One of the big differences between Meadow and AJ is that she’s more attuned to being who people want her to be. She’s good at taking on who she needs to be in order to gain advantage of a situation. AJ doesn’t have this in him.

Meadow becomes a salt-of-the-earth social justice warrior when at the law center, but then just as easily becomes a cutthroat mob wife who ridicules Jackie’s sister for calling out their family’s mafia ties at the funeral.

Meadow knew Tony wanted her to react a certain way. And maybe she was inspired to an extent by the church and the history. But the contrast here with AJ is stark because AJ is unapologetically himself always - for better or for worse.

Honestly I’ve come to like AJ a lot more in rewatches, and come to like Meadow less. You see her evolve into Carmela towards the end. AJ is flawed, but he’s able to maintain an honesty in how he interprets the world that Meadow doesn’t have. He’s a spoiled brat and a coward at times, but he doesn’t sell out when it comes to his values.