‘The Sopranos’ Star Lorraine Bracco Didn’t Like Dr. Melfi’s Abrupt Exit: ‘That Was Rough’

[Editor’s Note: The following story contains spoilers for “The Sopranos.”]

Fans of “The Sopranos” will recall the abrupt and rather unceremonious exit of Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) in Season 6, Episode 20, “The Blue Comet.” After being berated by her colleagues at a dinner party (which included her own therapist, played by Peter Bogdanovich, among the company), Dr. Melfi decides to sever ties with mobster Tony Soprano, for whom she’s served as a therapist for the entirety of the show.

But, as revealed on a recent episode of the “Talking Sopranos” podcast, Oscar- and Emmy-nominee Lorraine Bracco said she felt unsatisfied with her how her character departed from the series. (Via Deadline.)

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“I just felt that [creator David Chase] wanted me to get rid of [Tony Soprano]. I would have liked for it to have been more meaningful,” she told the podcast’s hosts, “Sopranos” stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa. “I mean, I think she cared for Tony. Even though he was a f**k-up and maybe he was never going to really straighten out…I think she really cared for him. You don’t spend seven years with someone and discard them. I felt bad about that.”

Bracco added that she “didn’t like the way [Chase] ended” her character’s relationship with Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), adding “that was rough” and “abrupt.” That said, she still looks on the show with gratitude and admiration. “We can honestly say that it has withheld its beauty.”

Bracco also looked back on the iconic ending of the show, which, for some viewers, was far more abrupt than Dr. Melfi’s exit.

“Part of me says, ‘Well, it was David Chase’s genius that we’re still talking about this and confused about it 25 years later,’ and the other part says to me, ‘OK. David’s saying, F**k you. Nighty night. I’m out of here,’” the actress said. “I mean, I don’t know. There’s a million ways to go. But the genius is that we’re still talking about it. So for that, bravo, David.”

Many viewers most recently discovered (or rediscovered) “The Sopranos” with the release of the Warner Bros./HBO Max film “The Many Saints of Newark.”