The Sopranoshad an uneasy relationship with its audience during its whole six-season run. Creator David Chase and his fellow writers went out of their way to remind viewers that Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his crew were dangerous guys, and a corrosive force on their community and society at large. Despite this, plenty of fans still rooted for Tony and the gang, with some even looking up to them as role models.
Chase expressed some discomfort with his audience’s appetite for violence, and the show offered plenty of examples of regular folks getting involved with the Soprano crew and living to regret it (if they were lucky). But there was one character who, despite having plenty of opportunities to get closer to Tony, was able to escape with her life and soul intact: Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), Tony’s longtime psychiatrist. Melfi’s years-long push-pull with Tony served to underscore The Sopranos’ frequent theme of choice vs. circumstance.
‘The Sopranos’ Deals With the Devil
Tony and his crew were a destructive force throughout The Sopranos’ run, running over anyone who would stand in their way, from rival mob factions to regular people who dared to stand up to them. But it wasn’t just their opponents who would rue the day they crossed paths with them; even those who got involved of their own volition usually ended up ruined. Having mob connections might seem great on the surface, being able to take advantage of the money and the muscle that they can provide, but Tony and the gang made it clear they didn’t help anybody out of the goodness of their hearts.
But the series also makes it abundantly clear that, at the end of the day, those who get too close to the Soprano crew’s activities are making their own choice to do so, even if Tony is able to work any situation to his advantage. In the Season 2 episode “The Happy Wanderer,” when his old friend Davey Scatino (Robert Patrick) wants in on a high-stakes poker game that Tony’s crew runs, Tony initially tries to warn him off, knowing all too well that Davey has a gambling problem. Still, when Davey shows up anyway, Tony eventually relents, even though he knows his supposed friend will likely end up ruining his life. Sure enough, Davey ends up in deep debt to Tony, costing him his business, his son’s college fund, and his relationship with his family.
Sometimes, the effect of Tony’s influence isn’t as obvious as someone ending up dead or bankrupt, but can instead come at the cost of a part of their soul. Dr. Melfi, by contrast, was able to resist the dark pull of Tony’s influence with hers relatively unscathed.
How Dr. Melfi Escaped Tony’s Orbit
Throughout the series, Dr. Melfi is given opportunities to become more involved with Tony beyond just being his therapist. She understands the implications of allowing him into her personal life on moral and ethical grounds, especially when he pursues her romantically during his split with Carmela in Season 5, but she’s not totally immune to his charms.
Her biggest test comes after her brutal assault in the parking garage in Season 3’s “Employee of the Month,” when she entertains the possibility of turning Tony loose on her attacker. She confesses to her therapist, Dr. Kupferberg (Peter Bogdanovich), that the idea brings her some comfort, knowing that Tony likely wouldn’t hold back in dispensing some violent justice. But when presented with the opportunity to tell him why her face is so bruised, Melfi refuses to give in to her (and the audience’s) bloodlust. It’s a moment where most viewers would likely find the use of violence completely justified, but the series argues that even in this case, the cost would be too great.
It’s clear from their first meeting that Dr. Melfi isn’t above bending a few ethical norms to continue treating Tony, and that she gets something out of their working relationship. For most of the show, she seems to truly believe that she can help Tony become a better person, even as he continues to use what he learns in their sessions to be a more effective crime boss. Plenty of people probe Melfi’s true motives for keeping Tony as a patient, whether her interest is purely professional, and it’s not hard to imagine she may find some satisfaction from such a challenging assignment.
It’s not until the very end of the series when Melfi finally cuts ties with Tony for good, after it becomes undeniable that he’s beyond help. Both Dr. Kupferberg and Melfi’s husband Richard (Richard Romanus) cite a study that finds therapy can actually help make sociopaths better liars and manipulators, and while Melfi initially rebuffs them, the evidence eventually becomes impossible to ignore after she reads the study for herself. The Sopranos’ feelings about the practice of psychotherapy seem ambivalent at best, and there’s some dark humor to the fact that Melfi only changes her mind when she reads about it in print.
Still, whatever motivated that decision, finally getting Tony out of her life allowed Melfi to end the series as one of the few people who never gave in to Tony’s dark charms. The series seemed to struggle to know what to do with Melfi sometimes in its last couple of seasons, but her final act of closing the door on Tony proved that when the Devil comes to make a deal, it’s still possible to say “no.”
