Review: 'Boardwalk Empire' - 'You'd Be Surprised': Strike while the iron isn't hot
Van Alden and Gyp receive visitors and Nucky tries to play producer
Van Alden (Michael Shannon) and Sigrid (Christiane Seidel) in "Boardwalk Empire."
Are you a fan of Boardwalk Empire?
Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.
A review of tonight's "Boardwalk Empire" coming up just as soon as I get you some Passover vodka...
"And nothing ever changes. Who doesn't need to believe that, for a while?" -Gillian
There's a lot of denial going on in Atlantic City (and New York, and Cicero) this week. Nucky doesn't want to believe that he's become fixated on Billie Kent, nor that she speaks to the same kind of savior complex that got him involved with Margaret. Van Alden's "wife" Sigrid has convinced herself that George Muller is a good man who deserves protection from all the bad people trying to corrupt him. Gillian keeps insisting that Jimmy is alive and well, and even writes anguished letters to him. And Nucky, Rothstein, Lansky and everyone else underestimates the danger posed by Gyp Rosetti who's so tough that he's able to fend off an assassination attempt while naked and with a belt wrapped around his neck.
Gyp's predilection for erotic asphyxia adds a layer of tension to Benny's failed hit on him (without the belt, the legend of Bugsy Siegel dies in Tabor Heights) and creates a visually striking sequence at the end, as a nude, furious Gyp strides through the lodge and surveys the body count. But it also makes him out to be an even more over-the-top figure. If not for the revelation this week that he's allied with Joe Masseria, making it complicated for Nucky, Rothstein or anyone else to simply take him out, it would be hard to fathom at this point why the combined forces of New York(*) and New Jersey hadn't already stormed Tabor Heights to put an end to this.
(*) As a lifelong Jerseyan, I nodded in sad recognition at Rothstein's rant about how, over "affairs in New Jersey, a state I have little interest in or affection for, you expect me to start a war, in New York — where things actually matter?" This is not an unfamiliar attitude, though it's rarely expressed quite as bluntly.
This is the halfway point of the season, but because of the way the supporting players have been deployed, it feels like many of the stories are just getting started. Van Alden keeps jumping at shadows, and eventually Sigrid beats one of them to death, which in turn forces Van Alden to reconnect with Dean O'Bannion — and, presumably, will again put him in the path of Capone — but it's taken us a while to get there, just as it's taken us a while to see that Harry Daugherty may have no choice but to go after Nucky in order to get Andrew Mellon(**) off his back.
(**) Played, in an impressive bit of casting, by James Cromwell.
The stories we've followed most consistently so far involve Gyp, Margaret at the hospital and Nucky's affair with Billie. And the problem with the latter is that even five episodes in, I don't feel like I understand the obsession, even after Margaret tries to explain it to him/us. First, while Meg Steedle's an attractive woman, I feel like we haven't seen enough in Billie to suggest she would have this kind of grip on Nucky, and what we have seen suggests she's independent enough that his savior complex wouldn't be automatically triggered. Rothstein says the affair makes Nucky look weak to other crimelords, but it also makes him seem more passive than usual to us at home.
Still, that story did give us the marvelous sight of a terrified Eddie Cantor trying to perform for a stone-faced Chalky White ("Milky?") and Dunn Purnsley, who are decidedly not in his target demographic. Halfway through the year, it feels like the individual pieces of this season have been stronger than the whole, and good enough to forgive some of the sluggish or cartoonish parts. But I'm hopeful things start tying together more as we go into the rest of the season.
What did everybody else think?
Trending Now on HitFix Boards
| Topic | Started By | Latest Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| sepinwall |
4 days ago
|
2
|
|
| sepinwall |
14 days ago
|
1
|
|
| Discuss Scripted Dramas on HitFix Message Boards » | |||
News From Our Partners
-
The Telefile - Save Me: Lightning Strikes NBC
The Telefile - Modern Family: Goodnight, Gracie. Hello, Series Highlight.
The Telefile - Critics' Choice Television Awards 2013: Nominees Announced
-
'Hangover III': The Reviews Are In!
Jennifer Aniston Breaks Bad, Strips Down In 'We're The Millers' Trailer
'Star Wars' Fans Still Love To Hate Ewoks 30 Years Later
-
Quicksilver in 'X-Men: Days of Future Past': Evan Peters Cast as Magneto's Son
'Poltergeist' Reboot May Actually Be a Sequel
Brad Pitt Shocks Fans at 'World War Z' Screening (VIDEO)
-
What to Watch This Weekend: Orphan Black, Behind the Candelabra, and Arrested Development's Netflix Debut
What to Watch Tonight: The Season Premiere of Rookie Blue and the Series Premieres of Save Me, Showville, and Does Someone Have to Go?
