1.Tony Soprano 

The Sopranos is best described as a show about people who know they’re on a self-destructive path but are unwilling to change. No character exemplifies this better than Tony Soprano — the man who walked so Walter White could run. Tony took the easy way out and his depression is that fact eating away at him. The emptiness within him is from realizing he might have had more potential than the mafia, but is now in too deep. Tony came when all of the good times had passed and years of therapy try to keep him off of that destructive path. But Tony is naturally destructive.

2. Christopher Moltisanti 

Incompetent gangster and aspiring screenwriter Christopher Moltisanti benefits greatly from the nepotism of having his uncle Tony be the boss of the family. His boneheaded moves are put off and he even becomes a made man. But ultimately, Christopher devolves into a heroin addiction and that is when his character arc really begins. He balances the death of his father with relationship issues with a criminal lifestyle. While he does find the bland, middle-class suburban lifestyle to be the most appealing, it ultimately proves too late for him. 

3. Carmela Soprano 

Carmela loves to have her cake and eat it too. She cries to her priest about Tony’s crimes and infidelity, but yet gleefully accepts new clothing and jewelry. Carmela lives the life of a normal housewife, willingly turning a blind eye to where her money comes from. But, when she feels guilty about her lifestyle, the money becomes an issue and Tony’s actions become reprehensible. The truth about Carmela is that she will never want a Hyundai and a necklace with a little gold heart, because the inherent vice of her lifestyle is really what gives it any meaning. 

4. Junior Soprano 

Junior is the ultimate inferiority complex. He spends his life either in the shadow of his brother Johnny Boy or being usurped by his nephew Tony. Junior is cynical, lonely and one of the last symbols of the old type of mafioso. His life goes back and forth between doctor’s offices to his living room couch, with only his corpulent caretaker Bobby Bacula to accompany him. Junior is depressing, but he is also outrageously funny. Junior’s constant quips and ongoing cynicism keep him from being an old prune to be an extremely funny old prune. 

5. Livia Soprano 

While her time in the show may be short, her shadow looms large throughout the entire series. Livia is the ultimate manipulator, whether it be making Tony feel like a failure of a son or convincing her brother-in-law Junior to assassinate Tony. If there could be a single trace for all of Tony’s problems throughout the series, it would be her. Livia never hesitates to spread negativity. She hates her circumstances, whether it be being forced to have a family or being put into a retirement home. Livia is the series’ original antagonist and perhaps its most impactful.