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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos #1: “Made in America” (Season 7, Episode 9)

What is there to be said that hasn’t been said about this finale? “Made in America” has become a blueprint on how to end a series without answering every question while at the same time presenting new ones. Directed by series creator David Chase, this episode has been analyzed by every critic and blog writer covering television and compelling arguments have been made for both sides of the “is Tony dead?” debate. I don’t often see this episode on lists of the top ten best episodes of the series and it’s somewhat perplexing to me. There is no doubt about the fact that upon airing, this episode was divisive: one side of the fandom blown away by the abrupt ending while the other side upset they’d be denied seeing the fate of the patriarch they’d spent years invested in. What makes it the best episode of the series is that “Made in America” is refreshingly and unapologetically Mr. Chase: an exquisite blend of Lynch and Hitchcock undertones with dark and moody color palettes and out of the ordinary editing techniques. Chase had quite a unique approach to directing that was somewhat unseen throughout the series run (he only directed this episode and the Pilot) and it benefitted the finale greatly. What better way to see the ending of a legendary series than through the eyes of its maker? There is no doubt about it, “Made in America” is an absolute masterpiece. 

by: Steve Conzo

#the sopranos #thebluecomet #tonysoprano #carmelasoprano #davidchase #hbo #hboseries #hboshows #toptensopranosepsidoes #topten #television #newjersey

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Honorable Mentions

While I was putting together this list, I compiled my top 30 favorite episodes of the series and strung it together from there. I know there’s a ton of episodes not included in my top ten that people would argue need to be up there, but there’s so many brilliant pieces to this story it’s nearly impossible to make everybody happy. Before we reach #1 on our top ten list, here are the other 20 episodes that rounded out my top 30: 

Whoever Did This (Season 4, Episode 9)

Long Term Parking (Season 5, Episode 12)

Employee of the Month (Season 3, Episode 4)

Kennedy and Heidi (Season 7, Episode 6)

I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano (Season 1, Episode 13)

Calling All Cars (Season 4, Episode 11)

The Second Coming (Season 7, Episode 7)

Boca (Season 1, Episode 9)

Another Toothpick  (Season 3, Episode 5)

The Ride (Season 6, Episode 9)

Soprano Home Movies (Season 7, Episode 1)

College (Season 1, Episode 5)

Army of One (Season 3, Episode 13)

Meadowlands (Season 1, Episode 4)

All Due Respect (Season 5, Episode 13)

The Strong, Silent Type (Season 4, Episode 10)

Proshai, Livushka (Season 3, Episode 2)

The Sopranos (Season 1, Episode 1)

Irregular Around The Margins (Season 5, Episode 5)

Mayham (Season 6, Episode 3)

#the sopranos #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #tony soprano #carmella soprano #christopher moltisanti #silvio dante #paulie gualtieri #james gandolfini #edie falco #hbo #hbo shows #david chase #new jersey #the blue comet #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #2. “University” (Season 3, Episode 6)

The episode of the series that’s probably the hardest to watch, “University” is somewhat of a companion piece to “College”, the legendary episode from the first season. This episodes two storylines involve young women on completely opposite ends of the spectrum: Meadow’s story is told from the perspective of a girl from an upper middle class family while Tracee, a young Bada Bing stripper who is truly the episodes star, is told from the perspective of a dirt poor individual trying to make ends meet for her and her young son. Both storylines end with women being broken up with but in completely different ways. While the pretentious ass Noah Tannenbaum ends things with Meadow over her being “too negative” and the overbearing weight of her roommate Caitlin on their relationship, what’s remembered most about this episode is how Ralph brutally murders Tracee after she tells him she’s pregnant with his child. Ralph is a wild card throughout the series, but nothing compares to the absolute terror we witness here in the back of the Bada Bing. Not only is the story in this episode written gorgeously, but the editing is truly what makes this episode hit home. The intersecting scenes depicting the difference between these young women's lives leaves us in an unsettled and devastated sense of mind. While this episode is probably the toughest to get through, it’s also a master achievement in storytelling. 

by: Steve Conzo

#the sopranos #university #tony soprano #meadow soprano #ralph cifaretto #james gandolfini #hbo #hbo shows #hbo series #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #new jersey #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #3. “Whitecaps” (Season 4, Episode 13)

