Amph Boardwalk Empire

Highly doubt that's happening. Dillinger was in the Indiana State Prison at the time and wouldn't be released until May of 1933.

 

Did Dillinger have ties of any significance to the crime organizations depicted in BE? His Wikipedia page is a wall of text. I thought he was the leader of a small gang that did robberies; technically "organized crime" but not the mafia.

 

He might have occasionally paid the mob protection money, but that was pretty much it. The closest he really got was working George "Baby Face" Nelson, (played by Stephen Graham in Public Enemies) who had done some low level jobs for the Touhy gang.

 

From what I remember he may have had some ties with the Chicago syndicate laundering his money. My theory about his inclusion in BE would be Hoover and the FBI becoming major players in the final season. Hoover certainly made getting Dillinger his top priority.

 

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/boardwalk-empire-creator-terence-winter-previews-final-season-jump-forward-in-time]Alan[/url] Speinwall interview with Terence Winter, concerning Boardwalk's final season


In my humble opinion, Winter is being too disingenuous here: sure, you can make it seem that having a truncated 5th season, one that jumps forward 7-years in the timeline, fits tonally, but if this show had hit the culture the way HBO thought it would, this season wouldn't be it last.



Anyhow, anyone else catch the premier yesterday?


What I liked: Nucky's Cuba-Bacardi "retirement plan"; Paul Calderón as the new muscle; the ever continuing great production value & cinematography (especially in the Cuba scenes), Luciano's power play; Margaret's boss' suicide, and the effects it had "Did he leave behind a key?"; all the pain & regret concerning Chalky beautifully expressed without much dialogue; the daring escape he & others make away from their chain gang; Luciano's power play.



The mixed feelings category: The flashbacks to Nucky's upbringing in 1880's Atlantic City... shouldn't that have been done earlier in this series?

 

I wouldn't mind the flashbacks except we already knew everything they depict. Didn't really serve any narrative purpose except "Nucky learned to be a bad guy." And I hate that they totally skipped over Rothstein's death, though I'm still hoping that will be in a flashback.

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/07/boardwalk-empire-left-new-jersey-and-lost-its-way.html]Allen[/url] Barra agrees with you


There's something definitely important-enough there, though, given Margaret's interest in trying to retrieve the files concerning "Abe Redstone"... thus, hopefully because of it, we'll get that flashback.

 

"Arnold Rothstein died on the way back to his home planet."

 

I thought the prime re was fairly weak myself. I thought the flashback sequences were tiresome and contrived. Yes we already know Nuckys troublesome past. The only thing I thought was truly interesting was Chalky ' s storyline. I really can't wait to see what happens with Capone and Van Alden next week

 

The Good Listener was a marked improvement over the premiere, in my humble opinion; I think many people would agree with me there.


What I liked: How how the mighty have fallen, Part II: Gillian, stuck for now in a mental institution (though it sure didn't seem that way at first), having to deal with a shady administrator (who, for now -and as far as we can tell- merely wants some of Gillian's clothes, as opposed to actions of the physical type)... there's no way that she remains on the sidelines for this final season, though; Al Capone unleashed! At the height of his powers, though we only get to see him in a couple of scenes, it still was great: barking at his associates, gleefully giving an interview to a Variety reporter, and the gleaming smile as he counts his large pile of money; Eliot Ness? Nah, the focus will be better spent -hopefully- on Mike D'Angelo, who has gone rather deep undercover in the Capone outfit; what happens with Willie Thompson will be intriguing to follow- Does he really want to seek out justice on criminals or his working as a mole under Nucky's direction?; Torrio & Nucky's conversations on retirement; Luciano & Lansky's biding their time to make their big move via various misdirections; Nucky trying to gauge Paul Calderon's character; tying in Tonino's demise via Nucky/Calderon with Billie Kent's demise at Babbette's from season 3; Hello there, Joe Kennedy!; And the highlight of the episode: Van Alden & Eli in Chicago... from how utterly broken Eli is, to Van Alden's seething tension in what should be a innocent situation -his kid asking a question about clouds-, to their scene with D'Angelo in the elevator -specifically when the two old society women come aboard- , to the line of the night -occurring as they rob a Capone collector (ha!) of their money-, spoken by Van Alden: "WHY MUST IT ALWAYS BE PANDEMONIUM?!?!?" Classic.




The flashbacks mixed feelings category: Some interesting-enough stuff concerning Nucky's sister's death (specifically, his father refusing to be bought -again- by The Commodore in order to give the child a proper burial), but that's about it; you figure on Gillian being involved at some point in these flashbacks, as that's when Nucky presumably -by giving her to The Commodore- goes fully into the dark side.

