***OFFICIAL*** Boardwalk Empire thread (2 Viewers)

[corpcow]

Omar was probably my favorite character in The Wire, but so far I've found Michael K Williams' acting to be pretty awful.on the flip side, Michael Pitt steals every scene he's in.

I still don't understand why Omar, I mean, Chalky, didn't just pull out a shotgun when the KKK showed up.

 

[Tiger Fan]

I really like this show, but outside of the main characters; I really get confused on who is who. I guess it's b/c everyone dresses so similar

 

[mozzy84]

I really like this show, but outside of the main characters; I really get confused on who is who. I guess it's b/c everyone dresses so similar

I am with you, last night I had no clue what was going on half the time.

 

[McJose]

Seppy:

• Meyer and Lucky have a young associate named Benny, who has a habit of acting/talking crazy. Any chance this isn't supposed to be the young Bugsy Siegel, played in various movies by the likes of Warren Beatty and Richard Grieco?

I was thinking the same thing and I'm pretty sure that's who it supposed to be. Siegel would be about 14 or 15 for the Boardwalk time-frame. He also earned the nickname "Bugsy" because of his out-of-the-blue crazy behavior.

 

[Gr00vus]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

 

[McJose]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

 

[McJose]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

 

[Gr00vus]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

How many were expecting something useful to have been smuggled in inside of that book? I liked that they didn't play it that way, much more effective the way it went down.

 

[Billy Bats]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

 

[Samuel L Bronkowitz]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

How many were expecting something useful to have been smuggled in inside of that book? I liked that they didn't play it that way, much more effective the way it went down.

I thought so as well. It's an interesting point that he might not be able to read either. I hadn't thought of that since he seems to have a pretty decent vocabulary, calling Nucky a "precarious emmer effer" and such.

 

[TLEF316]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

I think he was walking through Central Park. Could be wrong though.

 

[BigTex]

I really like this show, but outside of the main characters; I really get confused on who is who. I guess it's b/c everyone dresses so similar

I am with you, last night I had no clue what was going on half the time.

Al Capone

Lucky Luciano

Benny Siegel

At some point these guys are going to take over, just a matter of time.

 

[BigTex]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

According to several commentaries, Chalky can't read here's one:

The best part of the episode found Chalky White, still in prison in the wake of his run-in with the KKK. Chalky had a nice visit from the Missus, who gave him a gift from his son: David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. His wife received the unwelcome attentions of one Dunn Purnsley, a fellow inmate who seemed to conjure whole speeches out of thin air. Purnsley engaged in an episode-long war of wills with Chalky that seemed to basically come down to Purnsley -- first genially, then less so -- chastising Chalky for acting as if he's better than his fellow black convicts, just because he has a pretty wife and good clothes and a big book. (Chalky said the book was Tom Sawyer -- an implicit revelation that he can't read.)This was all pretty awesome, mostly because Michael K. Williams has enough natural charisma that he managed to literally wipe the floor with Dunn Purnsley's face without even batting an eyelid. First, Chalky named all their fellow convicts -- who all thanked him for one kindness or another. Then, Chalky looked on casually as they beat Dunn's face in. Finally, he asked the one man who could read to start David Copperfield from page one. (Aside: I'm not sure exactly what we were meant to take from this storyline, besides that Chalky White is a total badass who is not to be trifled with.)

Here's another:

Meanwhile, in jail, Chalky finds himself on the business end of a pretty long wind-up at the hands of Dunn Pernsley, a Baltimore thug who surmises that Chalky is actually illiterate (despite his knowing what precarious means). Pernsley’s role is rather overwritten — it’s all drawn-out dipthongs and leering eyes (and he has the temerity to call Chalky “Brother Tambo”?), though the actor playing him turns it into pretty electric material. (You get big ####### points for using “palaver” when poking at someone’s literacy.) But, by the time he’s in the same cell with Chalky, it’s pretty obvious what’s going to happen: All the other black cell mates (herded together so as to prevent “mixing the races” in the jail) have a firmer loyalty to Chalky than the aldermen do to Nucky. One by one, Chalky pulls on the tendrils of his familiarity with each man until the message is delivered, and big-talking Pernsley gets stomped to ####, another screen-time-chewing dead-end new character who exists only to be quickly dispatched.But Pernsley’s pacing and preening around the cell bear a striking resemblance to the Commodore’s feats of strength in front of the aldermen: It’s a form of showiness that belies a deeper weakness. Like Rothstein, who never pulls out from behind his desk in the earlier scene with Jimmy, neither does Chalky have to move an inch to dispatch Pernsley in the cell. He doesn’t even have to ask for his book back. And it doesn’t matter whether the novel he was only pretending to read was Tom Sawyer or David Copperfield — real power is having somebody bring it back to you, and then read it out loud, if you need it read. The strength is all in the sitting still.

