The Sopranos (TV Series) Fortunate Son (2001) User Reviews

Fortunate Son (#3.3)

[ComedyFan2010 · 9/10 · 11 March 2014]

Christopher becomes a made man, but it is not as great as he imagined. There is more responsibility now and mafia takes over most of his life. Meadow finds out about her father's racist remark and is mad about it. Tony remembers his first passing out as a child, and AJ has it now too after being promoted as a leader of his football team.

An episode on expectations of mafia life and the reality. We see Chris being disappointed as it doesn't feel his glamorous expectations. Let's see where it will go from now. And Richie's nephew is jealous of him but has a conversation with Tony here we see that he has an opportunity to be a doctor. Seems like he is better off than Chris.

And I think we are going into the prediction of AJ's future. He says he doesn't feel right going into college. And he faints. His faint comes after becoming a leader of football team, could it be connected with his dad being the boss? After all Tony's first passing out also had to do with his father's mafia life. A pretty smart episode.

Burning a cross?

[snoozejonc · 9/10 · 15 June 2022]

Dr Melfi digs deeper to find the causes of Tony's panic attacks.

This is a very strong character-driven episode.

A big theme in several Sopranos episodes is parent-child relationships and the influence of parents. This has a great focus on characters like Tony, Christopher, AJ and Jackie Junior and all the scenes where they are nurtured and influenced by parental figures are exceptionally well done.

Tony's scenes in particular are excellent as we not only see his methods of control and nurture, but we see crucial moments from his childhood and how they link to the person he is and Dr Melfi's theories about the panic attacks. James Gandolfini makes the character seem real as always. One part where he taps his knife against a dish to get somebody's attention is a wonderful example of something a parent would do to a disinterested or uncooperative child.

Christopher's scenes are more humorous and ironic (particularly if you have seen the whole series before) as we see a big change in his life that does not turn out the way he expected. For a character written to be inspired by what he sees in the movies, the episode delivers the harsh reality of being part of a mob family in a very entertaining way. Michael Imperioli is great as ever and Tony Serico is also superb.

AJ who like John Foggerty once said is a character "born silver spoon in hand" has a significant episode that involves some key moments of development. Jackie's scenes contain some foreboding for how his life may turn out and the scenes involving Ruckus are ironically funny.

I also quite liked the football theme that runs through the episode giving connection and continuity to various scenes.

Visually it is excellent as always, particularly the movie homages to scenes from Goodfellas. Plus the shots of Alla Kliouka moving about the house really look like her character has lost a leg.

Panic disorder runs in families, Aj has panic disorder just like his father

[Neptune165 · 7/10 · 10 July 2022]

The sort of improv style of making Christopher might actually be fairly realistic, at least in some cases. I forget which documentary, I think. It was about the Gambino where the guy getting made was handed a tissue and was told to imagine that this piece of tissue is a picture of a saint lol. "tony lied and said he didn't kill Richie" tony didn't lie, he didn't kill Richie, are you ok? AJ passing out when offered team Captain doesn't exactly have the makings of a varsity athlete. True Story. Like father, like son. We've heard that Tony's father had a "condition" that made him anxious. We've seen Tony experience panic attacks in his childhood and adulthood. Now to fulfill the prophecy, AJ's mental health also seems to be affected. Whether it's a predisposition in their genes or as a result of them being raised in Mob families, the Sopranos' men appear to be cursed with the inability to cope with stress. Christopher is lazy. Just like he thought buying the laptop "would do most of the work" writing the script. He thought being made just means sitting back and money falls into your lap. He wants the "fame" and perks of being a gangster but doesn't want to do the work.

"Once you're into this family, there's no getting out"

[MaxBorg89 · 10/10 · 22 April 2008]

Back in Season 2 (the finale, to be more precise), Tony told Christopher he might finally become a made guy, i.e. join the family full-time. On that occasion, Chris replied with a joke ("I think I earned it. Got no spleen, Gene"), not knowing what kind of trouble was waiting for him.