 

Enjoying your blurbs, Darth Tunes!

I'm not a huge fan of the flashbacks either, but I'm really hoping they will pay off somehow. Van Alden & Eli were definitely the highlight of the episode!

 

The pandemonium line was so great. Michael Shannon at his best.

 

So, about the past few episodes...


What Jesus Said... for me, this has been the weakest of the episodes thus far. Given the abbreviated length of this season, we weren't going to get much out of Chalky & Milton on the road, but even still their holdup of the mother & daughter -at a house that Milton has had some previous experience with, the husband I think- wasn't all that interesting. It's not a surprise when Chalky has to take out Milton. All the other subplots were better, especially Margaret's dealing with Mrs. Rothstein, which causes her to seek out one Mr. Nucky Thompson. *** out of ****,



Cuanto... RIP, Sally Wheat; Joe Kennedy running mental circles around Nucky was fun, given how Nucky likes to think he's always the smartest person in the room; Luciano's recognition of Van Alden, and what that leads to, was a highlight of this one, as was the-finally-accepting-of-her-"iffy"-side Margaret, as she tries to figure out this Mrs. Rothstein situation with Nucky. *** 1/2 out of ****.



King of Norway... one of my favorites of this season. Al Capone's bathroom problems... who can't empathize with that? ; Nucky -even if takes yet another assassination attempt- finally wising up to Torrio's true intentions/allegiances was overdue, but exciting nonetheless; Chalky's meeting with Nucky, even if one expected it to be more "explosive" than it was, provided some interesting insight on their relationship, given the time apart the two have spent... Nucky's more interested in wanting to get Chalky back as an ally, whereas Chalky clearly only has one intention, which at the end here brings upon a surprise (for him); finally the flashbacks have some real teeth to them: Marc Pickering as a young adult Nucky does an incredibly stupendous job... love, LOVE him as Nucky (and his issues with Mabel's father); it's horrifying to think of what fate may befall Gillian in that loony bin she's sin, despite her past sins; and finally, Sigrid (her uninhibited attitude here was so damned entertaining) + Van Alden + Eli + a family dinner= priceless. Those two especially (particularly when they're in custody -because it was about time for DeAngelo to arrest them-, when Van Alden takes issue with Eli's assertion that sleeping with Sigrid was "an accident") have provided some of the finest dark comedy we've seen in this show. **** out of ****.



Devil You Know... perhaps just in time to save the inherent idea of the flashbacks from complete derision, we finally get to see just how Nucky meets Gillian, and knowing where that's headed (and the photos of those young gals he saw on The Commodore's desk some time back... obviously he's going to use that information to curry favor), it casts a sickening pall over the proceedings, given that Gillian is not so much unlike Nucky himself back-in-the-day; the actor playing the young adult Eli is just as good as Pickering's young Nucky; there's no way that sidekick of Mickey's doesn't end up as Tommy Darmody; and speaking of Mickey, him gathering "troops" for a showdown? Priceless; the stuff with Nucky and the barflies was so-so... easily the weakest parts of this one; RIP, Van Alden... having the full Nelson come out of him as he's attacking Capone was a fitting end to one of this show's most memorable/great characters; the dark comedy tension with he, Eli (who, despite having survived all of this, still finds himself in such a crappy situation) & DeAngelo was fantastic leading up to the aforementioned "full Nelson"; RIP, Chalky... though semi-disappointing that his showdown with Narcisse lasts for only this episode, it does turn out to be a fitting end to a character who really was, in many respects, at the end of his time here: Sure, who the hell knows if Narcisee will be a man of his word when it comes to Matiland's (and her daughter's) future, but at least Chalky can go-to-the-grave with his decision, as it was still a morally correct one (given the sound of her voice, and the presence of her daughter, reminded Chalky of the family he once had, and thus the possible future he can obtain for his other "family"); his finally getting the best of Narcisse with his "Ain't nobody ever been free" line, as Narcisse knows that truth -given his having to deal with Luciano/his gripes about that- all to well. **** out of ****.

 

Wow, Van Alden and Chalky. Still in shock, but definitely a great episode. I can't believe there are only 2 episodes left.

 

I'm hoping the finale is at least 80-90 minutes... I think they'd have no trouble filling that extra time.



However, I don't think it's going to happen.

 

So, about Friendless Child...


