Boardwalk Empire: Season Two (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Think, for the most part, this has been a mediocre season
of Boardwalk Empire. For me, the show is more about the
characters than really involving myself in the story.

This week's episode took a very shocking turn towards its
close with its act of vengeance. Probably one of the better
shows this season. Will be very interesting to see Jimmy's
reaction to the discovery. I think with the results of this week's
actions combined with the Commodore's pressing that he isn't
tough enough, we are going to see some real changes in Jimmy's
character.

 

[louisianacharm]

I dont think this season is mediocre. I think the story line is great. Cant wait until this sunday for the next show.

 

[Quentin]

BAM!!! Top that, naysayers.
So disturbing on so many levels. Great episode.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Well...it's about time the show switched into some kind of gear.

These past two weeks have been riveting to say the least.

Has this show been picked up for a third season? It seems like
everything is crashing around everyone at once as if the show is
coming to some sort of close (permanent or seasonal).

Jimmy's Mother is psychotic. That incest scene was so
uncomfortable -- and as much as things started going in that
direction I was praying to myself that it wouldn't.....but it did.

 

[TravisR]

Jimmy's Mother is psychotic.  That incest scene was so
uncomfortable -- and as much as things started going in that
direction I was praying to myself that it wouldn't.....but it did.

Gillian is a very sexual character so throughout the course of the series, I've felt that Gretchen Mol was playing it as if she was flirting with Jimmy or as if there had been some type of incestuous relationship beneath the surface. I'm glad I wasn't just dreaming up some sick shit that wasn't intended to be in the show.
One thing I have to say that was wonderful was seeing how they 'de-aged' Jimmy and Angela for the flashbacks. The wigs and the characters smiling made them look even more than 4 or so years younger that they're supposed to be.
For my money, this show is nearly always a homerun but these last couple have been great.

 

[JonZ]

My GF watches the monday repeat and asked for some bits of info on what happened and I said nothing other than what was said above, that it seems everyone on this shows world is crumbling at the same time in a big way.

I also said in last seasons thread that I wouldnt be suprised is some of these characters didnt stick around for the long haul... Margaret, Van Alden, Angie... some of the people I was thinking of.

I always felt Margaret and/or Angie might take off. Van Alden is such a screw up I couldnt see him not doing something to cost him his job.

On the outs w/ Nucky plus Capone and the NY guys, with Horvitz gunning for him, I dont see much hope for Jimmy, especially now with the Commodore gone. Everyone with any sort of power has deserted him, w/ only Harrow to back him up. I see 2 choices for him, he has to directly go at Manny, showing strength to everyone or run.

 

[Quentin]

I'm not even sure gunning for Manny can help. Atlantic City feels like a boy playing in an adult game, and Jimmy can't even handle that. The Young Turks are going to cut him out and it's him and Nucky left with one another. Plus, after this Oedipal episode I just can't see Jimmy's story ending in anything other than tragedy. Might as well have him killing (or killed by) his brother (Richard) now. But, I hope Gillian gets hers first. The most evil Lady Macbeth ever!
Still...it's unlike HBO to have any more momentous deaths of main characters in the final episode..so, I expect Manny meets his demise at the hands of Richard and Jimmy next week and Nucky finds a way to get off...leading to the cliffhanger for next year - some sort of need for reconcilliation between Nucky/Eli/Jimmy?

 

[JonZ]

I hope Manny doesnt buy it.

He might be my favorite original television character since Al Swearengen.

I think Manny is too tough. Jimmy bit off more than he can chew with that guy.

Im expecting a cliffhanger ending for most of the plotlines.

 

[TravisR]

I hope Manny doesnt buy it.

It's awesome to see William Forsythe in anything so I hope he sticks around too. That being said, I think Manny's number is up. While Jimmy seems to be the likely person to kill him, Richard was either in love with Angela or very fond of her due to her kindness so I think he might get him.

 

[TravisR]

Jeez, I guess next season the cast will consist of 2 or 3 actors rather than the 15 they had this year.

 

[mylan]

As much as we have enjoyed this season, I am terribly upset with the outcome of the finale, not happy at all. There were many ways they could have taken with this but I felt the way they did it was sh#%ty, the episode seemed to drag...I liked Jimmy.

 

[joshEH]

Wasn't expecting that tonight. Ice-cold.
Happy that Manny will still be around. The cross-cutting between the wedding and the prosecutor practicing her opening statement was fantastic. I'll admit I was fooled by the ending. Thought Nucky and Jimmy had come to terms. This episode really kicked Nucky several notches up on the Sociopath Meter™.
Now onto the important questions, like, WHAT BECOMES OF HARROW?!?!

 

[Quentin]

Wow. You have to admire the balls of a show that kills its most compelling lead character in the second season.
Then again, I don't know if I'll watch a third season with no Jimmy. Pitt has been so good, so mesmerizing. And, last week made Jimmy the most interesting character by far. I'm not sure why you would want to throw that away? If Harrow and Lady Macbeth are also gone I'm definitely out. Buscemi is good...but, he ain't that good. Unfortunately, I don't see where you go with Harrow and Evil Mom at this point. We'll see.
Plus, let's face it now: Margaret is dead next year. If they let Nucky kill Jimmy, they'd certainly have him do her after she just screwed him right up the ol' chute. But, it was grand to see. She realized she married the devil and did what she had to do.

