“Real” — The role of the secondary protagonist
A character examination of Christopher Moltisanti and Jesse Pinkman
Since Tiktok became a widespread app for people, one of the main trends I have witnessed is the “real” type of video. This tends to be edits of fictional characters who people relate to in some way, whether it is for comedic purposes or whether they seriously relate to certain aspects of the character’s life. Two of the most common examples I see on my feed is Christopher Moltisanti and Jesse Pinkman, of the shows The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Having watched both shows, I believe that these are some of the most layered, heart-breaking fictional people ever captured, with brilliant performances by both Michael Imperioli and Aaron Paul respectively. I thought this article would act as a character study for the two deuteragonists, and why their journey enables the audience to enter this world like no other shows allow. Please be aware there will be spoilers included in this article to both shows.
Christopher Moltisanti — The Original
Christopher Moltisanti is the nephew (or cousin) of Tony Soprano, one of the leaders of the Dimeo Crime Family, a ruthless and notorious mafia based in New Jersey. When we first meet Christopher, he is still a young adult, and is rather immature and impatient. He acts on impulse and, like a lot of the members of the Crime Family, he is prone to lose his cool easily. He begins life as an associate, meaning he holds no real rank in the organisation, despite his connections through his familial ties with Tony and his deceased father, Dickie Moltisanti.
It is due to his father’s death and mother’s rampant alcoholism that Tony takes up a paternal role in Christopher’s life. In fact, Christopher’s entire support network is rather small, as he has no real family or friends outside of the mafia, except for his girlfriend Adrianna. His tumultuous relationshp with Paulie means he struggles to communicate to him too.
It is clear rather early on that Christopher does suffer from some mental health issues, as do a lot of the male members of the mob. One of the key themes throughout the show is the stigma surrounding the male psyche and exploring one’s emotions. Due to the cool guy persona mobsters took in films and even in real life, the show touches on modern mafias and the changing stances on masculinity and looking after yourself.
A perfect display of this lack of communication and built up rage is in Tony’s sessions with Dr Melfi. Throughout the show, Tony Soprano is shown to attend therapy, which is a common sticking point throughout the seasons, as he battles his high blood pressure and underlying issues with his mother and how he was raised. When these visits are revealed to the rest of the mafia, it is received rather poorly, as talking about your feelings and your mental capacity with a specialist is saw as weak and potential narking in their line of work.
This lack of communication means Christopher is prone to fits of violence, as are most of the characters. He does try to better himself, attending AA and having some form of inner reflection on his life. We see this in his confession to Adrianna, where he reveals that Tony was unsupportive and cold with Christopher when he tried to speak to him about his feelings, and advised him to “grab another drink.” This is also evident in Christopher’s “arc” speech with Paulie, where Christopher believes he has no arc, and therefore no growth or development within his life. Paulie, in typical Paulie fashion, responds with sarcasm and humour, rather than comforting or affirming Chris’s feelings.
Chrissy’s idea of an arc comes from his love of the film industry. Moltisanti is a avid cinephile, especially films involving his line of work, such as the Godfather and Scarface. This differentiates his character from the others in the show, as although he looks at making it to captain in the Dimeo Crime Family, he also wants to work in Hollywood and make movies. The result of his efforts is actually a key point in where the connection between Tony and Chrissy is weakened, as the film plants the idea in Tony’s mind that his nephew wants to kill him, and that’s how eventually Tony kills his nephew.
Another key relationship in the show is between Christopher and Adrianna. Christopher’s long term girlfriend, Ade is saw by many as “eye candy”, but Christopher does connect with her on a deeper level. Christopher is shown to not be the perfect partner, being unfaithful and also abusive on one notable occasion, but he still loves her. In fact, losing Adrianna, following the reveal she has been an FBI informant, is the straw that breaks Christopher’s back. Following this, he relapses from his alcohol-free lifestyle, which eventually leads to him crashing his car with Tony inside, and Tony putting him out of his misery.
Tony is the primary protagonist of the show, and he affects all the characters around him, especially Christopher. If Tony Soprano was a line on a graph, he would be a wavy line, as he sways between morality and immorality. These actions affect Christopher, as it is usually Christopher who Tony can take this happiness or sadness out on.
Jesse Pinkman — Another Broken Character
Jesse Pinkman is a high school dropout, who is a base level drug dealer at the start of the show. Already introduced to Walter White, his former chemistry teacher offers a partnership, due to Jesse’s connections in the drug trade, and the pair form an unlikely duo. Due to his poor relationship with his parents because of his connections to the criminal underworld, Walter fills a father role as the pair begin to work together. It is this trust which Walter exploits, as he emotionally manipulates Jesse to get the outcome he wants.
As the show progresses, what is our original impression of Jesse changes. On the outside, we see somebody who commits illegal acts and is out for himself. However, as we watch the show, we see that he is a very generous and caring person, always doing things for others, including Walter White. We also see throughout the seasons how a once positive and energetic individual slowly becomes less enthusiastic, more solemn and a shell of what he once was. Whilst this is due to the torture he endures at the hands of Todd, it is also his other experiences which shape his twisted worldview.
Jesse does have a small group of friends, however his main escape from the world of narcotic production is Jane, his girlfriend. Similar to Adriana, whilst she is not a squeaky clean individual, she does remind Jesse of his humanity and what he is doing all this for. It is her death, due to the actions (or rather inaction) of Mr White, which pushes Jesse to abuse substances and eventually leads him to rehab. Jesse does some soul searching and accepts his role in the deaths of those he cares about, and from then on his sober mind is a lot more conscious of his actions and their impact. Losing Jane also makes Jesse more reliant on Walter, as Walter becomes more and more self obsessed.
More so than Christopher Moltisanti, Jesse is shown to have a moral compass in the show, an eschew one, but one all the same. He doesn’t like resorting to violence, and only does so when he is forced into doing so. Unlike Todd or Walter, he draws the line at harming innocents like women and children. This is where he differs from the blueprint from the Sopranos, but this morality is what is targeted by those who use him.
Unlike Tony Soprano’s wavering line of morality, Walter White is more of a descent — the lengths a man would go to to provide for his family drives him into complete evil, he eventually even seems to lose sight of his original goal. As he becomes more self involved, he becomes less supportive of Jesse, who he made isolated in the first place.
