Characters¶
Cunnilingus and psychiatry brought us to this. Tony Soprano
Every significant figure across 86 episodes. Nothing here is spoiler-protected.
Lost the thread? Start with the Family Tree.
The Soprano family¶
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Boss of the DiMeo family, patient of Dr. Melfi, and the most consequential character in television drama.
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The one who knows exactly what she agreed to, and keeps renegotiating with herself about it.
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Tony's mother. Based on Chase's own. Never once says anything actionable.
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Uncle, boss in name, and the man who ultimately shoots his nephew without knowing who he is.
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Tony's sister, professional seeker, and the only person in the family who fights the way he does.
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The one who was going to get out, and talks herself into staying.
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Inherited the depression, none of the capability. The show's cruelest and most honest creation.
The crew¶
- Christopher Moltisanti — heir apparent, addict, screenwriter, and the show's saddest arc
- Paulie Walnuts — the funniest man in the series and the most consistently dangerous
- Silvio Dante — consigliere, Bing manager, and the one who does what needs doing
- Big Pussy Bonpensiero — the informant, and the boat
- Bobby Baccalieri — the decent one, which is a diagnosis rather than a compliment
- Ralph Cifaretto — huge earner, Gladiator obsessive, genuine psychopath
- Richie Aprile — out after ten years and unable to accept that anything changed
- Furio Giunta — imported from Naples, in love with the boss's wife
- Tony Blundetto — the cousin who did the time, played by Steve Buscemi
- Vito Spatafore — the top earner whose life becomes impossible
- Adriana La Cerva — coerced into informing, and the least culpable person in the story
- Minor Characters — Artie, Hesh, Patsy, Benny, Agent Harris, Hunter, Rosalie, and the rest
New York, and the professionals¶
- Dr. Jennifer Melfi — the structural invention that made the series possible
- Johnny Sack — Lupertazzi underboss, then boss; Tony's opposite number and closest peer
- Phil Leotardo — twenty years inside, and a grievance he intends to collect on
- Artie Bucco — the civilian friend, and the show's ongoing argument about proximity
Quick reference: the major deaths¶
| Character | Killed by | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan Filone | Junior's order (Mikey Palmice) | S1E3 |
| Jackie Aprile Sr. | Cancer | S1E4 |
| Febby Petrulio | Tony | S1E5 "College" |
| Mikey Palmice | Christopher & Paulie | S1E13 |
| Livia Soprano | Stroke (off-screen) | S3E28 |
| Richie Aprile | Janice | S2E25 |
| Big Pussy Bonpensiero | Tony, Silvio, Paulie | S2E26 "Funhouse" |
| Tracee | Ralph Cifaretto | S3E32 "University" |
| Jackie Aprile Jr. | Vito, on Ralph's order | S3E39 |
| Ralph Cifaretto | Tony | S4E48 "Whoever Did This" |
| Adriana La Cerva | Silvio | S5E64 "Long Term Parking" |
| Tony Blundetto | Tony | S5E65 |
| Vito Spatafore | Phil Leotardo's men | S6E76 |
| Christopher Moltisanti | Tony | S6E83 "Kennedy and Heidi" |
| Bobby Baccalieri | Lupertazzi hitmen | S6E85 "The Blue Comet" |
| Phil Leotardo | Walden Belfiore | S6E86 |
| Tony Soprano | — | see The Ending |
Full annotated version: Body Count.
A note on the DiMeo family¶
The fictional organization is the DiMeo crime family — occasionally called the Soprano family by outsiders and the FBI, which irritates its members.
Its structure follows the real thing: a boss, an underboss, a consigliere, capos running crews, soldiers, and associates. Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo is the imprisoned official boss for most of the series; the operational authority runs Jackie Aprile Sr. → Junior (nominally) → Tony.
It's modeled substantially on the real DeCavalcante family of North Jersey — the "sixth family," perpetually overshadowed by the New York Five, which is exactly the status anxiety the show runs on.