It was all about family this week on Boardwalk Empire. It seems like that is going to be a running theme throughout the season. Nucky and Margaret are certainly getting more comfortable in their relationship, the whole situation looking more and more like a real family. We’ve also seen a reunion between Jimmy and the commodore, even though the latter served as an absentee father throughout Jimmy’s life. I still think that the goodwill that Nucky showed Jimmy during his childhood is going to pay off for the embattled gangster before all is said and done.
One of the things that I was looking forward to most after the end of last season was the relationship between Van Alden and Lucy after he knocked her up. I’ve been a tad disappointed with that particular storyline so far this season, even if it was in the crosshairs for a good amount of the episode this week. I was really hoping that Lucy was going to be more of a thorn in Nelson’s side. Certainly she is not making life easy for the federal agent, but staying in the house and whining is hardly what I was envisioning. I have to say that there were some great moments from this story on the night. Lucy is such a child (a bizarre, bizarre woman) and I loved her accusing Van Alden of not being fun. This was only topped by Nelson, asking the following question of Doyle: “Let me ask you, Mr. Doyle: Would you consider Nucky Thompson fun?”
It’s clear that Jimmy is struggling with working for his father. There was nothing more telling than his question at the end of the episode when asked how dinner with his father was: “which one?” His bond with Nucky is very strong, even if it has been strained recently. Credit goes to Nucky for knowing just how to push Jimmy’s buttons. I suppose with his history, it isn’t hard to make the commodore look like a bad guy, but Nucky certainly made it look effortless. How long before Jimmy turns sides and comes back to Nucky?
I was just happy to see Nucky act out at the restaurant. It was about time that he went on the offensive. Certainly a lobster dinner spilled on the ground is hardly the most terrifying of warning shots, but it was something. Too often I feel like Nucky has been timid in how he runs business. It seems like he is an old school type man, more concerned with being popular with the average folk while doing his dirty deeds. The younger bunch of gangsters, including Capone and Luciano seem less concerned with being popular than with being feared. Maybe it’s just because they’re sociopaths.
Owen Slater bears more watching. I still think there was a spark between him and Margaret last week, even if the two characters had no contact in this episode. There’s more to Slater than we have seen, and we got a hint of it this week as he shook things up with Harrow. Nucky could no doubt use some muscle at this point. Is Slater just what he needs as he fights the usurpers?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 09, 2011 @ 22:15 EST5EDT
Loved the lobster toss!
The interaction between Harrow and Slater was great fun as well. Remember Harrow indicated he would not harm Nucky. Jimmy must have said as much in private. The turning point for Jimmy will be when his father wants him to off Nucky.