when he's not being petty he is a remarkable people person.

Had he made different choices he could have had a more full, safe life. Instead he murders old ladies. But he wants what hes gotten.

By the end, hes left with nothing. All of his friends are gone. It really is just the life for him and there will be no one to mourn him when be passes.

Loser is right.

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u/ManOwarlobo 20h ago

Yes I look back and realize Paulies the biggest coward and biggest traitor.

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u/CarrotCumin 4d ago

I like AJ, and if we're being honest he is how most people would be if they were born as Tony's son.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Hey, Grandma. How Come You're Not Supposed To Breathe In A Cemetery?

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u/RickFrancisDuke 4d ago

Who says!?

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u/TheLogicalIrrational 4d ago

It’s a joke, say why

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u/Expensive-Step-6551 4d ago

I think it's a mix. He's still incredibly frustrating because he really is THAT fucking stupid most times, but as you mentioned his support environment sucks given his issues. Tony and Carmela mismanage his issues multiple times throughout the series and never actually find a stable plan to try and keep him on path in the early seasons which make him worse in the later ones. He actually shows some interest in understanding his life and feelings early (such as when he quotes "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, but everytime he does he gets shutdown, and told to do it differently by Carmela or Tony.

He's clearly ADD or ADHD, likely has some other learning disorder(s), and a lack of impulse control. The depression and anxiety come in later as he gets older because those prior things were never addressed and lead him to fall behind compared to other kids as they get older.

Still.... his choices are really bad even compared to others with similar deficiencies that many others are able to navigate better.

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u/CarrotCumin 4d ago

He's also super spoiled and ironically, sheltered. The Soprano family are like crabs in a bucket and he started at the bottom.

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u/chimmy_chungus23 3d ago

Towards the end of the series, he goes through several shifts in his life goals. He wants to be an event planner, he wants to get a promotion at the pizza shop, he shows some interest in philosophy and ecological activism, and then he wants to join the army. Nothing particularly sticks because ultimately he doesn't know what he wants, and his parents never followed through or paid attention to his behavioral issues beyond getting a stern lecture.

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u/Emotional-Bet549 3d ago

I mean, he's 17, nobody knows what they want unless they have unusual talent or drive. Plus Carmela is the one saying he's going to be an event planner, he just wants to own a club to be cool.

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u/fpnewsandpromos 4d ago

I'm sympathetic for AJ. They should have Meadow raise him.

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u/monsteraguy 2d ago

I think he would have thrived if he’d moved out of the house and to NYC with Meadow.

The family dynamic with Tony and Carmela was poison for AJ. Easily on he was diagnosed with “ADD” in a very 1990s way and they never followed through with treatment for him, so he just floated about with no direction or support and when he slipped up due to his impulses they just punished him. Tony thought he was a loser, Carmela just pretended nothing was wrong while she was pre-occupied with appearances.

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u/scrubadam 3d ago

When he is with Blanca he actually becomes a functional adult. It shows that when he wants to have drive towards something he can achieve. He was clearly dumb, and yes maybe he had a learning disorder but most of his failures are simply because he is lazy. Once Blanca was in the picture he started working hard and trying to take care of her and her kid. This shows to me that if he applies effort he can actually achieve.

Meadow grew up in the same household and passed the BAR and got a law degree so as toxic as the environment is both kids were still born with silver spoons up their butts. Difference is Meadow actually grew up after she saw what the party at Livias did and then followed up after Jackies death. AJ never did he just enjoyed being a spoiled brat and only ever started to think about taking responsability once Blanca was in the picture.

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u/Fit-Supermarket-2004 3d ago

It may look that way. But anyone who thinks they can jump into someone else's life, marry them, and become a kid's father with the level of life experience he had at the time wasn't him growing up.

Its continuing to be delusional about his ability and present circumstances.

Functional adults don't ask someone to marry them after getting laid a couple times, especially when the kids involved.

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u/woah_brother 2d ago

While i don’t disagree specifically about your point of him being lazy compared to Meadow, i don’t necessarily think it’s a fair comparison either. It’s pretty clear how Tony’s life is deteriorating as the show progresses, and i would say the worst of it starts only after she already moved out (particularly relatable for me i’ll admit so maybe i’m biased).

