Boardwalk Empire (pilot)

 Boardwalk Empire (pilot)

Chalky notes that Mickey has changed his name to Doyle, calling Mickey “motherfucker.” Chalky offers 40% and tells Nucky that he skipped 30% because Nucky thought he would accept the same deal as Mickey. Nucky calls Chalky sensitive and counters with 35%. Chalky agrees and they shake on the deal. Chalky oversees the unloading while Nucky whispers to his assistant Eddie Kessler, asking if Eddie knows what motherfucker means; Eddie guesses it is a “schwarze” (German, meaning black) word.

This tragic figure has become a breakout character in Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire, and is played with Emmy Award–worthy fury by 28-year-old British actor Jack Huston, the grandson of Hollywood legend John Huston and the nephew of actors Anjelica and Danny Huston.

In Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Johnson, Louis "the Commodore" Kuehnle, Frank "Hap" Farley, and Atlantic City itself spring to life in all their garish splendor. Author Nelson Johnson traces "AC" from its humble beginnings as Jonathan Pitney's seaside health resort, through the notorious backroom politics and power struggles, to the city's astonishing rebirth as an entertainment and gambling mecca where just about anything goes. boardwalk empire dvd

Christ on the cross! ...No, really, that's how this scene starts, with a shot of Christ on the cross. We're at the Catholic school, where Margaret, Nucky, and young Teddy are meeting with Father Ed (I'm sure he wasn't called "Father Ed" in these pre-Vatican II times, but we only get Nucky referring to him by his first name, so...) regarding Teddy's upcoming sacrament of First Confession. The priest is talking sternly about sin and hellfire, the usual pre-Confession spiel. Boardwalk Empire is filled with wonderfully portrayed characters of deep dimension and surprising action. I can’t remember the last time I saw a show with so many full characters. It has period detail which is a double-edged sword. And it has storylines that keep me watching. Butttttt, it can also be kind of slow, and sometimes the mini-arcs end too much the same way: with someone getting off.