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

[jdoggydogg]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Chalky and Harrow are the two I tend to pull for as far as characters I empathize with.

Harrow for sure. Love that character.

 

[Michael Brown]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

I think nearly all of the characters have shown some vulnerability at one time or another. Nucky, Harrow, & Eli have all drawn some amount of sympathy out of various ordeals they are in to make you pull for them. Even big badass Al Capone was in some touching scenes with his kid this season.

The heavy hitters like Lucky, AR, Meyer, Joe the Boss...I agree, not so much on the empathy.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

I think nearly all of the characters have shown some vulnerability at one time or another. Nucky, Harrow, & Eli have all drawn some amount of sympathy out of various ordeals they are in to make you pull for them. Even big badass Al Capone was in some touching scenes with his kid this season.

The heavy hitters like Lucky, AR, Meyer, Joe the Boss...I agree, not so much on the empathy.

I can't disagree with any of that. And when I criticize this show, understand that I'm holding it to the very high standards set forth by HBO's brilliant history of great shows. A mediocre Boardwalk episode is still better than 99% of other TV shows.

 

[Michael Brown]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

I think nearly all of the characters have shown some vulnerability at one time or another. Nucky, Harrow, & Eli have all drawn some amount of sympathy out of various ordeals they are in to make you pull for them. Even big badass Al Capone was in some touching scenes with his kid this season.

The heavy hitters like Lucky, AR, Meyer, Joe the Boss...I agree, not so much on the empathy.

I can't disagree with any of that. And when I criticize this show, understand that I'm holding it to the very high standards set forth by HBO's brilliant history of great shows. A mediocre Boardwalk episode is still better than 99% of other TV shows.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

Exactly...Tony Soprano, Det. McNulty, Don Draper, Walter White...

 

[jdoggydogg]

Jimmy had to go. Getting rid of "good" characters makes a show like this better, not worse, unless you have no other interesting characters (which this show has in spades). I think it's absurd to think this show has gone downhill since Jimmy's departure.

No. You say this show has great characters is spades, I say very few of the remaining characters carry the same weight or interest as Jimmy.

I thought the Jimmy character was outstanding, no doubt about it. I presume you opposed the storyline that led to his demise, since within that storyline there was no alternative but to kill Jimmy (or Nucky, which for obvious reasons wasn't about to happen).

Loved the storyline. And if you haven't read this thread going way back, I think the first two seasons of this show stand out as some of the best television ever aired. It's been rumored that the actor who plays Jimmy was very difficult to work with. Even so, it did make sense for the character to die.

I don't question killing Jimmy at all. But the show seems rudderless at this point. Yes, the acting, sets, writing and costumes are all still top notch. I just think that there are very few characters that elicit any empathy now.

On the one hand I agree that there are very few characters to empathize with. On the other hand, it's a show about illegal bootleggers and gangsters and whores, so it's going to be difficult to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities on the very surface.For instance, Harrow is a cold-blooded sniper killer, but he's a relative sweetheart on this show compared to most others. Margaret Schroeder is a good Irish catholic girl who shacked up with a rich guy who helped kill her husband and within a year was running around on him with the hired muscle.

Hmmm...Eddie! Eddie is a great guy!

Certainly. But great movies and books have always managed to manufacture sympathy for flawed characters.

Exactly...Tony Soprano, Det. McNulty, Don Draper, Walter White...

 

[Dave Baker]

Question: I know they said something but I couldn't quite understand it. How did Eli and Capone find Nucky? What I thought I heard was something about them find out out from Chalky's men, but none of his men knew where they were going because 1) Chalky and Nucky agreed they couldn't tell any of Nucky's men b/c of the $25K reward (lack of complete trust), and 2) They didn't even know where they were going until Nucky decided last second.

Not to harp on this, but I am curious as to what I missed here.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Question: I know they said something but I couldn't quite understand it. How did Eli and Capone find Nucky? What I thought I heard was something about them find out out from Chalky's men, but none of his men knew where they were going because 1) Chalky and Nucky agreed they couldn't tell any of Nucky's men b/c of the $25K reward (lack of complete trust), and 2) They didn't even know where they were going until Nucky decided last second.