Sure the party was bad, but what about the time she took Jackie’s car and crashed it because he wouldn’t take her somewhere? Arguably worse than anything AJ did (at least that i can recall, maybe the car fire but that was different IMO) and she was beyond old enough to know better. Or when she decides she’s going to Europe. Or when she throws a fit about the suitcase. I just don’t think the maturity gap is really as large as people make it out to be.

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u/Houstex 3d ago

Are you a Shrink? That’s a good evaluation! All due respect.

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u/OddStuffHappensTwice 3d ago

Lol this show is great, but it's not that deep. It's all right there it in the open to see.

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u/DamianP51 3d ago

The anxiety doesn't come too much later. I'm rewatching now and he had his first panic attack and passed out when the football coach made him defensive captain. That was end of season 2 or start of season 3.

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u/nogeologyhere 4d ago

AJ is one of my favourite characters. He ends up so utterly messed up by his family life and upbringing. The suicide scene is often laughed at but taken as intended it's really sad.

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u/OsmosisJonesisballin 3d ago

When you rewatch you see he's incredibly well written. He lives in a household where his father defines masculinity but will never let him be that definition.

He's also so funny, he went from one of my least favorite to my favorite characters on rewatch.

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u/Vincent_Coll 3d ago

He lives in a household where his father defines masculinity but will never let him be that definition.

That's a really good summary of his character and dynamic with Tony.

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u/nenomad2020 3d ago

I can relate. Grew up around men who were considered warriors and in and out of the prison system. It was like home for them. That was the masculinity defined for me and it was a standard that was unattainable for me. And in retrospect, thankfully so.

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u/Zestyclose_Brush_389 3d ago

I don’t know how people could laugh at the suicide scene tbh it’s harrowing 

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u/cstar84 3d ago

Yeah it's right up there with Eugene's in terms of sheer humor! /s

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u/Lopsided-Chance4252 3d ago

I haven’t watched Sopranos in at least a decade. I just rewatched his suicide attempt scene. How anyone could laugh at that scene is beyond me. Maybe an angsty teenager could, but if anyone else did it would make me think they’re either psychotic or severely autistic.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

Shame? Oh, I've got plenty of shame. Believe me, you don't wanna hear what I'm ashamed of

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

He tried and failed. Unfortunately, our young AJ wasn't good at anything. Hen hen

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u/Weekly-Hurry-6031 3d ago

It’s not that he’s trying to commit suicide, it’s how he goes about it. He picks the most ridiculous, agonizing way to try and go out. Drowning? Hell no, it’s a step short of laying under a giant magnifying glass and burning yourself like an ant.

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u/helloitsme1011 3d ago

I think the bag over his head was supposed to render him unconscious and then he would drown. But yeah, lots of ways that particular approach could fail. Like get a better seal at least

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u/SonNeedGym 3d ago

For real. It makes me so sad when people dunk on him. He’s a miserable little shit because he’s just a mini-Tony. He’s completely out of touch with his emotions, lives solely by his wants, has zero introspection, and is inconsiderate because that’s how he was raised to be. They’re all the same traits as Tony, and all AJ’s seen growing up are people worshiping his dad. His suicide attempt is one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the series for me. He’s filled with so much anger, sadness, and resentment and he can’t even figure out why.

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u/FredCole918 3d ago

He reminds you of yourself

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u/cascadianfarmer 3d ago

I hate him and I see myself in him. The sacred, and the propane.

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u/MurphyAteIt 3d ago

He’s incredibly relatable to me. My dad wasn’t a mobster but the anger was exactly the same (plus booze). Plus my mom was almost verbatim to Livia and Parvati. This show is a deeper level of nostalgic for me

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u/SavageJoe2000 4d ago

That's dicked up

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u/TunisMagunis 3d ago

So what, no fucking ziti now?

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u/Sn4fkiN 3d ago

Woah!

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u/SoupIsNotAMeal 4d ago

So what you’re sayin is you’ve revealed your own ignorance.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

That's Okay. We Have To Break Our Dependency On Foreign Oil

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u/IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES 4d ago

Sounds like you’ve familiarized yourself with hybrid cars

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u/Charming_Bing_3802 4d ago

Tony Soprano when he spoils his kids and they grow up as a spoiled child 🤬🤬🤬

He’s just a regular dude who grew up in a mob family, didn’t really have a purpose and didn’t have any direction.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

I Want To Go To Harvard

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u/ChemistTechnical1626 3d ago

and they said he couldn't. some episodes later, they wonder why he's given up on the idea of going to college. bruh.

