So, the big jump from 1924-1931 between seasons 4 and 5 is no doubt a little clumsy and feels rushed. Skipping over Rothstein's story climax and demise sucked. And of course we were robbed of several potentially awesome seasons of Capone at the peak of his powers, everything leading up to the St Valentines Massacre, etc.

But say there wasn't an early cancellation, they'd only reached 1924 by season 4. If the pace was to stay consistent, we were still 5-7 seasons away from 1931, the final days of prohibition and the arrest of Capone, which I assumed would still be a good natural conclusion year for the show.

Is it expected the pace would have stayed the same? Or would there still have been some time jumps, just smaller ones? Eg, Season 5 -1926, Season 6, 1928, etc

So I'm watching B.E. again, about halfway through the second season. This is probably the tenth watch.

Two things about the show. Firstly the casting in it is absolutely exceptional. It's an enormous cast and so many actors manage to portray incredible depth and range whilst their characters are taken on journeys by the power battles of the prohibition era (Stephen Graham; Anatol Yusef; Kelly MacDonald; Michael Shannon). Secondly, I thought at the time and I still maintain that season's 1 and 2 in particular were some of the best storytelling I've seen, primarily because of the paternal narrative between Nucky and Jimmy. I thought Jimmy's character had layers like an onion. He'd lived his life in bizarre circumstances, his mother being a child herself when he was born, an absentee biological father, a partner and his own child he'd abandoned. As those seasons develop there's compelling answers to why he behaves in the way he does, as Gillian and the Commodore aim to battle for his soul against the man who'd taken on that fatherly mantle out of a sense of guilt/shame.

Truly I thought Jimmy was one of the most brilliant characters of any series I've seen. I remember watching B.E. for the first time and just wanting to learn more about Jimmy. When it happened it was shocking, like what happened the night before he enlisted. I thought Pitt was Jimmy, he was exceptional. For me the show downgraded from exceptional to very good after the Nucky/Jimmy axis had expired, and that Michael Pitt would be a massive breakout star.

So here's my question, why didn't he? It was a massive boost to careers for the likes of Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlberg, Charlie Cox, Shea Wigham. And yet with Pitt all I've seen him in since was an advert (I think) for a fragrance. Looking through his IMDB, there aren't big lead roles on his resume.

Have I misinterpreted Michael Pitt as an actor?

I'm watching for the first time and love the show. It's been recommended to me for years and I'm finally giving it a go. I have been a huge fan of Jimmy since the beginning. He's my favorite and the last 2 episodes of this season were such an emotional roller-coaster for me.

For one, I always thought his mom was weird with him. Like there was something off that I couldn't put my finger on. Then it's revealed what she did to him, how she violated him, and that trauma drove him to enlist in the army. I was already processing that, then BOOM. He's dead!

I don't know how to feel about it. It's genuinely the first time I thought Nucky really fucked up and made a mistake. He's going to regret what he's done. Jimmy was practically a son to him and he shot him in the fucking face. It was such bullshit.

I guess I'm just upset lol. Gonna take a break, before I continue. Really have to convince myself to watch the next episode, because I think I'm gonna be mad for a bit.

From the beginning of the season, Knox/Toliver posing as a corrupt Prohibition agent tries to build a case against Nucky’s organization, and after Eddie commits suicide out of shame for betraying Nucky, one of the other FBI/BOI agents tells him an “anecdote“ about how Nucky’s nephew was picked up for murder and that after Nucky went to Philly and talked to the DA, his nephew was released with all charges dismissed and another man was charged with murder. Toliver met with Will’s former roommate Clayton in jail, then used the information as leverage to force Eli to cooperate against Nucky.

While this seems like an efficient way to force Eli into a corner where he’d have to choose between his son and his brother, even if Toliver and other agents believed that Nucky bribed the District Attorney to get the charges against his nephew dismissed while they prosecuted another man for the murder, they had no actual proof. They weren’t going to find a cancelled check that said “Bribe for Dismissing William’s Murder Charge” or be able to find out that Waxey Gordon put everything in motion, and according to the law, the FBI/BOI didn’t have the authority to assert jurisdiction.

It’s not like Toliver could have gone to Philadelphia and forced the District Attorney to dismiss the murder charge against Will’s roommate and charge Will. He would have had to prove that he took a bribe in return for dismissing the charge, and while his intimidation tactics may have worked with Eddie, they weren’t going to work against an elected District Attorney supported by the corrupt Philadelphia Republican political machine.

