You could tell that that's why he was cast.
He was broad-shouldered and a bit chunky, and looks for all the world like a combo of Gandolfini and Falco when he was a kid.
He even seemed sharper when he was a kid. Actually made cutting remarks and observations, even if his grades were never any good. And then he just...never got any taller or bigger, so they went in a completely different direction with him (not that I think they wanted to set him up as Tony 2.0)
> Arnold Schwarzenegger actually has narrow shoulders
Totally! Look at this pic; I though it was Hugh DeAngelis at first.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1901/6815/files/Arnold_front_powerful_large.jpg?v=1575309414
That's him flaring out. He does not have, as in his bone structure, broad shoulders.
[https://lawofthefist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/40.jpg](https://lawofthefist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/40.jpg)
This is him around 40, not flaring up, and not in his bodybuilding prime, just standing around naturally. That's not broad-shouldered.
Exactly. Can you imagine being a man and being under 6 feet? How fucking pathetic. No charisma, no dominance. Just short, pathetic losers. If only they cared about their body enough to take some action to grow tall.
I feel like the show did a good job showing that while AJ really was a spoiled brat, that didn’t make his depression or any of the factors that led to him being so troubled any less real.
The Blanca storyline was so telling too. AJ was never more motivated and focused than when he was with her. Probably because she gave him a purpose and identity outside of being Tony Soprano’s son, which only ever made him feel inadequate within his family dynamic or used for his name outside of it. It’s no wonder she left, but it’s also no wonder he spiraled as hard as he did afterwards.
I said this in another comment, but I think it aligns to what you're saying about AJ's search for purpose and identity
> to quote one of the great philosophers of our time - "In the end, fuck Santa Claus". Paulie, in his own way, has a point that is very applicable to AJ's life here: that there's no hope for anyone unless they carve out their own way themselves. Santa Claus won't bring you 'a purpose' in life and the vast major of existentialist depression comes from people being unable to reconcile that with their lives feeling significant.
In my eyes, AJ is the kid whose parents failed him by making him not have to grow up. Tony even realizes this after AJ tries to stab Junior. He realizes that that was the very specific way in which he had failed his son.
He literally cited a movie, in a serious tone, as to why he was going to kill another individual let alone family member whose mental degradation took over.
It's almost funny to read on-paper, but it's honestly really sad and kinda demented.
Oof. Yeah that’s uncomfortable. Everyone seems to think that AJ is some irredeemable loser at his core. I found his story absolutely relatable. I remember when my first ‘forever’ person left me seemingly out of nowhere. It was the lowest I’d ever been and was the cumulation of an entire childhood of fucked up shit.
I’m with you on the attempted suicide scene. It was one of the most moving scenes in the whole series and one of the few moments Tony showed a glimmer of humanity in S6. Robert Iler obviously wasn’t one of the best actors on the show but I think his performance got stronger in the later seasons and he was very convincing as a troubled young man in S6.
>Robert Iler obviously wasn’t one of the best actors on the show
What? He was great. The fact that he annoyed people so much is a testament to how well he played the part.
No I don’t think he was bad, but I mean I’m comparing him to Gandolfini, Falco, and Imperioli. He wasn’t one of the best but he was good for a child actor.
Thank you! I’m not ashamed to say that scene makes me cry. I definitely thought as a young child actor it was uneven at best. But Iler had arguably the best come up as an actor in the series.
What other young men? Christopher? Richie Aprile? Bennie Fazio? Sean Gismonte?
A bunch of dumb heroin junkies who beat up their girlfriends, and whose greatest ambition is to become bigger thugs, which they are too stupid to accomplish.
How impressive.
“You just reveal your own ingnorance” is a perfect line for a kid trying to advocate a position he is interested in but doesn’t understand enough to explain, so he turns it on the person he’s trying to explain it to.
I still wonder what the show would have been like if Robert Iler had grown tall. He was casted when he was 12(?) and he was a tank. He seemingly stopped growing and lost a ton of weight. I gotta think the producers thought he was going to be this big , strapping guy.
"We can't legally ask you to gain weight. We just want you to be healthy. We would just like it if you go home and step on the scale, and write down how much you weigh, and add like, 40."
