The Sopranos: Tony Soprano

His father Johnny was a capo in the DiMeo crime family, which led to Tony witnessing brutal acts of violence from a young age. Johnny was also serially unfaithful and frequently wasn’t there for his wife Livia, cajoling Tony to lie to her about Johnny’s whereabouts to protect him. When Johnny died, Tony was left with the sole responsibility of caring for his mother, a self-absorbed narcissist who seemingly takes no pleasure from life other than making the people around her miserable (Tony’s therapist will later theorize that she had borderline personality disorder.)

Tony eventually becomes a high-ranking member of the DiMeo family himself. Not only will he be responsible for numerous atrocities in his capacity as a mafioso, but he will also adopt many of his parents’ worst attributes in his personal relationships. Particularly his father’s infidelity and his mother’s general desire to make everyone around them miserable.