Therapy and the Sopranos

1 The Sopranos’ Usage of Therapy as a Narrative Device Introduction On January 10, 1999, the landscape of HBO, and possibly all of television, was about to change. Long time television veteran David Chase (born David DeCesare) from The Rockford Files, Northern Exposure, and Almost Grown was premiering his next television series (Sepinwall 33). After six seasons of shows, capturing two Emmys for outstanding drama series along the way, The Sopranos cemented itself as one of the, if not the, greatest television drama ever created. At the center of it all was James Gandolfini, who played the leading role of Tony Soprano, a capo in the New Jersey Italian mafia. By the end of the series, Gandolfini himself earned three outstanding lead actor in a drama series awards. While the thing that initially drew people to Tony Soprano was his mafia background and his tendency for violence and infidelity, an element of the show that is essential to the series was Soprano's appointments with his therapist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine Bracco. These scenes were one of the staples of the series, and functioned as a critical narrative device. These sessions were depicted weekly on the show, and served as the revealing of Tony’s internal thoughts, as opposed to the “voice of god” that would be used in a narrator, or some other voiceover technique. This allows the audience inside the head of Tony Soprano, and he is able to debate his thoughts with Dr. Melfi, even if he sometimes ends up leaving the session in a rage and breaking a glass table in her office. It is in Dr. Melfi’s office that we see the real Tony Soprano, someone damaged and broken by his depression, who needs help. Ideally, someone like Tony Soprano should have it all: He has the wife, two kids, and house that American society tells us to desire, but his sessions with Melfi are his chance to escape all of that and figure out who he really is. To understand the role therapy had in the The Sopranos, I will look back at the very beginning of the show, before it was even created. David Chase's own life was an important factor in the decision to have Tony Soprano see a therapist, as Chase himself turned to one. Next, there will be an analysis of the show's main therapeutic relationship between Dr. Melfi and Tony Soprano, pointing out pivotal episodes and meetings, as at times, their business relationship finds its way outside of the four walls of Dr. Melfi's office. After that, I will examine how some of the show's other characters are influenced by Soprano's decision to go to therapy after seeing the progress he has made as their own problems begin to arise, like Tony Soprano’s wife. Tony Soprano and Dr. Jennifer Melfi The series opens with Tony Soprano sitting in a waiting room, staring at a figure of a naked woman. He is then invited into the office by Dr. Melfi, who asks him about his recent panic attacks. Tony’s initial reluctance is evident in his denial that he even had a panic attack, claiming that it is “impossible for him to talk to a psychiatrist,” and that he “can’t talk to [Melfi] about his personal life” (“The Sopranos”). While privacy is paramount to psychotherapy, in this very first session Dr. Melfi interrupts Soprano at one point to discuss some ethical ground rules, 2 potentially compromising that privacy (Gabbard 48). When agreeing to this appointment, Dr. Melfi already has prior knowledge of who Tony Soprano is from Dr. Cusamano, the Soprano family physician, as well as their next door neighbor. Melfi mentions to Tony Soprano that if she was to hear “that let’s say…a murder was to take place, not that I’m saying it would, but if,” she would have to report it to the authorities (“The Sopranos”). Soprano continues to tell his story about meeting with a man for ‘coffee’ who owed him money, when in actuality Tony Soprano finds this man on the street and proceeds to chase after him, ultimately running this man over with a car alongside his nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). This watering down of the truth is used several times by the writing staff throughout the series to humorous detail, as we are able to see what is really going on in Tony Soprano’s life, with Dr. Melfi only to ponder what he is really talking about (Gabbard 49). This scene continues on for the next ten minutes or so, mostly serving as exposition for introducing new characters until Soprano’s panic attack finally happens. He watches some ducks fly away in his backyard, and then keels over in pain. Soprano nurtured the ducks, much like his own family, who is also flying away from him. Back in the office, Soprano even tries to deflect the notion of his depression by making a pass at Dr. Melfi, but asking “what part of the boot” she is from when he sees that her name is Italian (“The Sopranos”). Melfi holds firm and continues to press on about Soprano’s anxiety and potential depression. Rather than answer her question honestly and admit defeat, he decides to stand up and walk out of the room. During this scene, Soprano’s voice does function as a voice of god while the audience sees flashbacks, but it is common practice for a series to make changes after the pilot, and this technique for the most part goes away. This first scene, lasting almost half of the entire pilot episode, sets the tone for the relationship between Soprano and Melfi. While Soprano is angry about the whole concept of going to therapy as it is opposed to the Mafia’s code of silence, or Omertà, he slowly warms up to the therapy as the end of the first season approaches (Vincent 123). Earlier in that season, Tony Soprano’s Uncle Junior gets word that Tony is seeing a therapist, and shares that information to Livia Soprano, Tony’s mother. In the episode “Nobody Knows Anything” (Season 1, episode 11) Junior goes to meet Livia at her nursing home, and decides something needs to be done about Tony, as Junior Soprano is technically the boss of the family. In the next episode, “Isabella,” Tony visits Dr. Melfi, but looks like a completely different person. He isn’t very well put together like the Tony Soprano we are used to. He isn’t as dressed up as well as we expect, with Soprano only wearing a golf shirt, with some of the buttons undone. We also see that he hasn’t shaved, and his stubble is present. Tony Soprano’s gusto is gone, saying he isn’t “a husband to his wife, a father to his kids, and a friend to his friends” (“Isabella”). Before his next appointment with Dr. Melfi, Soprano is awoken from his depression when his life is threatened, due to an attack on Tony by Uncle Junior’s hired guns. The music he awakes to cuts off once Soprano is able to process what is happening, and the scene jumps into real time. He survives the attack, and seems to be back to his old self. That night, Dr. Melfi and Tony Soprano have an impromptu meeting in either an empty parking lot or the middle of nowhere. This is likely against protocol for a normal client, but Melfi clearly regards Tony Soprano as not just another 3 client. To her, this relationship is exciting and unique. “She is fascinated by her celebrity ‘bad boy’ and she must be careful not to collude with his wish to transform the therapy into flirtatious bantering or worse“(Gabbard 50). In this moment, Melfi is in control of the session. Soprano has dropped the flirtatious act, and has become serious, partially due to the aftermath of the attempt on his life. He says that “When I was depressed, I said I didn’t wanna live… Well, I’ll tell you something… I didn’t wanna die. Every fucking particle of my being was fighting to live.”(“Isabella”). Now that Tony Soprano has been reinvigorated with life, his next priority is to figure out who is behind the attack, but Melfi seems to have it figured out first. In their first meeting in the next episode, Melfi has put the pieces together of the murder attempt, Tony Soprano’s visions of Isabella being the loving and protective mother to her baby Antonio, and Livia’s recent “memory loss.” Melfi tells Soprano that “Your subconscious was shouting something at you. On the day before the shooting, you said to me that she kept going on yet again about news stories of mothers throwing their babies out of windows,” implying that his mother had a part in the murder attempt (“I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano”). After that Tony Soprano is outraged, and begins to sway anxiously in his chair as Melfi provides more evidence for her case, including diagnosing Livia with borderline personality disorder. Within a minute, Tony has had enough. He stands up, flips over the glass pane on Melfi’s table, and charges toward her. At this point, Tony Soprano declares their relationship in therapy finished, while threatening to break “her face into fifty thousand fucking pieces” (“I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano”). When Soprano learns later that Melfi’s interpretation was correct, he returns to her office and seeks forgiveness. A humbled Tony Soprano sits in his usual chair, while the empowered Dr.

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