After four full seasons of slow building tension between them, Tony and Carmela’s marriage finally comes to a head in this devastating and intense season 4 finale. Directed by the late John Patterson, this episode is essentially the episode the audience has been dreading since the pilot. For the first four seasons of the series, Carmela has turned a blind eye to what Tony really does with his time, but it’s a drunken call from his former goomar Irina who tells Carmela about Tony’s recent rendezvous with her cousin Svetlana that sets Carm off. The confrontations between Tony and Carmela throughout this entire episode puts the brilliant work of both James Gandolfini and Edie Falco at the forefront as both deliver blow after blow of things they’ve been keeping from each other over the years, primarily Carmela’s reveal of her intense romantic feelings for Furio. Other plots come to a head in this hour of television as well, including the conclusion to the disagreements New Jersey has been having with the Lupertazzi’s of New York over the esplanade project, the possible assassination of their boss Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr. spearheaded by his own underboss Johnny Sack, and the harassment of the man Tony was buying the shore house from (the shore house being titled “Whitecaps”, where the episode pulled it’s title) when he declines to give Tony his deposit back after everything happens with Carmela. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #whitecaps #tonysoprano #carmela soprano #christopher moltisanti #carminelupertazzi #silvio dante #paulie walnuts #james gandolfini #edie falco #david chase #hbo #hbo series #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #television #thebluecomet #new jersey

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #4. “The Blue Comet” (Season 7, Episode 8)

The penultimate episode of both season and series, “The Blue Comet” provides us with some of the saddest moments of the shows run. Things between the Soprano Crime Family and Phil Leotardo’s Lupertazzi Family out of New York come to a violent head and some of the most beloved characters are in harm’s way. Lovable giant Bobby Bacala is gunned down inside a train store while contemplating purchasing a Blue Comet train (where the episode gets its title, and not to mention this very blog as well!), while Silvio and Patsy are ambushed outside the Bing which leaves Silvio in a coma for the remainder of the series. It’s the sudden happenings of these scenes that leave us completely shellshocked by the time Tony informs Carmela at the Soprano house about what has happened. While we all were aware that the show would end in a situation like this one, it is completely heartbreaking to see characters we’ve grown with like Bobby and SIl have such tragic endings. At the same time, this is what makes The Sopranos so brilliant. There was almost no way that the series would end with everybody intact, and its Shakespearean ways helped remind us that nobody is safe in the mob world. As Tony sits alone in the bedroom of his safe house, he clutches the AR-10 assault rifle Bobby gifted him for his birthday and remembers the conversation they had on the boat: “You probably don’t hear it when it happens, right?”. The shows seventh season (or 6B as HBO made David Chase and the gang call it, although Chase prefers to refer to it as season 7) was completely built on these themes. Since the premiere “Soprano Home Movies” there have been little hints about the idea of death and the mystery surrounding it. The other significant event in this episode is the falling out between Dr. Melfi and Tony. Finally, after 84 episodes before it, Dr. Elliot Kupferberg has gotten to Jennifer and convinced her that treating Tony was only making him a better criminal. Granted, exposing her in front of esteemed colleagues was not the nicest way to go about it, but it was the only way for her to realize that her time with Tony needed to end. This episode is packed to the brim, and it helps put the pieces in place for one of, if not the greatest series finale of television of all time. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #thebluecomet #tonysoprano #bobby baccalieri #silvio dante #phil leotardo #jennifer melfi #carmela soprano #james gandolfini #edie falco #david chase #hbo #hbo series #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #television #new jersey

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Currently watching:

Here’s what we’re watching this week! 

First Time Through:

Felicity (1998-2002)

The West Wing (1999-2006)

The Americans (2013-2018)

Re-watching: 

The Sopranos (1999-2007) 

The Wire (2002-2008)

#tv #television #felicity #the west wing #the americans #the sopranos #the wire #hbo #fx #nbc #wb #currently watching #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #5. “Amour Fou” (Season 3, Episode 12)