Less Jaywalking, More Web-friendly Clips: Dos and Don'ts for Seth Meyers' Late Night Career
-
Podmass: David Sedaris describes his bath time, cicadas are explained, and Wompler returns
Interview: Mitchell Hurwitz talks about the resurrection of Arrested Development
AVQ&A: What pop-culture family would you want to join?
-
CBS Fall 2013: 'Intelligence' Extended Trailer Evokes 'Chuck' For Grown-Ups
Marvel's 'Avengers Assemble': Producers Explain Movie Tie-In, Plus New Clip!
'Hannibal' Review: "Trou Normand"
-
'Grey's Anatomy' Scoop: 'Callie Isn't A Victim'
'Supernatural's' Surprising Ratings Victory
Three Years Later, People Are Still Livid About 'Lost'
-
Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh
Red Carpet Photos with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and More
Video: The Hangover Part III Cast Interviews
Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching
Latest Posts
-
Will gets lost in a case, and Lecter tries to protect Abigail HobbsThursday, May 23, 2013
-
Announcing this summer's blog rewatch seriesThursday, May 23, 2013
-
The Dunphys and Pritchetts head to Florida for the funeral of Phil's momThursday, May 23, 2013
-
If picked up, would be first regular TV job in decades for the 'Soap' and 'SNL' alumWednesday, May 22, 2013
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupGuest
October 14, 2012 at 10:12PM EST Reply to CommentYes. More Eddie Cantor. That is EXACTLY what this show needs.
CC LOL
October 15, 2012 at 1:53PM ESTgerritv Thank you for your comment Gilbert Gotfried. . . Sorry, your response sounded so Giliscious.
October 15, 2012 at 2:19PM ESTGreg Grant
October 14, 2012 at 10:13PM EST Reply to CommentMeh, I understand Nucky's relationship with Billie better than I understand his relationship with Margaret at this point. One wants to have a wild life, and is a bit vulnerable; the other is now a gloriously self-righteous progressive. Dear me, are we forgetting you shacked up with a guy who pays all of your bills after he killed your husband, on whom you cheated with his henchman?
I had less problems with Gyp's survival of a hit then I did with his deviancy, which feels forced. Does a guy who burns people alive and takes everything personally really needed a new layer of weird? Not that I have anything about people being into that sort of thing, but that did seem forced. And please, nobody tell me it's some kind of great psychological reveal that the guy needs to be punished or controlled in bed or whatever. It was just weirdness.
Not gonna discuss previews, due to rules. But I did do a massive WTF? when I saw one of them. Won't say more. But was confused.
Mike F I have a friend who works in and is connected with the sex industry. People like Gyp are the type that frequent S&M dungeons. Perhaps it's a forced element of the show (do we really need to know this about him?), but, to me, it's a logical extension of his character.
October 15, 2012 at 12:32PM ESTyoungjt80 He is a sociopath so I don't think they were just trying to add a new level of weird. It totally fits the character.
October 18, 2012 at 4:36PM ESTWeebeysPlasticFish
October 14, 2012 at 10:24PM EST Reply to CommentI don't really have anything to say other than it wasn't until this season of Boardwalk Empire that I realized that Jimmy James and Milton from Office Space are played by the same person.
JerseyRudy
October 14, 2012 at 10:24PM EST Reply to CommentI thought this was the best of the season. James Cromwell as Andrew Mellon was fantastic. Responding to the question of whether the Justice Department's failures are gross incompetence or widespread corruption: "It is my experience that human nature leaves ample room for both."
Victorycurtis James Cromwell is my favorite character actor of all time. He has been consistently awesome in every movie or t.v. show that he has ever appeared in. He did not dissapoint last night. It's too bad that his characters role can't be expanded so that we can see more of him.
October 15, 2012 at 10:15AM ESTjoe
October 14, 2012 at 10:34PM EST Reply to CommentI thought the revelation about rosetti and masseria was interesting. I would have thought he would have been aligned with d'aquila in brooklyn. I guess since there is already a large number of players in boardwalk that it's easier to just keep it simple and align him with someone that's already in the show.
Rosetti may be stupid but he's got an eye for important details, I think they made a point of hinting by showing him looking at the dead paper boy that he'll figure out who was behind it because he'll remember telling the paper boy where and when to come to his house when he was talking to lucky and rothstein.
as for billie's grip on nucky, I just assumed she had some special sexual prowess that he's caught up in.
bbq_hax0r I think he figured it out that Rothstein and Nucky had the hit put on him. Who else would send in an assassin to take him out disguised as the paperboy at roughly that time. Rothstein would pick up on that hint about the paperboy and try to utilize it. The only flaw to that plan (other than not killing Gyp), was allowing the paperboy to actually show up.
October 15, 2012 at 1:08AM ESTM
October 14, 2012 at 10:43PM EST Reply to CommentWhat did Slater say to Nucky at the end? Couldn't catch it clearly.