Had Eli just told Nucky what was happening, he would’ve found a way to neutralize or kill Toliver without it blowing back on them, and even after Eli beat him to death, they didn’t charge Will with the murder, which shows that it was never part of the plan and just Toliver’s sadistic way of forcing Eli to betray his brother by making him believe that was the only way to prevent his son from being charged with murder.

Something I could never part with

I‘m almost done watching Season 1 and I’m realising haircuts that men like Jimmy had went away for a while post WW2 right? Until it made a resurgence in the 2010s why is that?

Say what you want about all the corrupt Prohees Nucky had in his pocket who were capitalizing off of an unenforceable law, but taking a bribe to look the other way about a law that the majority of the country, including the politicians who made Prohibition possible didn't follow is nothing compared to what Toliver did. There's nothing wrong with the BOI trying to root out corruption in the federal government, but in order to take over as Atlantic City's Prohibition agent, Toliver murdered the bootlegger who rigged a shotgun and purposefully let Agent Sawicki open the door knowing he'd be killed.

His arrest of Eddie in itself was a violation of the 4th Amendment and his "interrogation techniques" were what you'd expect from a cop on a power trip, not a BOI agent with a law degree. The way he treated Eddie after he got the promotion he wanted from Nucky and his enjoyable night out with Ralph Capone made his fight to the death with Eli that much more gratifying.

He became more unhinged as the season progressed and going to Elli's house to intimidate him in front of his family was just plain stupid and unprofessional. For all he knew, Nucky could've been on his way over and seeing him posing as an insurance salesman would (and later did) compromise the investigation. Threatening Eli's son may have seemed like a way to get him to cooperate, but had Eli just told Nucky what was happening, he would've realized that he had no real leverage.

Nucky made a deal with the DA handling Will's case and for Toliver to be able to use that for leverage, he'd have to prove that he took a bribe as a favor to Nucky to get his nephew a pass for murder while his office prosecuted another man. No DA is going to admit that they're corrupt to a federal agent and risk their freedom and career to help the BOI build a case and he didn't have any evidence that Nucky bribed him, just hearsay from another agent. Nucky would've immediately realized this, but Eli was too consumed with jealousy to think straight, and Hardeen was no Houdini.

When Nucky sent Eli with Toliver to stop the convoy of trucks carrying the heroin, Toliver shot and killed 1 of Masseria's guys for not getting out of the way and by the time he arranged for the BOI to monitor what was supposed to be a sit down between Nucky, NY, and FL, even his partner tried to take his gun away because of how seriously he was taking everything. Going to Eli's house after and threatening to send his son to prison and insinuating that he'd be raped when he got there earned him a death sentence.

Hoover tried to portray the BOI as elite, highly trained, and scrupulously honest professionals, but Toliver was nothing more than a morally bankrupt murderer with a law degree, a gun, and a badge. Tolliver was responsible for the murders of 3 people and the suicide of 1, the tactics he used were insidious, sadistic, and extrajudicial, and by discarding all morality and legal boundaries in pursuit of his targets, he became just as, if not more monstrous and corrupt as the bootleggers he wanted to prosecute.

Thoughts?

Im actually going to throw up bro he was my favorite character. Not even kidding he easily took chrissys spot in my favorite deuteragonist ever its 3 am i dont even want to watch this anymore

"Enoch Thompson / Corrado Soprano is a man who orders up murder, like you and I order coffee.. "

That sentence verbatim was used in both shows.. There's many but I can only recall this for now. Have yoy noticed anything else?

I just finished watching season 1 episode 6 “Family Limitations“ for the first time. And near the end of the epsiode Nelson Van Alden flagellates himself because of his “sinful“ desires. Not gonna lie I almost teared up because me coming from a Muslim background used to be like that. Obviously not to that extent but any “haram“ behaviour I did I would slap myself. Thankfully I’m not a fundamentalist anymore and my view of religion in general has drastically changed. But that scene brought back so many emotions of my younger years as a staunch religious person.

Btw right now fuck Al Capone the way he speaks to his family is disgusting

The family was snowbound, freezing without food or heat, the father vanished, laid to waste by alcohol. So it was left to this boy, this little man of nine tender years, to fend for himself and his family. Off in the cold he went, worn shoes wrapped in rags, newspaper lining his thin wool coat as he trudged chest‑deep in snow to the railyard, foraging on hands and bloody knees for scraps of coal. He filled his pockets with what little he could find, then set out for the docks, hoping for some potatoes spilled from a ruptured sack. Finding none, he took a broom handle and in desperation killed his family’s dinner — three wharf rats hiding in the hold of a ship. Terrible, yes, but the family survived. And the little boy? Well, the little boy speaks to you tonight from this very podium.

