The Prestige TV Podcast – “The ‘Sopranos’ Episode That Got Us Hooked”

Release Date: October 2, 2025
Hosts: Joanna Robinson, Rob Mahoney
Guest: Van Lathan
Focus: The ‘Hooked’ series finale, centering on the episode of The Sopranos that gets new viewers hooked—specifically, Season 1, Episode 5: “College.”

Overview

This episode marks the finale of the Hooked podcast miniseries, where hosts Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney invite Van Lathan to dissect The Sopranos and identify which single non-pilot episode is best for getting a new viewer addicted to the show. The hosts, both new to the series, reflect on their initial impressions and dive deep into the significance, construction, and legacy of the iconic “College” episode.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Timeless Impact of The Sopranos

• Van Lathan contextualizes The Sopranos as the birthplace of prestige TV**:

  • “It proved that a show like that could be for everyone.” (05:53)
  • Its accessibility, humor, and humanized characters set it apart from predecessors like Oz and The Wire.

• Rob notes the challenge of encountering The Sopranos after its influence permeated so much TV:

  • “It’s such a trip…having to push away everything that’s been influenced by The Sopranos. That feeling of like, I have seen this thing before, but—oh, wait, I have seen it because 50 other shows have tried to rip off this show.” (07:38)

2. Breaking Down the Hooked Episode: “College”

• Context for “College” (S1E5): Tony takes daughter Meadow on a college tour in Maine, spots a mob informant in witness protection, and chooses to murder him—while wife Carmela navigates her own moral dilemmas at home.

• Why “College” is the platonic ideal Hooked episode:

  • “You could just watch this episode and you understand everything that’s going on.” (29:05)
  • It’s highly self-contained, shows Tony’s duality, and Carmela’s agency.

• Van’s analysis of why this episode is so pivotal:

  • “We have finally got the secret identity of Batman… Meadow learns for certain her father is in the mafia. Huge.” (24:41-25:07)
  • “Tony’s transformation into the guy who’s going to be the boss… you see the trajectory of who he actually is. It’s the first time we see him totally clearly.” (27:17)

Memorable Scene Breakdown

• The murder in the woods:

  • “Tony killing that guy at the end was our communion with Tony Soprano. We no longer had any illusions about who Tony Soprano was. That’s it… he killed a dude while he was on a college trip with his daughter. And he liked it. Oh, he loved it…” (34:53-35:22)

• Carmela’s confession and complicity:

  • “Her speech about why she is complicit is so stand out to me. And I think her everything she says about, ‘I love him anyway’...is what the show is asking us to do.” (38:06-39:10)

3. The Humanization & Modernization of Mob Stories

• The therapy angle & vulnerability:

  • “Having him go to therapy is… an indicator that he’s not like the mafia association you knew before… What blew my mind is: the Mafioso for that time was a modern, flawed Mafioso who sometimes can’t stop his heart from beating.” (13:36-15:31)
  • Joanna: “A pilot can… drop you into someone’s world, or bring you into the world along with another character… The small but big, bald, like inciting incident of this show being: a guy goes to therapy.” (15:31-16:53)

• Gender, family, and the American Dream:

  • The mob narrative is reframed as a critique of capitalism and the complexity of the immigrant experience.
  • Tony’s desire for his kids to have a different, “better” future than he did is highlighted, as is his inability to completely shape them, despite intentions. (47:26-48:14)

4. Women, Agency, and Carmela’s Role

• Carmela’s agency and the “choice” to stay:

  • Van: “She still, even though it looked like it was about to go down, is in a position to have agency and make a choice to be in her marriage. That question of why, why does someone who is decent choose this life, mirrors Tony’s why.” (40:12-41:44)
  • Carmela’s encounter with Father Phil is paralleled with Tony’s therapy, both seeking solace outside their marriage.