Davidbc He got word from Rothstein, 4 casualties... None of them Gyp
October 14, 2012 at 11:56PM ESTDr. H
October 14, 2012 at 10:45PM EST Reply to CommentGyp was a dog on a leash. The attempt on his life left him roaming with the leash attached but no one to tug on his chain.
Darkdoug Imagery!
October 15, 2012 at 11:23AM ESTrick that is interesting. What held the leash before, his own self-control? So now nobody is holding his leash, he's effectively "unleashed" or out of control.
October 15, 2012 at 11:35AM ESTJimmy from Boston
October 14, 2012 at 11:05PM EST Reply to CommentWas anyone else reminded in that overhead tracking shot of Gyp surveying the post-assassination-attempt carnage of one of the last sequences of Taxi Driver? Scorsese must approve.
JKeith It's funny I just watched taxi driver this afternoon and thought the exact same thing.
October 15, 2012 at 12:09AM ESTGeoff Anyone who loves crime dramas would've automatically thought Taxi Driver .... as I did. Boy, was that brilliant!
October 15, 2012 at 3:10AM ESTOrangeNYC That was the first thing I thought of with that tracking shot, as well. Fantastic.
October 15, 2012 at 10:15AM ESTJREinATL Yes, a clear homage to the show's executive producer's masterpiece.
October 15, 2012 at 11:01AM ESTjack_is_laughing Spielberg paid homage to the shot in Minority Report where the robots inspect the tenants in the tenement building.
October 16, 2012 at 2:23AM ESThckleinman Yeah. Had the same thought. Except Travis Bickle would've got him.
October 16, 2012 at 8:03PM ESTalynch
October 14, 2012 at 11:17PM EST Reply to CommentThis was episode five, so not quite halfway.
nath Yeah, I was going to ask Alan if this season was only going to be ten episodes for whatever reason.
October 15, 2012 at 1:54AM ESTgreatplans
October 14, 2012 at 11:52PM EST Reply to CommentI'm always entertained by this show but it has now officially entered "Chronicles of Riddic" territory. The characters are now completely caricatures and the plot machinations require a level of suspension of disbelief akin to leaving your your brain in a jar before watching. But I will keep watching because, damn, I also loved The Chronicles of Riddic.
The Judge Holden
October 15, 2012 at 12:27AM EST Reply to CommentHold on a moment. So Chalky is now Nucky's errand boy? He has no problem being sent out of his way (with his best man Dunn, no less) on inane missions, all for the sake of Nucky's ridiculous love life? Really, show!? Really!
I mean, even if it did matter to Chalky-- we ain't even talking about the difference between Nucky getting laid and not getting laid! He was already getting laid!
Geoff Eddie Cantor could never wow over two African Americans. That's why it worked. And why he Eddie ended up doing the show.
October 15, 2012 at 3:55AM ESTI have a lot of free time That's why Nucky would want to send Chalky, yes. But last I checked, business 'partners' or not, Chalky is his own man. Not only his own man, but a crucial element of Nucky's agenda. I'll add, crucial enough that we've seen Chalky leverage this power over Nuck more than a couple times. What he isn't -- he's definitely not just some hired goon that Nucky can dispatch at his pleasure. Let alone to help some white girl's performance arts career.
October 15, 2012 at 6:34AM ESTI mean, I get why the writers did this. They wanted to give Chalky something to do, and I love me some Milky. But come on, can you picture the in-universe conversation that led to this scenario?
Nucky: Listen, Chalky. There's this gal I'm a-real sweet on.
Chalky: Say no more, old friend!! I'll get Mrs. White to lay out my friendship clothes!
John I think you're over=thinking this. Nucky either paid Chalky to do this or just asked him to do this as a favor to him, a favor that he will pay back some time down the road.
October 15, 2012 at 8:43AM ESTKen Scott I dont think Nucky had any intention of beating up Eddie. This was just a scare tactic and it worked. Nucky would not be served well by having Eddie get beat up by Nucky because Billie would never forgive him.
October 15, 2012 at 12:19PM ESTGoTigers Reply to comment...
October 16, 2012 at 9:37PM ESTyoungjt80 This show is really wasting the talents of Michael Williams. He gets 10 minutes screen time tops in the 2nd episode and then 3-4 minutes in this one? What a shame.
