Golden Days for Boys and Girls - Boardwalk Empire

Episode 5-01

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:

1. Deadwood
2. Nucky's flashbacks
3. Downton Abbey
4. Boardwalk Empire - main
5. Mad Men flashbacks
6. Mad Men - main

Chalky's Story
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

Sir Not Appearing in this Film

• Gillian
• All of Chicago
• Capone
• Eli
• Van Alden
• Narcisse

 Bright honor and labor and truth to your neighbor

The Good Times Are Killing Me - The Leftovers

The Leftovers took a detour after episode eight's Plot Twist City to a completely different setting and dynamic between our characters.  And it suffered none for it, having established itself as a show much more character driven than plot driven, and much more about human relationships than mythology.

Having strung five "whoa" episodes in a row coinciding with their renewal, there's a lot to be excited about.

What did we learn today?

• A root cause analysis shows that The Departure was but the tipping point in Kevin and Laurie's marriage, rather than the source of the split
• The Guilty Remnant, or some form of it, pre-dates The Departure, or at least gets going immediately
• Who Neil is and what's in the bag
• Why Nora's paper towels were just so
• Exploding manhole covers are no joke, people.

Kevin's smoking

A microcosm of the dishonesty in their marriage, we know right away we're in flashback when Kevin sneaks a cigarette.  He goes to certain lengths to hide his habit*, stashing a pack under a mailbox**, smoking in the woods***, and using mouthwash (1).

* Which Laurie doesn't care about, per se.  She cares about his lying about it.  Or maybe she's lying about that....
** Which we saw Tommy do something similar in service to Wayne
 *** Fire hazard!

Jill's on to him.  Later in the day he smokes out in the open when at work, though not bothering to cover his tracks (2).  Laurie picks up on it at this point.  By the episodes third act, he is smoking outside his house (3) with friends and family around in a way that his father points out is "asking to get caught."  Kevin's nihilism towards his marriage at that point, exemplified by his decreasing desire to put up the facade of quitting, leads to his fun times with the conference attendee.

"Hey, opposite...is opposite!" *
Several characters are in diametrically opposite positions, compared with where they stand at the end of Episode Eight.

Patti is a broken shell, verbally abused by, we assume, her husband.  Paranoid* and meek, she finishes her story the stern cult leader who doesn't necessarily build her community by charisma but by stoic and firm leadership.

Laurie is a successful therapist of some kind, present in her children's lives.  It kills her to not attend Jill's science fair, and she clearly has a rapport with Tommy.  Giving up the wordly possessions, her practice which she probably built for years and her connection with her children is quite a sacrifice.  I'd have guessed most GR members fit a sterotypical profile of cult members, impressionable, with little to lose.  But Laurie does not fit that mold. 

Grandpa Garvey is large and in charge of the Mapleton police force.  A pillar of the community, he's honored with an award and with a party by his friends and loving family.  Deeper though, he's telling Kevin how he's nothing special and simply meant for this simple life.  FutureGrandpaGarvey has something different to say about that, with NatGeo props.

Tommy invested in school at least to the point that he is still enrolled.  He's close enough with his dad that he can call him to get him out of an arrest, not to mention that his dad will resort to fisticuffs in defense of his son.  Compare this with his going incommunicado from his family while deifying Wayne as some sort of father figure/savior up to the point he rejects him. 

Dogs are cute and sweet and adorable and such a good boy!  Until after The Departure when they're viscous, feral and scary.  Kevin's stance on dogs changes.  At least Kevin Durden's stance on dogs changed. 

One constant though is that deer, crazy as ever, invading your space.  It seems at least three of the people it crossed paths with departed, Nora's daughter, the kid with Downs Syndrome, and Kevin's lady.

*"You're gonna show me my clothes?"
** Is is paranoia if someone actually is out to get you?

Trials and Tribulations
Every. Simpsons. Ever. aired "Hurricane Neddy" on Sunday where Ned Flander's house is destroyed in a storm.  The only home in all of Springfield destroyed in the storm.  This despite his selflessness and general clean living*.  He mentions Job, but Rev. Lovejoy calls him melodramatic.

The Leftovers has brought Job hard and heavy, particularly Episode Three, which focused on Matthew.  There's also a Faustian element to things, or even King Midas, where unintentional consequences reign from what a character believes they want.  Particularly one family where Matthew craves attention and is given leukemia, or Nora seeking accomplishment and freedom, and being relieved of her family.

