According to Rotten Tomatoes, only one season of The Sopranos is perfect

Even after its abrupt end in 2007, viewers still won't stop believing that The Sopranos is one of the best shows on TV (if not to best TV show) ever made. The story of Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) struggle to serve as the head of two very different families remains a standard that so many shows hope to reach thanks to its incredible performances and writing (something other series would kill to repeat). But which ones season from “The Sopranos” stands taller than the rest? Well, according to Rotten tomatoesThere's one particular chapter in Tony's life about guns, gangsters and goons that's reigning supreme and currently has a perfect 100% critic rating on the aggregator website.

Forget about the divisive Season 6 closer or Season 4 (showing the breakdown of Tony's marriage), it's Season 3 that went off without a hitch, considering RT. Season 3, littered with deaths and characters who made tough choices that left viewers screaming at the TV, also features an episode that any “Sopranos” fan worth a grain of frozen mustard will agree is one of the greatest hours in television history. Yes, this is going to be another article that heaps praise on “Pine Barrens,” but there are a few other entries in Season 3 that deserve honorable mentions as well.

By Season 3, “The Sopranos” had fully hit its stride, bringing in even more players — all looking for their own piece of New Jersey — to cause mayhem both outside and within Tony's criminal empire, even if it means taking out the boss. Season 3 also begins with the death of Livvy Soprano (due to the unexpected departure of Nancy Marchand) in episode 2, “Proshai, Livushka”, which is a foreshadowing of the late Soprano matriarch mentally haunting her son for years to come.

Anyway, let's just say this: “Pine Barrens” is not only the highlight and highlight of Season 3, but it's also a game-changer in its own right. Some believe that the series is a bottle and is directed by Steve Buscemi. The episode sees Tony trying to put out the fire of Christopher (Michael Imperioli) and Polly (Tony Sirico) after they meet and find themselves with a former Russian soldier. stuck in the nominal frozen spot. Hilarious at times thanks to the constant bickering between Tony's clumsy captains, “Pine Barrens” marks a significant shift in the boss's view of who he can trust. It is also one of the first episodes where viewers have to answer questions like like whatever happens to the Russian whom Pauli considered an “interior decorator”.

That being said, there's another Season 3 episode that deserves credit, even if its main focus would rather not say anything about it all (as much as we'd like to).

While “Pine Barrens” might regularly register as the best The Sopranos has to offer, “Employee of the Month” is perhaps one of the show's darkest yet most brilliant episodes — the one that best highlights the blurred lines between Tony's life and to those associated with it, whether they want to be or not. Indeed, this is the episode in which the mob boss's therapist, Dr. Melfi (Lauren Bracco) is sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant and struggles to not only move on from the horrific incident, but find the best way to deal with it.

A great testament to what makes him one of the best characters in “The Sopranos” In this episode, Melfi does his best to maintain his moral compass (which Braco requested)even though both she and the audience are desperate for her to relent and put the big monster we see every week on someone else. The result is one of the most awkward plot threads in the entire show, and it's probably tied up in a way some didn't want it to. Not only does Melfia refuse to order Tony to counterattack her attacker, she also completely prevents him from revealing the truth. Instead, when he asks if she has anything to say to him, her more fragile doctor responds with a firm “no.”

The Sopranos series finale may have featured an iconic black cut, but this season's Episode 3, short as it was, was even more stunning.