October 18, 2012 at 4:42PM ESTHarrowman
October 15, 2012 at 3:39AM EST Reply to CommentAbsurdity compounded upon absurdity in this episode. But let's just focus on the ridiculous attempt to kill Gyp: after Benny fails to hit Gyp, and runs, whom does he meet outside, waiting in the car? At the very least, Meyer, and does he not have a gun? Ideally a Tommy gun? Assuming so, why wasn't Meyer right behind Benny after the first shot was fired, taking out the two guards on the front porch and then running upstairs to back Benny's play? Or, if you want to kill Gyp, and you're Nucky, why not go to expert long-range sharpshooter Richard Harrow, and have him shoot Gyp from a great distance, while Gyp sits in front of the open window at the diner where he eats every day? Or, if you want to be less neat about it, have, oh, I don't know, Chalky and Dunn and 10 of their guys drive by said diner with Tommy guns and spray the place with lead, then go in and make sure that Gyp's dead. All options we've seen in some form or another on this show, all options that would make tremendous sense, especially since Gyp is a huge threat to Nucky's business, and Nucky has the means to take him out (despite poor Eli having to declare, in the early scene, that they don't). Instead, we have Nucky producing shows, and Benny and Meyer making half-assed plans that go off, surprise surprise, half-assed. Oh, and another absurd moment? Gyp keeps a guard in the hall, but still locks the door?
And as has already been noted, Chalky and Dunn are running showbiz errands for Nucky now (but not killing Gyp, instead of any follow through on the far more interesting Chalky family/race nuances story. Absurd.
Richard Harrow isn't being called in to do a contract hit by Nucky, despite his recent admissions that he not only killed the formidable Manny Horovitz, but 62 other people. You have Richard Harrow in your debt, in your potential EMPLOY, and you don't call him when you need a very threatening thug dead. Absurd.
Capone momentum not being carried through. Absurd.
Nucky killed a guy last week, his second, and seemed to take another step up on the ladder of being in fucking command, and now he's producing lousy Broadway shows. ABSURD.
And when not absurd, just boring. Gillian, it turns out, takes 3 episodes to learn that her whorehouse is a whorehouse. Nucky takes 3 seasons to STILL not admit he has a savior complex. Margaret is...self-righteous...conflicted...getting comeuppances in small ways. The Harding government is corrupt.
Acting continues to be great, design and direction the same, but boy is the storytelling turning deeper and deeper into a fog, at the center of which is the exceedingly foggy Nucky.
Guest "...At the center of which is the exceedingly foggy Nucky..."
October 15, 2012 at 10:03AM ESTWell said.
This show did not jump the shark -- it shot itself in the face.
albatross Nucky didn't want to be directly involved, hence no Harrow. He said earlier that if it went wrong, they wouldn't blame it on the Atlantic City boys.
October 15, 2012 at 10:55AM ESTHarrowman If Richard did it, nobody would know! Richard killed the thug in Chicago from across the street. But more to the point, Gyp started a war! And Nucky's response is "I don't want to be involved." So gangster!
October 15, 2012 at 11:02AM ESTDarkdoug Also, Nucky's cool with the blowback against Rothstein. Nucky hates getting slighted. Hence the barbed comment to Margaret about practicalities when she tells him not to look in on the kids.
October 15, 2012 at 11:31AM ESTThe savior complex is part of that - he has to be the big man. I think he went to Rothstein because he hates having to sweet-talk a thug like Rosetti, and endure his crudity and attitude, and not be able to cut him down with an acerbic comment. He's doing the theater thing as much to throw his weight around as "save" Billie. I don't think she's so much of saving project as another sop to his ego. Eddie Cantor called it best by comparing Billie to Lucy. She's the other type of woman for Nucky - a desirable & famous beauty, a trophy he can lock away and ogle all by himself. Both types, victim & trophy play to his inner sad unloved & bullied/abused little boy and bolster his desired self-image as the big shot patriarch.
rita forsyth Oh well they killed Jimmy AND a great story line! I forced myself to watch after last night this is a B rated movie and not a very good one. Maybe they can figure out how to coat my TV screen with blood!
October 15, 2012 at 11:51AM ESTHarrowman Nucky cares enough to chase down a nothing 18 year old thief but not the guy who killed 11 of his guys and stole trucks of booze? Last week he was worried about looking weak and distracted. This week he is worried about...a shitty Broadway play? He's beyond distracted, he's unimportant. And he's making bonehead moves that a 10 year old could figure out how to plan better. You seem caught up in Nucky's reasoning about Billie, but what about the rest of his life?
October 15, 2012 at 12:01PM ESTAlso:
When AR and Lucky go to Tabor Heights, what if the paperboy didn't come by, and conveniently give them a means to hit Gyp AND his hotel room number?
albatross "When AR and Lucky go to Tabor Heights, what if the paperboy didn't come by, and conveniently give them a means to hit Gyp AND his hotel room number? "
October 15, 2012 at 12:05PM ESTThey would have thought of something else? I'm sure they knew (or could find out easily) what room Gyp was staying in.
