Tony Soprano: 10 Unpopular Opinions (According To Reddit)
Tony is one of TV's greatest antiheroes. However, not every fan on Reddit agrees with his choices or is content with his story arcs on The Sopranos.
As the show’s protagonist, Tony Soprano—the boss of the DiMeo Crime Family—does enough to make fans adore him eternally. He is not only an intelligent, modern Don that ticks most of the Cosa Nostra stereotypes but also a good father. To fans of The Sopranos and general mafia tale lovers, Tony is one of the best fictional characters of all time.
Despite being one of the best-written characters on the show, a couple of fans disagree with several things about Tony. A couple of unpopular opinions about the New Jersey mob boss can be found on the online forum Reddit where honesty reigns supreme. While a good number of the arguments are compelling, loyalists of the show won’t agree.
Tony Is Right To Kill Christopher
An intoxicated Christopher crashes the car while he and Tony are headed back home from a meeting with Lupertazzi Crime Family boss Phil in the final season. Concluding that Christopher has become too reckless, a less-injured Tony pinches his nose, making him asphyxiate on his own blood. Redditor -kingnoble- states that this is the right approach by Tony.
Christopher is deeply flawed but he’s one of the most likable Capos on the show. Tony’s decision to murder him doesn’t sit well with fans because there is a deeper, selfish reason behind it. He does it because of other things Christopher has done, including becoming romantically involved with the realtor Julianna Skiff (a woman Tony has his eyes on), unintentionally painting Tony in a bad light in his B-movie Cleaver, and accusing him of sleeping with his fiance Adriana.
Tony Has The Makings Of A Varsity Athlete
One of Junior Sopranos’ best ever quotes involves him bluntly telling Tony that he never had the makings of a varsity athlete. According to Nowoco, this is inaccurate since Tony is always tough and aggressive.
There are a couple of reasons why Junior is right. As a child, Tony is hot-headed, with mobsters such as Dickie as mentors. There’s no chance of him desiring a normal life under these circumstances, hence college football is out of the picture. Tony also reminds Junior that he said the same remarks when he was a child. This means Junior was right all along. Despite Tony’s coach urging him to play ball, he lacks the discipline to do it and that’s why he ends up in crime.
Tony Is ‘Morally’ Worse Than Ralph
Ralph’s sadistic personality makes him one of the show’s biggest villains. Still, Redditor WhiteGhosts feels the Capo is better because he isn’t hypocritical. He knows he’s a bad guy and he owns it, while Tony appears to act righteously.
Fans will disagree with this assertion because Tony’s actions are mostly justified while Ralph’s arent. Ralph’s list of sins includes beating and killing his pregnant girlfriend Tracee, damaging Bada Bing manager Georgie’s eye just to demonstrate a scene from Gladiator, and making obesity-related jokes about Johnny Sack’s wife. All these things could have been avoided.
Tony Should Have Married Gloria Trillo
Gloria Trillo is Tony’s most intriguing mistress because of her switch from sweetheart to villain. She showers him with love, then almost ruins his life. This forces him to threaten her into backing off. However, BP-47·feels that she is the right fit for Tony and he might be able to put up with her issues easily if he marries her.
Leaving Carmela for Gloria would be a risky move. Gloria doesn’t know the intricate details of Tony’s mob life, so that’s a huge problem. Gloria also demands all the attention while Tony enjoys being the unfaithful partner. Marrying Gloria would lead to constant arguments. Most important, Gloria constantly displays psychopathic traits hence would be unfit for a life partner.
Tony’s Dream Sequences Are Boring
A lot of things happen in Tony’s dream sequences. These things are meant to be interpreted in different ways, making the show all the more interesting. Redditor bungle123 finds them unnecessary.
The numerous many iconic moments in Tony’s dreams make them impossible to label as irrelevant. The New Jersey mob boss gets to ride a horse in the living room and sees his dead mother walking out the stairs. It’s through the dreams that the show delves into other genres such as horror and thriller. The necessity of Tony’s dreams cannot be understated either since they impact real-life events. It’s through a dream that Tony is able to confirm that Big Pussy is an FBI informant.
Tony Is A Lot Like AJ
AJ Soprano is one of the most hated characters in The Sopranos because he is a constant source of stress to Tony and Carmela. He acts entitled and isn’t good at anything. Redditor avoritz’s view that Tony and AJ are like is thus shocking. The user states that both are narcissistic crybabies and that AJ would have become a tough gangster too if he’d been raised by an evil mother like Livia.
The Redditor does indeed have a valid argument but it’ll be rejected by most fans because AJ hardly does anything to be proud of, compared to Tony who does plenty as a big bad mobster. Comparing AJ to Tony might be illogical to some fans. AJ might be a lot like his father but be a hard character to defend because the good or triumphant side of him is never shown.
Tony Is A Bad Boss
Redditor UncleRudolph makes a case for Tony being a bad boss by pointing out a list of poor decisions. These include: killing Ralph over a horse, not paying Hesh, contemplating sleeping with Adriana, and him being way too emotional.
It’s true that Tony’s personal judgment isn’t always the best but in regards to matters concerning the family and his own career, he does exceptionally well. He also cruises through the entire series without getting killed or imprisoned, despite a huge target on his back. He also wins the deadly war with the Lupertazzi Crime Family, keeping the legacy of his own family intact. During his reign, most of the notable FBI informants on the show are identified and dealt with.
Dr. Melfi Is Right To Drop Tony
Towards the end of the series, Tony’s psychiatrist Dr. Melfi cuts ties with him for good. She cites a couple of reasons, including his foul language, but her reasons don’t seem all-too-convincing. Still, bluebird2019xx feels Melfi did the right thing.
The interactions between Dr. Melfi and Tony are some of the best things about the show. An end to that means that a huge component has been taken out. The turn of events is difficult for fans to ingest because Melfi is guilt-tripped by Dr. Elliot into severing ties. It isn’t fully her decision. Tony also benefits a lot from the sessions, hence leaving him out in the cold comes off as unprofessional.
Tony Should Have Killed Paulie
Tony almost murders Paulie inside a boat in the second part of Season 6 but reconsiders after the Capo insists he wasn’t responsible for informing Johnny Sack about Ralph’s wife-joke. Priar342 asserts that Tony whacking Paulie would have been totally okay.
Paulie is the DiMeo Crime Family’s most capable enforcer and as a result, he ranks first among characters with the highest kill count in The Sopranos. He hardly makes mistakes either, something that makes him a fan-favorite character and enables him to remain alive until the series ends. Paulie’s sins aren’t also big enough to warrant a whacking. Murdering him would make Tony irredeemable.
James Gandolfini Was A Bad Casting Choice For Tony Soprano
The biggest unpopular opinion comes from Redditor r3l0z. They argue that Gandolfini’s facial expressions and mannerisms don’t match those of an intimidating mobster. His speech seems forced too.
Many leads in great TV shows have won no awards and the fact that Gandolfini has 6 Emmy nominations (and 3 wins) for “Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series” is proof that he is the right choice to play Tony. The actor also has numerous accolades from other productions, meaning he is generally good at his job.