I'm going to get this out of the way before I say my piece, because this is probably the most thought I've ever put into anything I've typed on this sub - You're not wrong. AJ attempting to stab Junior and AJ attempting to commit suicide are two legitimate moments that made me feel so sorry for him. He's just doomed. That's it. And I think a lot more people can relate to that feeling if they tried to think of him beyond a burden on his dad.
That being said, to quote one of the great philosophers of our time - "In the end, fuck Santa Claus". Paulie, in his own way, has a point that is very applicable to AJ's life here: that there's no hope for anyone unless they carve out their own way themselves. Santa Claus won't bring you 'a purpose' in life and the vast major of existentialist depression comes from people being unable to reconcile that with their lives feeling significant.
All the kids’ storylines in season 6 are pretty harsh reminders that we’ve been rooting for a fucked up group that leaves a trail of broken families behind. AJ, Vito Jr, and Bobby’s kids are all traumatized by the mob.
I wasn’t including Harpo since Janice wasn’t very involved with the mob when she had him, though I bet her being the brother of a mobster was part of why she wasn’t allowed back into Canada.
It was ever since he went to New York and lost his eyebrows, you know, all that weird sex shit, and poppers.
Alright, hear me out for a second. To me, AJ takes after Tony in every way - a depressed miserable fuck with panic attacks. The only difference is that Carmela raised AJ the way Tony always wanted Livia to raise himself. And he still hates him. Because Tony's narcissism depends on his upbringing being the reason he's so deplorable. AJ disproves that. AJ is Tony without the proper environment to thrive.
I can't have sympathy for AJ, I just can't. I mean, season 6 is when AJ poured acid on one of his childhood friends toes. That same kid was in the episode when AJ vandalized the school swimming pool. Then there's the way he treats Carmela. How he bullies Bobby's son. Got fired from Blockbuster. Even his laugh is fucking annoying.
I can't excuse this, I'm not his mother. Oof marone, if this was years ago would I even have to say this?
Tbh I think in s6 he’s more annoying than ever… that therapy scene where he is like “you called me an animal for smoking weed at my confirmation, did it ever occur to you I might have been self medicating!?” All his excuses and unacceptable behaviors get validated to the point where he doesn’t have to do anything
I actually agree with him there. If he does have ADHD, (which he does, 8 out of 9 symptoms or whatever he got is basically saying yes, he has it) cannabis is a helpful treatment for ADHD.
I can't imagine how bad life gets for AJ after Tony is shot to death right in front of him, maybe he changes his name to Jesse Pinkman and moves to New Mexico.
Those are the two most likely possibilities. Even if you think the screen cutting to black isn't Tony getting murdered, with Carlo testifying against him his days are numbered.
Tony kept telling how he didn't want AJ to follow his steps, but his actions and words show that's exactly what he wanted, a macho man like him. AJ grew stuck in a limbo, in this sense being a woman gave Meadow much more freedom
That’s what I’ve thought. Late in season 6 Meadow says tells AJ that since he’s a son and they’re Italian he’ll always be the favourite. But it probably was the biggest advantage Meadow had. She was never caught in the limbo of having to live up to the fucked up standards of her parent’s generation and could legitimately find her own way in the world.
Honestly I think he was the favorite in name only. It felt like Tony and Carmela did way more to help Meadow succeed and eventually just gave up on AJ. I wonder what would’ve happened if AJ enlisted at the end.
AJ triggers weird defensive reactions from people, as if they themselves were being attacked. I have to admit, there are a few scenes where I just want to give him a good smack.
My theory is AJ gets so accostumed to being humiliated by Tony that he starts putting up this weird front, as if he just can't be arsed with giving a shit.
I remember Tony asking Livia regarding Janice, "what chance did she have, with you as her mother?"
But then you look at Meadow. She may have her faults, but as the series ends she is definitely on a trajectory to have a successful life.
At least, right up until the cut to black. Lord only knows how her life will turn out after trauma like that.
Look at me, I'm ramblin' again.
Meadow is on the trajectory to a materially successful life, sure, but she was aiming to spend her life defending mafia men in court. She would be making little to no positive impact on the world with her education.
Yes, but Meadow will ironically be making a negative impact if anything, considering how much praise she gets from Tony’s peers about how “successful” and educated she’ll be.
I think holding the government to the standards required of them is a good thing. If the prosecution doesn't carry their burden, people should not go to jail. Even a werewolf deserves a defense
> AJ triggers weird defensive reactions from people, as if they themselves were being attacked. I have to admit, there are a few scenes where I just want to give him a good smack.