The penultimate episode of the 3rd season, “Amour Fou’ stands as one of the most exciting episodes of the series. It is here where the roadmap of how to end a season of The Sopranos solidified itself within the show’s functionality.  Many of the season’s storylines come to a head here: Carmela’s feelings of sadness and depression, Jackie Jr.’s attempts to make a name for himself within the mob, and Tony’s relationship with car dealer Gloria Trillo. The show lobbed quite a few curveballs in Carm’s story to get the viewer to question if she was pregnant again or had contracted ovarian cancer, but it turns out it is just a thyroid issue. Much of the season showed Carmela questioning herself and whether she was a good person because of what Tony does for a living and how she handles it, but a priest in her parish advises her to enjoy only the good side of what Tony does for the family. Jackie Jr.’s attempts to impress the mob and find his way in come to a head when he and some friends decide to rob a card game hosted by Eugene Pontecorvo, a member of Ralphie’s crew. Unbeknownst to them, Christopher and Furio are at this game which leads to Jackie freaking out and killing Sunshine the dealer. A shootout breaks out which leaves Furio badly injured and members of Jackie’s crew dead. Jackie escapes and goes into hiding, ending his campaign to find his way into the mob. Jackie Jr. has been somewhat of a pest for Tony the entire season, and his pathetic attempts to find his way in have just essentially cost him his life. The conversation between Tony and Ralphie on what to actually do with Jackie is one of the best acted scenes in the entire series: passive, low key, and filled with subtext. Lastly, the relationship between Tony and his current gumar Gloria comes to an end after Gloria gives Carmela a lift home from the dealership. This leaves Tony furious to the point of visiting her at work and ending their relationship. When he goes to her house to try to end it quietly after she calls him sobbing, Tony realizes that Gloria is not everything he wants in a woman because she is exactly like his mother. The phrase “poor you” has always set off a tick in Tony’s mind, and when Gloria uses it in their argument it’s as if the lightbulb goes on in his head, proclaiming “I didn’t just meet you, I’ve known you all my life!”. We also see Tony act the most violent towards any woman in the series when Gloria talks badly about Carmela. Its jarring to watch Tony choke Gloria while she gasps for air and pleads for him to kill her, but it shows deep down just how much Tony respects Carmela. It takes Gloria calling Carmela bad names and insults for Tony to actually lay his hands on a woman. In conclusion, Tony has always struggled with what he thinks he wants vs. what he actually wants being two completely different things, and it’s the situation with Gloria in where this is explicitly prominent. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #amourfou #tony soprano #carmela soprano #jackiejr #gloria trillo #james gandolfini #edie falco #david chase #hbo #hbo series #hbo shows #television #newjersey #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #6. “Knight in White Satin Armor” (Season 2, Episode 12)

The episode that essentially dawned the era of Golden Age television and what could be possible within the medium, “Knight in White Satin Armor” is one of the most shocking episodes of The Sopranos and possibly one of the most important and influential episodes of television ever made. The tension between a freshly released from prison Richie Aprile and Tony Soprano was about to come to a head after an entire season of struggle between them. Up until this point, the viewer could make the obvious assumption that Tony would either personally clip Richie or have one of his many family members take care of it for him, but also created a wonder of how Tony would be able to handle Richie’s looming membership of his actual family as he and Janice, Tony’s older sister, were engaged to be married. The real shock came when it was Janice herself who ended Richie’s life, steering expectations and assumptions into the dirt. This event gave television the jumpstart it needed to be taken as seriously of a medium as film is. The shocking twist that it was and always would be Janice that would end Richie’s days helped lend the blueprint of shock value that many popular series that came after it would borrow. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #knightinwhitesatinarmor #tony soprano #richie aprile #janice soprano #christopher moltisanti #james gandolfini #aida turturro #david proval #hbo #hbo series #hbo shows #television #new jersey #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #7. “The Test Dream” (Season 5, Episode 11)

Although "Funhouse” is probably the best remembered dream episode of the The Sopranos (which is why I previously described it as “possibly the defining dream episode in the series”), it is “The Test Dream” that pushes further the use of extraordinary dream sequences. In the beginning of the episode, Tony treats himself to a night at the Plaza Hotel in New York City enjoying everything from room service, a nice white robe just like at home, and a prostitute. It is in the second part of the episode where we are taken through Tony’s surreal dreams that manage to still capture how real dreams can feel while we’re in them. It is that feeling of eeriness mixed with what is perceived as reality yet still feels like something isn’t right that they capture so well. Unlike “Funhouse”, where Tony’s dreams helped him admit to himself something that he didn’t want to address, “The Test Dream” is almost a premonition of sorts as his dreams show him a looming problem with his cousin Tony B, played perfectly by series director and all around legend Steve Buscemi. This is exactly what happens as Christopher arrives to deliver the news to Tony that Blundetto killed Billy Leotardo in revenge for killing Tony B’s friend Angelo Garepe. It is this rouge act by Tony B that begins the long grudge that Billy’s brother Phil Leotardo holds against New Jersey from then until the end of the series. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #thetestdream #tony soprano #gloria trillo #phil leotardo #tonyblundetto #james gandolfini #steve buscemi #newjersey #hbo #hbo series #hbo shows #television #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #8. “Funhouse” (Season 2, Episode 13)

