Boardwalk Empire's first two seasons were tremendous. Following in the footsteps of the show in which he made his bones, (The Sopranos) creator Terrence Winter brought us to early 20th century Atlantic City. He presented us captivating characters such as Nucky Thompson, Margaret Schroeder, Nelson Van Alden, Arnold Rothstein, Richard Harrow and so many more.
***Some mild spoilers***
Now four years removed from its first season, what does Boardwalk have to show for itself? An ever expanding universe that has gotten as far away from the Boardwalk as possible and that has jumped seven years into the future from season 4.
Performances are still fantastic, the sets are incredible, the direction and cinematography are some of the finest in television (or film for that matter). The problem is now that the stories don't seem to be going anywhere. Nucky is once again sleepwalking in life without any of his former foils (Jimmy, Eddie, Gyp, Eli, Chalky, the Commodore) to stir their proverbial drinks. His motivations (to sell rum from Cuba) isn't captivating at all and there really is no clear and present conflict to what he is doing anymore. Things are lurking in the shadows, but all Nucky has now is Sally (they're just business associates now), who doesn't have the sensitivity of Nucky's former squeeze Margaret, or the dripping sexuality and intrigue of Billie Kent.
Nucky's world has been dull since season 4 for the most part, and it doesn't look like it's going to be any different this year, at least thus far.
There are also flashbacks that show Nucky's rise into becoming the Commodore's protégé, but this Godfather II homage (The Godfather series is counted as some of the most influential works that Winter has paid homage to throughout his career) that juxtaposes young Nucky and present Nucky doesn't really do much to give us new insight into the character. The events seen here give us knowledge that has already been told to us in prior seasons. In short, this regurgitation feels unearned and unnecessary.
The only interesting part of this episode was Chalky's storyline. Now a prisoner, Chalky was put through an emotional hell last year and is now an inmate. This part of the story was interesting and mysterious, and it appears that Chalky may have the majority of the tasty meat to chew this season as he did last season.
The rest of the episode isn't worth mentioning from a story standpoint, just know that we get to check in with Margaret who is still entirely unnecessary since the end of season 3. We also get to see Lucky Luciano's ascension in the mafia, which once again, seems to have little to do with Nucky. Although, it seems like it will be linked to Nucky somehow if he ever gets back to Atlantic City.
I will say this, I have been watching director Tim Van Patten's work for 15 years in television. He's one of my favorite directors in the business and I can say without a doubt, that this is his finest job directing from a technical standpoint in the history of his career.
The shot selection is brilliant. Every shot is gorgeously presented and the performances and crispness of the editing is equally impressive. If you're not a fan of Boardwalk, you should watch this just to see the technical brilliance on display in this episode.
Kudos to him and cinematographer Jonathan Freeman for shooting the best looking episode of TV since Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias".
So, long story short: a slow and rather dull story for Nucky, interesting and mysterious material for Chalky and masterful technical craftsmanship.
Grade: 7/10
***Some mild spoilers***
Now four years removed from its first season, what does Boardwalk have to show for itself? An ever expanding universe that has gotten as far away from the Boardwalk as possible and that has jumped seven years into the future from season 4.
Performances are still fantastic, the sets are incredible, the direction and cinematography are some of the finest in television (or film for that matter). The problem is now that the stories don't seem to be going anywhere. Nucky is once again sleepwalking in life without any of his former foils (Jimmy, Eddie, Gyp, Eli, Chalky, the Commodore) to stir their proverbial drinks. His motivations (to sell rum from Cuba) isn't captivating at all and there really is no clear and present conflict to what he is doing anymore. Things are lurking in the shadows, but all Nucky has now is Sally (they're just business associates now), who doesn't have the sensitivity of Nucky's former squeeze Margaret, or the dripping sexuality and intrigue of Billie Kent.
Nucky's world has been dull since season 4 for the most part, and it doesn't look like it's going to be any different this year, at least thus far.
There are also flashbacks that show Nucky's rise into becoming the Commodore's protégé, but this Godfather II homage (The Godfather series is counted as some of the most influential works that Winter has paid homage to throughout his career) that juxtaposes young Nucky and present Nucky doesn't really do much to give us new insight into the character. The events seen here give us knowledge that has already been told to us in prior seasons. In short, this regurgitation feels unearned and unnecessary.
The only interesting part of this episode was Chalky's storyline. Now a prisoner, Chalky was put through an emotional hell last year and is now an inmate. This part of the story was interesting and mysterious, and it appears that Chalky may have the majority of the tasty meat to chew this season as he did last season.
The rest of the episode isn't worth mentioning from a story standpoint, just know that we get to check in with Margaret who is still entirely unnecessary since the end of season 3. We also get to see Lucky Luciano's ascension in the mafia, which once again, seems to have little to do with Nucky. Although, it seems like it will be linked to Nucky somehow if he ever gets back to Atlantic City.
I will say this, I have been watching director Tim Van Patten's work for 15 years in television. He's one of my favorite directors in the business and I can say without a doubt, that this is his finest job directing from a technical standpoint in the history of his career.
The shot selection is brilliant. Every shot is gorgeously presented and the performances and crispness of the editing is equally impressive. If you're not a fan of Boardwalk, you should watch this just to see the technical brilliance on display in this episode.
Kudos to him and cinematographer Jonathan Freeman for shooting the best looking episode of TV since Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias".
So, long story short: a slow and rather dull story for Nucky, interesting and mysterious material for Chalky and masterful technical craftsmanship.
Grade: 7/10
