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Have you heard the good news? He is risen.
― Aaron Arkaway[src]

Aaron Arkaway is a recurring character in The Sopranos. He is a devout evangelical Christian, amateur Christian rock songwriter, and the former boyfriend of Janice Soprano when she was a born-again Christian. He is also narcoleptic, and falls asleep at inconvenient times, which causes many awkward interactions with the people he comes across. He is portrayed by actor Turk Pipkin.

Biography[]

Background[]

Janice Soprano became a born-again Christian after her encounter with Russian mobsters who assaulted her on orders from Svetlana Kirilenko, her mother Livia's former nurse, after Janice stole Svetlana's prosthetic leg.[1] Some time later, she met Aaron and started dating him. The two wrote Christian rock songs together with the goal of eventually releasing and selling their album.

Season 3[]

Aaron is first seen on Thanksgiving at the living room of the Soprano house watching TV with the rest of the family. At dinner, Aaron has fallen asleep at the table as a result of his narcolepsy. Tony throws him a grape which makes everybody laugh, but Aaron fades off again. Janice tells him that narcolepsy is an ASDA-certified dyssomnia, asking him not to make fun of it, but Tony continues to, crying "Almost Time for turkey sandwiches!". Jackie, Jr. then arrives home, looking to take Meadow out. Carmela introduces him to Aaron, and when Jackie greets him, Aaron answers telling him "Have you heard the good news? He is risen.", which makes the whole table get awkwardly quiet.[2]

Janice Soprano and Aaron Arkaway He Is Risen

Aaron falls asleep at the dinner table.

Later, at Carmela's birthday party, Aaron sings along with the rest of the family at the house. Jackie, Jr. comes once more to sing as well. He says hello to Aaron, and he starts telling him his "he is risen" speech again, but Jackie interrupts him, saying they met on Thanksgiving. At dinner, Tony offers him champagne, but Aaron rejects it, saying "the good Lord doesn't want us to drink alcohol". When Tony rebuts that Jesus drank wine, Janice tells him he can't be compared with the Lord, all while having been snorting cocaine herself.[3]

Aaron Arkaway smiling and playing his keyboard

Aaron playing his keyboard.

During Christmas, Aaron stays at Janice's house writing songs with her, while she's still recovering from the Russians' beating. Aaron falls asleep as Tony and Carmela come in, and Janice tells Tony about the pain in her wrist from the Russians. Janice wakes him up, and he continues touching his keyboard and working on songwriting. Janice later discovers through the telvision that Tony beat up the Russian, and she alarmingly tells Aaron (who was asleep at the table), that what's missing in the song is the "brother" concept.[4] Later on, Janice gives their mix to Russ Cozzarelli, the director of Cozzarelli's Funeral Home so he can play it at Jackie, Jr.'s funeral, but he immediately discards it.[5] It is made clear later on that Janice and Aaron broke up.

Season 6[]

Bob Brewster and Aaron Arkaway praying

Aaron prays, along with Pastor Bob, for Tony's recovery in the hospital.

When Tony is recovering in the hospital after his uncle Junior shot him in a demented state of mind, Aaron comes to visit him at his hospital room, explaining how he had been protesting at a pro-life rally outside, trying to get a druggist who had been fired for refusing to fill birth control prescriptions his job back. He tells Tony that he met up with Janice in the elevator, who told him where his room was, and introduces him to Pastor Bob Brewster, their prayer leader. Carmela enters the room, glad to see Aaron again, and then they all pray for Tony's recovery.[6]

Personality[]

Aaron is a staunch evangelical Christian, refusing to drink any type of alcohol whatsoever and rejecting Tony's wine when he offered it to him during Carmela's birthday party. However, Janice did continue to use cocaine while dating him,[7] and when they were composing songs together, a bottle of Carlo Rossi wine could be seen at the table, possibly meaning that it was Janice's, or that Aaron is a hypocrite to a certain extent, and still drinks when he wants to.[4] He commands a sense of awkwardness whenever he is around the family, and always greets people with the phrase "Have you heard the good news? He is risen." Aaron's branch of faith also seems to align with pro-life movements, as he was seen protesting at one such type of rally when he visited Tony at the hospital, although it's entirely possible that Aaron's faith and his views on the right to life aren't intertwined with one another. Apart from his religious views, he also seems like a gentle and kind person, going out of his way to visit Tony at the hospital and praying for his recovery.[6]

Relationships[]

Janice Soprano[]

Janice Soprano and Aaron Arkaway composing songs together … To Save Us All From Satan's Power

Aaron and Janice composing songs together.

