The Real Reason Behind Tony Killing Christopher in The Sopranos
In season 6 of The Sopranos, Tony killed his nephew by choking him to death following a car crash to end a relationship that had developed over the course of the previous five seasons but rarely been plain sailing.
Tony loved Christopher like a son and originally had high hopes for the kid. But Chris was a hothead who would never really make it after the drugs came calling. He became a liability in the DiMeo crime family and, as we'd already seen many times by this point, Tony wasn't averse to whacking anyone that put the family at risk.
After Christopher threw Little Paulie out of a window, breaking 6 vertebrae, though, it was clear that he was never going to learn. Tony sensed his nephew going off the rails once again. And the ongoing feud between Christopher and Paulie was one that was tearing Tony apart. Paulie was a long-term friend, loyal gang member and trusted veteran of this life. Christopher was family – but could he be trusted?
Not that Tony wanted to kill Christopher. Or at least we can surmise that it wasn't something he had planned. After all, he had an opportunity to do it in season 5 after Chris turned up at the Bada Bing making threats at the mob boss.
Even when he had a gun to Christopher's head a short while later, it was clear Tony didn't really want to pull the trigger.
However, following the car crash, Christopher confessed to Tony that he would never pass a drug test.
Upon hearing this, Tony immediately turned to look at the car seat on Chris' back set. The seat that Christopher's daughter Caitlyn sat in when he was driving her around. The child who Christopher, just moments before, had been praising.
Up to this point, Tony was unaware that Chris had fallen off the wagon once again. When it became clear that he had been driving under the influence, Tony faced a dilemma. Could he trust that his nephew would ever escape the drugs? Could he trust his nephew would never get dragged into spouting off the insider knowledge he had of DiMeo operations? Could he run the risk that Christopher would harm his family because of his struggles with addiction?
While he hadn't necessarily wanted to kill him, Tony realised he had an opportunity to put a lot of things right and save Christopher from himself. And so he placed his hand over his protégé's mouth and nose – and freed him from the car crash that was his life.