-Apparently 'My Girl's *****' was a real song from 1931... had no idea until I read Alan Sepinwall's review of this episode; Siegel's rendition might be one of the best crass comedic moments in the entirety of this show.


-Holy hell, not that we didn't know already about how sick, evil & depraved The Commodore was, but the scene at his mansion -the cinematography, the hush-hush nature of the proceedings- ... damn, that was so eerie anyhow. Even if Nucky himself doesn't physically put Gillian in that situation -given how this episode ended, was she talking to Nucky or The Commodore there?-, his moral acceptance to go along with is still, obviously, rather damning. Perhaps it's because of that realization at this point in his life, and his willingness to give everything up to save Willie -and by extension, Eli- which will give him some-sort-of "cleansing"** at the end, to somewhat makeup for all the ills he's done/allowed to happen. Though, whether via Gillian***, Joe "maybe I'm really Tommy Darmody" Harper, or Luciano/Lansky, I think Nucky's a goner in the finale.


-Somehow, Eli's scene with Willie (right before Willie's kidnapped) made him seem more down & pathetic than he already has been for so much of this season.


-Even with gobbling up the territory, and thus cleary getting more & more powerful, Luciano still has an inherent disdain for Atlantic City (I'm paraphrasing here, and I forget the name of the person he's referring to, but: "Give it to so & so... someone's got to run that **** hole.").


-**Morally... I think it's rather obvious -especially since his Cuba connections are kaput- that whatever funky business he's having Margaret do in New York is his post-Atlantic City financial plan.


-***I've got a feeling, even with that crazed loony bin she's in, given her letter to Nucky, that Gillian ends up surviving.


-Loved the inclusion of D'Angelo/his bosses' appearance before judge, in order to secure a search warrant against Capone, amid the Maranzano assassination scenes.


-RIP, Arquimedes (Paul Calderón)... even his badassery this season couldn't go on.


-Loved the acknowledgment of Mickey still being around this late in the game (Nucky's "you & me" line early on), but of course... "Shut the **** up", as Luciano puts a bullet in Mickey's throat. The perfect way for Mickey Doyle to go out.





TiniTinyTony, Darth Guy, Adam of Nuchtern... It figures to be one hell of a finale this Sunday.

 

I know everyone is saying that since this show is loosely based on real people that Nucky is going to die and Lucky is going to win. I still have hope since Terence Winter said in one of the behind the scenes videos on HBOGo that this is a work of fiction, so he can pretty much do whatever he wants, right?

I'm kind of hoping that Gillian helps Nucky for getting her out of the nut house. Remember, her and Lucky had a thing in the earlier seasons, so maybe she uses her feminity to maybe lead him into a trap or maybe she can kill Meyer or Bugsy since I've hated those guys since the beginning.

Is the Narcisse storyline over? Will we see him in the finale? I don't see how his story will intertwine, but I don't like him either.

 

I think we've seen the last of Narcisse. Luciano and Lansky already gained control over him and he was mainly the antagonist to a now-dead Chalky.

And no way is Nucky going to "win." He has almost no one left and it's clear he doesn't want to be part of that world anymore.

I think this season is far too rushed, but I'm glad the flashbacks paid off.

 

The quality there is less-than-stellar, but that's clearly Narcisse at the 30-second mark.

 

I don't expect Nucky to die. If anything, I expect something of a Godfather II ending with Nucky forced to live with himself after losing everything.

Amazing.

 

'Losing everything'... financially, via Willie's death or both?

 

If he dies, Gillian will be his killer. Not sure what's going to happen when he goes to visit her (or get her out).

 

I meant both, but I'm already backtracking somewhat on my statement, if only because I keep forgetting about the short sales he's been doing through Margaret. I do think he'll ultimately lose every meaningful relationship he has, through death or otherwise. Maybe he'll be left with nothing but his money from those sales.

Amazing.

 

Well...concerning the series finale, I enjoyed that it tied up the loose ends, but the final twist wasn't really a twist for those of us who guessed the identity of the young boy. Plus, we already knew how Nucky sold his soul to the "devil" to get where he was from the 1st season, so I didn't feel any real weight in that final shot, nor did I feel satisfied as a viewer. I guess I should be glad it didn't cut to black for 10 seconds before the credits rolled.

 

The final twist was pretty lame. The kid was too old (16-18) to be Tommy Darmody-- which is why many people dismissed the possibility and thought the kid was just supposed to evoke memories of Jimmy-- who would be at most 14 in 1931. And it seems weird that he would remember his grandma's rantings so vividly despite having been so young. And it seems very unlikely that he'd know Nucky killed his father.