I like reading these after I've watched it. They bring out some interesting things I may have missed.

 

[belljr]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

I think he was walking through Central Park. Could be wrong though.

They weren't supposed to meet. Jimmy had an idea that he would either be set up OR noticed how they looked at him when he cashed out. He was ready, by taking his knife out of his boot.

 

[belljr]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

Yeah, I thought Chalky couldn't read either

 

[Billy Bats]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

I think he was walking through Central Park. Could be wrong though.

They weren't supposed to meet. Jimmy had an idea that he would either be set up OR noticed how they looked at him when he cashed out. He was ready, by taking his knife out of his boot.

Ok, so they just happened on him by chance and were just going to rob him? Probably not an important plot point, I was just confused how that scene came about. The main point of it all, I guess, is that he's showing Myra that he can be trusted by knocking off those two.

 

[Gr00vus]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

I think he was walking through Central Park. Could be wrong though.

They weren't supposed to meet. Jimmy had an idea that he would either be set up OR noticed how they looked at him when he cashed out. He was ready, by taking his knife out of his boot.

Ok, so they just happened on him by chance and were just going to rob him? Probably not an important plot point, I was just confused how that scene came about. The main point of it all, I guess, is that he's showing Myra that he can be trusted by knocking off those two.

I got the impression that Jimmy was trying to lure them into attacking him by flashing his cash around conspicuously while they were in the room. I agree with your main point.

 

[Ilov80s]

Oh and the first rule of Boardwalk Empire is that you do not screw with Jimmy and his trench knife.

How did they wind up meeting in the cemetery, church or garden? Did I miss something?

I don't find the show hard to follow at all, but that 1 scene did confused me a bit. I wasn't sure how or why they ended up running into each other. What I do know is that Michael Pitt deserves an Emmy nomination at some point. IMO, he carries the show.

 

[jdoggydogg]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...

After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

Interesting! This never occurred to me

 

[gump]

Great ep....loved the Margaret move and the scene when Eli called Nucky.

It seems to me that whoever AR/Lucky/Lansky side with will win....if AR thinks Jimmy should be aligned with Nucky for some reason, he'll make it happen. There doesn't seem to be any relationship so far between AR and the Commodore and his lemmings.

 

[Ilov80s]

Great ep....loved the Margaret move and the scene when Eli called Nucky.It seems to me that whoever AR/Lucky/Lansky side with will win....if AR thinks Jimmy should be aligned with Nucky for some reason, he'll make it happen. There doesn't seem to be any relationship so far between AR and the Commodore and his lemmings.

You are assuming Rothstein, Lucky, and Lanksy are all going to pick the same side. It is becoming clear that Lansky and Lucky feel that a changing of the guard is in order.

 

[jamny]

Good start to the season so far.

 

[Raider Nation]

Buscemi is tough to look at for an extended period.

 

[Raider Nation]

Whoa... great scene in the restaurant at the end!

Off to see the BB finale now.

 

[TLEF316]

Whoa... great scene in the restaurant at the end!Off to see the BB finale now.

Yeah, very good scene."He didn't even know her name. He just pointed to the one he wanted. The rest was just assumed"

 

[Gr00vus]

So which guy is tougher - the mask or johnny IRA?

 

[Sconch]

So which guy is tougher - the mask or johnny IRA?

My money is on Harrow at this point.Of course Jimmy is no slouch either.