* "I even kept kosher to be on the safe side"


Next Week (Two weeks actually) and Some Jibberish
"The Prodigal Son Returns"  Is it Tommy?  Is is Kevin, to Pops?  Is it Laurie's baby?

I theorize that it's Tommy (given the "prodigal" part), with nothing left on the road and no one to turn to, he comes home.  Tommy (younger son/sinners) would be accepted back by Kevin (as the father/God does) despite what he did (spent his inheritance/sinned).  It makes you wonder if the Departed are that toll that God is leveraging against mankind, rather than send his son again to die for the sins of man, he exacts the toll, a tax practically, of 2 percent.  Which means tithes can't really justify 10 percent anymore.

Maybe the Departed return?  But that wouldn't fit with the parable, as they would be returned by God/the father rather than returning to him.  Also, where would they return from?  Hell?  At least that's where Kevin's friend said she was going...right before she Departed.

Cornering the Market - The Leftovers

Is it strange that I wondered about the business model for Nora's salesman-friend's business?  They are catering to a very specific population.  If 6 billion people are on Earth and 2 percent vanished then that's 120,000,000 possible sales.  But if your product costs $40,000 then only a small portion of the vanished's families can afford your product.

The company would have to branch out into other ways of making people want to bury their loved one's likeness.  Like if they are a regular missing person.  But then you have a whole different problem about convincing them to close the book on the missing person.  Burn victims?  People killed in natural disasters or plane crashes?  War heroes who dont come home?

I suppose this company could plan to make a lot of sales its first few years but they have to plan for it leveling off.  One thing they could do is try to get families who are spread out across the country to have multiple memorials.  Of course, buying a plane ticket is much cheaper than one of these dolls.

Basically, the partners in this business better get together and figure out how they can use this technology for something else or they are simply going to run out of customers.

Hmmmm.....

The Leftovers - Halftime

At the halfway point of The Leftovers, we're trying to decide what this show is about. Or I am.  Frankly, I have not written about the show because I have not known what to write beyond a basic summary of things that happened, and that is a waste of everyone's time.  At the halfway point though, it's a little easier to take stock of the series as a whole, even if we don't know what it is getting it yet.

Judging by what's been written about the show to this point, it appears I'm not alone.  A time like this really makes me miss the thoughtful and well moderated boards at Television Without Pity. In light of TV Club's summer collapse, Vox has probably done the best job so far on the series, particularly on its "Gladys" post. 

One thing is clear, the show is not interested in exploring the past or the Why? of the disappearance and the selection of the disappeared.  It is focused almost entirely on the lives these people now lead in a post 10/14 world and how sudden loss affects them even three years later.  After all, the show is called The Leftovers.  It is not called The Unexplained Event or The People Who Suddenly Vanished. 

The time spent in Mapleton has been the most rewarding for me as a viewer.  Whether that be with the priest, the chief, the cult or the Jill.  The show's nuclear family has been torn apart by the vanishing, yet none of those family members themselves vanished.  It shows the far reaching effects of the event and how the suddenness and the lack of closure have not permitted people to return to their lives.  And while not in Mapleton, the overturned truck spilling dead bodies grieving fmilies purchased to bury serve as another device to show the lack of closure on the event. 

Since the first episode, the show has become increasingly oblique.  It often makes passing references to people or events that have not been explained and make me wonder if I missed something in a previous episode.  I wonder if I am to recall what Laurie said to Patty before everything changed, or if that is an off screen event.  Should I know who Neil is?  On the other end of that are seemingly basic questions that do not receive an answer.  Were those actually Kevin's shirts he got from the cleaners?  If not, why can't he find them?  Did the GR sneak into his house and take them?  I thought, based on last week's B&E and their progressing to painting things white, like newspaper boxes, that they had stolen people's clothes and perhaps were replacing them with their own white garb. 

Animal imagery, prominently featured in the pilot, has taken a back seat.  I expect it may stay there long enough to forget about it, only to reappear in the finale.  Biblical imagery has taken center stage, particularly in the last two episodes featuring the Christmas story of Wayne's baby and then a New Testament-ish stoning and possibly martyrdom parable.  I wonder if the first two episodes have a decidedly Old Testament bend.  Could it be that the event should raise give people on Earth awareness and consciousness as the tree did for Adam and Steve?  That is probably a stretch, which is why I haven't seen that posited yet. 