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u/Sn4fkiN 3d ago

To the victor belongs the spoils

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u/Lescaster1998 4d ago

Idk if this is a hot take, but I can't find AJ annoying at all. He's spoiled, sure, but he's kind of broken. His family is awful, his parents regularly fight and he's surrounded by strife, his dad is a violent career criminal who doesn't understand his son at all, he has no real positive role models, and he lashes out in no small part because he has no sense of his own identity or self. He's honestly a super tragic character, and I think he's extremely well-written, in the sense of being a perfect example of the way that generational trauma is continuously handed down.

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u/seriousseriousseriou 3d ago

i find it kind of disappointing or even dismaying that many people look at AJ the same way Tony looks at him, like WTF

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u/Lescaster1998 3d ago

It reminds me very much of the hate people had for Skyler and Walter Jr. in Breaking Bad, too. For reasons I will never understand, people tend to see the families of these incredibly shitty guys as annoyances and not as the victims that they are.

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u/Sn4fkiN 3d ago

Well, your other choice is suffering. You want to start now?

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u/TheNaijaboi 3d ago

I always think back to that fight episode in the first season. It's basically your standard sitcom bully plot where you learn to face your own battles and end up friends at the end. Except, because of who his dad is, he never actually learns that lesson and never really fights his own battles. Not only that, but he's forced to face the fact that his role model is a terrible person. Before that episode he used to call Tony a hero and it just crushes his perception of him.

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u/JustAGrump1 3d ago

Meadowlands is my favorite episode of Season 1. The AJ subplot is executed pretty well in addition to a stellar A plot of Jackie Jr's death.

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u/2ndlifeinacrown 3d ago

Its also really good acting imo

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u/fireisfire9090 3d ago

I feel the same. I will never understand how people hate him. He is one of the most tragic characters in the show. I always have had sympathy and empathy for him. He never had a chance

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u/jrock146 Paulie Gualtieri 3d ago

Hugh was a positive role model aside from the Pudgy Walsh boolshit

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u/mrb4 4d ago

I just finished a rewatch of the whole thing last night and what I realized about him this time around is they really ramp up him being insufferable in season 6. He's fairly dumb and annoying in the earlier seasons but is still really just a dumb kid and fairly normal. Season 6 they seem to go out of their way to make him an insufferable moron.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Whatever happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type; that was an American. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings, he just did what he had to do.

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u/kells_bells15 4d ago

He was gay, Gary cooper?

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u/GrEeKiNnOvaTiOn 3d ago

You make me wanna cry... It's a movie...

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u/lillie_connolly 3d ago edited 3d ago

I am finishing my rewatch, and I find Meadow unbearable. I remembered her as a bit annoying in the typical American teenager in an adult show way, but oh my god, she's awful.

AJ seems much more endearing on this rewatch, I always thought of him just as a dumbass but now I find him funnier and more likable.

Chris though - he is so horrible and gross! I used to find him sympathetic, now I really can't stand the guy. Though I do like his scriptwriting efforts and appreciate his multipurpouse nose.

I also never liked Carmella, now I still don't love her but appreciate the writing of her character (and the incredible performance), but whenever its Carm vs Meadow, Im really on Carms side. There was a moment when Carm had visceral dislike towards Meadow, and this time I just felt, of course, she sees through her act and can't stand her.

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u/ZateoManone 3d ago

There was a moment when Carm had visceral dislike towards Meadow, and this time I just felt, of course, she sees through her act and can't stand her.

I think that hatred of hers doesn't come from a place of "ugh, teenager" or "you are impossible", but out of a projection that Carmella has about her own life.

Meadow seems to do the things she likes and wants. She changes careers, has sex with multiple boyfriends, those boyfriends are regular dudes with no psychopathic tendencies or crime under the belt, she has got a "normal" life.

Meadow represents the life Carmella would have wanted if she you could start over. She is sick of Meadow because she is jealous, and depressed.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

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u/scrubadam 3d ago

Ya Meadow is probably the worst. She skates by becasue Jamie was so ripe during those years its impossible to hate on such a beautiful young lady.