Not to harp on this, but I am curious as to what I missed here.

Chalky's number 2 (Pernsly?) was in the truck with nucky and chalky. Chalky told him to go back to the honky tonk and get the boys ready. Off screen I'm assuming they let him know where they were going.

 

[Samuel L Bronkowitz]

Question: I know they said something but I couldn't quite understand it. How did Eli and Capone find Nucky? What I thought I heard was something about them find out out from Chalky's men, but none of his men knew where they were going because 1) Chalky and Nucky agreed they couldn't tell any of Nucky's men b/c of the $25K reward (lack of complete trust), and 2) They didn't even know where they were going until Nucky decided last second.

Not to harp on this, but I am curious as to what I missed here.

The writers were trying to drum up some empathy for Nucky so jdoggy would like the show more and they missed explaining it.But I kinda missed that too. On the Boardwalk Wikia page it says that Purnsley back to the beach to recruit an army. Since a bunch of Chalky's men and Capone's men showed up at the same time I think it's implied that Eli found out that way.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Logistics were a lot harder before cellphones.

 

[Dave Baker]

Chalky's number 2 (Pernsly?) was in the truck with nucky and chalky. Chalky told him to go back to the honky tonk and get the boys ready. Off screen I'm assuming they let him know where they were going.

Thanks.

 

[LittleLarry]

I missed what led to Owen's killing. He was going with a friend into the bath house to take care of Masseria.

Masseria said something to an employee "Don't let anyone in here". Are we just to assume that Owen was simply killed because of entering the bath house?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

I missed what led to Owen's killing. He was going with a friend into the bath house to take care of Masseria.Masseria said something to an employee "Don't let anyone in here". Are we just to assume that Owen was simply killed because of entering the bath house?

Lucky had given info to Masseria about Nucky gunning for him... so they were expecting/prepared for Owens attempt.

 

[attaché case]

I missed what led to Owen's killing. He was going with a friend into the bath house to take care of Masseria.Masseria said something to an employee "Don't let anyone in here". Are we just to assume that Owen was simply killed because of entering the bath house?

Luciano told Masseria that Nucky was gonna make a move on him and whispered something to him (details maybe) so Joe knew someone was coming for him. When Owen said he would take care of Joe at the bath house, Eli said he would go as backup but Owen said he didn't need backup. So Owen went in to kill Masseria and they turned the tables on him (and I assume whoever went with him). Had Eli gone it might have turned out differently.So Owen went to kill Masseria, but Masseria knew it was coming and was ready for him.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Question: I know they said something but I couldn't quite understand it. How did Eli and Capone find Nucky? What I thought I heard was something about them find out out from Chalky's men, but none of his men knew where they were going because 1) Chalky and Nucky agreed they couldn't tell any of Nucky's men b/c of the $25K reward (lack of complete trust), and 2) They didn't even know where they were going until Nucky decided last second.

Not to harp on this, but I am curious as to what I missed here.

The writers were trying to drum up some empathy for Nucky so jdoggy would like the show more and they missed explaining it.

 

[firstseason1988]

Chalky sticking with Nucky makes complete sense. In most respects, Nucky has treated Chalky and his crew very well, especially in comparison to treatment from other whites.I have no clue what's going to happen with Harrow, as far as to who and what happens in the finale. Lots of scenarios make sense to me.

Chalky said it best when he said something to the effect,"I am too old to make new friends." He doesn't know what he will get from Gyp necessarily, but he knows what he will get from Nucky.I liked when Nucky came in and Chalky had to flex is muscle in front of his men by dismissing Nucky at first,"All I get from you is 'Jump Boy.'"Nucky:"I never called you b..." Stopping short realizing they both knew he never called him boy, but what Chalky was doing by saying that and moving on. I would guess that Chalky let his men know that there was no way Gyp was good for the $25000. Everyone underestimates the deformed Harrow, Jimmy obviously didn't, should be interesting.

