“You’ll be judged by what you succeed at, boy, not by what you attempt.” (Commodore)
Boardwalk Empire returns after what felt like an eternal hiatus. Over the course of the years, the series got very polarizing reviews. A lot of people, especially critics, felt is was the best thing since sliced bread (or Deadwood); others, however, criticized the show’s slow pace and focus on certain characters exaggerated. Those people just wanted to see more Chalky White. And they got their wish.
“Stop acting like you care.” (Jimmy)
Boy, what a spectacular end to the first season. Characters that didn’t interact during the entire season suddenly stood face to face once more to blow up bridges that ultimately built new ones that will come into play in the second season. Let’s dig in, shall we?
“I am. The question is: are you?” (Van Alden)
Holy crap, Van Alden! He’s the Boardwalk Empire wildcard – the one that can get away with just about anything. First he bangs Lucy Danziger, and now he actually drowns a man? Boy oh boy, Boardwalk Empire does kick off the nastiness in its penultimate episode.
“That’s me. The tin woodsman. Just need a bit of oil.” (Richard)
It should be no secret that I love The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I don’t know what it is about the book that seems to stick the way it does, but it does, and for that I’m glad. So naturally, I’m completely in love with this episode and am left with but one question: how much does Atlantic City have in common with The Emerald City?
“If we only elected good men, we’d never have leaders.” (Nucky)
What an episode. Slowly but surely, the plot’s picking up pace, steering away from leaning on metaphors and towards some sort of a narrative climax. Bridges are burnt, others are built and we once again saw Nucky is right about at laest one thing: the roads leading to Atlantic City are absolute garbage.
“That idiot is going to be the next president of the United States of America.” (Nucky)
What a great plot twist; a great dramatic decision at the expense of Van Alden’s poor wife. It was the ultimate pious dick move to send Angela the money (that actually belonged to her) instead of giving it to his wife to get fertility treatment. Holy crap – Boardwalk Empire’s continuous shift in morality seems to be reaching me as well.
“Three years. France, mostly. It’s almost impossible to describe the horror… It’s a living… waking… nightmare… There was a soldier, a German; him and his men tried to attack our position in the Argonne forest. It was nighttime. While he was trying to climb through some barbwire, I shot him twice; once in the stomach, once in the neck. He slumped over the barbwire, and no matter what he did to try and wriggle free, it just got worse for him. I left him there, like that, for days, listening to him moaning, crying, “mutti, mutti, mutti”; that’s German for “mama”; “mama”, that’s what he kept saying. The curious thing is that despite the fact that his situation was utterly hopeless, he didn’t wanna die. I offered to kill him several times, but he just kept fighting. Like some miracle would befall him, get him out of his predicament. We hold on so desperately to life; some people feel, certainly in that soldiers situation, that being alive is much, much worse…” (Jimmy)
That quote goes on for ever, but boy, the way Michael Pitt delivered those lines sent shivers down my spine. What a terrific actor.
“I try to be good. I really do.” (Nucky)
I’m probably not the first one to say this, but I think that quote sums up half a season of Boardwalk Empire quite accurately. There’s not a single character that’s morally unambigious anymore. Nucky has show to have his softer sides. Van Alden – whom we figured a devout man – has a dark sexual passenger of his own. Even Al Capone, whom I thought a loose cannon, has something worth fighting for: his son. How can you be black or white in a world this grey?
“I’m through playing games, Margaret. I’ve no interest in them.” (Nucky)
What an episode. I had trouble finding a quote, but that’s not due to lack of things that happened. This episode marked a turning point for the first season – and it owes it all to its final minutes.
“This here is my daddy’s tools.” (Chalky)
Whoa, whoa, whoa. That was an awesome episode. So much stuff on so many levels. I am shocked. Finally, some closure on the Nucky/Margaret relationship. The moment Nucky saw her at the party, it was clear. That man is madly in love. He might just not know it yet.