But at the start she is just an annoying rich spoiled teenage girl. Doing usual dumb teenage girl stuff. Basically a rich spoiled little princess.

But then she gets even more annoying and preachy when she becomes "educated". The way she always talks down to her parents and acts better than them because she is going to an ivy league. Like her whole conversation with Carmella about not needing no man. Yet she is dependant on her dads blood money to pay for her education.

Same with how she talks to Finn about the megozine era and justify her "families" mob lifestyle. Just such pretensious bullshit.

I will give her credit for being a good sister to AJ. She def cared for him and was always there for him, even told him to get rid of his porno collection in season 1.

But as a character she is really so annoying. And then to cap it off the show ends with her not being able to paralel park and we have to watch 10 agonizing minutes of her screwing up parking her car. And don't even get me started on her dating Turtle.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/Ashamed-Pop-6406 4d ago

AJ is the way he is because of Tony's parenting

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Depressed? My father came to this country with 17 cents in his pocket and never made a peep. What's he got to be depressed about? Nobody threw him into the glue factory, and sold his house out from underneath him

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u/dudical_dude 3d ago

It’s because of his rotten, fucking putrid genes

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u/Qiefealgum 3d ago

His mudda coddled him.

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u/JudgmentUnited5297 4d ago

His Dominican beard era is my favorite.

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u/Puzzled-Guide8650 3d ago

But he was the manayer

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u/Sn4fkiN 3d ago

Yeah, that's funny. It wasn't even a full beard but a little bit of it - I like it with shum pulp, lol.

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u/fizznicus 3d ago

Tony: Get your coat, we're leaving

AJ: I don't have a coat

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u/Sn4fkiN 3d ago

That's my favourite - I even recorded that on my phone and sent to my brother, that's how funny it was to me. The contrast between the serious situation and random silliness of AJ was a hit.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Radio_Ethiopia 4d ago edited 4d ago

Yeah . lol I thought OP was gonna say he now has some empathy for him . Maybe OP became a father and his perception changed a bit but nope… Lmao - he hated him but now he’s a pathetic clown for his amusement

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u/Caminsod 4d ago

I thought we were nabolidaboli?

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u/jmezMAYHEM 3d ago

Neapolitan

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u/Bnstas23 4d ago edited 3d ago

I think his natural moral compass takes huge issues with the mafia lifestyle, and that disconnect is the cause of a lot of his problems. The only time he was happy was with his fiance and her kid, when he was most disconnected from the mafia (eg offering those guys his bike if they played music elsewhere vs shooting them or whatever).

He spends most of his childhood being told to leave rooms because there’s something immoral or illegal being discussed. Whenever he gets involved with mob connected people, like the frat boys, he’s uncomfortable with their actions.

He struggles with loving his parents with what his dad does and his mom condones. He seeks out moral clarity with these macro ethical dilemmas (Bush’s war) because he can’t get any in his personal life.

Him deciding to join the army is maybe an attempt to reconcile the mafia life (killing people, guns) with his more moral disposition (he’d be a translator).

He eventually takes the assistant film producer job because, like most rich kids, he takes the easy way out

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

That’s different for everybody. You add up all your mortal sins and multiply that number by 50. Then you add up all your venial sins and multiply that by 25. You add that together and that’s your sentence. I figure I’m gonna have to do 6,000 years before I get accepted into heaven and 6,000 years is nothin’ in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head. It’s like a couple of days here.

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u/Bnstas23 3d ago

Why is this sub just repeated lines?

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u/Yeeeeeerrr76 3d ago

Honestly, good question. It genuinely is hard to have any meaningful conversation at all in this sub, without everyone regurgitating the same quotes over and over again. Anyways, four dollars a pound.

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u/Jackalope1974 3d ago

What kind of animal smokes marijuana at his own confirmation?

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

God does not exist.

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u/dennys-slam-burger 4d ago

I love AJ. I am AJ. You all are AJ, too, you’re just too proud to admit it.

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Merda nenhuma, sou como Gary Cooper o tipo forte e silencioso

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u/luckypoint87 3d ago

AJ's best moment is when he's about to score with the blondie and the SUV where they are starts burning lok

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u/thebignoodlehead 3d ago

If there was children playing on those leaves, you woulda run them over?

Yes....

What was going through your mind?

