Most Hated Sopranos Characters?

[Mitch Henessey]

I can't be the only Sopranos fan here, right?

The Sopranos should be remembered as the greatest television series of all time, and I can still watch episodes from this series over and over again. It never gets old for me.

The Sopranos provided fans with many memorable moments, but this show did feature some loathsome characters. After all, these men were scumbags and gangsters, and you can't forget about the spoiled brats (Meadow and A.J.). But do you remember that one character (or characters), who angered you? Did certain Sopranos characters get under your skin, and bring legit feelings of anger out of you? Well, I can think of a few people, who easily pulled these feelings out of me:

Ralph Cifaretto

Ralph Cifaretto was a sleazy worm of man, who continuously pushed Tony's buttons, and Joe Pantoliano always provided a VERY convincing performance. Remember the Tracee situation? Tracee was a young stripper, and of course, Ralph formed a relationship with her. But Tracee wasn't too bright, and Ralph treated her like a piece of trash. One night, during an intense argument, Ralph snapped after Tracee spit on him, and he instantly beat her to death. Oh, and Tracee was actually pregnant (allegedly with Ralph's child) during this beating.

A gruesome accident leaves Ralph's son hospitalized, and for a while, Ralph receives some sympathy from Tony. But Tony's sympathy quickly disappears, when a beloved race horse dies in a fire. Tony instantly suspects Ralph, and of course, Ralph makes the fatal mistake of mocking Pie-O-My's (the race horse) death. Tony throws the first punch, and after a pretty brutal fight, Tony finally kills Ralph.

Ralph Cifaretto's death was one of the more memorable Sopranos moments, and this character truly deserved his untimely and sudden death.

Meadow Soprano

Yeah, I know. Jamie-Lynn Sigler was hot, but Meadow still annoyed me. She was a whiny, spoiled brat, who always caused trouble. She had this annoying snobbish, stuck-up attitude, and Meadow constantly flaunted this superior attitude. Her embarrassing temper tantrum during The Army Of One episode (pretty sure this was the season finale during the early years) was bad enough, and Meadow's "ME! ME!" attitude never stopped.

For me, Sigler's good looks couldn't overshadow her obnoxious, bratty persona, and I will remember Meadow as one the most annoying Sopranos characters.

Well, those are my picks, and I'm interested to see any other choices for this thread.

 

[Thom]

Ralph Cifaretto

Ralph Cifaretto was a sleazy worm of man, who continuously pushed Tony's buttons, and Joe Pantoliano always provided a VERY convincing performance. Remember the Tracee situation? Tracee was a young stripper, and of course, Ralph formed a relationship with her. But Tracee wasn't too bright, and Ralph treated her like a piece of trash. One night, during an intense argument, Ralph snapped after Tracee spit on him, and he instantly beat her to death. Oh, and Tracee was actually pregnant (allegedly with Ralph's child) during this beating.

A gruesome accident leaves Ralph's son hospitalized, and for a while, Ralph receives some sympathy from Tony. But Tony's sympathy quickly disappears, when a beloved race horse dies in a fire. Tony instantly suspects Ralph, and of course, Ralph makes the fatal mistake of mocking Pie-O-My's (the race horse) death. Tony throws the first punch, and after a pretty brutal fight, Tony finally kills Ralph.

Ralph Cifaretto's death was one of the more memorable Sopranos moments, and this character truly deserved his untimely and sudden death.

Yeah, couldn't agree more. It's been a while since I've watched it all the way through, but you've reminded me exactly why I didn't like Ralph. The Tracee murder was bad enough, but for some reason I felt just as strong about Pie-O-My. There was just something about him, it was probably because he was so slimy, and I agree with you on all points. While it wasn't a particularly pleasant scene when they were disposing of the body (also, the baldness was quite shocking at the time), in the end, he had it coming. If Tony hadn't killed him, I'm sure someone else would have. I'll come back to this when I watch it again because I can't think of anyone else right now, but you're spot on here.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

2 Soprano family members get this for me; Livia and AJ Soprano.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, Livia's run in the show was cut short due to actor Nancy Marchand's death during the 3rd season.