Aaron and Janice started a relationship because of their similar religious views, and sought to release a Christian rock album to profit off their musical talent. For the most part, they seemed like a functional couple, with Aaron staying by Janice's side at Carmela's birthday party and her referring to him as "honey".[7] Later, however, Janice started sleeping with Ralph Cifaretto while still being in a relationship with Aaron, and it can even be assumed that this was the reason they broke up.[5][8] They didn't seem to hold any grudges, though, because when Aaron went to the hospital to visit Tony, Janice told him where his room was.[6]

Soprano family[]

The Soprano family was very fond of laughing at Aaron and his narcolepsy. They were also discomforted when he would say his "He Is risen" speech and only accepted him into the house because of his relationship with Janice.

Tony Soprano[]

Tony liked to make fun of Aaron and threw food at him when he fell asleep during a sunday dinner.[2] He was, however, grateful when he visited him at the hospital and prayed for his recovery.[6]

Carmela Soprano[]

Carmela was always sympathetic to Aaron, pitying him when he used to fall asleep regularly.[4] She was also very glad to see him in the hospital visiting Tony, and prayed alongside him for his recovery.[6]

Friends[]

Bob Brewster[]

Pastor Bob Brewster was Aaron's prayer leader when he was protesting at a pro-life rally, and prayed alongside Aaron for Tony's recovery in the hospital.[6]

Quotes[]

Season 3[]

Carmela: "Jackie, hi! I guess you know everybody here, except, uuuh, Aaron, Janice's friend."
Jackie Jr.: "Hi, Aaron."
Aaron: "Have you heard the good news? He is risen."
Carmela introduces Aaron to Jackie Jr.[src]

Jackie Jr.: "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. DeAngelis"
Hugh: "Hello."
Mary: "Hello, Jackie."
Jackie Jr.: (To Aaron) "Hey."
Aaron: "Have you heard the good news?"
Jackie Jr.: "We met at Thanksgiving?"
—Aaron sees Jackie again at Carmela's birthday party.[src]

Aaron: (Declining Tony's drink) "No champagne, the good Lord doesn't want us to drink alcohol."
Tony: "Didn't Jesus drink wine?"
Janice: "He was Jesus, Tone, we can't make comparisons."
—Aaron, Tony and Janice at Carmela's birthday party.[src]

Janice: "Oh my… Aaron, honey, honey? (wakes him up)
Aaron: "Yeah?"
Janice: "I think I know what's missing from the song. It's the brother concept."
Aaron: "He ain't heavy?"
Janice: " No, I mean, not exactly. (Tearing up) Maybe we can try to get something down."
Aaron: "Jan, you're crying."
Janice: " Sometimes we really don't see our loved ones."
—Janice and Aaron after Tony beats up the Russian.[src]

Season 6[]

Aaron: "Have you heard the good news?"
Tony: "Jesus Christ!"
Aaron: "That's right. Aaron Arkaway, Jan's friend?"
Tony: "Oh yeah, right."
Aaron: "We're protesting downstairs and I saw Jan in the elevator this morning. She told me you were up here."
Tony: "So that's what all that yelling and singing is?"
Aaron: "A druggist from the hospital pharmacy was fired for refusing to fill birth control prescriptions, we're trying to get his job back. Tony, this is our prayer leader, Bob Brewster."
—Aaron vists Tony in his hospital room.[src]

Appearances[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Trivia[]

  • Apart from being an actor, Turk Pipkin, who portrays Aaron, is an activist, and co-founder of The Nobelity Project, a non-profit organisation with the goal of bettering the education of children and environmental progress across the globe, particularly in West Africa and Latin America.[9] He remarked in 2010 how surprised he was that so many people still recognized him from the character of Aaron in The Sopranos, and said that while he was in Nairobi, Kenya, a young Kenyan man came up to him and asked him "Have you heard the good news?", which was Aaron's catchphrase in the show.[10]
  • Whenever he is wearing a suit, Aaron can be seen with a crucifix and Jesus-fish on his lapel.[2][7]
  • When visiting Tony at the hospital, Aaron greets him with "Have you heard the good news?", to which Tony answers with "Jesus Christ!", and Aaron responds "That's right". This is a reference to Aaron's beliefs.[6]
  • In that same hospital scene, Aaron is also wearing a "Terri Schiavo vigil" shirt, which refers to the Terri Schiavo euthanasia legal case of 1998–2005.[6]

Gallery[]

Season 3

He Is Risen

The Telltale Moozadell

...To Save Us All from Satan's Power

Season 6

The Fleshy Part of the Thigh

References[]

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