 

[Gr00vus]

So which guy is tougher - the mask or johnny IRA?

My money is on Harrow at this point.

Of course Jimmy is no slouch either.

Granted, I just found this new underling rivalry interesting. I thought this new guy would be just a rooster in the hen house kind of annoyance (which he may still also be), but the twist of him offering his seemingly bad ### services to Nucky was a neat turn of events. You may be on to something too, perhaps this new guy (Owen Slater) ends up taking Jimmy's old spot with Nucky.

 

[adonis]

I'm all in now. Getting near end of season 1, and about 4 episodes ago, I was on the fence about the series. Good stuff, but hadn't really grabbed me. But now, I'm all in. Great series, still on season 1 (2 eps away from next season).

 

[Raider Nation]

So which guy is tougher - the mask or johnny IRA?

My money is on Harrow at this point.Of course Jimmy is no slouch either.

Just got your PM requesting Sepinwall's review. Here it is.

"Boardwalk Empire" didn't set itself up with the same obvious family vs. Family dichotomy that fueled so much of "The Sopranos," but family relationships and feuds are still an important part of the show: Eli and Nucky's sibling rivalry, Jimmy's various unusual relationships with both blood relatives and chosen loved ones, Margaret's obligations to her late husband and her kids, etc. With "A Dangerous Maid," family comes to the forefront again - with strained relations between fathers and sons the primary, but not only, topic.Obviously, so much of this season is about Jimmy banding together with his biological father to destroy his surrogate father. That cold war gets very heated in the episode's climax, as Nucky confronts Jimmy in front of the Commodore, the governor and most of the other important players of Atlantic City. As I said in my review at the start of the season, Nucky in gangster mode is, by design, a much more magnetic figure than Nucky in politician mode, and seeing Nucky lose his patience, stare down his opponents and make it clear that Babette's - and, by extension, the whole city - is still his turf was extremely gratifying, and a strong moment for Steve Buscemi. (And Michael Pitt, for that matter.)But just as Nucky's tough talk wasn't enough to intimidate Eli last week, it doesn't seem to have moved Jimmy an inch - if anything, as with the Eli phone call, Nucky winds up only driving the wedge between them deeper by speaking so bluntly (and, to Jimmy's mind, disrespectfully) about Gillian. That Jimmy is now blaming the pimp while leaving the john blameless, and that so much of this vendetta is driven by Gillian, who has an uncomfortably close relationship with her son, suggests he's going to be very hard to pin down and sway. Right now, though, he's firmly against Nucky, not wanting to kill him - as he tells Capone, he and the Commodore are trying for a political coup where they take over both the legal and illegal parts of Nucky's machine, part by part - but very much wanting to make him pay for what he perceives as betrayals of both his mother and himself. But when he comes home to Angela, he seems lost. He's married to a woman he doesn't quite love (and vice versa), can probably tell that he's being used by the Commodore (even if he wants his father to want to use him, you know) is furious with Nucky and yet on some level still craves his approval and respect (which Nucky isn't giving him under these circumstances) and is mainly just mad at the world.Jimmy's old Chicago pal Al Capone, meanwhile, pays his first visit to Atlantic City in a very long time to terminate Johnny Torrio's business arrangement with Nucky, and to check in on Jimmy, but primarily as springboard for a visit to deal with the affairs of his recently-deceased father. The real Capone's father was, indeed, a barber, and we see that while Al has forged a very different path from that of his old man, he still has more affection for him than Jimmy does for either of the men with a claim on that title for him. (And Al, in turn, is envious watching Jimmy play with Tommy, no doubt thinking of the struggles he goes through with his deaf son.)In more father-son developments, Eli comes home to deal with the aged father whom he's always believed favors Nucky, even as the old man suggests that Eli can