Before watching Many Saints Of Newark, get all the Sopranos background you need in 5 episodes

Here are five Sopranos episodes to get you up to speed for The Many Saints Of Newark

By Matt Schimkowitz | September 29, 2021 | 4:00pm

TV Lists The Sopranos

Before watching Many Saints Of Newark, get all the Sopranos background you need in 5 episodes

The Sopranos, The Many Saints Of Newark Screenshot: HBO Max

The Sopranos is back this week, sort of. With The Many Saints Of Newark finally making its way to theaters and HBO Max October 1, there’s not much time to do a full-on reunion with New Jersey’s first family of waste management and disposal. But since it’s a prequel, you don’t need to do much homework anyway. In place of a full-on rewatch, we’ve selected five episodes to help ease you back into the world of tracksuits, gabagool, and existential dread. These aren’t necessarily the best episodes—though they are all crushers. All five deal with Sopranos history and will hopefully provide context for the film. After all, as Dr. Melfi puts it, “Understanding root causes will make you less vulnerable to future episodes.”

“46 Long”

is back this week, sort of. With finally making its way to theaters and HBO Max October 1, there’s not much time to do a full-on reunion with New Jersey’s first family of waste management and disposal. But since it’s a prequel, you don’t need to do much homework anyway. In place of a full-on rewatch, we’ve selected five episodes to help ease you back into the world of tracksuits, gabagool, and existential dread. These aren’t necessarily the best episodes—though they are all crushers. All five deal with Sopranos history and will hopefully provide context for the film. After all, as Dr. Melfi puts it, “Understanding root causes will make you less vulnerable to future episodes.”

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“Down Neck” (season one, episode seven)

This episode might be the most interesting companion to the movie. With extended flashbacks, “” bounces between 1967 and 1999, exploring Tony’s relationship with his father, Johnny Boy (Joseph Siravo), and his own son, A.J. (Robert Iler), while giving us a proto-version of Many Saints in the process. Back in 1999, creator David Chase didn’t have Jon Bernthal and Corey Stoll, who play younger versions of Tony and Junior in the film. But Siravo and Rocco Sisto—who plays Junior—deliver rock-solid, early interpretations of the characters they would reprise a handful of times during the show’s run.The time spent in 1967 is the real money here. An adolescent Tony spies his father beating a man half to death, getting arrested, and arguing with Livia about leaving the life behind. If Many Saints didn’t exist, “Down Neck” might’ve served as our most thorough look at Tony’s childhood and how Johnny Boy and Livia (Laila Robins, in her second and final turn as Young Livia) damned their son to a life in crime.

“Fortunate Son” (season three, episode three)

The one where Christopher gets made. The pomp and circumstance that one might expect from a “made man” ceremony does not exist in “Fortunate Son.” This is The Sopranos, so everything needs to be a little tackier, a little sadder, a little more pathetic. As such, Tony takes Christopher (Michael Imperioli) to a typical New Jersey, wood-paneled basement to prick his finger and burn a picture of St. Peter in the palm of his hands. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the good times being over, as Tony frequently whines. “” also hosts another Johnny Boy flashback sequence. This time, through Tony’s innocent eyes, we’re privy to some light dismemberment in the backroom of Satriale’s. Johnny Boy traumatized Tony during the incident, instilling violence as a consequence and a means to food, wealth, and sex. It all leads to Tony’s first panic attack, so surely this vital scene informed Michael Gandolfini’s performance. To quote Tony, “All this from a slice of gabagool.”

“For All Debts Public And Private” (season four, episode one)

“” is an essential episode for many reasons, but for our purposes, one stands out: the history of Dickie Moltisanti. Throughout the series, Tony rhapsodizes about his relationship with Dickie, hoping to re-create that bond with his son, Christopher. In this episode, however, Christopher finds out how things ended for his dad. Tony coldly introduces Christopher to his father’s supposed murderer and encourages him to take revenge. Whether or not Tony is telling the truth about Detective Lt. Barry Haydu (Tom Mason) is up for debate. Nevertheless, whatever events transpire in Many Saints are fully put to bed by the end of “For All Debts Public And Private.” All debts paid.