Questions

1. Why and how did these people disappear?
1. Not likely to be explained
2. Why did these particular people disappear?
1. Not likely to be explained
3. Where is Mapleton?
1. Upstate New York
4. Was Mapleton especially hard hit?  
1. It does not appear so, the GR is a national organization and the citizens appear to be affected just as much by the residual results of the disappearance as the disappearance itself (intact families torn apart, a car accident due to the driver disappearing)
5. It seems like they are missing more than 2 percent based on the reactions.
1. Hmmm.  Unsure
6. It would also help explain the next question
7. Why is the cult in Mapleton, and not elsewhere?
1. It is elsewhere, Past Me.
8. Why does the cult choose smoking as a reminder?
1. Mortality?
9. What is the cult's end game? 
1. Perhaps to constantly remind people of the disappearance
10. Who is Wayne and why does he merit all this money, security and reverence?
1. Wayne is a magical child molester charlatan who claims to have some sort of healing powers
11. What did Wayne do for the congressman?
1. Made his pain go away
12. Why does Wayne want the girl protected? 
1. She has his baby
13. What is the grace period?
1. Probably a figurative term.  Past Me is an idiot.
14. What else has the cult done to piss off the town, besides stalk and be creepy?
1. Buy up people's properties.  Break in their houses.  Take stuff.
15. Why did Liv  Tyler change her mind?
1. Unknown.
16. What does the dream with the pig in the hood of the car mean?
1. ????
17. Why did those people jump off the building in the son's flashback?
1. Not explained yet.  
18. What has happened with the dogs?
1. Did they go stray and then adapt to survive?
19. Who is the guy shooting dogs and what does he know about them?
1. I think he gave a name but I cant remember it.  At least we know he is not a ghost.
20. What is the symbolism with the deer and why does that image seem so familiar to me?
1. Is it Hannibal I'm thinking of?
2. Probably an episode 10 thing, but too oblique for me to discern.
21. Why did the deer tear up the Garvey kitchen?
1. ????
22. And how did Kevin know to suspect the deer? 
1. ????

New questions

• How and when will Nora's gun fire?
• How has Wayne convinced people to do his bidding?

Tyrant - A Scene

Maybe it is too facile to say that Tyrant is an inverted Homeland*, or The Godfather** in the Middle East** or a variation on Mr. Chips to Scarface***.  A few episodes in though, it seems like a quick and easy way to describe the show.

* An American returning to American from the Middle East after becoming one of them and a Freedonian returning to Freedonia after living his life as an American.

** The youngest brother is pulled into the bad news family business after having a life in a legitimate profession with his blonde wife

*** The descent of a really nice guy into villain-hood.

There hasn't been as much time yet to paint all the shades of gray we're used on cable television to but we're getting there.  The advent of the nominal revolutionary leader being a poseur douchebag is one of my favorite additions to the show.  Yeah, they're facing a terrible dictatorial dynasty, but this other guy sure sucks too.

A scene between the American ambassador and the president brought a few things to look forward to.  The tete-e-tete precedes the apparently imminent crackdown of protestors in the square *  To this point, the new president has been shown to be reckless and emotional and dangerous, while the ambassador has been shown to be a sell out, happy to take in the luxury his position provides him by looking the other way constantly.

* Message to dictators: Fill in your squares.  They are bad news for your regime. - The Daily Show

Jamal, the president, takes the temperature of the United States on the violence he's about to impart.  He's accepted the nominal decrying but wants to know there's no actual consequences for it.  The ambassador is astonishingly honest with him (and the viewer) that whether they kill 50 or 500, the wrong individual, such as a cute co-ed, could bring unwanted attention and serious reprisals from the United States in order to comply with public opinion.  It is a great example of realpolitik. 

The threat of taking away the American strategic presence with their naval base is very real, as Jamal points out.  But it's not as strong as he thinks, as the ambassador responds that the lease on the base is with the government, not the family.  It's not an ideal situation for the Americans but it is an out for them, if the situation becomes dire.  The ambassador finally shows a bit of integrity and willingness to speak to Jamal (or previously, his father) truthfully. 

From here, it will be interesting to see how Jamal weighs the threat of American pulling its support and how the ambassador continues to function, and what his motivations and end goal are.


 

Emmy nominations - Directing

The other category besides writing that is closest to a "best episode" category is direction.  The shows overlap much with the writing category with the episodes abutting their writing nominee counterparts in two cases.

Felina
One episode, Breaking Bad's "Felina" overlaps, and is the only one to do so.  Does that make it the default choice for best episode?


I won't rehash "Felina" again.  Instead, here are the other directing nominees that were featured on I Don't Own a Television.

