The Sopranos: 10 Most Disturbing Episodes

10. Cold Stones

The elevation of Vito Spatafore in The Sopranos’ endgame was something of an eyebrow raiser. A former tertiary character was suddenly awarded a prominent side plot about his repressed homosexuality, and much of season six’s screentime was given over to his eventual outing and his swift departure from New Jersey lest his bigoted colleagues decide to take him out.

It wasn’t the most compelling material the show ever did, but the cruel end to Vito was stomach churning and heartbreaking violence on a par with many of The Sopranos’ more incidental characters.

After failing to make a fresh start in New Hampshire, Vito returns to Jersey to make things right. Tony wants to show mercy, but his New York equivalent Phil, Vito’s brother in law, has other ideas, and arranges for the disgraced capo to meet a sickening fate.

Vito isn’t just killed, he’s tortured and brutalised before being dispatched in such a manner as to send out a message regarding the mafia’s lack of tolerance. The Vito storyline often briskly covers an element previously untouched, but the ending is memorable to say the least.