 

[Michael Brown]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

 

[kupcho1]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

It was probably the actor that plays Masseria in the showHTH

 

[Gr00vus]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

It was probably the actor that plays Masseria in the showHTH

I saw this too, pretty funny/weird. I kept waiting for one of the dancers to start handing him bocce balls.

 

[Shermanator]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

Harrow is in a beer commercial. Its a dark beer. Guinness pehaps

 

[Michael Brown]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

Harrow is in a beer commercial. Its a dark beer. Guinness pehaps

Yeah I've seen that one. Really shows how much of a transformation it is to get into character for Richard

 

[Raider Nation]

I would like to see Gyp and Chalky play Scrabble to the death.

 

[Shermanator]

Could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure I just saw Masseria in a commercial for something called Dance Central 3 for Xbox. He's the referee in the soccer game

Harrow is in a beer commercial. Its a dark beer. Guinness pehaps

Yeah I've seen that one. Really shows how much of a transformation it is to get into character for Richard

Yeah, I had to do a double take....Hey I know that dude

 

[shadyridr]

I would like to see Gyp and Chalky play Scrabble to the death.

Chalky is illiterate and just throw some gibberish on the board lik GHFTBIKJ. Then gyp would take it as an insult that chalky assumed he was illiterate too and kill him.

 

[BigTex]

I would like to see Gyp and Chalky play Scrabble to the death.

Chalky is illiterate and just throw some gibberish on the board lik GHFTBIKJ. Then gyp would take it as an insult that chalky assumed he was illiterate too and kill him.

IIRC there was a recent episode in which Milky said he could read now..........

 

[Raider Nation]

Harrow is about to go postal.

 

[BuddyKnuckles]

ok, they lost me a few times tonight:

1. wtf was going on in ARs office? Was he just testing lucky and Meyer? If so, why not kill Lucky right then and there? I get he had to make friends with Joe to sever his ties to Gyp. but what does that have to do with Lucky and the heroin?

2. Did Nucky coordinate the whole Mellon / Distillery / Sneak gov't guy thing? I mean, did he play AR to buy in only to play Mellon to go after AR?

3. Is Nucky trying to remove himself from the game? or just fade into the background and runs things behind the curtain?

 

[BigTex]

ok, they lost me a few times tonight:1. wtf was going on in ARs office? Was he just testing lucky and Meyer? If so, why not kill Lucky right then and there? I get he had to make friends with Joe to sever his ties to Gyp. but what does that have to do with Lucky and the heroin?2. Did Nucky coordinate the whole Mellon / Distillery / Sneak gov't guy thing? I mean, did he play AR to buy in only to play Mellon to go after AR? 3. Is Nucky trying to remove himself from the game? or just fade into the background and runs things behind the curtain?

1. Yes, he played them both. 2. Yes, AR is in deep #### for turning his back on Nucky.3. Nucky is just fading in the background, he is just changing the way he conduct his business.Side note.............Harrow is one bad mother ####er!!!!!!!

 

[BigTex]

One more thing, I don't think Al really wanted any part of Chalky. Chalky look like he can box the way he held up his hands and as much as I love Al, he was swinging wildly.

Seeing Gyp run like a little girl was just priceless!!!

Damn, the season is over....................

 

[belljr]

A little to neat a season finale, almost like a series finale. Still enjoyed it

 

[Raider Nation]

There's an aside in "The Sopranos" book where David Chase acknowledges that writer Terence Winter (who, remember, wrote "Pine Barrens") came very close in the final season to convincing him to resolve the fate of the Russian. Chase ultimately decided he didn't want to do it, to the frustration of Winter.

These are two men with tremendous respect and affection for one another, but that disagreement illustrates one of the key ways that the mob show Chase created differs from the one that Winter created.