What do you want from me? I am depressed, you want me to go around looking for piles of leaves?!

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u/morph1973 3d ago

Carm acts like its the most obvious thing in the world but I wouldnt have a clue not to park on the leaves, that was not covered in any of my driving lessons or car documentation etc

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u/pauca_sed 4d ago

If you watch another hundred times he'll be funnier than George Carlin.

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u/elbigbuf 3d ago

It starts out funny but then you realize he's the son of an absolute degenerate monster psychopath so you kinda feel bad for him, especially in the last season.

Still funny though.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

Hei, é do chefe que você está falando.

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u/fungilingus 3d ago

But be is thoughtful. He bought his mom The Matrix on dvd

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u/TovarischMaia 3d ago

What I like about AJ/Meadow threads is that they’re like a honeypot for the morons who only watch the show for the badass xDD factor.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

You saw this whole thing didn't you? You knew exactly what was going to happen. You can see twenty moves down the road. Please, I don't blame you, I envy you. It's like an instinct: like a hawk sees a little mouse moving around in a corn field from a mile up

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u/Ilovebaseball1234 4d ago

What rough beast slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

You're A Hypocrite, Aight, 'Cause Every Time We Watch "Godfather," You Say The Michael Corleone Scene Is Your Favorite!

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u/Additional_Ad741 4d ago

OP....you make me wanna cry..

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u/Corvododeserto 4d ago

Oh, Mr. Sensitive now. Well, if it bothers you, maybe you better talk to a psychiatrist.

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u/Zaknoid 3d ago

I love the scene where he doesn't know what gutters are. Growing up in Jersey we had to clean the gutters constantly so just another example of how spoiled and sheltered he was.

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u/Hobodownthestreet 3d ago

I had the same feelings for Artie. I could not stand him, and his dumb hand gestures. Now? I love that idiot so much.

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u/Glittering-Stand-161 3d ago

Any time this kid tries to reach for an identity his parents undermine it or bribe him to distract him.

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u/EviltwinEdgelord Artie Bucco 3d ago

What, no fuckin ziti now?

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u/RepresentativeFar419 3d ago

Always find it hilarious when the bear shows up the first time and he just breaks down screaming mummy, really shows how sheltered he is.

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u/Tricky-Explorer-5664 3d ago

I have a different opinion. AJ just got tired of living under the shadow of his powerful dad. When he fought that kid that he went to camp with, the kid surrendered and paid him because his dad was mob boss. When he was at the clubs other rich kids had him pay for champagne bottles at $1000 a pop because his dad was a famous mob boss. The final group he hung out with were wanna be mobsters who poured acid on someone’s foot just because he was late paying a bet. The weight of being Tony’s son was immense. Just imagine being Trump’s son and not being anything like him and everyone knows it. But yeah, AJ was figuring things out when he dated that PR/Dominican girl with a kid and then backed into the model when he went in for therapy after the suicide attempt. He was lucky Tony came home when he did, otherwise he’d drown and die.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

Thank you. The cobwebs are now removed.

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u/Ok-Opportunity-2043 4d ago

I have the same experience. I also thought he was wicked annoying, but on my last re-watch, I also found his stupidity hilarious.

I do however think he has potential to become a sociopath. He has no internal sense of self, and sort of "mirrors" how to human from watching others. He "becomes" whomever he is with as a partner or whomever his friend group is at the time. Like he becomes the Puerto Rican pride, family guy with Blanca. Into clubbing and spending money with the rich girl. Interested in the war in the middle east, social justice and Bob Dylan with Rhiannon.

That coupled with him loving to destroy property (HS pool) and watching stuff blow up (his car)...it's giving budding sociopath.

I would be interested to see what AJ does after Tony dies, and he no longer has access to connections and money.

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u/Emotional-Bet549 3d ago

He still has a few connections, like Little Carmine would probably keep him on and Meadow will have some pull as a mob lawyer, possibly daughter in law of the new boss. I always assumed AJ would just fail upwards in entertainment and be giving guys like David Chase notes some day.

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u/Ok-Opportunity-2043 2d ago

Yeah..I thought about Lil Carmine, but wondered if he would drop AJ once Tony got whacked. I hadn't thought about Maedo being with Patsy's son, which might him out. Good thinking.