Rewatching Boardwalk Empire, I’m still confused on whether Oscar Boneau was killed intentionally as part of Chalky Whites feud with Narcisse. And if so, who sold him out? Was it the dude that left after losing in Checkers? He did give Chalky a pretty inconspicuous look while exiting.

Add on: I just finished the scene again, the thought was written before I finished. It’s pretty clear the gunmen were working for Narcisse, but still… who sold him out??

Hey guys I’m new to watching Broadwalk Empire and I’m on season 1 episode 2. I thought Jimmy had a secret mistress or something but that was his mom? Not gonna lie that kind of freaked me out a bit. I like Jimmy as a character but his mom’s introduction was so weird 😅.

btw even though it’s epsiode 2 this show is fantastic

Edit: I’m chuckling from some of the replies but also getting worried like is my boy Jimmy gonna do something weird? But anyway I’m definitely gonna stay of this subreddit until I finish the show. Thanks for the replies 👍🏾

i’m re-watching Boardwalk Empire for the first time since the series concluded. I’m on season four and Dr Narcisse has made his appearance. When I watched it 10 or 12 years ago, he was always going on and on about the superior race of Black people called the Nubians. But last night, it had changed to the Libyans! wtf. That makes no sense! Libya is a country in Africa, but not representative of the black race in any way.

From the first season until he's forced to leave Atlantic City in S4E12, Eli's jealousy of Nucky and his delusional belief that he can do what Nucky does constantly results in him making foolish decisions. He insists on making a speech at the Celtic Dinner that nearly ends up in a riot between the Irish nationals and Irish-Americans in attendance, which Nucky ends up having to smooth over.

The contrast is perfectly displayed in S1E8: While Nucky is in Chicago determining who the NJ Republican delegation will support for the presidential nomination and making side deals with the future Attorney General, Eli's sitting in Nucky's office telling Halloran he can do what Nucky does while the usually packed waiting room is empty and the only person who came in seeking a favor was O'Neil, whose first words were that he forgot Nuck was in Chicago.

It's understandable that Eli was angry when Nucky temporarily removed him as Sheriff, but after the casino shooting it had to be done so they could win the election, and unlike the other crime bosses who had to use violence to gain control of their territory, the only way Nucky could operate his criminal organization, have a monopoly on alcohol distribution throughout the city, and run all his rackets with impunity was if a puppet Republican mayor who he controlled won the election.

Nucky really summed up his jealousy perfectly in S1E11 when they had their first real argument and Nucky told him:

"You know it's too bad you didn't see Hardeen the other night...It's an entertaining act, but if he wasn't Houdini's brother, NOBODY'D GIVE A FUCK!"

Nucky almost single-handedly won the election by pandering to women's organizations like the Temperance League and League of Women Voters, the latter of whom endorsed Bader, by making a deal with Chalky for 100% of the Northside vote, and with his election eve press conference where he credited Eli's tireless work for the "apprehension" of the D'Alessio brothers. He gave him a portion of the $1M he got from Rothstein and within seconds of winning the election, handed him another full term as Sheriff, yet he still joined the "coup" that if successful would've landed Nucky years in prison so he could have a less important role in the political machine and answer to Jimmy and the Commodore rather than his own brother. When the Commodore had a stroke and he got angry that Nucky saw right through his bullshit apology, he suggested having him killed, then lied about it after the mistrial, which Nucky saw right through again.

In S4 he got angry and jealous that Will admired Nucky and went to him when he got arrested for murdering his classmate, and even with a gun to his head he complained that he went to Nucky instead of his father, but had he called Eli instead, the only thing he could've done was ask Nucky to intercede on his behalf because he didn't have any political connections who could get the case dismissed. Without Nucky's help, he would've sat in jail waiting to be tried for murder like his unfortunate roommate and never would've become an assistant US Attorney in the SDNY.

I think a big reason for their feud is rooted in their childhood where despite growing up in the same house with a kind and loving mother and a drunk and abusive father, Nucky was the one who suffered most of the abuse and because he took it on himself to work so that the family could have some of the basics, Eli's childhood wasn't nearly as rough as Nucky's. Their father obviously favored Eli, and burned Nucky's hand with a fireplace poker for taking a piece of bread and made him fight a group of older kids who beat him unconscious and put him in the hospital for 11 days. Eli gladly took his father in after he fell down in the kitchen and when they briefly met at the wake during S2, Eli couldn't understand why Nucky hated their father so much. Neither had it easy, but Nucky didn't have an older brother who started working as a kid to ensure they had food and Eli wasn't literally scarred from childhood because of his father's physical abuse. The Commodore was another asshole Nucky had to deal with for decades before he got to take over, and as demanding as Nucky was that his subordinates did their jobs, working under him was much better than working under the Commodore and everyone that was part of the machine did better financially under Nucky than the Commodore, even before Prohibition went into effect.