Chase was interested in a lot of things on "The Sopranos," and the plot only occasionally crept into the top 5. It was a show about psychology, dreams (literal and figurative), being a parent and a child, millennial anxiety, and a whole lot more. It could effectively tell straight-ahead mob stories (the Tony/Junior feud in season 1, or the Tony Blundetto arc of season 5), but that was often a byproduct of things Chase had higher on his priorities list. If he didn't feel like he needed to see Furio or the Russian again, then we weren't going to see them again.

"Boardwalk Empire," on the other hand,is first and foremost a classical gangster story. It aspires to more than that, and at times is incredibly effective at plumbing the psychology of its characters and the social mores of the 1920s, but the top item on the agenda is always going to be making sure the plot gets resolved satisfactorily.

And we've seen over these past few episodes just how effective Winter and company (here co-writing with Howard Korder, and with Tim Van Patten behind the camera) can be at resolution, even in a season that seemed to be wandering far afield for a while.

Margaret's time trying to teach women about prenatal health — and, by implication, birth control — pays off when she lets herself get pregnant and chooses to have an abortion with the help of her friendly new neighborhood doctor. Richard's season-long tug of war with Gillian over Tommy's future comes to an end (for now) with him leaving the boy with Julia and her father — a family unit he feels too ashamed to be a part of now that Tommy and Julia have both witnessed the violence he's capable of. All of Nucky's machinations in Washington come into play as he's able to use his Andrew Mellon(*) connection to help win the war against Gyp and Masseria — and screw over Arnold Rothstein as revenge for Rothstein's earlier refusal to back his play — just as his earlier estrangement from Eli is resolved as the two enter the Commodore's house with only each other as trusted back-up. And Gyp ultimately isn't killed by Nucky or Eli or Richard, but by Tonino, who's doing it to save his own skin, but also on some level as revenge for his cousin — a stand-in for the many people we saw Gyp kill or badly harm while he was having one of his animal outbursts.

(*) I have to admit to getting slightly lost in all the Nucky/Rothstein/Mellon/Masseria dealings the first time through the episode. But Winter clarified a bit of it, and I pieced together the rest. Nucky sacrifices his control of the Overholt distillery to convince Rothstein to get Masseria to withdraw his support from Gyp. Rothstein, meanwhile, has arranged for the crooked cops on his payroll to steal Lucky and Meyer's heroin stash for his own use, essentially cutting them out of their own deal with Masseria (and in turn using the heroin as the excuse for Masseria to finally cut ties with Gyp's losing campaign). And Nucky has Capone and Chalky's men kill Masseria's soldiers, rather than let them simply return to New York, as a warning for Masseria to not attempt another coup of Atlantic City.

Virtually everything tied together by the conclusion of "Margate Sands." We began the season watching Gyp beating a man to death within spitting distance of the Atlantic, and one of our final scenes is Gyp — relatively (for him) calm, despite his complete and utter defeat (or perhaps because of it, since he suspects death is coming and will be at peace from his self-hatred) — being killed on the beach. Our first glimpse of Nucky this year was him seemingly in full-on gangster mode, but he spent the year fighting that role — or any kind of responsibility — by obsessing over Billie Kent and leaving Mickey and others to run the empire. Our last glimpse is him on the boardwalk, having just been approached by a stranger as a figure of infamy, rather than the minor local celebrity he had when he was just the crooked county treasurer, and he seems to accept what he's become. He finally throws away the flower on his lapel (more of a politican's accessory than a gangster's) and the camera pans up his body again in a mirror of the opening credits. Nucky was once so troubled by having killed Jimmy that he asked Richard about those feelings; now, his body count is much higher, and he's made peace the idea that it won't be stopping now. He'll get his hands dirty, whether literally (helping Eli fix the car engine) or figuratively (going into the Artemis club himself, rather than sending lackeys), though his plan going forward is to insulate himself, in a conversation with Eli that very much echoes the kinds that Tony Soprano had in the show's later years.