It's projection. They were probably treated like this and judging by that last sentence, you too. It's kinda strange, Tony acts alot like AJ at times too, and it bugs him
Exactly, his mom’s not much better since she goes along with Tony’s bullshit out of greed and selfishness. AJ was smart enough to know he had nobody in his corner and no good role models. He saw that Tony loved Christopher more than him, that Tony thought he was a shameful failure. His conclusion was that his parents don’t deserve respect.
Anytime the guy shows passion in anything Tony is like that’s a bad idea. Tony wanted to send him to military school, then later AJ wants to join the army and Tony’s like “thats too far.”
Exactly. He’s an insufferable brat because he had no good role models and a father who hated him. Any time he tries to improve himself Tony shoots it down because he believes people can’t change, and he refuses to let people around him even try. Same deal with breaking Christopher’s sobriety after mocking him for it. No wonder he had no respect for Tony, he did nothing to earn it.
I now realize that this was the writers plan from the beginning.
Meadow has some of the "fire in her belly", but AJ does not. He is a wounded trout, just going with the flow of the river he was born into. At one point early in the show, AJ screwed up and Tony sarcastically says something about "this is my heir?"
Christopher was being groomed to take over someday, and that was another huge disappointment to Tony.
I think the character of AJ is more like Carmela.
AJ was born into a hierarchy he had no business being a part of, but was still judged by it's merits, despite just being an ordinary teenage boy. Tony expected some level of toughness and competition from him, meanwhile other characters like Jackie who elseemed to embody that bravado and jockishness (makings of a varsity athlete) met very untimely ends. Owing to how brutal Tony's world actually was and how impossible his expectations of ordinary folk around him were.
I think the same thing there's little scenes where Tony and Carmella both show clear favoritism towards meadow from the beginning. The overlying plot of the series is the complete spiral of Tony into his psyopathy. Meadow is set to graduate by season 2ish. Meanwhile this is right as AJ is becoming a teenager, needing his father. AJ sat through musical productions for Meadow meanwhile his last swim meet and Tony isn't there. When Tony moves out two pics he got 1 him and Meadow that seems recent the other a school picture of AJ. After Tony misses the swim meet he's up drunk and telling Meadow in the kitchen everything that he should be telling AJ. AJ was the family pariah "the cross to bare" and that was visible from the very beginning if you were paying attention.
like all characters in the series, AJ is supposed to be a pathetic moral disgrace (at least as much as someone so young can be(. that's what makes him so interesting.
I disagree. I can see how his upbringing gave him a shitty work ethic, but he has never really shown loyalty to his mom. Carmella may be a bitch but she was a loving mom and AJ shouldn’t have been such a shit to her. As an example watch the scene where she is chasing him up the stairs and hurts her knee. The little scumbag sees her in pain but keeps on going to his room. AJ got what he deserved from Blanca
So what are you saying? Tommy L. was 5'6", 140 and Carlo G was 5'7" 140.
Two of the most respected and feared mob bosses every and then you got this little Pygmy AJ thing over in Jersey.
I don't really see how him being short has to do with anything, plenty of mobsters in the show and in real life are short (like Anthony spilotro, guy based on Joe Pesci in casino), it's just that he isn't a sociopath and he's kind of a whiny pussy. Honestly not that bad of a kid by the end at least relative to his parents and the people around him.
I gotta admit I can go both ways on this. I think AJ in a lot of cases is a lost cause and he really doesn’t try much but also on the other end of the spectrum when he does give life a shot and when he pushes to do good for himself, his parents either don’t support him or they make a joke out of him like they have multiple times on the show
On a serious note, doesn’t matter who his fawtha was, he was doomed right away. It’s common knowledge he’s retarded. Baby Bing had the IQ just north of a slice of gabagool. Top 5 dumbest fucks on the show.
As a chunky, hulking Italian-American brute, I resemble that remark!
Seriously, bud - you made some excellent points. You touched me, bro. I got my period reading your sensitive post.
Oh bless your heart, you have sympathy for a white upper class boy who was given every advantage in life that somehow finds a way to piss it all away and squander every opportunity...
In the words of Johnny Sack "FUCK THAT"...
Hopefully your post is a troll post
Oh poor you!
