Family dinners are very important in the Luca household, which might seem incongruous at first, since they are a family of criminals. Yet it is for this very reason, perhaps, that they value the appearance of normalcy and domesticity so much; they need it as a kind of disguise, not only for others, but for themselves. Even if their house were not bugged by the FBI, one suspects the Luca family would talk in the same evasive way about their business, and would probably not refer directly to committing murders at the dinner table. For most families, dinner is a time for decorum and good behavior, a time to be a better, more civilized version of yourself. For the Lucas, who are anything but polite in their work life, this ritual is especially important.

Along with a commitment to good manners and decorum, family dinners signify loyalty and togetherness, and this is also an important value to the Luca family. The importance that they place on loyalty can be seen in Anthony Luca’s various henchman all being called some variation of “Uncle,” rather than their actual names. Their identity becomes about their place in the family and the jobs that they do, rather than about who they are as individuals. One reason why the Lucas so value loyalty is that, for them, the outside world is a dangerous and unpredictable place. They are always planning and carrying out assassinations, and they are therefore paranoid–probably reasonably so—about becoming targets themselves. Vince describes his mother as being obsessed with dinnertimes and becomes particularly anxious when any member of her family is late. Vince is impatient with her anxiety, dismissing it as trivial and neurotic; he seems to see his mother, in general, as a peripheral, hand-wringing figure in his life, when, in fact, she is at the very center of the Luca family, and her anxiety comes not from being isolated but from being a witness, and a felon. She has already staved off one attack on her family, and she does not want to have to stave off another.

Finally, family dinners can serve to gloss over small–and large—differences among family members. They can be a staid, quiet reminder that the family bond is larger than any family strife. This is important for the Lucas, given Vince’s restlessness and tendency to clash with his father, and his repeatedly-stated desire not to go into the family business. The family dinner can be seen as a way of keeping Vince in line and reminding him where he comes from.