Boardwalk Empire: Season Two (1 Viewer)

[Quentin]

If the show has the courage of its convictions, we won't be seeing the following ever again:
Jimmy, Van Alden, Lucy, Gillian, Richard Harrow (nooooooo!), no Commodore, no Angela.
That's a serious list that comprises what has been the core of your show to this point. Plus, Margaret is a goner next season after what she just did to Nucky.
Again...I'll peek at what they try to do next season, but my feeling is that the show is over for me. I mostly tuned in for Jimmy/Gillian/Harrow.

 

[joshEH]

Here's what I want to see in Season 3:
- More Rothstein.
- Margaret goes with Owen, and screws Nucky over even further.
- Richard taking out Manny.
(Would be awesome if Harrow and Owen teamed up, and took out everyone.)
To me, the show went up a few notches simply because it feels like this would have happened on any other show only at series' end. Not during Season 2. If I had to guess who could step in as the sympathetic character, I would say the female prosecutor is a good bet, or whoever Van Alden's replacement is.
I don't think they'll struggle too much, creatively. The show has done a masterful job of seesawing sympathies back-and-forth throughout the season. Give it a year or so's break and a strong adversary, and Nucky'll be back on his throne. I think they'll probably play up the conscience-destroying aspects of him killing his surrogate son to get there, as well.
And even if they don't, Deadwood basically ran on the back of a man who showed zero conscience outside of that which suited his best interests. It's not impossible. Now that Nucky is a full-on heel, I can see a lawman becoming the heart of the show.
I can't say how much I laughed when Margaret signed the deed over to the church while Nucky and his buddies were doing a victory-lap. So satisfying. I liked how it looked like they were going to do a "Sons of Anarchy"-style reset, and then they completely turned it on its ear. Great stuff.
(Also: Van Alden dressed as a longshoreman.)

 

[TravisR]

If the show has the courage of its convictions, we won't be seeing the following ever again:
Jimmy, Van Alden, Lucy, Gillian, Richard Harrow (nooooooo!), no Commodore, no Angela.

Harrow is the Boba Fett of Boardwalk Empire, he might not be on all the time anymore but he's still in the criminal underworld of Atlantic City and he's too cool to lose. I would imagine that Gillian will pop up here and there (she'll have to confront Nucky at some point) but she could also get back together with Luciano since, as he put it, she's the only woman in years who put lead in his pencil.
On another note, I loved seeing Chalky get ahold of the Klan members and say "Welcome back, boys!"

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I don't have the link handy, but the showrunner has answered most of the questions presented in this thread.

A few highlights from memory...

Richard Harrow's fate...

Harrow will be back.




It's not a foregone conclusion that Margaret will be a goner. She may simply say to Nucky, "I gave you my life and saved yours. This was the cost." She knows he lied to her and will continue to lie to her. She's made a deal with the devil. He does still like having her around.

Van Alden went to Cicero, IL (just outside Chicago), where Al Capone lived during his reign of terror in Chicago.

There's no way everyone can die at any time. Many of these characters are historical characters, so the general roadmap is written. Characters like Jimmy, or any dramatic add-on, are more at risk. Nucky, Capone, Rothstein, etc. aren't going anywhere.

Those are the answers I remember to the questions I remember from this thread.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Those are the answers I remember to the questions I remember from this thread.

Very true, all the others including Eli are expendable depending on where they want to go with the storyline.

 

[TravisR]

Nucky, Capone, Rothstein, etc. aren't going anywhere.

I believe that it's almost 1922 in the show so shouldn't Capone be rising to power in Chicago by that point? Not that he can't come to Atlantic City occasionally but if they're following history, he should be involved in his own thing rather than doing some smaller deals in New Jersey.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by TravisR /t/315068/boardwalk-empire-season-two/60#post_3878857
I believe that it's almost 1922 in the show so shouldn't Capone be rising to power in Chicago by that point? Not that he can't come to Atlantic City occasionally but if they're following history, he should be involved in his own thing rather than doing some smaller deals in New Jersey.

Capone is only 22 in 1921, so his star is still rising. The gang war Torrio/Capone had with O'Banion's gang is still 2-3 years off.

 

[joshEH]

Jimmy's death made perfect narrative sense, the more I think about it. The character had reached the end of his arc.
What's funny/appropriate is that the character only really became sympathetic at the end of that arc. Had they killed Jimmy at any point before a couple episodes ago, I wouldn't have cared quite as much. Boardwalk Empire is filled with characters that are well-written and acted, but distant and unlikable on certain levels. I guess it makes sense that moving past that into an emotionally-vulnerable area made Jimmy a wounded creature that no longer could survive in that world.
If the writers are smart, they'll take this opportunity to drastically increase Chalky's screen time. The character is fertile and relatively new ground in this genre, and is one of the few sympathetic characters remaining in the cast. Plus, he's portrayed by an actor whose work has been beyond reproach.
Batshit-insane Van Alden working for Capone, more Harrow, and more Chalky could make Season 3 an even better show. Make it happen.

 

[NolanJ]

I was more disappointed in Jimmy's death because I liked the character, then because I thought it was "dumb" to kill off a main character.
I thought it was a great line when his partner (guy with face mask) told him "He'll never forgive you" in regards to Nuki giving him a second chance.
I instantly hated Nuki by 1000000% after he killed Jimmy and that is attributed to the great writing on this show.
I usually watch my Sunday shows off of the DVR in order of "least interested" to "most interested" and for the first time this season, Dexter wasn't the last show I watched. Boardwalk was!

 

[JonZ]

Im guessing in S3, we're going to be seeing more of Rothstein, Capone, Langsky, maybe Seagal... which isnt a bad thing.

 

[ScottH]

Originally Posted by JonZ /t/315068/boardwalk-empire-season-two/60#post_3879152
Im guessing in S3, we're going to be seeing more of Rothstein, Capone, Langsky, maybe Seagal... which isnt a bad thing.

I would agree that it wouldn't be a bad thing, but unless they do a lot of revisionism, I don't see how they'll be able to do that unless the completely shift the focus of the show from Atlantic City.

 

[younger1968]

I am big into prohibition era and notice that there i series called boardwalk based on the prohibition era. I am interested in thi serie, but i like to get people's feedback on what they think about the show.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Originally Posted by younger1968 /t/315068/boardwalk-empire-season-two/60#post_3968515
I am big into prohibition era and notice that there i series called boardwalk based on the prohibition era. I am interested in thi serie, but i like to get people's feedback on what they think about the show.

It's brilliant. Need I say more?

 

[Robert Crawford]

The third season begins this Sunday, September 18th.







Crawdaddy

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I'm there!