Eight episodes and a seven year jump. That is how Boardwalk Empire is wrapping things up after its strongest season and strongest episode. Showrunner Terrence Winter says this is simply the show wrapping up Nucky's story, which even if HBO did suggest they bring it to a close, is probably true. That said, HBO has a history of splitting the difference on shows, giving them a few final hours to close shop rather than cancel it out right, but still not ordering a full season. It leaves the reputation of HBO as a story friendly vehicle intact, as well as allowing the showrunner to save face and put together a coda. It is interesting though that the show is not continuing in the direction of Season Four which placed Nucky in an emeritus position while the real action was in Harlem.
The jump means we miss out on Arnold Rothstein, one of the more compelling characters in the show. At the end of last season it looked as though he was going to intersect with Margaret as she slowly came back into the picture, but sadly we will not get to see that.
That said, I don't see how Margaret comes back into the fold. She may simply live her own life, and it's perfectly fine if that's the context we see her in. Don Draper rarely sees his ex-wife as they move further and further away from their 1963 separation/divorce. Maybe the most accurate thing to do is to move on. Reading Difficult Men, the author makes a point about television showing the mundane:
more about life simply happening, much the way it actually does, tough truths included
first wives becomes small distant chapters of a person's life.
The events of the flashback take place a few years after Deadwood is set, with present day roughly when Mad Men flashbacks are set. We need some sort of timeline:
- Deadwood
- Nucky's flashbacks
- Downton Abbey
- Boardwalk Empire - main
- Mad Men flashbacks
- Mad Men - main
This doesn't seem to amount to much more than a treasure hunt at the moment, which makes it seem like they couldn't think of anything for Chalky to do. Unless this has some serious character development, which will be difficult after his story last year, or plays a major role in another story (also hard to see) this could be the biggest miss since Gyp.
The story starts off like most romantic comedies where two people who are opposites ostensibly cannot stand each other, until they are thrown into a situation where they find themselves together.
Rum and Whiskey
- Nucky's father sounds a lot like Bill the Butcher, who sounds a lot like
- Meyer Landsky is hanging out in 1931 Cuba, laying ground for 1950s Hyman Roth in Godfather II.
- At several points a calm beat sets up a burst of violence including Mr. Connors suicide, Nucky's dad hitting him and the assassination attempt in Havana
Historical events
- The Crash is referenced a few times, but the full weight of it doesn't seem to be felt yet
- Joe the Boss Masseria assassination sets up the five families in New York
- Elliot Ness' crack down
- Joe Kennedy making a fortune
- Gillian
- All of Chicago
- Capone
- Eli
- Van Alden
- Narcisse
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