Receiving a phone call in the middle of the night is usually very bad news if you're in organized crime, as it tends to mean you're about to get whacked. Adriana expresses a similar concern when Chrissy is woken up by Paulie and asked to show up at a meeting. In the end, it turns out the young wise-guy was right: he and another mobster, Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), get promoted, which means that from now on, their job comes before everything, even their wives and kids. While he watches his dreams come true, Chris soon realizes life ain't that easy, as he now officially works for Paulie and has to give him part of his income on a regular basis. Tony, on the other hand, goes through a more private kind of crisis, stirred by Meadow's half Black boyfriend, and tells Dr. Melfi he had panic attacks as a kid too, expressing doubts on whether that sort of problem is hereditary or not. Considering A.J. passed out during a football game, he might have a point.

Following the emotional ordeal of the previous episode, Fortunate Son is quite mannered, with nothing too painful or devastating. In fact, for the most part it's quite funny, especially in its depiction of the Christopher/Paulie conflict, which reaches almost absurd extremes. Thanks to the skilled writers and director, the humor never feels at odds with the nearly mythical opening, a clever spin on the more glamorized aspects of mafia life; instead, the two sides complement each other. With hindsight, though, this particular show is important in establishing the Anthony Jr. character (if you've seen the last episodes of the series, you know what I mean), always further and further from the traditional "TV brat" image.

"our busiest season"

[SentientCrab-tv · 10/10 · 6 February 2018]

The Sopranos has always been less of a show about the mob and more of a show about family and the way the mob affects it. This episode is (currently) the finest example of this. I wanted to send a friend a scene from this (nintendo and hot dogs) but I realized that the 8 lines Tony and Anthony shared contained episodes of nuance that I couldn't fully explain in an a message. It's one of the most fascinating episodes about hierarchy that we have seen, it's all about control, rebellion against the control, and the multitude of external forces affecting the way each character acts. It's one of the most human and realized episode of the series, and it's great to finally see something like this after the last two episodes of trying to restart the season's direction.

Crazy flashback

[natprius · 10/10 · 14 October 2021]

I don't write reviews but this episode does everything right as far as the Sopranos is concerned. It may not further any plot, but it furthers character development unlike any of the episodes in the show so far. Which is 90% of this show anyway. Great episode!

Fainting

[ctomvelu-1 · 8/10 · 29 July 2008]

Chris gets made, and Paulie does not take things easy on him. Tony tries to get at the root of his blackouts, revealing to melfi that he has been experiencing them since childhood -- starting when he saw his dad cut off a guy's pinkie and then get sexual with mom while slicing up a roast. Melfi says the presence of meat apparently goes hand in hand with most if not all of Tony's spells. Watching Tony as a kid interact with his extremely dangerous and volatile father is a riot. It also informs us as to Tony's path in life. AJ has his first fainting spell at the end of this episode, and it is downright comical. Chase knew what he was doing, as he hired an actor to portray the young Tony who could be AJ's twin. A terrific episode, especially the flashback. We not only get to see Tony's dad and a much younger Livia, we get to see a very young Janice and the younger sister, Barbara. The fainting gags in this episode are hysterical.

Being Made isn't that big of a deal after all!

[nlytnd_1 · 9/10 · 3 April 2014]

Overall it's a decent episode. They kind of blew it on the Chris finally being made storyline. This is something they presented in the first episode and it's been mentioned several times throughout the series. This should have been a pinnacle moment in the 6 season series and it's hardly a blink of an eye. Hey, they're the ones who built this moment up over two seasons and delivered it as not even a subplot in the episode. What a weak initiation and ceremony. Apparently being made isn't that big of a deal after all in the NJ family. As ridiculous as his reasoning was, maybe Phil Leotardo in episode 85 had a somewhat legit beef after all.

Aside from that abortion, the episode gets kicked up a notch when Janice steals Svetlana's artificial leg and holds it for ransom. Great stuff!