One of the most memorable — and odd — moments in The Sopranos was the bizarre CGI Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand) who appeared in season 3, which led many viewers to question why showrunner David Chase included the scene. Tragically, Marchand died during the show's run, which lead to The Sopranos killing off her character offscreen. Several major characters died during the show's run, but in many ways, Livia's death loomed over Tony the most.
The Sopranos is ostensibly a show about the mafia, but thematically, it is really a show about family drama — so it's fitting that Tony's mother Livia was a big part of seasons 1 and 2. Livia was also a major part of the prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark. The 2021 story offers an origin story for Tony, revealing not just his relationship with mentor and mafioso Dickie Moltisanti, but also giving viewers a glimpse at a much-younger Livia Soprano (played by Vera Farmiga).
In The Sopranos season 3, Marchand only appeared onscreen once, in the aforementioned scene that used CGI. Tony (James Gandolfini) confronts his mother to warn her not to incriminate him to the FBI. The conversation turns into an argument about her refusal to fill out the books his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) had bought her 20 years ago — journals designed for her to share her life experiences with her grandkids. The subtext of the scene is clear: Tony is really angry with his mother for her refusal to act maternally.
The reason why Marchand was rendered with CGI in The Sopranos season 3 has to do with the actress's death. Marchard sadly passed away in 2000 between the filming of seasons 2 and 3. Rather than replace the actress, Chase opted to abandon his plans for the character and instead kill her off — although he did use CGI to give her and Tony one final scene together. This was achieved by superimposing Livia's face onto another actress's body, cut together with outtakes — all using dialogue recorded from earlier in the series. The effect is, to say the least, uncomfortable.
Chase described his motivation for the scene in an interview with the Chicago Tribune back in 2001, stating that he felt the characters needed to have that final onscreen interaction for the sake of the narrative as a whole: "I thought that was needed to have that on the table in that story. Not just have to go back to what had happened in the past." Tony both hated and loved his mother, and that experience is fundamental to understanding his character's motivations. Chase argues that Tony's mother wasn't just unsupportive and aloof — when actually confronted about these issues, "we see Livia continue to think about herself." The episode clears up any lingering questions of whether she had regrets or redeemed herself before her death. As Chase argues, he " felt it was necessary to platform the rest of the story" — a story that sees Tony sink deeper and deeper into family turmoil and sociopathic actions.
There's an added thematic bonus to having the late actor appear through CGI: it reflects Tony's own feelings towards his mother in that moment. The way the character is used in the scene, she comes across as a creepy, almost-but-not-quite human, and this monstrous quality mirrors the nature of her behavior from Tony's perspective. By The Sopranos season 3, Tony is fed up with his mother, who has betrayed him, rejected his love, and gone out of her way to hurt him over and over. He doesn't believe he deserves this treatment and he does not understand it. She's become a facsimile of herself in his eyes: a ghostlike representation of their toxic history. His subsequent grief over her passing reflects this, as he hates himself for not loving her more — and for feeling like he doesn't deserve her love.
While the infamous The Sopranos season 3 moment is indeed an instance of poor CGI drawing attention to itself, in this case, the uncanny valley quality was actually perfect for what the show was trying to say. Tony and Livia have a complicated relationship in The Sopranos, and the late Marchand and Gandolfini were truly masterful in how they informed their performances knowing that. Both late actors were undeniably incredibly talented, and their onscreen dynamic contributed to what makes The Sopranos one of the best TV series of all time.
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