• The enduring relevance and treatment of female characters, especially Carmela:

  • “I love the room this episode makes for her… But her speech about why she is complicit is so stand out to me.” (38:04-39:10)
  • The priests’ relationship is described as, “sexual tension with the priest is always good. It’s never not worked.” (41:42)

5. Performance and Iconic Moments

• Praise for James Gandolfini:

  • “Is this show what this show is if it’s not Gandolfini in this role? No way.” (45:22)
  • The hosts discuss Gandolfini’s unique combination of physicality, vulnerability, comedic timing, and violence.

• The show’s subtlety with music and direction:

  • Joanna cites David Chase’s choice to avoid music cues during therapy, “he’s not trying to direct you. He’s trying to invite you. This is a collaborative story…” (19:26)

6. The Legacy: TV’s Golden Age and Binge Culture

• The show’s influence:

  • “That’s why we get Walter White cooking meth... because Tony Soprano, you know, choked a guy to death in the Woodlands of Maine. That’s why. You know what I mean?” (31:39)

• Ritual, community, and the dangers of binging:

  • Van: “Something that has to accompany television—well, two things: detail and ritual. Binge culture robs you of detail because it’s too much content at once…” (75:04)
  • Joanna laments the loss of communal viewing and the richness brought by critics and week-to-week discussion. (73:55-78:02)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On accessibility and the show’s reach:

  • Van: “The Sopranos was a show that proved that a show like that could be for everyone.” (05:53)

• On Tony’s duality:

  • Joanna: “His impulse to violence… will override sometimes even the safety of my family. And that’s the central tension in this entire show.” (26:24)

• On Carmela’s complicity:

  • Joanna: “We’re gonna love him [Tony] anyway, the way Carmela does. That’s the communion, that’s the bargain, that’s the complicity we’re entering into.” (38:15)

• On TV’s ritual and community:

  • Rob: “There is a mythological quality to the Sopranos… you could just spend an endless amount of time trying to get your arms around—not just in-the-moment theorizing, but contextualizing and deep dives.” (73:55)

• On modern viewing habits:

  • Van: “Ritual, man. Watching it together… Binge culture robs you of that… The choice that we make to make Tony Soprano into a hero throughout the run of this show is constantly tested by the writing.” (75:04-75:58)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [01:14] – “Hooked” premise and the non-pilot episode challenge
• [03:37] – Awards and The Sopranos’ shaping of TV’s golden age
• [05:58] – Trojan Horse storytelling: violence, humor, and high art
• [08:13] – Van’s personal history discovering the show
• [13:36] – Therapy as the “inciting incident” and modern mobster psychology
• [22:34] – Transition to deep dive on “College” (S1E5)
• [24:41] – Meadow learning Tony’s secret, Tony’s impulsivity
• [31:39] – The murder scene and the antihero TV legacy
• [38:04] – Carmela’s complicity and agency, complicating the “nagging wife” trope
• [50:23] – “Normal” parent-child relations and family stakes
• [55:58] – The 1999 backdrop: payphones and technology
• [73:55] – The lasting ritual of TV, critics, and communal experience

Conclusion & Takeaways

• “College” is the “entry drug” episode of The Sopranos—it’s riveting, self-contained, thematically rich, and encapsulates the contradictions at the core of Tony Soprano and his family.
• The show’s unflinching look at moral compromise, family, and the darkness within the American dream thundered open the TV landscape for complex antiheroes and serialized artistry.
• The hosts praise the nuanced, layered performances (especially Gandolfini and Falco), David Chase’s direction, and the show’s enduring influence.
• There’s a longing for the TV ritual—weekly viewing, communal speculation, and critical context—which The Sopranos so powerfully exemplified.

Final thoughts: “There’s just something—there’s something. First of all, there’s the Gandolfini element, and then there’s just, like, how funny that character can be and how quickly he just completely shapeshifts is so fun to watch.” (Rob Mahoney, 44:03)

“I do envy you, envy you for getting able to experience all of this stuff for the first time. That’s fucking amazing.” (Van Lathan, 79:04)

If you haven’t watched The Sopranos, the hosts universally agree: “College” (Season 1, Episode 5) will get you hooked. And if you have, there’s always more to unpack together.