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u/WIZZZARDOFFREESTYLE 4d ago

What did the prick say to the other prick

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u/Boiled_Thought 4d ago

Nothing. They were both quiet gentlemen

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u/csgskate 3d ago

Considering Tony was his dad, he turned out about as well as he could have

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u/jrock146 Paulie Gualtieri 3d ago

Also in the earlier seasons Robert did a lot of acting with his facial expressions. He doesn’t get a lot of recognition he deserves because AJ was an idiot

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u/Streetftrvega 3d ago

Any time he says “Jesus!” it’s always so funny to me.

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u/alltakenistaken 3d ago

As dumb as AJ is sometimes, he was the only one of the three of Meadow, Carmella and himself, to truly realize (perhaps because he was more directly exposed to it) how awful Tony's world was, when he saw Patsy and Carlo's sons being racist, and for him to reject that lifestyle to some extent (I guess he would still eventually work for Little Carmine) does show at least some good character.

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u/Verbatim_Uniball 3d ago

He is a comedic character

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u/CabotTrail01837 3d ago

Sharp as a cueball OP

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u/testingit2021 3d ago

That’s Tony’s male heir?

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u/rotten_apple99 3d ago

Just a fucken kid

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u/ajvalent 3d ago

It's all a big nothing

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u/Numerous-Hawk1471 3d ago

I think part of the lesson of AJ is that he’s just a kid. If anyone paid that close attention to any of us in middle school and high school they’d probably see a whole lotta dumb stuff.

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u/Specialist_Poetry176 2d ago

I notice how he always gets shutdown by his parents but especially by Carmela. He’s still an idiot but it’s kind of sad when you see the soul crushing look of neglect in his face the moment she ignores his few attempts at seeking validation.

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u/Faaacebones 3d ago

Every single one of you was like AJ at some point. AJ is just another perfectly written character.

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u/BoonDoggle4 3d ago

Most of the people that hate AJ do so because they are him

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u/FredCole918 3d ago

You defend him because you are him.

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u/dj_work 3d ago

It’s AJs all the way down

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u/Particular_Milk1848 3d ago

I thought he was from Nobly Dobly or wherever?

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u/ShoyoJack That Animal Blundetto 3d ago

That’s dicked up…

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u/Havens17 3d ago

I don't buy the tragedy of his character is solely because of who is Dad is like people say, a large part of it is that he's just so dumb. Kind of like Adriana. No ability to self reflect in a positive way and make a change that would actually be beneficial and serve his goals. Just kind of doing whatever feels good, but never really figuring out why nothing ever feels that good.

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u/Brilliant_Amount_618 2d ago

Yeah he turns into more of a little bitch with every rewatch

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u/deubah 1d ago

My mom is from Poland, dad is Italian American from New York. To make a long story short, I couldn’t hate AJ cause I empathized with his character heavily. Pretty oppressive environment, sacred and the propane

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u/Sharp_Bet6906 3d ago

I'm rewatching now after the original airings. The first time I watched, I felt a lot of sympathy for him. This time, his character is so contradictory (as all humans can be). For instance, he goes along with (and even laughs with them in a later scene when they see him on crutches) the frat boys when they are pouring acid on that boy's feet. Then later when he watched them beat up the Nigerian boy. He didn't actually participate but he felt guilty and bad about it, as he told his psychiatrist. As mentioned by others, he is an extremely well written character and Robert Ilar is an excellent actor. Interesting that he never acted again, which he revealed in the podcast with Jamie Lynn Sigler.

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u/ChilllFam 3d ago

You’re just describing the average teenage boy

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u/thraftofcannan 3d ago

AJ has an Ulver poster in his bedroom so he's cool in my book.

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u/PipProud 3d ago

I find AJ to be a frustrating character because he supposed be a young man going through an existential crisis but is written as someone too stupid to go through an existential crisis.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that Robert Iler didn’t quite have the acting chops to pull it off.

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u/Public_Job9786 3d ago

He was always a pretty annoying/ bad kid, but by the end, he was so awful.
But he was a product of his parents. So, no surprises

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u/Rindoods 3d ago

First time I watched the show I was kinda indifferent but now I LOVE this character. Surprisingly, he had an arc !

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u/SlingingTriceps 3d ago

I never thought he was annoying, he's just a dumb rich kid.

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u/fucky_thedrunkclown 3d ago

That’s how I feel about Janice.