Harrowman Here's what else they could have thought of that would have WORKED without knowing his room number: Richard Harrow 100 feet away with a sniper rifle. Or 5 cars driving by the diner during breakfast with guys with Tommy guns. In season 1, the show employed MANY means to kill people, all of them well-thought through by smart people, most of them successful as a result. The rare occasion a hit failed, it was the one on Nucky, which was in part due to Jimmy's (unconscious) ambivalence in going to warn Nucky the hit was coming and of course to the agent tailing Nucky. That made sense. This makes no sense. AR, Lucky and Lansky are consistently depicted as smart guys who see many angles. They completely BOTCHED this, and they didn't need to.
October 15, 2012 at 12:19PM ESTBrian Do you know what absurd means? Just about everything you listed can be labeled "a bad decision" and as AR pointed out Nucky has been making terrible ones all season. Do you think there is a reason that Nucky would personally see to the murder of a lowly thief and not be anxious about being there for Rosetti? Possibly the same reason Chris and Snoop were willing to off that family for bad mouthing Marlo but were reluctant to go after Omar? Do you really think that Chalky (a black criminal) can leverage that much against Nucky (a white criminal with political connections) in 1920s America? when Chalky has previously raised a stink it was because necessity forced him between a rock and a hard place. I don't see anything wrong with thinking that he would do minor jobs at Thompson's behest. The hit on Rosetti would have worked for sure if he opened the door to get his paper as expected. They didn't think they'd walk up on him fucking and have to get it to an underling. Lucky, Lanksy and AR are good criminals, but they aren't supermen. they can screw up every now and again. If you don't like the show don't watch it, but please don't act like the show not catering to you is "absurd"
October 15, 2012 at 1:17PM ESTBrian Do you know what absurd means? Just about everything you listed can be labeled "a bad decision" and as AR pointed out Nucky has been making terrible ones all season. Do you think there is a reason that Nucky would personally see to the murder of a lowly thief and not be anxious about being there for Rosetti? Possibly the same reason Chris and Snoop were willing to off that family for bad mouthing Marlo but were reluctant to go after Omar? Do you really think that Chalky (a black criminal) can leverage that much against Nucky (a white criminal with political connections) in 1920s America? when Chalky has previously raised a stink it was because necessity forced him between a rock and a hard place. I don't see anything wrong with thinking that he would do minor jobs at Thompson's behest. The hit on Rosetti would have worked for sure if he opened the door to get his paper as expected. They didn't think they'd walk up on him fucking and have to get it to an underling. Lucky, Lanksy and AR are good criminals, but they aren't supermen. they can screw up every now and again. If you don't like the show don't watch it, but please don't act like the show not catering to you is "absurd"
October 15, 2012 at 1:17PM ESTHarrowman Brian, I'm using the word "absurd" in the sense of "ridiculously unreasonable, unsound", which is the primary definition stemming from its root, "stupid." My point is that the decisions aren't just "bad," they lack the thoughtful motivation displayed by previously thoughtful characters. My further point is that the writers have worked this season to establish that Nucky is developing his "gangster" side, and that his murder of Jimmy was a turning point. But then they abandon that completely and have him "not wanting to get involved". The issue is not the Gyp is violent and dangerous. I was never suggesting that Nucky would got meet Gyp and blow his brains out personally. I'm suggesting that Nucky's response is unreasonable given all we know about what Nucky is capable of, the degree of caution and thoroughness with which he operates, and his (new) determination to show everyone that he is The Boss and Not To Be Fucked With.
October 15, 2012 at 1:48PM ESTI'm not suggesting that Chalky, who is an extremely powerful force in AC, should HAVE to leverage power against Nucky. I'm suggesting that the whole "force Eddie Cantor to do musical" plotline is beneath Chalky and Nucky as characters. You may disagree, and that's fine, but the writers spent several episodes last season building up the complexities of Chalky's position in terms of his race and education, his ambivalence toward his better educated (and lighter skinned) family, and they started to pursue it this season, but that was several episodes ago, and it's been completely dropped (like so many things in this excessively crowded season).
The purpose of these comment boards and Alan's blog is to be, one hopes, astutely critical. It is because of my fondness for the show that I find myself so frustrated with most of this season and what seems like an increasingly aimless direction to the writing (and to be clear, I am a huge Wire and Treme fan, so I don't expect CSI or that procedural stuff. But what both The Wire had and Treme has is a clear sense of character through action/dialogue/motivation.) I'm not "acting like the show not catering to (me) is 'absurd.'" I'm pointing out what I see are the unreasonable, unsound actions of several of the characters.
Final point re: your comment about the hit on Gyp working if he'd opened the door to get the paper. Benny walks into the hallway and FIRES A GUN at the guard waiting outside the door, so at that point, I don't think he expects the door to open. He tries the door, it's locked. He shoots it, but Gyp shoots back at him. AND THEN BENNY RUNS AWAY. This is the same Benny who two episodes ago ran down a street chasing THREE guys shooting at him in a car. Benny is established as nutsy and not caring for others' toughness. This scene? Unreasonable and unsound.
