He was weak, lazy, unproductive and generally a low achiever and fuck up. How was this influenced by his parenting and what fuelled his depression? Was Tony neglecting or overly controlling?
>>70055126
I mean, Tony casts a pretty big shadow as a father. I wouldn't say controlling or neglecting so much as just generally domineering.
>>70055126
I'd say neglecting. By acting out he was rejecting the gifts of his father. Through crime he was given every chance so he wasted them as a way to get back at his father.
What if AJ just wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer?
Both kids were spoiled and lazy. Typical rich kids who think the world should be handed to them rather than achieve anything on their own.
Does AJ remind you of yourself?
Was that the point? Did they make the most accurate portyal of a spoiled lazy brat?
>>70055753
He never had the makings of a varsity athlete, that's for sure
>>70055777
You're right but it was easier for Meadow as a girl. She was manipulative straight from season 1 and she got away with it because she was daddy's little girl. AJ was just chastised by his father for not being tough enough, but then Tony never actually showed him HOW to be tough.
How did Tony not strangle Turtle when Meadow brought him home for the first time
>>70055812
he developed the depression because he was too much of bitch for the world he lived in. self centered and always received what he wanted without lifting a finger. he used the soprano name for gaining acceptance with his party crowd, but deep down he knew it didn't fit him.
>>70055126
Carmella coddled him too much. Look what happened with the bear. Can't blame Tony for that shit and it a perfect example of AJ not being able to deal with life.
I love how they had to explain he got Carmela's family male genes because he was such a manlet.
The fact that this thread has already had a number of interesting points raised in 12 posts is proof that he's a good character
I thought he was depressed because he turned into a literal cuck.
>>70055126
Result of massive contradictions in parenting. Carmela tried to raise him as a good suburban kid just like other families, but realizing his dad literally murdered people left an impact on him. Living a suburban millennial life while knowing where the darkness comes from leads to some severe cognitive dissonance for AJ. He got the Soprano side's predisposition for rage and depression, along with the DeAngelis side's weak constitution. He's like Tony trapped in Hugh's body. He harbors the same doubts as Carmela, but unlike Carmela he never chose this life, he was just born into it. A moody, weak kid who knows his very existence is an abomination.
>tfw i'm literally AJ
fucking hold me
>>70057392
Damm..
>>70057207
I saw boyhood today and i thought of aj having a very good study and complex character development of a teenager. not considering the format ofc. He was a cuck but so are 90% of our population.
>>70057436
I'm with you anon. Most honest, ruthless yet humanizing portrait of a desensitized millennial I've ever seen on TV.
How does one even get outside of this disillusioned state of mind?
>>70057392
I should watch this show huh
>finish Sopranos at 16
>always laughed at AJ
>22 now
>I'm exactly like him
>>70057586
It continues to stand as the best TV show, anon
>>70057650
Basically my experience too.
>>70057650
>watch Sopranos at 14
>laughed at and hated AJ
>favorite character was Moltisanti Thread, i wanna be badass like Moltisanti Thread!!
>rewatch multiple times from ages 18-21
>realize I'm exactly like AJ
>realize AJ is sympathetic and decent but annoying kid
>realize Moltisanti Thread is a worthless goon
nonetheless i am still loyle to my capo
>>70057650
kek i remember that scene where tony finds him without shirt in front of the pc on the desktop
AJ is too one-note and annoying.
Whatever even happens to kids this disillusioned? Do they all become Goebbels?
>>70057766
>tfw Chris would have succeeded in life as a talented actor but threw it all away because "A!"
>>70057436
Same
>Nearly cried when AJ broke down because it held a mirror up to how pathetic I am
>>70057551
Play sport. Join the military. Essentially, take part in competitive physical activities with other lads. Only way to rescue your masculinity bro
>>70057830
Alcoholism/substance abuse dependency
>talking shit about AJ on 4chin
the fact that the irony is lost you, is amAZING
>>70057294
He was a meme before there was such a thing as a meme
> Meets QT Puerto Rican at the construction job
> Basically helps raise her son
> Sells his bicycle to get sex with QT
> QT PR takes advantage of him
> Leaves him
> AJ tries to kill himself
He was all the worst parts of Tony, I think. T acted the same way as AJ when he was depressed. Meadow's also a lot like him, but she got mostly the positive.
>wanted to be tony
>became AJ
what a life
>>70057820
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHu9D8armIA
Was Chase one of us? How the fuck did he get this so perfectly?
>>70057392
AJ was a fuck up long before he found out Tony was a mobster. In many ways AJ was young Tony with the exception that he had Carm instead of Olivia and Tony instead of Johnny Boy.
It was my impression that Tony was more or less forced into the mob at a young age. Throughout the years, all the repressed anger and guilt about his crimes are what led to the series.
>>70058504
lol it was your impression because that's what the show almost straight out told you
A lot of his mental problems were inherited from his father, to make it worse both of his parents were freaks living a lie in which their business was murdering and stealing
Honestly though I like him more than Meadow, she was a snooty manipulative little cunt who dated niggers and defended minorities, typical spoiled rich girl
>>70055203
So was Tony's father. AJ is most of all spoiled, didn't help that Tony did try to keep him out of the family business.
Isn't AJ written after one of the Gotti kids?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4G-BFSI6kU
i always post this in soprano threads, because it's probably my fav scene in the whole run of the show, and it's relevant in this one, he got the worst parts of tony and carmella
>>70056051
Although she never really shed her privileged world view and upbringing, Meadow did eventually make something of herself. She got it together, AJ...eh
>>70059348
>My son is talking suicide, so now I'm trapped here forever.
Just the perfectly narcissistic thing to say, I love it. He cares about AJ, of course, but everything is centered around himself.
>>70059477
>Meadow did eventually make something of herself
Yes and no. She's not a wreck like her family members, but she's on her way to becoming a curropt mob lawyer, throwing away all her previous morals.
>>70055126
He was given everything and never had to work for shit in life.
When he fucked up, he'd get yelled at and then they'd give him some sort of gift by way of apology.
Combine that with Tony's genes, kid was fucked no matter what.
Honestly, my girlfriend's parents are the same way and she's a lazy rich kid.
