The Women of The Sopranos

The final episodes of the phenomenal HBO drama series "The Sopranos" is in gear. There have been interviews with cast members promising that the final episodes are going to be bloody.

To me, the drama would not have to be bloody to be intriguing. The character studies and the interactions between the characters are fascinating enough.

The drama is largely fueled by testosterone. The men of the mob are where all the action is. The women behind the men, give the series depth and heart.

There are women visible throughout the drama. Many of the women, such as the nude dancers at the Bada Bing, add interest to the scene, but serve as background to the conversations that the gangsters have. There are mistresses, mostly nameless, who seem to come and go. Then there are the wives and lovers at home.

Following are the key women in HBO's The Sopranos:

Carmela Soprano played by Edie Falco: Carmela the wife of mob boss, Tony Soprano., and the mother of two grown children with him. Carmela keeps an immaculate home, is a great cook and a devoted wife and mother. She is long suffering, as Tony navigates from woman to woman, but always comes home to Carmela. Carmela is deeply religious, and for a while had a close friendship with the parish priest. She also entertained an infatuation with Furio, who was a ponytailed member of Tony's crew. In exchange for her devotion, Carmela gets wealth, power, furs and jewels.

Still she worries constantly, with insecurity about what will happen if Tony comes to a bloody end. When Tony had a fling with the one legged Russian nurse, it appeared to be the last straw for Carmela, who kicked him out and separated from him. She found that Tony was not going to make divorce easy on her, as he consulted all of the top attorneys so that she would have a hard time finding a descent lawyer to represent her. Eventually, she took Tony back, but negotiated a piece of land to build a spec house on as part of the bargain. When Tony was shot, she was at his side constantly, even surprising herself when she told a comatose Tony that she loved him.

Dr. Jennifer Melfi Played by Lorraine Bracco: Key to the drama, is the complicated relationship between attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and her patient Tony Soprano. In spite of the risks of opening up to anyone, Tony started seeing the doctor when his anxiety attacks caused him to pass out in stressful situations. The job of counseling a mob boss is stressful on the doctor, as she reveals in her therapy sessions with her own psychiatrist, played by Peter Bogdonavich. While Tony was separated from Carmela, he formally asked the doctors out on a date, which she declined. Their professional relationship does appear to be helping Tony, although he keeps stating that it isn't.

Meadow Soprano Played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler: During the course of the series Meadow has been transformed from bratty, spoiled teenager to promising young woman. Once she settled down to her college studies, she excelled and has been deciding between law school and medical school. She moved out to California to be with her fiamce, Finn, but now is back in New Jersey and is reportedly going to medical school.

Janice Soprano Played by Aida Turturro: Janice is Tony's big sister. She hated her home life as the oldest child of Livia and Johnny Boy Soprano. Janice left home and traveled the globe, experimenting with different lifestyles while Tony took care of business at home. She returned to New Jersey and got engaged to a member of the crew, who she later shot, when he hit her. Tony cleaned up the mess and sent her back to Seattle. She returned to New Jersey when her mother passed away. She dated another crew member, Ralph, until neighbor Bobby Baccillieri became widowed. She honed in on Bobby, and married him. The couple has had one child, in addition to the two he had with his beloved first wife. Janice has been a discontented character throughout the series, but seems truly happy with Bobby. Tony resents his sister for leaving and then returning to New Jersey to take advantage of being the "sister of the boss".

Rosalie Aprile Played by Sharon Angela: Rosalie is the widow of Tony's friend and predecessor. Her husband was Jackie Aprile, who died of cancer early in the series. She is tough and realistic about the life they have chosen. At one point her son was dating Meadow Soprano, and she hoped it would result in marriage. It was not to be, however, as son Jackie foolishly shot up a mob card game and got himself hit. The hit was ordered by Rosalie's boyfriend at the time, Ralph. Rosalie is close friends with Carmela. Carmela trusts and confides in her, as one person who has stood in her shoes. The tow women even went on a trip to Paris together recently.

Gabriella Dante Played by Maureen Van Zandt: Gabriella is the wife of Tony's concigilere, Silvio. She takes care of her appearances, exercises, and keeps and home for Silvio while he spends most of his days at his business, The Bada Bing, which is filled with barely dressed pole dancers.

Livia Soprano Played by the Late Nancy Marchand: Livia was Tony's mother and the cause of much of his continued emotional turmoil. Livia was a cold, unloving woman. At one point she conspired with her late husband's brother, Junior, to have Tony executed in retaliation for his putting her in a nursing home.

Adriana La Cerva Played by Drea De Matteo: Adriana was the fiance and lover of Christopher Moltisnanti, Tony's nephew and heir apparent. Her mistake was in think that he loved her as much as she loved him. When the FBI backed her into a corner and offered he witness protection in exchange for testimony, she attempted to bring Christopher with her. Her trust in her fiance resulted in getting her killed, in a memorable scene when Silvio gunned her down as a terrified Adriana attempted to get away on her hands and knees.

Kelli Lombardo Moltisanti Played by Cara Buono: New wife of Christopher, who surprised her by proposing when she announced that she was pregnant. Christopher purchased a house in the suburbs and continued on his way with drugs and goomars.

Gloria Trillo Played by Annabella Sciorra: Gloria and Tony had a brief, passionate affair, which he ended violently when he learned that Gloria had giving Carmela a ride home from the Mercedes dealership where Gloria worked. Gloria was also a patient of Dr. Melfi's and was emotionally unstable. We later learn that she committed suicide by hanging herself form a chandelier.