Stuff about television.
“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.
“Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel.” (Violet)
For an episode spending so much time on introducing a telephone and with a very predictable cliffhanger, I was surprised to not see two and two put together. It appears that, in case of war breakout, the good old telegraph is still the way to go. Downton Abbey finished off its spectacular season with a bang followed by a very predictable non-existent cliffhanger. Jeez, it’s 1914, we all know the war was coming.
“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.
“Sybil is entitled to her opinions.”
“No. She isn’t until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are.” (Lady Crawley and Violet)
For an upstairs-downstairs type show, this episode of Downton Abbey spent a lot of time with the layers’ seperate quarrels. On the one hand, there was the Sybill-conflict; on the other the whole questionable affair with Mr. Bates and the wine. Let’s have a closer look, shall we?
“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.
“She thinks when you put a toy down it will still be sitting there when you want to play with it again.” (Robert)
In its fifth week, Downton Abbey either starts working on wrapping things up or on opening them up even further. Whereas, on a character level, certain characters have reached a new stage in their development towards wholesomeness, others are evolving towards the dark side. And what’s been hinted for a while has now become abundantly clear: Mary and Edith are both grade-A bitches.
“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.
“If she’s got a boyfriend, I’m a giraffe.” (O’Brian)
Now who doesn’t like the fair? I sure as hell don’t – today fairs are synonym for teenage kids drinking breezers and barfing on the bumper carts. But back when life was different, fairs were different, too. They filled some of the abbey’s inhabitants with childlike glee and showed us a further instance of how (and why) the old upstairs-downstairs system is falling apart.
“Now I’ve just got to figure out how to get home.” (Peter)
This must’ve been the most subtle plot twist ever. It took until about thirty minutes after the episode finished for me to get it. This is it. It’s the solution to the problem everyone’s been whining about. Yes, the six past episodes felt strange and un-fringelike. That’s because, hey hey, they’re set in another dimension. Way to sneak that one in there, guys.