“I think there’s no one else in the all the world; there’s only you and me.” (Gillian)
Okay, I’m not going to beat a dead horse for long, other reviewers have done this already. But please do allow me this short rant: Boardwalk Empire has never been more blatantly Oedipal than this. In one episode, Jimmy Darmody went from shellshocked criminal to tragic victim of his surroundings. And to think it was as easy as letting his sleep with his mother and kill his father.
“How Nucky shoes be fitting these days?” (Chalky)
If you say you didn’t see it coming, you’re pretty much blind. Sure, it’s HBO – if Boardwalk Empire were a network show, Angela’d been dead ages ago. But, even with HBO’s budgets, a role can be so piss-poor that not even money can save it. So Angela bit the duts in what would otherwise have been just another Boardwalk Empire episode.
“Got caught in the wrong cookie jar.” (Nucky)
After having given it some thought, I’m absolutely stunned at the fact this episode was just as disjointed as I thought it was going to be. It’s obvious: in an episode with Nucky in Belfast and Margaret’s girl coming down with polio, worlds couldn’t be further apart. What did surprise me, however, was how they adequately used Margaret’s story to play this out as a familiar theme: that just when she needs Nucky the most, he’s nowhere to be found.
“My brother. He’s smarter than you are. And a lot more dangerous.” (Eli)
What an episode. What an episode! Sure, it was all set-up for the season’s final five episodes, but what a set-up it was! This was Boardwalk Empire as we’ve never seen it: small, emotional, and very, very sad.
“It doesn’t make a difference if you’re right or wrong. You just have to make a decision.” (Jimmy)
This week’s episode proved it’s easier to criticize than to be in charge. Every character who tried to control their destiny found themselves hindered by others. It’s the week of the little man on Boardwalk Empire.
“Yeah, I understand. You want Schlampen.” (Eddie)
For an episode called “The Age of Reason”, it certainly focused a lot on irrational guilt. It was like a confession, which makes sense after last week’s episode, which was sin all around. Almost every major character either opened up or was punished because they were hiding out. This is the set-up to the second half of the season. I can’t believe it.
“Would you fight for me?” (Richard)
I think it was when Jimmy got hit in the face with a cane I sensed this would not be a regular episode. And true enough: what started as a sneaky suspicion slowly grew into full-grown shock as the episode went on. Suddenly, we were treated with slap in the face after slap in the face. I think there’s no better time than now to utter the legendary term shock and awe.
“I didn’t spend my life getting groped by a bunch of drunks to wind up in a goddamn poor house.” (Gillian)
What an unexpected episode. Like a fait divers, we got treated to a season changer in the form of a stroke. What happens in a world like Boardwalk Empire’s when the king falls?* The pawns start rearranging themselves. Everyone starts looking at the queen. Which is exactly what this episode does.
“I will ruin you.” (Nucky)
Allow me to start this review with a sexist statement: the first thing I noticed about this episode that it was directed by a woman: Susanna White. Immediately, my mind started racing: what could a female touch mean for a male-oriented series like Boardwalk Empire? One sub-plot later, I found out the answer.
“Look around, big brother. What do you got?” (Eli)
What a bad-ass follower to the stunning season 2 premiere. A bit more action, a bit more plot and a little faster narrative tempo was all it needed, apparently. It gives us the impression more things are going on in one episode – even if they’re really not. In fact, this episode completely ignored one thing constantly criticized about the series: the uneven focus on its main characters. Which I gladly care nothing about.