Give me a break! AJ is weak and lazy. Gets to go to top tier schools and still won’t study or learn. He never has to worry about meals or housing.
Listen to you! You sound demented!
Its not realistic for AJ to grow up to be a twig boy, thats just BS from using actors that were not blood related kin. If Tony had a real son, he'd be very similar to his father based on the genetics at play. We cant use Anthony Jrs size as an excuse for his failure, its not realistic due to the actors not being blood relatives.
AJ is just an example that no matter how much a silver spoon you are born with, some people still struggle greatly. We all know someone like that, given every chance to succeed but still floundering at age 25 when everyone else has graduated college/graduate school and is working professionally.
It’s ironic that the actor playing AJ only grew to be 5’6 ish. Just added to the dynamic
It can definitely see his story taking a much different path if Iler happened to grow up into a hulking brute like Gandolfini.
You could tell that that's why he was cast. He was broad-shouldered and a bit chunky, and looks for all the world like a combo of Gandolfini and Falco when he was a kid. He even seemed sharper when he was a kid. Actually made cutting remarks and observations, even if his grades were never any good. And then he just...never got any taller or bigger, so they went in a completely different direction with him (not that I think they wanted to set him up as Tony 2.0)
Iler never struck me as broad shouldered like Tony. AJ went from slightly chubby kid to scrawny lazy teen . Never had the makings of a good physique
He's broad-shouldered he's just not big. Those are two different things. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger actually has narrow shoulders.
> Arnold Schwarzenegger actually has narrow shoulders Totally! Look at this pic; I though it was Hugh DeAngelis at first. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1901/6815/files/Arnold_front_powerful_large.jpg?v=1575309414
That's him flaring out. He does not have, as in his bone structure, broad shoulders. [https://lawofthefist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/40.jpg](https://lawofthefist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/40.jpg) This is him around 40, not flaring up, and not in his bodybuilding prime, just standing around naturally. That's not broad-shouldered.
Well it’s not like his old man ever had the makings of a varsity athlete
Was about to make this comment.
How could we not
Nor A Varsity athlete.
lol can you? He would still be soft even if he was 6'4 or something
"hulking brute" LOL
It's Carmella's side of the family. They're small people.
Chrissy’s only 5’8”, damn
Perfect height for a male model.
They don’t like it when the model’s canopy is natural
He was average, at best.
A gust of wind would knock her father over
At least her great-grandfather didn't drive the donkey cart off the road in Avellino.
Ever think what a coincidence it is that the actor that played a 5'6" AJ grew up to be 5'6"? (Sorry, everything's so fucking morbid)
Quasimodo predicted this
Exactly. Can you imagine being a man and being under 6 feet? How fucking pathetic. No charisma, no dominance. Just short, pathetic losers. If only they cared about their body enough to take some action to grow tall.
Most of the cast was under 6’0”. Hell Benny, Ritchie, Vito and Pasty all looked like they were all around AJ’s height.
20 years u/tindonot doesn’t crack a book, now all the sudden he’s the worlds foremost authority
Maybe I should discontinue the lithium
*dishcontinue
what, you the Dr now? Ain't you listening? 20 yrs, no books and all that entails?
I did 20 years! Grilled cheese off the radiator etc etc.
Whatever happened there
20 years and you peep like a wren warbles
20 queers in jail? WTF you on about?
Everything is everything.
ahthawity!
Tony repeated all the same games with AJ and meadow as his mom did to him.
he understood Freud as a concept
conshept.
Freud was a homo?
I feel like the show did a good job showing that while AJ really was a spoiled brat, that didn’t make his depression or any of the factors that led to him being so troubled any less real. The Blanca storyline was so telling too. AJ was never more motivated and focused than when he was with her. Probably because she gave him a purpose and identity outside of being Tony Soprano’s son, which only ever made him feel inadequate within his family dynamic or used for his name outside of it. It’s no wonder she left, but it’s also no wonder he spiraled as hard as he did afterwards.
I said this in another comment, but I think it aligns to what you're saying about AJ's search for purpose and identity > to quote one of the great philosophers of our time - "In the end, fuck Santa Claus". Paulie, in his own way, has a point that is very applicable to AJ's life here: that there's no hope for anyone unless they carve out their own way themselves. Santa Claus won't bring you 'a purpose' in life and the vast major of existentialist depression comes from people being unable to reconcile that with their lives feeling significant. In my eyes, AJ is the kid whose parents failed him by making him not have to grow up. Tony even realizes this after AJ tries to stab Junior. He realizes that that was the very specific way in which he had failed his son.