 

[TravisR]

Happy that Manny will still be around.

Me too and since the cast has shrunken considerably (Jimmy, Angela and the Commodore are dead, Van Alden and Lucy are likely written out of the series and without Jimmy around, Gillian and Capone will probably be reduced to infrequent appearances and maybe even Harrow too), I'm guessing William Forsythe will be in the main cast next year.

Wow. You have to admire the balls of a show that kills its most compelling lead character in the second season.

Yeah, I found it to be a fucking crazy thing to do but I do admire it. What I expected was Nucky to turn the tables on Manny and have Jimmy kill him and maybe even take care of Eli too.
I've only seen the episodes once so someone can correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Jimmy save Nucky by semi-alerting him to the guy trying to kill him? And the 'tragedy' of it was that Jimmy was back on Nucky's side (albeit somewhat self-servingly) while it's Eli that Nucky should have killed.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by TravisR /t/315068/boardwalk-empire-season-two/30#post_3878688
Yeah, I found it to be a fucking crazy thing to do but I do admire it. What I expected was Nucky to turn the tables on Manny and have Jimmy kill him and maybe even take care of Eli too.
I've only seen the episodes once so someone can correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Jimmy save Nucky by semi-alerting him to the guy trying to kill him? And the 'tragedy' of it was that Jimmy was back on Nucky's side (albeit somewhat self-servingly) while it's Eli that Nucky should have killed.

No, what Jimmy said to Nucky just before he was shot is that "you make a decision and then you live with it".

Next season, I think they're going to skip a year or so into the future to correspond to some events that actually took place involving some of the real characters.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I agree it’s a ballsy move to kill a main character....

...but that gives even more credibility to this show. I applaud
any series that foregoes any predictability in which character
is safe and which is not. Every character should be expandable
at any time -- that is what gives the kind of shock value we witnessed
this week. My respect for this show went up tenfold to the point
that I'm giving serious thought to purchasing the series. I would not
have even considered that a week ago.

...and something tells me that Nucky isn't going to be a happy
camper in the opening of season three.

This was truly a season finale with a satisfying payoff. Very
well executed with excellent camera work.

 

[TravisR]

No, what Jimmy said to Nucky just before he was shot is that "you make a decision and then you live with it". 

OK. That was a huge error on Jimmy's part because I think that coming up to Nucky and saying something cryptic alerted Nucky to danger and also, Jimmy's very presence must have given Nucky's man some reason to be more alert and he was able to shoot the assassin. Without Jimmy being there, I think that assassin would have gotten Nucky no problem. In the end, I think Jimmy was back on Nucky's side moreso than Eli and while Jimmy made some mistakes, I think Eli was more of a threat.

 

[joshEH]

Next year's opening credits are going to be radically different, I imagine. No Coleman, no Pitt, no Aleska Palladino, and presumably, no Paz. Reportedly, Paz's attitude is the reason she was suddenly taken off the show...was reading some stories about her on-set behavior; Lucy wasn't just a character she was playing.
Same thing with Michael Pitt, from what I've been hearing -- if Jimmy was written off the show because Pitt is an asshole, that makes the narrative-turn slightly dodgier. I hope that wasn't their reasoning.
My biggest request for Season 3: More Rothstein! Stuhlberg kills in his two-minute segments every episode, but, damn, I want more.

No, what Jimmy said to Nucky just before he was shot is that "you make a decision and then you live with it".
Next season, I think they're going to skip a year or so into the future to correspond to some events that actually took place involving some of the real characters.

Agreed. Fuck "family-is-off-limits." This isn't The Sopranos, here. Jimmy was warned, what seems like every five minutes, to never under any circumstances mess with Manny, and yet he repeatedly did so. And over a measly five grand, no less. Angela's demise is on his now-dead head.
I'm pretty sure more than half the cast would pull the same shit Manny did, if placed in his shoes. If anything, Manny's actions probably make more sense to the very dangerous underworld-types than the actions of somebody like Nucky, who keeps trying and failing to straddle the fence.
Prohibition had an amazing ability to weed out folks like George Remus, and breed the Bugsy Siegels of the world.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Paz's attitude is the reason she was suddenly taken off the show...was reading some stories about her on-set behavior; Lucy wasn't just a character she was playing.

I can see that. You can sort of tell that she probably was
not a very professional actress.

How did they write her off the show? I forget the last time
we saw her. Did she just hand the baby over to Nelson?

My biggest request for Season 3: More Rothstein!

I agree. He has a very attracting character with his cool,
always professional demeanor.

 

[joshEH]

 
 
 
I can see that.  You can sort of tell that she probably was
not a very professional actress.
 
How did they write her off the show?  I forget the last time
we saw her.  Did she just hand the baby over to Nelson?
 
 
 
 
 

Lucy basically left Van Alden a dirty diaper and a "Fuck You!" note, and skipped town. At this point, I'm wondering if we'll even see her on the show again.
(Van Alden running basically means hot Sveedish nanny gets stuck with baby.)