And yet I liked that both the gangster and politician sides of Nucky were in play for the resolution of this. He picks up his gun, but he also uses his connections with Andrew Mellon, Gaston Bullock Means and Esther Randolph to fully accomplish his plans. He still has the old moves available to him.

The highlight of the finale, though, was Richard's solo assault on Gyp's forces, an incredibly satisfying and exciting — and, in the aftermath, sad — payoff to a season of him trying to build a normal life for himself. Jack Huston moves so well and precisely that you believe Richard would be so effective against the remnants of Gyp's forces (especially given what a good action director Van Patten is), and the rescue of Tommy was a beautiful (if bloody) moment — not just because Richard the master sniper figures out a way to get off a better shot while it appears he's surrendering, but because the show has spent all season showing how deeply Richard cares for the boy(**). So when we see them hug through the bloody glass, it means something — just as it does when Richard walks away from Julia's house, because we know what he's giving up.

(**) Like Gillian, he's transferred his feelings for Jimmy to his son. The difference is, Richard channels those feelings to try to help Tommy, where Gillian does it in ways that are primarily pro-Gillian.

Even Gillian gets a moment of humanity before the season is done. When Nucky finds her on the floor, still overcome by the heroin she'd intended for Gyp, she's reverted into the 13-year-old girl that Nucky pimped out to the Commodore. Gillian's a monster, but she didn't spontaneously turn into one. She was a girl abused by men, who grew up into a woman permanently twisted by the experience. It's a moment that would have been a perfect, tragic farewell for the character if Winter had chosen to kill her off just then(***), rather than keeping her around for plans to be explored next season.

(***) Gillian does not die of the heroin, per Winter. Remember that it wasn't the heroin that killed Roger, but the drowning (which she could only pull off because he was too doped to fight her). Presumably, she was going to eliminate Gyp by some other means — possibly using his trusty belt — once he was knocked out.

Similarly, we'll see what Winter has in mind for Margaret — beyond "Kelly Macdonald is a great actress we have under contract, so let's use her" — but her story also reached some closure tonight. Margaret is back living in humbler circumstances, in the same neighborhood as the family that's rejected her, and she in turn rejects Nucky's latest attempt at forgiving and forgetting.

We know she'll be back because this is how the show works, but we also know that in the end, it'll likely make narrative sense. I spent the first half of this season remarking that it was nice to see all these great characters again, but that their stories didn't seem particularly connected to one another, and often felt like excuses just to take advantage of the actors at hand. By the end of the season, I wasn't saying that anymore, because — like Nucky's desperate yet effective plot against Masseria and Rothstein — everything clicked into place in the final stages.

And that's "Boardwalk Empire." It may have the mystery or emotional depth of "The Sopranos," but it lays out its story and makes sure all the pieces fit together very, very well at the end. And when you get to the end, that can feel awfully satisfying.

Some other thoughts:

[*]In "Skyfall," the first time you see James Bond, he's completely out of focus for several seconds, but you know it's him because Daniel Craig's silhouette (those ears in particular) is so distinctive. I felt the same way about Capone walking out from the headlights in the opening scene, to make it clear which side just won that particular gun battle.

[*]Speaking of Capone, the episode wasn't all fan-service, as Nucky and Eli shut down what was surely going to be an epic Capone vs. Chalky fistfight. Probably for the best, as it's hard to imagine both walking away from that, and we know Capone can't die and don't want Chalky to.

[*]Loved Bobby Cannavale's impression of Steve Buscemi in Gyp's farewell scene.

[*]No Van Alden this week, so this season was primarily about getting him from Point A (disgraced Treasury agent turned fugitive wanted for murder) to Point B (small-time bootlegger tied to Capone), and we'll see much more of this next season.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

There's an aside in "The Sopranos" book where David Chase acknowledges that writer Terence Winter (who, remember, wrote "Pine Barrens") came very close in the final season to convincing him to resolve the fate of the Russian. Chase ultimately decided he didn't want to do it, to the frustration of Winter.

These are two men with tremendous respect and affection for one another, but that disagreement illustrates one of the key ways that the mob show Chase created differs from the one that Winter created.

