When it comes to The Sopranos, there were few people satisfied by the cut-to-black finale of the mafia based HBO drama, but it seems that it wasn’t just the show’s sign-off that brought displeasure as actress Lorraine Bracco recently revealed that she was not happy with her own final scenes in the series. Bracco played psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, the therapist Tony Soprano visited frequently to try and work through the issues in his life, which as we know were often intricate and complicated due to his criminal business affairs.

While she was originally considered for the role of Carmela Soprano, Tony’s wife, Bracco herself managed to persuade series creator David Chase that she would be better suited to the role of Melfi, a decision that would work out quite well with the actress receiving three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nods at the Emmy Awards. Bracco’s run in the show came to an end in an episode titled “The Blue Comet,” when the psychiatrist discovered a study suggesting that sociopaths usually take advantage of her brand of talk therapy. In her final scene, Melfi was seen cutting all ties to Tony and ceasing all future sessions.

Speaking on the Talking Sopranos podcast, Bracco revealed that she was not happy at all with the character’s departure from the show, having wanted the character to have a more meaningful ending with the mob boss. She explained that Melfi had a deep care for Tony Soprano, even though he was as troubled as he was, and she just had hoped for so much more from the pair’s final meeting to what she was given in the final scripts.

“I remember being upset [with] the direction that David [Chase] was bringing Melfi. I just felt like he wanted me to get rid of [Tony]. I felt that he did it in a very abrupt way. I don’t think that she should have done it that way. I would have liked for it to have been more meaningful. I think she cared for Tony. Even though he was a f**k-up and he was never going to really straighten out. But I think she really cared for him. You don’t spend seven years with someone and [then] discard them. I felt bad about that.”

The Sopranos ran from 1999 through to 2007, and despite being almost fifteen years since the show ended, it is still talked about often and stories of how it was not just the final ambiguous scene that causes dissatisfaction for one reason or another. Bracco certainly has no qualms with revealing how she felt about her exit from the show as another example that everyone has their own tale to tell about their roles in the show.

The character of Dr. Melfi was central to the entire plot of The Sopranos, with her scenes with Tony going a long way to provide insight and depth to his character and break down the events that were happening around him in the series, but it seems that just like the finale of the show, the character was never destined to get the purposeful ending she deserved, which could be argued gives it more of a realistic edge than neatly tying up everything in meaning.

The Sopranos is streaming on HBO Max.