During the first 2 seasons, she was a character I loved to watch and hate. The way she could flip between acting innocent and confused, to dropping subtle doubts/hints/suggestions into characters heads was what made her so intriguing to watch. Her feigning memory loss at the end of the first season and start of the second was absolutely brilliant.
"She's smiling! Look at the look on her face!"

Spoiler

AJ, AJ, AJ... what a brat. Mitch mentioned Meadow's bratty tendencies but AJ is streets ahead of his sibling. Fuck, at least Meadow had some redeeming character qualities, AJ just largely remained the same wee shite for the entirety of the show. Yeh, now and then he would try and make a go of something, but would always ultimately end up as a disappointment.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Yeah, couldn't agree more. It's been a while since I've watched it all the way through, but you've reminded me exactly why I didn't like Ralph. The Tracee murder was bad enough, but for some reason I felt just as strong about Pie-O-My. There was just something about him, it was probably because he was so slimy, and I agree with you on all points. While it wasn't a particularly pleasant scene when they were disposing of the body (also, the baldness was quite shocking at the time), in the end, he had it coming. If Tony hadn't killed him, I'm sure someone else would have. I'll come back to this when I watch it again because I can't think of anyone else right now, but you're spot on here.

As far as killing Ralph goes, there's been this long-running conspiracy theory amongst Sopranos fans regarding Tony's motivations. Tony was still upset over Tracee's death, and you will hear him mention "a beautiful, innocent creature" during the fight. In his mind, Tony made a connection between the horse and Tracee, Ralph was the primary suspect in both deaths, and Pie-O-My's brutal demise was just too much to handle.

Of course, this is just a conspiracy theory amongst Sopranos fans, but it does make sense when you stop and think about it.

But yeah, Ralph was a piece of shit. If Tony didn't take him out, someone else would've done the job eventually.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Talk about a show with great heels. Characters who were so well written and acted that the viewers actually had moments where you forget that Tony was a cruel, corrupt ganster. Janice was awful and a great replacement for Livia. From her fake personality to the way she manipulated Bobby after his wife's death she was constantly to me the most hateable person on screen. Jackie Jr. wasn't half the man Tony built up his father to be. Junior was highly entertaining but seemed like he was in over his head. Adrianna had no business being with Christopher but she stuck around until it got her killed. Carmella wasn't much better. Christopher was an incompetent junkie. Paulie was a stupid loud mouth and an emotional wreck.

The most consistent and likeable characters were probably Furio, Sylvio and Heche, but that is probably because we never really got much in to their back stories.

Oh, and the most hated Sopranos character ever:

JOHNNY CAKES!

 

[DirtyD79]

Ralph definitely earned what he got. He was a smarmy piece of crap and it was great watching Tony whack him. I believe Janice beat him up too in one episode.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Every character was a scumbag, in some way, shape or form. That was the point of the show.

Was Ralph worse than the others? Not really. Tony was as bad or worse. In the final season (second half), you really come to understand that. They did a really nice job of turning the audience against Tony toward the end. Sure, he still held a place above the other scumbags, but his true colors were never as clear as they were during those last few episodes.

The show didn't have a single decent character. All of them, all the way down to the priest (mainly from season one), had serious moral issues. None of them were decent people.

 

[Slice]

Janice, Livia and Ralphie for me. Meadow sometimes too, but mostly those three. I think the awesome part of the show its point that nobody is a black and white character in real life, and they portrayed that beautifully. To be human is to live in the grey area. Everyone has reasons for what they do, and they do both good things and bad things.

Anyway, I really can't stand Janice xD Now all I can think about is her doing that neck thing at the dinner table e_e

 

[HBsam31]

Well Mitch I really wish I would have happened upon this thread sooner because I also can still watch the episodes again and again. Ralph definitely got what was coming. Remember the Tracee scene with Ralph and the cop. Damn did he treat her like shit. Now here is one that no one mentioned. She may not be a hated character, but she is one that brought real feelings of anger out of me. That character is Carmella. So naggy and spoiled, and the worst part is she was never happy and would gripe to anyone that would listen. The priests the therapists, her friends. She had life handed to her on a silver platter, and bitched and complained the whole time. I know Tony cheated on her religiously, but she new that going in. She knew that life and chose it anyway. There were episodes where she would annoy me so bad I would find myself getting angry. When she did leave Tony all it took was 600K, and a promise from Tony to not let his cheating affect her life to get Tony back in the house. To me she was the biggest hypocrite of the bunch.