Darkdoug Nucky isn't supposed to be more gangster in this season. The tagline "you can't be half a gangster" that appeared in the season 3 promotional material was not, IMO, promising more violence from Nucky, it was warning of the dire consequences of Nucky farting around and half-assing it as he is now. The story of this season is implied by the promos to be, IMO, that Nucky has to wake up and get his hands dirty if he wants to continue down this road. He wants to reap the rewards of wealth and abuse his power to satisfy his petty whims, like making Eddie do his bidding and controlling Billie's career. But he doesn't want to deal with the other half of being a gangster - mixing it up, and directly running the liquor business. The only details he wants to attend are the fun ones, the ones that make him look like Mr. Bigshot Benefactor. He wants to rub elbows with politicians and famous pretty people, not Gyp Rosetti and his ilk. He is only being half a gangster, and that is the arc of the season - building up to the point where his ego and embarrassment will force him to step up and be a whole gangster. Maybe even partnering up with Gillian. Despite the ghost of Jimmy between them, she was to run her brothel the same way Nucky wants to run his enterprises - in a way that lets them believe they are classy and superior rather than a whore-monger and a gangster.
October 15, 2012 at 5:16PM ESTThe reason Nucky doesn't call for Richard is because he does not want to fight. He does not want to be the man who orders deaths or suffers the consequences. He went to Rothstein to dump the dirty work in his lap, and after Rothstein berated him, Nucky is probably just as happy to have Rossetti gunning for the Jewish mob now. He wants to walk away from the mess the ocean is washing up on his beach and go back to his palace, like in the opening credits.
Dr. Dunkenstein Maybe I'm forgetting something about Richard's scene with Nucky but I don't think there's anything there to suggest that Richard Harrow is either amenable to doing contract hits or working with Nucky.
October 15, 2012 at 8:39PM ESTRichard said that he wasn't going after Nucky but that's a far sight away from being at Nucky's beck and call.
That said, I do agree that the hit on Rosetti seemed written pretty poorly with no other aim than to let Rosetti live on.
guest about the rosetti are a couple things. the plan was bugsy gets by the guards disguised as the paperboy, kills rosetti when he gives him the paper, then kills the other 3 guards on his way out the door (or possibly aided by getaway driver who could be a back up shooter). Unfortunately the plan went south with rosetti having sex and being unavailable, so bugsy gets stopped by the guard outside the room and has to improvise. He shoots that guy, plans to shoot rosetti which doesn't quite work out and once rosetti starts shooting back bugsy has to get the hell out of there because it's now 3 on 1 with the other two guards coming up the stairs and bugsy running out of bullets.
October 15, 2012 at 9:59PM ESTHad rosetti been able to answer the door and bugsy let in the room without incident, the whole thing becomes easier. Granted it's still not a great plan, but it's what they had with the information available and on short notice. It's not as though they had 3 months to do this thing, they need taper heights open asap.
As for the beloved harrow, 2 things. one, as has been addressed, we don't know if he is even available to nucky. two, even if he is, the sniper angle only works if there is a roof and and angle to shoot from, which is likely not the case in that small town.
The chalky idea, I don't see how how a group of black men in 1920's new jersey are going to get close to kill a bunch of scilians. Sure they could go up there with machine guns and just start shooting in the street, but that's just as low percentage of an idea, if not moreso, as sending bugsy in as a paperboy.
guest *sicilians
October 15, 2012 at 10:01PM ESTEmpirelover Yeah, maybe those assassination plots would have made more sense, but I think it's going to take quite a while the shrug off the "WTF?!?!"-jaw-on-the-floor-hear-a-pin-drop effect of seeing Rosetti walk out of that room butt nekkid, excuse me, FULL FRONTAL, covered in blood with a leash around his neck like an ANIMAL! And THAT is the point.
October 17, 2012 at 12:07PM ESTHarrowman A lot of good points, but you're right, Empirelover - that is something my brain won't forget too soon! It was a masterful moment of direction.
October 17, 2012 at 12:35PM ESTBrian Not to mention Chalky and his gang got in serious trouble for killing that klan guy in self-defense. how on earth are they going to kill a bunch of white people in a small town?
October 17, 2012 at 7:28PM ESTFeckles McGuinty OP was best post on subject yet. Show is devolving - entertaining, but devolving.
October 18, 2012 at 9:53AM ESTyoungjt80 I think you jumped the gun a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if Nucky used Richard to kill Gyp at some point during the season. You can't kill off Gyp this early in the season.