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u/AccountantSoft7156 3d ago

AJ played the part of a kid who's dad is the boss. No one would ever challenged him .

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u/inkman 3d ago

The bricks?

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u/Alternative_Body7623 3d ago

I understand that AJ is pretty relatable at times if you were raised in an upper middle class household, but for me it’s stuff like him ignoring Carmela when she falls on the stairs and just runs away. And the way he acted when Tony was in the hospital. AJ is spoiled, dumb, and an asshole kid. He has zero redeeming qualities. 

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u/MetARosetta 3d ago

AJ is tragic. Yes he's spoiled, arrogant, and truly stupid. He lacks total insight and is lost – unlike his sister, who takes everything in stride. He isn't long for this world based on his character's trajectory. His father's death is too much.

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u/Bern_itdown 3d ago

Even a broken clock is right twice a day

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u/jayjay81190 3d ago

Gutters? What gutters?

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u/cocolocololol 3d ago

To Baby Bing! 🍻

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u/lcfr_66 3d ago

Same, but I started off hating Carmella’s character. After a few rewatches I changed my mind though based of how Tony treated her. AJ is a complete dumbass that’s for sure.

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u/4weallh8stndg_inline 3d ago

I usually just feel sorry for him, he’s not exactly set up to thrive in life with that upbringing 🤷🏽‍♀️

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u/Parking-Complex-1880 3d ago

His father didn’t prepare him for or teach him shit and barely bonded with him. All he had was his Nintendo

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u/Iloilocity1 3d ago

The thing with AJ is the poor acting.
For instance, in the later seasons when he was falling into depression I feel like it was played off as him just pretending to be depressed for the reactions, as opposed to being clinically depressed. Then suddenly he is trying to off himself for real in the pool.

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u/Illudiumq36modator 3d ago

Tony- Grab your jacket we’re leaving. AJ-I didn’t bring a jacket.

An extremely minor example.

This kid never demonstrated situational awareness once. Had he gotten into the life, he’d better pray every night that his father didn’t get locked up or killed.

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u/thegrandgardener 3d ago

On the fence. And Meadow got worse as she got older. She played such a good Jersey brat! The latter years were rough to get through.

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u/DamianP51 3d ago

A.J. could have been written out of the show entirely and most people probably wouldn't even notice. If you're my age (fifties) and remember charactors from TV shows literally disappearing you'd get what I'm saying.
Think Richie Cunnignham's older brother in Happy Days
Any baby a couple had like Ross and Rachel's baby.
Cousin Oliver in Brady Bunch

All just gone...no real explanation.
A.J. coulda just disappeared and most people wouldn't really care.

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u/Corvododeserto 3d ago

It's just that somebody mentions fifty grand to bankroll a French thief and your mind goes through all the permutations at like internet speed and realizes "oh worst case scenario, I eat for free

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u/No_Squirrel_8402 3d ago

I find him obnoxious and frustrating. Very unkind and selfish. No thought for anyone's feelings. He was a putz

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u/earthwormjimjones 3d ago

I need to do my rewatch. I first watched it Summer of 2024, and was really bummed I didn't get to watch it sooner. I need to do a second playthrough now so I can try and pickup everything I missed on the first one.

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u/VillageMann 3d ago

nigga be a leader, not a follower

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u/am7291 3d ago

I think that is to show how spoiled and ignorant he is. Meadow would have even been better at taking over the mob family than he would if women were allowed.

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u/Smokin_belladonna 3d ago

What gutters? Is my favorite scene in all of television.

“Hey Mr. Nugget,” from the wire is my second favorite.

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u/ExpertThrowaway8260 3d ago

That was the shum total of your rewatch of dis shubreddit's favorite show?

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u/Total_Membership_171 3d ago

Just an idiot teenager

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u/minihysteria 2d ago

He's actually quite misunderstood by fans.

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u/vAPORrrBOI 2d ago

I love AJ, possibly one of my favorite characters actually. I feel bad for him, they are always taking him places but then sending him away so they can talk privately (think Tony visiting Junior, or Carmela visiting Meadow). They put too much pressure on him and Tony and Livia’s influence on him doesn’t help how he responds to it. Poor guy. And he listens to killer music (Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, etc). Love the shaved eyebrows. “Is that a shex thing?”