 

[jmt225]

The show didn't have a single decent character. All of them, all the way down to the priest (mainly from season one), had serious moral issues. None of them were decent people.

That's not completely true. Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, was a good person throughout the whole show. She had a couple of flaws like everyone we'll ever meet, but she was not at all a bad person or anywhere near close to one.

Anyways, Ralph Cifaretto was definitely my most hated character. Just a scumbag through and through. Beating that poor woman to her death, his treatment of women period, encouraging Jackie's son to get in the game, setting the horse on fire... he deserved what he got.

I also couldn't stand Richie. True bully. He couldn't stand up and tell off the people he wanted to, so he instead attacked guys he knew were defenseless and took his frustrations out on them, going too far with it every time. Another guy who got what was coming to him.

Speaking of that, Janice is the last one. I couldn't fucking stand her. She was just an awful, self-indulgent, OBNOXIOUS human being.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Well Mitch I really wish I would have happened upon this thread sooner because I also can still watch the episodes again and again. Ralph definitely got what was coming. Remember the Tracee scene with Ralph and the cop. Damn did he treat her like shit. Now here is one that no one mentioned. She may not be a hated character, but she is one that brought real feelings of anger out of me. That character is Carmella. So naggy and spoiled, and the worst part is she was never happy and would gripe to anyone that would listen. The priests the therapists, her friends. She had life handed to her on a silver platter, and bitched and complained the whole time. I know Tony cheated on her religiously, but she new that going in. She knew that life and chose it anyway. There were episodes where she would annoy me so bad I would find myself getting angry. When she did leave Tony all it took was 600K, and a promise from Tony to not let his cheating affect her life to get Tony back in the house. To me she was the biggest hypocrite of the bunch.

I definitely understand the distaste for Carmella. She was such so whiny and spoiled. It's like Tony told her during one of the many arguments after the really big fight on the season finale for season 4 (I think?), Carmella KNEW what she was getting into, when she married Tony, but she willingly turned a blind eye to all of his bad habits, while spending his money.

During the aftermath of the separation, Carmella started fooling around with AJ's guidance counselor at school. But the guidance counselor reached a point where he was tired of Carmella's game and bullshit (i.e. using him for sex, so AJ could get good grades in school), and he called her a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Carmella was devastated, but in a lot of ways, it was a wake up call for her, because Carmella finally realized she's NOT a perfect human being with a squeaky clean personality.

 

[HBsam31]

That's not completely true. Tony's psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, was a good person throughout the whole show. She had a couple of flaws like everyone we'll ever meet, but she was not at all a bad person or anywhere near close to one.

Anyways, Ralph Cifaretto was definitely my most hated character. Just a scumbag through and through. Beating that poor woman to her death, his treatment of women period, encouraging Jackie's son to get in the game, setting the horse on fire... he deserved what he got.

I also couldn't stand Richie. True bully. He couldn't stand up and tell off the people he wanted to, so he instead attacked guys he knew were defenseless and took his frustrations out on them, going too far with it every time. Another guy who got what was coming to him.

Speaking of that, Janice is the last one. I couldn't fucking stand her. She was just an awful, self-indulgent, OBNOXIOUS human being.

You could probably dig deeper into the Jenifer Melfi character, and she might have been pretty messed up too. She seemed addicted to treating Tony even going as far as to drink to dilute what she would hear instead of just cutting it off. Peers of hers would tell her that all she was doing is enabling Tony yet she continued on. The only time she would get in TOny's face about something is when he had a legitimate problem and it becomes even more apparent towards the end when AJ tries to kill himself and Tony gets nothing but grief from Melfi. She isn't a hated character by any means, but she was really messed up in her own way. You are dead on about Richie though. He picked ono only the weak and got what he deserved. The only person I would think might be is hated as Ralphie is Phil Leotardo especially towards the end. Anyone else have any opinion on Phil?

