With only two episodes left in the first season of Boardwalk Empire, it looks like things are headed toward a confrontation between Nucky and Rothstein. Beyond that, I really have no idea how things are going to turn out. Nucky was finally able to flex some of his muscle in this episode, however, with help from Jimmy and Chalky, taking down a few of Rothstein’s men. Even with all the forward momentum in the main storyline, I still felt like this episode belonged to some of the supporting characters.
I find myself drawn to some of the minor characters a lot more than some of the main characters like Nucky or Jimmy. Nelson’s story became a whole lot more interesting tonight. The episode began with him getting reprimanded for his poor handling of Jimmy’s case, culminating with the death of the key witness. It was only the beginning of Nelson’s plunge into the dark side. The real straw that broke the camel’s back was his little visit to Margaret. We had seen in previous weeks that Van Alden appeared to have some weird obsession with Nucky’s lady. Tonight, he went so far as to visit her in an attempt to “save her” from eternal damnation. After being quickly rebuked, the pious agent turned toward booze and sex to clear his mind. I’m not sure he could have found a worse partner than Lucy, but that’s beside the point. With his erratic behavior, I have serious doubts about his future. Is he going to be able to recover from these events?
Then there is Angela, who’s story continues to get more interesting as the series progresses. I was a little bored with her at the beginning of the series, but her character has definitely been developed with her art and lesbian relationship. I am curious about her relationship with Jimmy. Clearly there are some feelings there, even if they are only driven by the physical. With Jimmy’s boorish behavior and beating on the boardwalk, I think she might really be done with him. It will be interesting to see if she can make it out of the city and onto that boat for Paris without stirring up any more trouble. I highly doubt it.
In his short time on the show, Harrow has proven to be a character worth watching too. I’m definitely glad that he made the trip to Atlantic City with Jimmy. In this episode we got a little bit of insight into his struggles with his war injuries and the consequences of having to hide half of his face. It’s a tragic situation, and it was nice to see Margaret come to terms with it and show her children that he is nothing to be afraid of (unless he has a sniper rifle).
Finally, it looks like Al Capone has turned a corner out in Chicago. With Jimmy out of the picture, he really needed to step up and it looked like he wasn’t ready to do it. Who would have guessed that it would be a trip to a colleague’s son’s Bar Mitvah that would make him realize that he, too, needs to start being a man. What this means for his character moving forward, I’m not too sure, but we all know there are big things in store for him.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Nov 21, 2010 @ 22:24 EST5EDT
The scene with Angela and Jimmy talking in the beginning leads me to believe her greatest desire is to be understood, and she responds accordingly. I don’t forsee a happy ending for her in any capacity.
Nelson is sooooo disturbing. Marred on the inside. Harrow is marred on the outside, but a warm light on the inside. The tin man scene was touching. I really like him.
The “tell him what you saw here scene” was pretty good. I do get the feeling that Rothstein gave those fellas up as pawns to earn that rat entry. This way Rothstein has the angle for the double cross and the kill shot at Nucky. Not that he’ll be successful.