Best Direction
"Farewell Daddy Blues"
Boardwalk Empire
When this aired, I called it possibly Boardwalk Empire's finest episode.  The Season Four finale executed a lot of what made "The Children" so good for Game of Thrones, probably because these two shows have a lot in common.


"The Watchers on the Wall"
Game of Thrones
A big, singularly focused, episode with lots of action, effects and battle sequences.  I think there is a lot more to the episode than bashing people in the head with swords and axes, which is what elevates it to a higher level.


"Who Goes There"
True Detective
This no doubt largely got the nomination for the six minute unbroken chaos shot as Rust's undercover business goes pear shaped.  There's a reason this made the Internet explode Monday morning.

Fargo
I did not post about Fargo because it was airing at the same time as Mad Men and Game of Thrones, and three shows would simply have been too much.  That said, Fargo, while it submitted in the miniseries categories, could just as easily have held its own as a regular series.  The three best seasons this year were Breaking Bad, Fargo and True Detective and there's no wrong answer as to which came out on top.

Fargo featured two in the directing category "The Crocodile's Dilemma” and "Buridan's Ass" as well as having "Crocodile's Dilemna" in writing, giving it the "Felina" overlap.  While the competition is much easier in the miniseries category (getting harder each year though) the nominations are noteworthy, much deserved and could easily have happened in the series category. 

"Crocodile's Dilemma" is the premiere and it wouldn't be right to discuss it further.  "Buridan's Ass" left me thinking immediately that this is up there with "Farewell Daddy Blues" and "Secret Fate of All Things" and "Ozymandias" as the best episode of the year.  I will forever have the snowstorm with the drums soundtrack implanted in my brain. 

Others
Also featured for writing and directing: "Chapter 14" - House of Cards (Season Two premiere)
Get real.  House of Cards is fun adn I love it, but it's pulp and it's clearly not in the top tier.

Also featured for directing:"Episode 1 - Season Four" - Downton Abbey

All that said, the Emmy voting process is rather unfair and insane

Emmy Nominations - Writing

While I lament the lack of nomination for Pedro Pascal, I am rather pleased with some of the nominations for writing and directing.  There is no Emmy for best episode, so these categories sort of combine for that honor.  Here are the nominees that have entries on here.

Writing

"The Children"
Thwunk

Game of Thrones Season Four episodes were often about moving storylines and characters into place, while punctuating it with a big scene.  The nature of drawing source material from three books, plus the content of that material, plus original material, plus breaking ten episodes made this the natural way to plot the season.  And with a cast of a billion or so, filmed across many continents, it's not surprising we don't see some characters for a week or two.  Given that, this season didn't have as many fun character development scenes like Season Two's Arya and Tywin scenes (though Tyrion's and Jaime's in the dungeon were pretty good).  "The Children" was a great blend of plot, character, source material and original material, all pulled together to move the story forward and perhaps for the first time end on an oddly hopeful note.

"Ozymandias"
Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair

I had occasion to visit Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave in May, and it says a lot my first thoughts go to Breaking Bad.  All of Walt's work, manipulating, lying, ego puffing and violence comes crashing down as gets caught, is responsible for the death of his brother in law, is rejected by his wife and son and loses most of his money to boot.

"Felina"
Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina wicked and evil while casting a spell
...
Back in El Paso my life would be worthless, everything gone in life nothing is left 
...
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me
Once everyone caught up on this show, it made this episode the event of the year.  The only competition would be the "Reigns of Castamere" but that would be considered the previous "season".  Walt seeks redemption to the fullest extent possible, able to put aside his ego for a minute to ensure some fraction of his money gets to his children via uber-Heisenberg methods.  Always one to hold a grudge, Walt goes to settle some scores and in his last moments before taking the bullet that would allow him to escape before the coppers ever get him, he saves the life of the show's conscious.

"The Secret Fate of All Things"
Time is a flat circle
Featuring 1995, 2002 and 2012 storylines, the episode both closes and reopens the Reggie Ledoux/Dora Lange case.  We've sensed we're not getting the whole picture and it's confirmed when Marty and Rust go full unreliable narrator as they relate the Ledoux compound firefight.  Mixing in some rambling/Nietzsche and making as good of use as one can of different literary devices, we get as many questions as answers in these sixty minutes.  Even more impressive, this follows "Who Goes There?" and delivers after expectations are raised incredibly high.

To choose is to choose a favorite child or pizza topping.