 

[HBsam31]

I definitely understand the distaste for Carmella. She was such so whiny and spoiled. It's like Tony told her during one of the many arguments after the really big fight on the season finale for season 4 (I think?), Carmella KNEW what she was getting into, when she married Tony, but she willingly turned a blind eye to all of his bad habits, while spending his money.

During the aftermath of the separation, Carmella started fooling around with AJ's guidance counselor at school. But the guidance counselor reached a point where he was tired of Carmella's game and bullshit (i.e. using him for sex, so AJ could get good grades in school), and he called her a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Carmella was devastated, but in a lot of ways, it was a wake up call for her, because Carmella finally realized she's NOT a perfect human being with a squeaky clean personality.

It was also after that, that she realized she was stuck with Tony thus taking the payoff to let Tony back in the house. I loved that Tony only had to agree to not let the cheating affect her AS MUCH lol. Any opinion about Phil as being one of the most hated characters? He has to be one of the tops ones as well? I could go back and forth with you on the Sopranos all day long.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Yeah, Phil was a bad guy, but I enjoyed Frank Vincent more than the other New York bosses. Tony VS Carmine had its moments, but Tony had some noticeable respect for Carmine. The feuds between Johnny Sack and Tony had some serious tension after Tony backed out of a planed hit on Carmine with Johnny, because Carmine wouldn't defend Johnny after someone (I think it was Paulie) made a fat joke about his wife. And you can't forget about Tony. B murdering Phil's brother, and Johnny threatening to "rain a shit storm" on The Soprano family, if Tony didn't deliver Tony. B to Phil on a silver platter for torture.

Phil VS Tony on the other hand felt like a real heated rivalry, because both men really despised each other. Tony took offense to Phil calling him a "kid" during a sit down with Johnny, and Tony tried to run Phil off the road during one episode, causing Phil's neck injury, and Phil screwing Tony over for car repairs. Also, Phil helped drive a wedge between Tony and his crew after Tony recovered from the gunshot wound. One episode that stands out is when Tony attended the wedding of Johnny Sack's daughter, Johnny starts crying as the feds take him away (he was on parole and ran out of time), Phil was ashamed of Johnny, and Christopher agreed with Phil criticisms, disagreeing with Tony in the process.

Phil also ordered the simultaneous hits in the final season (Bobby was killed in one of them), forcing Tony to take Phil out once and for all.

 

[HBsam31]

Yeah, Phil was a bad guy, but I enjoyed Frank Vincent more than the other New York bosses. Tony VS Carmine had its moments, but Tony had some noticeable respect for Carmine. The feuds between Johnny Sack and Tony had some serious tension after Tony backed out of a planed hit on Carmine with Johnny, because Carmine wouldn't defend Johnny after someone (I think it was Paulie) made a fat joke about his wife. And you can't forget about Tony. B murdering Phil's brother, and Johnny threatening to "rain a shit storm" on The Soprano family, if Tony didn't deliver Tony. B to Phil on a silver platter for torture.

Phil VS Tony on the other hand felt like a real heated rivalry, because both men really despised each other. Tony took offense to Phil calling him a "kid" during a sit down with Johnny, and Tony tried to run Phil off the road during one episode, causing Phil's neck injury, and Phil screwing Tony over for car repairs. Also, Phil helped drive a wedge between Tony and his crew after Tony recovered from the gunshot wound. One episode that stands out is when Tony attended the wedding of Johnny Sack's daughter, Johnny starts crying as the feds take him away (he was on parole and ran out of time), Phil was ashamed of Johnny, and Christopher agreed with Phil criticisms, disagreeing with Tony in the process.

Phil also ordered the simultaneous hits in the final season (Bobby was killed in one of them), forcing Tony to take Phil out once and for all.

Yes the fat joke that really started the whole entire thing. It was Ralph by the way that told the joke. Little Paulie told Paulie while visiting him in jail. Then to score points with Jonny, Pauile told him about the joke. Yeah the Tony/Phil battle did brew for quite some time, and I guess you could say he was justified in his hatred for Tony. When you look at it that way Phil is only hated depending on which side of the battle you sit on.