October 18, 2012 at 4:49PM ESTBabette
October 15, 2012 at 3:56AM EST Reply to CommentI think I know who's calling Billie Kent - it's Babette.
rl1856
October 15, 2012 at 8:11AM EST Reply to CommentI don't think Nucky's "Savior Complex" is the basis for his attraction to Billie. Billie is her own women and we have been given strong hints that she is seeing someone else. She does not completely belong to Nucky. Previously, Nucky owned all of the women he slept with. The fact that does not and seemingly can not "own" Billie is driving him crazy and making him act irrationally. His use of Cantor and then funding a Broadway play is his latest attempt to own Billie and therefore have her in his debt. His final scene with Margaret concerns ownership...he reminds her to start thinking of "practical matters" with regard to her living situation. IE Nucky has told her to change her attitude for him or find someone else to pay her bills- ownership.
Not surprised that an attempt was made on Rossetti. This was telegraphed in his meeting with Rothstein and Lucciano. Rothstein saw Rossetti's irrationality up close and realized that Nucky was correct. The fact that Rossetti survived will have violent repercussions.
GarySF
October 15, 2012 at 9:56AM EST Reply to CommentFirs time I've ever seen Chekov's erotic asphyxiation belt anywhere.
Mike K Brilliant!
October 16, 2012 at 12:32PM ESTirieagogo
October 15, 2012 at 10:08AM EST Reply to CommentAm I the only one who thought Gyp was coin it with Billy in the first scene with the belt round his neck while he spanked his monkey? I thought he was with her again when the shooting started and that Billy was killed till we switched scenes to the rehearsal. Dag, I feel like my Nana, "This show's so DARK I can't see what's HAPPENING!"
irieagogo Er, that would be "doin' it" with Billy
October 15, 2012 at 10:16AM ESTMahmoud Fayed Yeah, I think you are... even if both scenes were dark, her voice was clearly different from that of Billie's, and and her hair was different enough.
October 18, 2012 at 7:18PM ESTirieagogo
October 15, 2012 at 10:26AM EST Reply to CommentAlso, Mrs Muller with the rolling pin or WTFever! Who expected THAT?
JREinATL
October 15, 2012 at 11:02AM EST Reply to CommentNucky's move on Eddie Cantor was a classic Tony Soprano move. Just swap Passover vodka for a big screen TV or watch, and Chalky and Dunn with Paulie and Christopher.
BenS This was what I kept thinking the entire time. All it did was make me want to watch the entirety of "The Sopranos" again. I don't think that's what it was supposed to do.
October 15, 2012 at 11:31AM ESTHarrowman Agree, Bens. And Nucky's triangle with his gumar and his wife is all too (lamely) familiar, too. They're missing SO many opportunities to tell interesting stories of the era, because they're caught up with this pale carbon copy of TS.
October 15, 2012 at 12:21PM ESTmightyh The look on Chalky's face as Eddie was trying to sing was great.
October 17, 2012 at 2:47PM ESTJacksonVoss
October 15, 2012 at 12:18PM EST Reply to CommentWell, it's taken this long, but I'm finally interested in what's happening. Season 1 didn't hook me until the fourth episode, so I'm hopeful that this season will hold up overall, depending on how things come together.
One thing that makes me optimistic is how sparingly Harrow and Chalky have been used thus far. If the show only has the actors for a certain number of episodes, and we've barely seen them in the first five, you've gotta think they'll be in it pretty heavily toward the end, right?
John
October 15, 2012 at 8:06PM EST Reply to CommentRosetti gave new meaning to "choking your chicken".
Miles Ellison
October 15, 2012 at 8:25PM EST Reply to CommentErotic asphyxia and gunplay. This show has officially become Real Sex meets The Sopranos.
Timm S
October 16, 2012 at 10:04AM EST Reply to CommentThe Gyp Rosetti material was wildly entertaining, if not a little gratuitous, providing us with a look at how dangerous Gyp can be. As though lighting a man on fire wasn't indication enough of how unhinged he is. Loved the Scorsese tracking shot, and the imagery of the dog off his leash. It made the erotic asphyxiation fetish worth it. Never thought I'd ever type that sentence.
I thought the Fed agent Mrs. Mueller brained was going to be the guy making bathtub gin in the premiere, but no. Good misdirect, and a creative way to get Van Alden back into O'Bannion's orbit. Michael Shannon is great, so more of him is a good thing.
As for Nucky, well, who cares. I think everybody other character in the show is more compelling and well-rounded. I find myself wanting Owen to off him and assume operations as the head guy.
WM I'm with you on Nucky. He's the lead character on a show where almost everybody else is more interesting than he is.And now it seems, they're making him dumb. Seriously, couldn't he have taken Billie Kent shopping in NEW YORK CITY? You know,home of world class department stores like Saks Fith Avenue. She lives there and he clearly visits her there both at home and at her rehearsals,but he takes her shopping in AC where they could and did run into his wife? Come on,Tony Soprano would never take his mistresses shopping where Carmela shopped.