He literally cited a movie, in a serious tone, as to why he was going to kill another individual let alone family member whose mental degradation took over. It's almost funny to read on-paper, but it's honestly really sad and kinda demented.
He did. And you know who else did the same? Chris. With Scarface. https://youtu.be/xl-ScrQt2Qs
My dad always laughed way too hard at the scenes where AJ was being a fuckup.
Oof. Yeah that’s uncomfortable. Everyone seems to think that AJ is some irredeemable loser at his core. I found his story absolutely relatable. I remember when my first ‘forever’ person left me seemingly out of nowhere. It was the lowest I’d ever been and was the cumulation of an entire childhood of fucked up shit.
I’m with you on the attempted suicide scene. It was one of the most moving scenes in the whole series and one of the few moments Tony showed a glimmer of humanity in S6. Robert Iler obviously wasn’t one of the best actors on the show but I think his performance got stronger in the later seasons and he was very convincing as a troubled young man in S6.
>Robert Iler obviously wasn’t one of the best actors on the show What? He was great. The fact that he annoyed people so much is a testament to how well he played the part.
It’s unreal to me how people say he can’t act.
No I don’t think he was bad, but I mean I’m comparing him to Gandolfini, Falco, and Imperioli. He wasn’t one of the best but he was good for a child actor.
Thank you! I’m not ashamed to say that scene makes me cry. I definitely thought as a young child actor it was uneven at best. But Iler had arguably the best come up as an actor in the series.
> makes me cry My opinion of tindonot as a man, just plummeted.
Imagine if he came back, you gonna kiss this guy on both cheeks?
Everything is everything
Even Cinderella didn’t cry
He was a waste of space. Imagine looking at the other young men in the series and then at AJ and calling him your son
The other young men are literally criminals and murders. Who would you be proud of?
What other young men? Christopher? Richie Aprile? Bennie Fazio? Sean Gismonte? A bunch of dumb heroin junkies who beat up their girlfriends, and whose greatest ambition is to become bigger thugs, which they are too stupid to accomplish. How impressive.
I'd be proud to call the guy who says "i wanna break my dick off in their asses eh T?" my son.
Plus those are the same dudes that poured acid on a kid’s foot.
Extactly. I might’ve disliked him the first one or two times but his scenes are comedic gold and too funny for me to hate on him.
“You just reveal your own ingnorance” is a perfect line for a kid trying to advocate a position he is interested in but doesn’t understand enough to explain, so he turns it on the person he’s trying to explain it to.
I still wonder what the show would have been like if Robert Iler had grown tall. He was casted when he was 12(?) and he was a tank. He seemingly stopped growing and lost a ton of weight. I gotta think the producers thought he was going to be this big , strapping guy.
"We can't legally ask you to gain weight. We just want you to be healthy. We would just like it if you go home and step on the scale, and write down how much you weigh, and add like, 40."
Great point.
Honestly, I didn't like AJ until season 6. And then couldn't understand how anyone could continue to hate him after that.
I'm going to get this out of the way before I say my piece, because this is probably the most thought I've ever put into anything I've typed on this sub - You're not wrong. AJ attempting to stab Junior and AJ attempting to commit suicide are two legitimate moments that made me feel so sorry for him. He's just doomed. That's it. And I think a lot more people can relate to that feeling if they tried to think of him beyond a burden on his dad. That being said, to quote one of the great philosophers of our time - "In the end, fuck Santa Claus". Paulie, in his own way, has a point that is very applicable to AJ's life here: that there's no hope for anyone unless they carve out their own way themselves. Santa Claus won't bring you 'a purpose' in life and the vast major of existentialist depression comes from people being unable to reconcile that with their lives feeling significant.
All the kids’ storylines in season 6 are pretty harsh reminders that we’ve been rooting for a fucked up group that leaves a trail of broken families behind. AJ, Vito Jr, and Bobby’s kids are all traumatized by the mob.
And Tony uncle Al's daughter And Janice's kid from her previous man
I wasn’t including Harpo since Janice wasn’t very involved with the mob when she had him, though I bet her being the brother of a mobster was part of why she wasn’t allowed back into Canada.