handle himself while Nucky doesn't know what he's doing. (UPDATE: Or it's entirely possible I misinterpreted the scene when I watched it a few weeks back; everyone else is convinced the dad has confused his sons and assumes Eli doesn't know what he's doing.) And though it's not a paternal issue (that we know of, at least), Margaret finally gets news of the other members of her family who have settled in America - and is dismayed to learn they consider her dead to them. She says they had a bad parting, but how bad for that to happen?And then there's there matter of father-to-be Nelson Van Alden. We finally get to the bottom of his arrangement with Lucy: for a fee, he gets to keep her indoors through the pregnancy and away from prying eyes who could ruin his career and/or marriage, and the contracted captivity is driving her nuts. This is certainly not my favorite season two storyline - thus far, it's pretty far removed from the main action, and after his turn from evangelist to maniac late last season, I think being more a part of the plot would have been just what the doctor ordered - but this week it managed to make me actually feel sympathy for Lucy (something of a cartoon character in season one) and also drew an emotional connection between Van Alden and Nucky, if not a plot one. Van Alden was initially drawn to her to vent his frustration at not being able to get at Nucky any other way, and even here you can tell he buys her what turns out to be a life-saving Victrola to compete with her memories of life with Nucky. And yet there are hints that he does have, buried deep down below his religious fervor and various psychological disorders, some actual affection for her. He's happy the Victorla pleases her because it puts him on at least equal footing with Nucky, but he's also happy because it pleases her, even if circumstance and his own hang-ups usually force him to make her miserable. While Van Alden can border on cartoonish himself at times, Michael Shannon and the script (by Itamar Moses) did a good job of giving him some shading this week.And in an episode filled with stories of fathers and children, I can't help but wondering what the offspring of Nelson Van Alden and Lucy Danziger is going to wind up like - and, if Van Alden plays any role in his or her life, what kind of conflicts they might have when he or she grows up to be Jimmy's age.Strong episode, with Nucky's outburst as the highlight.Some other thoughts:• Nucky's organization may be depleted (especially with Chalky still in jail), but it looks like young Owen Slater may be a valuable addition. Every criminal organization can use someone whose self-described specialty is "Making people stop… whatever it is you don't want them to be doing."• In addition to Capone's visit, we get the return of two other real-life figures in Eddie Cantor (who tries to comfort Lucy with tales of vaudeville) and Chris McDonald's Harry Daugherty, now appointed Attorney General under President Harding.• In addition to hinting more about Margaret's backstory, that subplot also dealt with the tricky dance she has to do as a former blue-collar worker who's now the lady of a house with three servants. She briefly drops the barrier when enlisting Katie to help contact her family, but it's right back up by episode's end - if anything, tougher because Katie's learned too much.• Interesting to see how Richard responds to Capone versus how he reacts to Owen. Capone calls him "Frankenstein," and Richard clearly would be happy to put a bullet in his head if Jimmy asked him to (and if history didn't stand in the way). In his brief interaction with Owen, meanwhile, the Irishman simply treats him as a man, and Richard seems to respect that, along with Owen's obvious skills.• If Jimmy baited the two wise guys into a fight last week as a favor to Lucky and Meyer, it might have been nice for him to tell them about it, as they get into trouble for a pair of murders they don't even know about. (Jimmy's so hard to read that you never entirely know why he does the things he does; he might have just had his blood up that night.) And in resolving the matter, Rothstein gets to show that, while Messrs. Luciano and Lansky might be the future of organized crime, there's a reason why he's still very much the present.