October 16, 2012 at 10:35AM ESTWM Saks Fifth Avenue...typo
October 16, 2012 at 10:38AM ESTmightyh Was that fetish even around back then? Why is he doing himself with the waitress there anyway?
October 17, 2012 at 2:51PM ESTMrs Meullers gotta have quite a back story herself! That was crazy.
Nucky- not sure he even knows what he's doing, he's sidetracked by Billie and his plans seem to be backfiring like when Jimmy was trying to run things.
Timm S Good point, MightyH, I'm not sure it was, but I'm not going to have "History of Erotic Asphyxiation" in my Google search history.
October 18, 2012 at 12:41PM ESTYeah, and Mrs. Mueller...bitch be cray.
WM-If BE is the story of the birth of the Mafia in New Jersey, maybe this was one of the early how-to-deal-with-your-comare lessons learned by the NJ crew, one that was more than obvious by the time Tony stepped up to the top position. Nucky as a cautionary tale to the Soprano crew as an example of how not to handle your second lady is funny to think about. I'd love to see this show end with a Soprano entering the Jersey crew in some minor capacity to trace the lineage back to Nucky and the Prohibition mob. Still, Tony let that Russian chick know enough to call his house and ruin the illusion for Carmela, so Tony wasn't without fault in this area, not by a long shot.
Thanks for the replies.
Mike K
October 16, 2012 at 12:39PM EST Reply to CommentI can't help but feel all the building up of Gyp is disingenuous. In a show that blends historical characters with fictional ones, we know who is a real threat and who is going to get taken out. You're building up a guy that we know doesn't have a chance.
And the Margaret plot? I just don't get how that's entertainment. Why would anyone think viewers of a gangster show would be more interested in her struggles to get a woman's health group that we would be in following someone like Chalky or Richard Harrow? The focus here is bizarrely misplaced, in my opinion.
Mahmoud Fayed Agreed. I think it's just a weak attempt to draw female viewers, or perhaps they were worried about coming off as misogynist or something.
October 18, 2012 at 7:22PM ESTshipwreckedcrew
October 16, 2012 at 6:08PM EST Reply to CommentI'm officially fearing a "Game of Thrones" season -- too much going on in too many places to meaningfully advance the story. I'm losing interest as a result. The problem with these series that have a famous showrunner with an established background is that there isn't anyone with editorial control over them. Someone needed to tell Winter to cut 30-50% of the storylines, and advance the central narrative, with a couple of side-stories. Instead we have:
1. Central Nucky story with Rosetti/Rothstein problems
2. Nucky romance problems with Billie and Margaret
3. Nucky DC problems
4. DC fixer for the Attorney General
5. Van Alden story operating almost in its own sphere, detached from the broader show.
6. Luciano/Lanksy/Seigel story line with conflict between relationships with Rothstein and Masseria
7. Capone's rise on Chicago, his motivations as a result of family circumstances, conflicts with Irish mobsters in Chicago, etc.
8. Chalky White -- exactly why is his story even part of the series? It held promise in Season 1, but has gone exactly nowhere in Seasons 2 or 3.
9. Gillian's whorehouse.
10. Margaret's hospital.
Anyone care to add others?
Enough already. Half these story lines would make for a great series. They are all operating at one time, something the Sopranos or The Wire never tried to do. Together they are simply a muddle.
virginia Agree! Hope someone in charge is listening! Definitely an over seasoned dish and too bad really because it all has such great potential.
October 18, 2012 at 9:49AM ESThckleinman
October 16, 2012 at 8:01PM EST Reply to CommentI'm for Andrew Mellon as the new primary antagonist. Cromwell was authoritative and powerful in his scene. The gang war angle is fine and dandy, but the threat from the law has really been lacking this season since Van Alden switched teams. I wouldn't mind a little bit more of an Elliot Ness figure to pose a real threat to Nucky's operations.
The Rosetti storyline needs to be retired. Gyp Rosetti feels like Luca Brasi elevated to criminal mastermind. He just doesn't work. A conflict with Masseria feels much more interesting since Masseria seems to be a real businessman who has more to offer as a character than perversion and excess.
Harrowman AMEN!
October 17, 2012 at 12:35PM ESTvirginia
October 18, 2012 at 9:47AM EST Reply to CommentI like Nucky as the center because he feels real to me. As does his brother. There are so many over the top characters to contend with on this show -- good to have a central figure who actually appears plausible. Everytime I see the opening credits, which I adore, and catch Buscemi from the back in his hat on the shore, I flash on Magritte and his faceless man. Nucky is meant to suggest that particular character, I believe, and I value what he brings to the show -- and Buscemi has done some amazing if under-rated work in bringing Nucky to life.
James Cromwell was indeed great. And let me never have to see Bobby Cannavale buck naked getting himself off again -- please! The old HBO formula meant to spice things up.