Chase was interested in a lot of things on "The Sopranos," and the plot only occasionally crept into the top 5. It was a show about psychology, dreams (literal and figurative), being a parent and a child, millennial anxiety, and a whole lot more. It could effectively tell straight-ahead mob stories (the Tony/Junior feud in season 1, or the Tony Blundetto arc of season 5), but that was often a byproduct of things Chase had higher on his priorities list. If he didn't feel like he needed to see Furio or the Russian again, then we weren't going to see them again.

"Boardwalk Empire," on the other hand,is first and foremost a classical gangster story. It aspires to more than that, and at times is incredibly effective at plumbing the psychology of its characters and the social mores of the 1920s, but the top item on the agenda is always going to be making sure the plot gets resolved satisfactorily.

And we've seen over these past few episodes just how effective Winter and company (here co-writing with Howard Korder, and with Tim Van Patten behind the camera) can be at resolution, even in a season that seemed to be wandering far afield for a while.

Margaret's time trying to teach women about prenatal health — and, by implication, birth control — pays off when she lets herself get pregnant and chooses to have an abortion with the help of her friendly new neighborhood doctor. Richard's season-long tug of war with Gillian over Tommy's future comes to an end (for now) with him leaving the boy with Julia and her father — a family unit he feels too ashamed to be a part of now that Tommy and Julia have both witnessed the violence he's capable of. All of Nucky's machinations in Washington come into play as he's able to use his Andrew Mellon(*) connection to help win the war against Gyp and Masseria — and screw over Arnold Rothstein as revenge for Rothstein's earlier refusal to back his play — just as his earlier estrangement from Eli is resolved as the two enter the Commodore's house with only each other as trusted back-up. And Gyp ultimately isn't killed by Nucky or Eli or Richard, but by Tonino, who's doing it to save his own skin, but also on some level as revenge for his cousin — a stand-in for the many people we saw Gyp kill or badly harm while he was having one of his animal outbursts.

(*) I have to admit to getting slightly lost in all the Nucky/Rothstein/Mellon/Masseria dealings the first time through the episode. But Winter clarified a bit of it, and I pieced together the rest. Nucky sacrifices his control of the Overholt distillery to convince Rothstein to get Masseria to withdraw his support from Gyp. Rothstein, meanwhile, has arranged for the crooked cops on his payroll to steal Lucky and Meyer's heroin stash for his own use, essentially cutting them out of their own deal with Masseria (and in turn using the heroin as the excuse for Masseria to finally cut ties with Gyp's losing campaign). And Nucky has Capone and Chalky's men kill Masseria's soldiers, rather than let them simply return to New York, as a warning for Masseria to not attempt another coup of Atlantic City.

Virtually everything tied together by the conclusion of "Margate Sands." We began the season watching Gyp beating a man to death within spitting distance of the Atlantic, and one of our final scenes is Gyp — relatively (for him) calm, despite his complete and utter defeat (or perhaps because of it, since he suspects death is coming and will be at peace from his self-hatred) — being killed on the beach. Our first glimpse of Nucky this year was him seemingly in full-on gangster mode, but he spent the year fighting that role — or any kind of responsibility — by obsessing over Billie Kent and leaving Mickey and others to run the empire. Our last glimpse is him on the boardwalk, having just been approached by a stranger as a figure of infamy, rather than the minor local celebrity he had when he was just the crooked county treasurer, and he seems to accept what he's become. He finally throws away the flower on his lapel (more of a politican's accessory than a gangster's) and the camera pans up his body again in a mirror of the opening credits. Nucky was once so troubled by having killed Jimmy that he asked Richard about those feelings; now, his body count is much higher, and he's made peace the idea that it won't be stopping now. He'll get his hands dirty, whether literally (helping Eli fix the car engine) or figuratively (going into the Artemis club himself, rather than sending lackeys), though his plan going forward is to insulate himself, in a conversation with Eli that very much echoes the kinds that Tony Soprano had in the show's later years.

