How ‘Many Saints of Newark’ resolves the mysterious fate of a ‘Sopranos’ character

Michael Gandolfini, left, as the young Tony Soprano and Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti in “The Many Saints of Newark.” Warning: The following story contains major plot spoilers for “The Many Saints of Newark.” If you haven’t yet seen the film, we suggest reading the review and this feature on how the film reimagined the characters instead. A Mafia soldier and the father of Michael Imperioli’s pivotal series regular — and Tony’s protégé — Christopher, Dickie Moltisanti was always a shadowy figure in “Sopranos” lore, spoken of as “legend” and a personal hero to Tony but never seen, aside for a single old photo in a Navy uniform. Despite Dickie’s importance to Tony, until Chase decided to place the character at the heart of “The Many Saints of Newark”, little was known for certain about how he lived his life — or the exact manner of his death. “There was something that Dominic brought to him — the particular way he whined — that made it so wonderful.” In “The Many Saints of Newark,” we see Junior’s sense of resentment toward Dickie Moltisanti slowly build, even as he outwardly tells Dickie to consider him a brother.