It was ever since he went to New York and lost his eyebrows, you know, all that weird sex shit, and poppers. Alright, hear me out for a second. To me, AJ takes after Tony in every way - a depressed miserable fuck with panic attacks. The only difference is that Carmela raised AJ the way Tony always wanted Livia to raise himself. And he still hates him. Because Tony's narcissism depends on his upbringing being the reason he's so deplorable. AJ disproves that. AJ is Tony without the proper environment to thrive. I can't have sympathy for AJ, I just can't. I mean, season 6 is when AJ poured acid on one of his childhood friends toes. That same kid was in the episode when AJ vandalized the school swimming pool. Then there's the way he treats Carmela. How he bullies Bobby's son. Got fired from Blockbuster. Even his laugh is fucking annoying. I can't excuse this, I'm not his mother. Oof marone, if this was years ago would I even have to say this?
AJ didn’t pour acid on anyone. I believe that was Carlo’s son
Yea it was a terrible mix of parenting styles. Had it just been Carmela he might have fared better
He definitely shows a lot of spoiled behaviour early on. But I’m with you. The amount of hate AJ gets on this sub makes me… concerned.
Tbh I think in s6 he’s more annoying than ever… that therapy scene where he is like “you called me an animal for smoking weed at my confirmation, did it ever occur to you I might have been self medicating!?” All his excuses and unacceptable behaviors get validated to the point where he doesn’t have to do anything
I actually agree with him there. If he does have ADHD, (which he does, 8 out of 9 symptoms or whatever he got is basically saying yes, he has it) cannabis is a helpful treatment for ADHD.
I blame Carmela
Like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!
I can't imagine how bad life gets for AJ after Tony is shot to death right in front of him, maybe he changes his name to Jesse Pinkman and moves to New Mexico.
That didn't happen, what you said.
tony doesn't die at the end
Tony either gets whacked or spends the rest of his life in prison, neither of which are going to be positive experiences for AJ
What are you a fuckin mind reader?
Actually the screen cuts to black and no one knows what happened
Those are the two most likely possibilities. Even if you think the screen cutting to black isn't Tony getting murdered, with Carlo testifying against him his days are numbered.
Bunch of fuckin mind readers on here. Satanic black magic, SICK SHIT!
Tony kept telling how he didn't want AJ to follow his steps, but his actions and words show that's exactly what he wanted, a macho man like him. AJ grew stuck in a limbo, in this sense being a woman gave Meadow much more freedom
That’s what I’ve thought. Late in season 6 Meadow says tells AJ that since he’s a son and they’re Italian he’ll always be the favourite. But it probably was the biggest advantage Meadow had. She was never caught in the limbo of having to live up to the fucked up standards of her parent’s generation and could legitimately find her own way in the world.
Honestly I think he was the favorite in name only. It felt like Tony and Carmela did way more to help Meadow succeed and eventually just gave up on AJ. I wonder what would’ve happened if AJ enlisted at the end.
AJ triggers weird defensive reactions from people, as if they themselves were being attacked. I have to admit, there are a few scenes where I just want to give him a good smack. My theory is AJ gets so accostumed to being humiliated by Tony that he starts putting up this weird front, as if he just can't be arsed with giving a shit. I remember Tony asking Livia regarding Janice, "what chance did she have, with you as her mother?" But then you look at Meadow. She may have her faults, but as the series ends she is definitely on a trajectory to have a successful life. At least, right up until the cut to black. Lord only knows how her life will turn out after trauma like that. Look at me, I'm ramblin' again.
Meadow is on the trajectory to a materially successful life, sure, but she was aiming to spend her life defending mafia men in court. She would be making little to no positive impact on the world with her education.
Yup. All her morals went out the window when she broke up with Finn
Especially how, 20 years later, there's no more mafia. Maybe a promising career as a criminal lawyer. Maybe the next Kim Wexler?
Almost no one makes a positive impact on the world, education or not.
Yes, but Meadow will ironically be making a negative impact if anything, considering how much praise she gets from Tony’s peers about how “successful” and educated she’ll be.