And yet I liked that both the gangster and politician sides of Nucky were in play for the resolution of this. He picks up his gun, but he also uses his connections with Andrew Mellon, Gaston Bullock Means and Esther Randolph to fully accomplish his plans. He still has the old moves available to him.

The highlight of the finale, though, was Richard's solo assault on Gyp's forces, an incredibly satisfying and exciting — and, in the aftermath, sad — payoff to a season of him trying to build a normal life for himself. Jack Huston moves so well and precisely that you believe Richard would be so effective against the remnants of Gyp's forces (especially given what a good action director Van Patten is), and the rescue of Tommy was a beautiful (if bloody) moment — not just because Richard the master sniper figures out a way to get off a better shot while it appears he's surrendering, but because the show has spent all season showing how deeply Richard cares for the boy(**). So when we see them hug through the bloody glass, it means something — just as it does when Richard walks away from Julia's house, because we know what he's giving up.

(**) Like Gillian, he's transferred his feelings for Jimmy to his son. The difference is, Richard channels those feelings to try to help Tommy, where Gillian does it in ways that are primarily pro-Gillian.

Even Gillian gets a moment of humanity before the season is done. When Nucky finds her on the floor, still overcome by the heroin she'd intended for Gyp, she's reverted into the 13-year-old girl that Nucky pimped out to the Commodore. Gillian's a monster, but she didn't spontaneously turn into one. She was a girl abused by men, who grew up into a woman permanently twisted by the experience. It's a moment that would have been a perfect, tragic farewell for the character if Winter had chosen to kill her off just then(***), rather than keeping her around for plans to be explored next season.

(***) Gillian does not die of the heroin, per Winter. Remember that it wasn't the heroin that killed Roger, but the drowning (which she could only pull off because he was too doped to fight her). Presumably, she was going to eliminate Gyp by some other means — possibly using his trusty belt — once he was knocked out.

Similarly, we'll see what Winter has in mind for Margaret — beyond "Kelly Macdonald is a great actress we have under contract, so let's use her" — but her story also reached some closure tonight. Margaret is back living in humbler circumstances, in the same neighborhood as the family that's rejected her, and she in turn rejects Nucky's latest attempt at forgiving and forgetting.

We know she'll be back because this is how the show works, but we also know that in the end, it'll likely make narrative sense. I spent the first half of this season remarking that it was nice to see all these great characters again, but that their stories didn't seem particularly connected to one another, and often felt like excuses just to take advantage of the actors at hand. By the end of the season, I wasn't saying that anymore, because — like Nucky's desperate yet effective plot against Masseria and Rothstein — everything clicked into place in the final stages.

And that's "Boardwalk Empire." It may have the mystery or emotional depth of "The Sopranos," but it lays out its story and makes sure all the pieces fit together very, very well at the end. And when you get to the end, that can feel awfully satisfying.

Some other thoughts:

[*]In "Skyfall," the first time you see James Bond, he's completely out of focus for several seconds, but you know it's him because Daniel Craig's silhouette (those ears in particular) is so distinctive. I felt the same way about Capone walking out from the headlights in the opening scene, to make it clear which side just won that particular gun battle.

[*]Speaking of Capone, the episode wasn't all fan-service, as Nucky and Eli shut down what was surely going to be an epic Capone vs. Chalky fistfight. Probably for the best, as it's hard to imagine both walking away from that, and we know Capone can't die and don't want Chalky to.

[*]Loved Bobby Cannavale's impression of Steve Buscemi in Gyp's farewell scene.

[*]No Van Alden this week, so this season was primarily about getting him from Point A (disgraced Treasury agent turned fugitive wanted for murder) to Point B (small-time bootlegger tied to Capone), and we'll see much more of this next season.

Did you write that? That's great.

 

[Raider Nation]

Thanks. It was difficult keeping all the storylines straight.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Thanks. It was difficult keeping all the storylines straight.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

"Ow! I'm shot!"