Possibly the defining “dreams lead to answers” episode of the series, “Funhouse” take us through a wild rollercoaster of dreams as Tony struggles with what everyone around him calls “food poisoning”. Is Tony actually suffering from food poisoning, or is he completely delirious over the fact that he knows deep down that Big Pussy, one of his best friends, has betrayed him and the family? A majority of this episode takes place within the actual “funhouse” of Tony’s mind as he struggles to come to terms with that. This episode shows us not only how different of a series “The Sopranos” was, but also how revolutionary of a mind David Chase had in creating a twisted ride like this one when searching for answers. Coinciding with Meadow’s graduation from high school, this episode also presents to us themes of the beginning and the end: Meadow is about to begin her life as Pussy’s life is ending for good. Season 2 as a whole proved to the audience that this was not your regular Sunday night program, and this season finale left fans with the idea that anything could happen in the world of the DiMeo Crime Family. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #funhouse #tony soprano #bigpussy #paulie walnuts #silvio dante #newjersey #hbo #hbo series #hbo shows #television #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #9. “From Where To Eternity” (Season 2, Episode 9)

One of the many episodes in the series to explore the themes of heaven and hell, this season 2 installment written by Michael Imperioli (his first of a few writing credits within the series) takes place immediately after his character Christopher gets shot by former associates. After a near death experience where he was clinically dead for about a minute, he explains to Tony and Paulie the hellish land he visited and delivers a message from the dead: “3 o’clock”.  The message particularly hits hard with Paulie, who struggles with superstitions throughout the entire series. After countless nightmares, he visits a psychic who helps the dead confront Paulie of his wrongdoings, leaving him thinking about all the souls he’s carrying with him through life. At the same time, the search for Christopher’s assailant comes to an end when Tony and Big Pussy murder Matthew Bevilaqua in a state park snack stand after a terrifying interrogation. The entire hour questions if our actions in life will be judged when we die, and the murder of this young wannabe by the hands of two experienced mobsters helps remind us that as much as we may love these guys, they are still cold blooded killers with skeletal morals. 

by: Steve Conzo

#thesopranos #fromwheretoeternity #tony soprano #christopher moltisanti #paulie walnuts #newjersey #television #hbo #hbo shows #hbo series #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #thebluecomet

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Top Ten Episodes of The Sopranos: #10. “Pine Barrens” (Season 3, Episode 11)

The quintessential bottle episode of television, “Pine Barrens” gave us one of the wackiest storylines in the entire series: mobsters lost in the woods. Written by series legend (and future Boardwalk Empire skipper) Terence Winter and directed by soon-to-be cast member Steve Buscemi, the 37th hour in the saga provides dark comedic tones with a taste of slapstick tightly stuffed underneath as Christopher and Paulie try to find their way out of the thick woods after their Russian hostage seemingly disappears. The visually pleasing aesthetic of the dark snowy woods provides us with an unfamiliar backdrop but somewhat emphasizes the odd, almost supernatural underbelly that the series has playfully toyed with before. On the other side of the coin, Tony and Gloria’s relationship starts to unravel in devastating ways. Tony is a man of many faces, and in attempting to keep those faces ends up putting Gloria in somewhat of a backseat, leaving her insulted and upset. It’s the beginning descent into a darkness that Tony knows too well. Alas, as compelling and important as the chipping of Tony and Gloria’s relationship in this episode may be, it will always be remembered for the odd predicament it placed Christopher and Paulie in, and the question “What happened to Valery?” will forever sit at the top of the most debated Sopranos topics. 

by: Steve Conzo

#the sopranos #pine barrens #tony soprano #paulie walnuts #christopher moltisanti #new jersey #television #hbo #topten #toptensopranosepisodes #david chase #thebluecomet

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Welcome to The Blue Comet, a blog of TV analysis and appreciation! We love television and we wanna share the love with everyone. In honor of starting this page and the show it’s named after, we’re going to be dropping our favorite top 10 episodes of The Sopranos this week. Be back soon! 

#thebluecomet #thesopranos #newjersey #television #tv #hbo