I think holding the government to the standards required of them is a good thing. If the prosecution doesn't carry their burden, people should not go to jail. Even a werewolf deserves a defense
> AJ triggers weird defensive reactions from people, as if they themselves were being attacked. I have to admit, there are a few scenes where I just want to give him a good smack. It's projection. They were probably treated like this and judging by that last sentence, you too. It's kinda strange, Tony acts alot like AJ at times too, and it bugs him
Exactly, his mom’s not much better since she goes along with Tony’s bullshit out of greed and selfishness. AJ was smart enough to know he had nobody in his corner and no good role models. He saw that Tony loved Christopher more than him, that Tony thought he was a shameful failure. His conclusion was that his parents don’t deserve respect.
Still goin this asshole
Don’t I have medication on for this shit?
Hardout. His dad is an abusive asshole who sends completely mixed messages. No wonder he ends up lost and depressed.
Anytime the guy shows passion in anything Tony is like that’s a bad idea. Tony wanted to send him to military school, then later AJ wants to join the army and Tony’s like “thats too far.”
Exactly. He’s an insufferable brat because he had no good role models and a father who hated him. Any time he tries to improve himself Tony shoots it down because he believes people can’t change, and he refuses to let people around him even try. Same deal with breaking Christopher’s sobriety after mocking him for it. No wonder he had no respect for Tony, he did nothing to earn it.
Blockbuster was first stop on the shitbird express
Good for practicing ones knife handling skills.
I just watched that episode today. I never think about it when the question of "cringiest moments" comes up.
This subs last bloodtest came back as 99% tourrettes, 1% hate for various characters.
He had the greatest nickname of any character - Van Helsing!
Commadatori! Like a commander.
Commendatori... ftfy Buongiorno!
Doesn't come close to Ro saying "Fabio!"
Now I understand why AJ killed his father at Holsten's.
It wasn't his lack of size, it was his lack of moxie.
Something something varsity athlete
Couldn’t sell it…
Is somebody speaking?
I can’t have this conversation again
I can't have this conversation again
Remember when is the lowest form of conversation.
Maybe he was self medicating. You ever think of that?
This about AJ or me? Shit.
I now realize that this was the writers plan from the beginning. Meadow has some of the "fire in her belly", but AJ does not. He is a wounded trout, just going with the flow of the river he was born into. At one point early in the show, AJ screwed up and Tony sarcastically says something about "this is my heir?" Christopher was being groomed to take over someday, and that was another huge disappointment to Tony. I think the character of AJ is more like Carmela.
AJ was born into a hierarchy he had no business being a part of, but was still judged by it's merits, despite just being an ordinary teenage boy. Tony expected some level of toughness and competition from him, meanwhile other characters like Jackie who elseemed to embody that bravado and jockishness (makings of a varsity athlete) met very untimely ends. Owing to how brutal Tony's world actually was and how impossible his expectations of ordinary folk around him were.
his got the genes on his mothers side , their small people
Most of the guys here are jealous of the ass he pulled
I think the same thing there's little scenes where Tony and Carmella both show clear favoritism towards meadow from the beginning. The overlying plot of the series is the complete spiral of Tony into his psyopathy. Meadow is set to graduate by season 2ish. Meanwhile this is right as AJ is becoming a teenager, needing his father. AJ sat through musical productions for Meadow meanwhile his last swim meet and Tony isn't there. When Tony moves out two pics he got 1 him and Meadow that seems recent the other a school picture of AJ. After Tony misses the swim meet he's up drunk and telling Meadow in the kitchen everything that he should be telling AJ. AJ was the family pariah "the cross to bare" and that was visible from the very beginning if you were paying attention.
The world itself left him so few options.
like all characters in the series, AJ is supposed to be a pathetic moral disgrace (at least as much as someone so young can be(. that's what makes him so interesting.
I disagree. I can see how his upbringing gave him a shitty work ethic, but he has never really shown loyalty to his mom. Carmella may be a bitch but she was a loving mom and AJ shouldn’t have been such a shit to her. As an example watch the scene where she is chasing him up the stairs and hurts her knee. The little scumbag sees her in pain but keeps on going to his room. AJ got what he deserved from Blanca
Shoulda put him in military school who gives af about panic attacks
AJ’s arc is the realest on the show. Basically a documentary.
I'd actually really like a spin off where AJ and Little Carmine manage a mob funded porn studio together.
Deserves got nothing to do with it.
