It looks like Jimmy’s exile (if you could call it that) to Chicago is going to be short-lived. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that. I sort of hate that Nucky felt like he had to bring Jimmy back to Atlantic City, especially when Jimmy was asking for money to return. I suppose I can’t really blame Jimmy, though. He was doing very well in Chicago, even outshining Al. It was easy for Nucky to play the “outsider” card on Jimmy, who didn’t share the Italian heritage with the rest of the gang in Chicago, but it would have been nice if we, as an audience, got to see a little development of that outsider feeling before this episode. I certainly never got the sense before. Is it a matter of the writers failing to set this up, or is it that Jimmy really isn’t an outsider, and it was only the thought being put in his head that made him feel like one?
In either case, it looks like Jimmy is headed back to Atlantic City to handle Nucky’s dirty work. I just get the feeling that nothing is going to end up in Nucky’s favor, though. Let’s face facts, history is not on his side. We know that Lucky Luciano is going to move on to much bigger things, as will Al Capone. With Jimmy inquiring about Luciano with his mother, I’m even wondering about his motivations. Is he looking for some inside information on Lucky in order to take him down, or is he looking for a new ally? I’m certainly concerned for Nucky.
Even the one person he thought he could count on — Margaret — seems to have betrayed that trust. Nucky tasked her with hiding his business ledger, specifically saying that she shouldn’t look in it. Perhaps it was a case of forbidden fruit being too tempting, but Margaret opened and saw the evidence of all of Nucky’s underhanded dealings. I find it a little hard to believe that she would be so surprised; she must have had some inkling that he was up to no good. Perhaps it was the shear scope of the operation that really surprised her. I’m interested to see what her reaction is going to be as we move forward, as well as finding out who the heck called her in Nucky’s office … and why would she answer the phone in the first place?
The acting on the show has been excellent to date, but I did want to take a moment to call out Gretchen Mol. It’s not so much that her performance is standing out to a great degree, but I think she is completely unrecognizable in her role as Gillian, Jimmy’s mother. I’m wondering how many viewers actually realize that this is the same actress who played the whiny girlfriend in Rounders and the before-her-time policewoman on the US remake of Life on Mars. She’s a chameleon, and that is almost always a compliment when it comes to acting. I’ve been enjoying her work on the show, particularly in this episode with the uncomfortable relationship between her and her daughter-in-law.
Nelson continues to reveal himself as a complete creep. We have seen bizarre and troubling behavior from him in the past episodes, and at least some of the weirdness between he and his wife was explained in this week’s installment. It turns out that his wife is unable to conceive a child and would like to do something about it while Nelson is falling back on his faith and essentially forcing his wife to ignore the issue and put it in God’s hands. Then there was the matter of all the letters from Jimmy to his wife that Van Alden had been intercepting. Was he just trying to gather information on his target? Were his intentions more sinister? And why did he all of a sudden send all the money to Jimmy’s wife? I’m a little confused about his motivations.
I have to think that history buffs are really loving this series. It definitely features some big names from the day, and it was a blast watching Nucky play all the political games in Chicago, helping Warren Harding out during his run for president, while taking care of some business of his own. There was also Rothstein, and his (historically accurate) involvement in the big Black Sox scandal. These little touches certainly add another dimension to the show.
It seems like things are going to get a little more serious moving forward. Things are already escalating, with Luciano’s robbery and Eli’s shooting. If Jimmy returns, and that seems like a foregone conclusion, it would seem like event may heat up even more.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Nov 08, 2010 @ 18:28 EST5EDT