-95% of everyone in this episode

 

[Sebowski]

Gyp went out just like Jimmy. No way he didn't see it coming. Scrub gets out by hiding in the closet... Gyp would have normally shot him on sight for that. He knew he was done for. Just took it.

 

[jamny]

Couldn't end the season without one last moment to think of the children.

 

[belljr]

So do we know the deal that was made with Capone?

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

 

[Gr00vus]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

You knew it was going to go down that way, it was just a question of how well executed it would be visually, and I think they did a good job.Just about everybody got played in that episode, that was great.As much as Margaret's story line has deteriorated, I liked how they ended it for the season with her, closing the door on Nucky. With that I'm now interested again in where she goes next.One thing I still don't understand - why is it o.k. for Mellon to own a distillery?

 

[TLEF316]

Maybe he owned it before prohibition started

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

You knew it was going to go down that way, it was just a question of how well executed it would be visually, and I think they did a good job.Just about everybody got played in that episode, that was great.

As much as Margaret's story line has deteriorated, I liked how they ended it for the season with her, closing the door on Nucky. With that I'm now interested again in where she goes next.

One thing I still don't understand - why is it o.k. for Mellon to own a distillery?

OH COME ON

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

You knew it was going to go down that way, it was just a question of how well executed it would be visually, and I think they did a good job.Just about everybody got played in that episode, that was great.As much as Margaret's story line has deteriorated, I liked how they ended it for the season with her, closing the door on Nucky. With that I'm now interested again in where she goes next.One thing I still don't understand - why is it o.k. for Mellon to own a distillery?

No reason for anyone to not own a distillery or brewery or bar. They just couldn't make or sell booze. Many companies used their facilities to produce other things

Some of the products sold by Anheuser-Busch to survive during Prohibition included brewer's yeast, malt extract, ice cream, and Bevo, a nonalcoholic malt beverage.[13][18]

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

You knew it was going to go down that way, it was just a question of how well executed it would be visually, and I think they did a good job.Just about everybody got played in that episode, that was great.

As much as Margaret's story line has deteriorated, I liked how they ended it for the season with her, closing the door on Nucky. With that I'm now interested again in where she goes next.

One thing I still don't understand - why is it o.k. for Mellon to own a distillery?

OH COME ON

 

[Otis]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

So true. Headshots all around.

 

[Carver]

Prediction..

Gyp's #2 will be the one to kill him on orders from "Joe the Boss Nucky".

There's a reason they brought on his cousin just long enough for Gyp to Murder him and drop the "You owe me" line.

I think that Rothstein will find a way to squash the beef between Nucky and Masseria.

Pretty close.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

When someone's holding a gun to someone, and you've got your gun trained on him, I don't understand why people don't just shoot. You can't hear the bullet before it's into your brain, and at that point, your brain can't tell your finger to pull the trigger, right?

 

[Gr00vus]

Harrow wading through the whorehouse like he was playing COD with an invincibility hack.

You knew it was going to go down that way, it was just a question of how well executed it would be visually, and I think they did a good job.Just about everybody got played in that episode, that was great.As much as Margaret's story line has deteriorated, I liked how they ended it for the season with her, closing the door on Nucky. With that I'm now interested again in where she goes next.One thing I still don't understand - why is it o.k. for Mellon to own a distillery?

No reason for anyone to not own a distillery or brewery or bar. They just couldn't make or sell booze. Many companies used their facilities to produce other things

Some of the products sold by Anheuser-Busch to survive during Prohibition included brewer's yeast, malt extract, ice cream, and Bevo, a nonalcoholic malt beverage.[13][18]

Thanks, that's good info. Look me up some time and I'll buy you a Bevo.

 

[Gr00vus]

When someone's holding a gun to someone, and you've got your gun trained on him, I don't understand why people don't just shoot. You can't hear the bullet before it's into your brain, and at that point, your brain can't tell your finger to pull the trigger, right?

Maybe not on purpose, but there could be an involuntary response.