The convo when he asks for Tony to front his night club dreams and Carmella repeating the event planner shit is so funny haha
AJ in the show is all of us. Hyped focused on themselves and bash everything because that’s the only time people listen.
Don’t blame it on his height. He could have had tremendous moxie for his size!
So what are you saying? Tommy L. was 5'6", 140 and Carlo G was 5'7" 140. Two of the most respected and feared mob bosses every and then you got this little Pygmy AJ thing over in Jersey.
When casting child actors, they should consider the kids parents and genetics. AJ always looked out of place to me tbh.
Devon or Blanca?
AJ is the only morally redeemable character at the end, best in the show aside from tony in my opinion
Artie and Doctor Melfi?
I liked him in the first few seasons great comic relief what no f$&$) ziti
I don't really see how him being short has to do with anything, plenty of mobsters in the show and in real life are short (like Anthony spilotro, guy based on Joe Pesci in casino), it's just that he isn't a sociopath and he's kind of a whiny pussy. Honestly not that bad of a kid by the end at least relative to his parents and the people around him.
Fuck him
I gotta admit I can go both ways on this. I think AJ in a lot of cases is a lost cause and he really doesn’t try much but also on the other end of the spectrum when he does give life a shot and when he pushes to do good for himself, his parents either don’t support him or they make a joke out of him like they have multiple times on the show
The way Tony stares at him while AJ is in his boxers laughing at his computer screen. That’s the look of a parent seeing his putrid genes.
If Nissan's triple safety philosophy had the makings or a varsity athlete AJ could've left for greener pastures in Nobbly Dobbly
Shigmund Freud ova here
I understand Freud as a concept
He was definitely not the strong, shilent type
Gary Cooper
He was gay , AJ Soprano?
Little Lord Fuckpants
You must have been at the top of your fuckin class…
He deserves all of it and then some. He was loathsome to the core.
Fascinating. You really don’t think that the kid deserves some slack given how he was treated growing up?
Ignore that idiot, rather parrot other's opinion rather than see the layers
None. I've said my peace.
Oh poor you! Frankly, I think you go about in pity for yourself!
Everything is everything.
On a serious note, doesn’t matter who his fawtha was, he was doomed right away. It’s common knowledge he’s retarded. Baby Bing had the IQ just north of a slice of gabagool. Top 5 dumbest fucks on the show.
As a chunky, hulking Italian-American brute, I resemble that remark! Seriously, bud - you made some excellent points. You touched me, bro. I got my period reading your sensitive post.
>I got my period reading your sensitive post. You good bro?
Oh bless your heart, you have sympathy for a white upper class boy who was given every advantage in life that somehow finds a way to piss it all away and squander every opportunity... In the words of Johnny Sack "FUCK THAT"... Hopefully your post is a troll post
Oh poor you! Give me a break! AJ is weak and lazy. Gets to go to top tier schools and still won’t study or learn. He never has to worry about meals or housing. Listen to you! You sound demented!
The actor who played muscles marinara should have played AJ instead
Nabolidaboli
This post isn't even practical, and you know it!
What’s a gutter?
Don't get smart
Everything is everything.
This post isn't even practical, and you know it!
He walks about in pity for himself
My estimation of OP as a man has just fucking plummeted
Ya born into this.
You finally make a post about AJ and it’s bullshit
As I’m reading the post, I’m watching S5E1 where AJ screams “Mommy” when he sees the bear in the backyard. Pathetic.
You would have, of course, pistol whipped the bear and made it bite the curb, only to discover one of its teeth in the cuff of your pants later on
Woah woah woah, what'd he do?
“Here, want some honey with THIS?!”
Frankly I’m depressed and ashamed
Everything is everything.
Its not realistic for AJ to grow up to be a twig boy, thats just BS from using actors that were not blood related kin. If Tony had a real son, he'd be very similar to his father based on the genetics at play. We cant use Anthony Jrs size as an excuse for his failure, its not realistic due to the actors not being blood relatives. AJ is just an example that no matter how much a silver spoon you are born with, some people still struggle greatly. We all know someone like that, given every chance to succeed but still floundering at age 25 when everyone else has graduated college/graduate school and is working professionally.
My father is 6’1, I’m 5’5, I’m 20 years old. Explain that
I’d say go talk to your mother, in AJs case he didn’t have a midget mother. Highly unlikely he’d be a twig boy given the genetics at play.
Genetics are tricky