 

[Sconch]

So which guy is tougher - the mask or johnny IRA?

My money is on Harrow at this point.Of course Jimmy is no slouch either.

Just got your PM requesting Sepinwall's review. Here it is.

Thanks, guy.

 

[Raider Nation]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

 

[Christo]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

No

 

[Gr00vus]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

No

Though I must say I liked how it actually went down better. They have a knack for doing that.

 

[Raider Nation]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

No

Though I must say I liked how it actually went down better. They have a knack for doing that.

In hindsight, it was probably stupid for us to expect that. As if she would want his half-eaten lobster.

 

[Gr00vus]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

No

Though I must say I liked how it actually went down better. They have a knack for doing that.

In hindsight, it was probably stupid for us to expect that. As if she would want his half-eaten lobster.

Also true, but I was thinking more along the lines of him sending a message rather than his woman actually enjoying her meal. Turns out he got both on his own terms. It was interesting seeing how Nucky transitioned from looking totally run down to appearing vital again over the course of the episode.

 

[Billy Bats]

When Nucky walked to the Commodore's table, am I the only one who thought he was gonna take the lobster from him and give it to Margaret?

No

Though I must say I liked how it actually went down better. They have a knack for doing that.

In hindsight, it was probably stupid for us to expect that. As if she would want his half-eaten lobster.

Which is why I was saying to myself, "oh please don't take it for her".

 

[Billy Bats]

Buscemi is tough to look at for an extended period.

He's acting seems to have improved at least, or he's gotten more comfortable with the role. He hasn't made me cringe after delivering any lines yet this season. He did it often last year.

 

[kneeshooter]

OK, the hostess at Babette's - who is she? Where else have we seen her?

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

He lies about the book he's reading, recognizing that Purnsley likely can't read or tell the difference between "Mark Twain" and "David Copperfield," ...

After Chalky's friends have taken care of the Dunn Purnsley problem, Chalky invites one of the men to entertain him and the rest of the cell with a reading from "David Copperfield," .

I guess that explanation makes sense, but I took it as Chalky couldn't read either.

Yeah that was a little ambiguous. I took it that Chalky "didn't know his letters" either.

Interesting! This never occurred to me

Neither did I on the first viewing. I thought Chalky was just messing with the guy because that guy was illiterate. Upon second viewing though, I think Chalky def doesn't know his letters.

 

[Sconch]

OK, the hostess at Babette's - who is she? Where else have we seen her?

Her?

 

[Sconch]

Am I the only one that is sick of Lucy? I don't care if she shows more fur than a battalion of ewoks I just can't stand her.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Am I the only one that is sick of Lucy? I don't care if she shows more fur than a battalion of ewoks I just can't stand her.

That Cantor-Lucy scene was painful. Not a fan of how the Van Alden story line has gone since the pregnancy.Among the "annoying" characters, I thought the Doyle scene was interesting. He's growing on me.

 

[Sconch]

Am I the only one that is sick of Lucy? I don't care if she shows more fur than a battalion of ewoks I just can't stand her.

That Cantor-Lucy scene was painful. Not a fan of how the Van Alden story line has gone since the pregnancy.Among the "annoying" characters, I thought the Doyle scene was interesting. He's growing on me.

I think it was interesting to see Van Alden show some actual human emotion by buying the Victrola. That story-line could get better as the season goes on but Lucy is just hard to watch.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Am I the only one that is sick of Lucy? I don't care if she shows more fur than a battalion of ewoks I just can't stand her.

That Cantor-Lucy scene was painful. Not a fan of how the Van Alden story line has gone since the pregnancy.Among the "annoying" characters, I thought the Doyle scene was interesting. He's growing on me.

I think it was interesting to see Van Alden show some actual human emotion by buying the Victrola. That story-line could get better as the season goes on but Lucy is just hard to watch.

The pregnancy thing has all kinds of potential. There was a suggestion that they could involve Nucky in that Cantor scene. If it goes that way, it could get better quickly. Just not seeing much in Lucy as a sympathetic character, and didn't like the Cantor set up scene or the way Van Alden's work has been marginalized so far.Minor complaints, though. The show is awesome.

 

[The Noid]

This was the first episode I actually got a good, long look at Lucy's face. :X

It probably had something to do with the fact that this was the most screen time with clothes on she has had in two seasons.

 

[Raider Nation]

Am I the only one that is sick of Lucy? I don't care if she shows more fur than a battalion of ewoks I just can't stand her.

She can stand there naked for the whole 60 minutes for all I care... I just can't stand the way she talks. The drawn out cadence.

 

[Sconch]

This was the first episode I actually got a good, long look at Lucy's face. :X It probably had something to do with the fact that this was the most screen time with clothes on she has had in two seasons.

Yeah, she's got a face like 40 miles of bad road.

 

[Raider Nation]

This was the first episode I actually got a good, long look at Lucy's face. :X It probably had something to do with the fact that this was the most screen time with clothes on she has had in two seasons.

Yeah, she's got a face like 40 miles of bad road.

Beautiful mouth though. No shtick.

 

[GDogg]