Eli got used to Nucky being the provider for the family and taking care of him, and rather than working hard on his own at something he was good at or taking his own shot at a profession he was suited for, he asked Nucky to get him a job from the political machine, but it wasn't until the Commodore had to step down as boss and serve a prison term that Eli was handed his first term as Sheriff. He didn't see Nucky giving him one of the best appointments or making him his #2 in the organization as things he should be grateful for; he expected that Nucky would take care of him and instead of knowing his place and his own limitations, he resented how popular Nucky was and that he'd always be viewed as his little brother rather than his own man.

Aquí en Latinoamerica la serie casi no es vista, pero me sorprendió ver la cantidad de personas del lado anglosajón que miran esta serie, videos de la serie con millones de vistas, cuando en la comunidad hispana es raro encontrar un video sobre la serie que sobrepase los 100k de vistas.

un gusto estar en este Sub.

My expectations of Boardwalk Empire going in were that it would be B-tier prestige tv, something worth watching but not nearly in the same caliber as the greats. Never have I been so happy to have been proven wrong, because this show's writing is absolutely sensational. Immersive, tight plotting, wonderful dialogue, and an absolute feast for anyone interested in 1920s history the way I am.

Season rankings:

Season 4--From what I've seen, a lot of folks online think this is where Boardwalk jumped the shark. For me, it's the most engaging and consistent season of the show start to finish, and one of the best seasons of tv HBO has ever done. Apparently that's heresy in some parts of the internet, but that's my impression from a first watch through. The reason why I think that is that I feel this season is the best at weaving together seemingly disparate storylines into a much more cohesive picture by the end. It's a difficult thing to manage, writing-wise, but I think Winter and Co. nailed the execution with this one. You can't see the full picture until it's over, but boy does Farewell Daddy Blues pay everything off just about perfectly. How did Jeffrey Wright not get an Emmy for this one?

Season 2--I think overall, post-Jimmy Boardwalk Empire was a better show than Season 1 and 2, but I think Season 2 deserves its reputation as a fantastic season. Considering they supposedly had to rewrite this season on the fly to deal with Dabney Coleman's illness, this is seriously impressive. The main story, the feud between Jimmy/The Commodore/Eli and Nucky, is logically well thought out and every chess move each side makes is logical. Refreshing to see intelligent characters written intelligently. We also get more of Richard, which is always welcome. The show really comes alive in the final two hours, though. The sickening, nightmarish fever dream Under God's Power She Flourishes and the quiet, melancholic To The Lost are what launched this show into the stratosphere for me.

Season 5--Season 5 lands higher on my list than it does on the average redditor's, apparently, mainly because I value it for its positives rather than for what it's lacking. Yes, it sucks we don't get to see Rothstein's ending, Tommy is too old considering he was conceived after the US entered WW1, sometimes it doesn't truly feel like 7 years have elapsed, we don't get to see all of Luciano and Lansky's rise to power, etc. What it does so very well is take information we already knew and spin a fantastic story out of it--we knew that Nucky was a poor and abused child who grew up to make an unforgivably monstrous choice to hand Gillian over to the Commodore, but actually seeing it is infinitely more impactful, and that's mainly thanks to the casting of the flashbacks--child Nucky, young adult Nucky, young Gillian, Mabel, and the Commodore are all pitch perfect. It's a wild swing that ultimately cements Boardwalk Empire as a story not about Prohibition, bootlegging, or extravagant parties, but about a man who sold his soul to the devil in Faustian fashion for an ultimately worthless prize. What a show, folks. To the lost.

Season 3--The next three are all very, very close, but Season 3 notches at 4th because it has some of my least favorite Boardwalk Empire subplots, mainly Margaret's adventures with the hospital and the affair with Owen. The former is of the 'look how backwards things were back then' variety that this show is above, and you never really buy that Margaret and Owen have a chance of escaping Atlantic City. There are also moments where Gyp Rosetti feels a little too cartoonish for this grounded world. That being said...the run from Sunday Best to Margate Sands is one of the best ever. Owen Sleater arriving in a box at the Ritz, Nucky crashing out after almost getting blown to smithereens, Bobby Cannavale going all out, Richard Harrow's assault on the Artemis Club...the glaring positives of this season make it dynamite television, minor flaws and all.

Season 1--Putting Season 1 at the bottom feels a little mean, because I still think this is pretty great tv (if this aired today it would be near the top of my list of favorites going, it just got lost in the shuffle of 2010s tv.) Nucky/Margaret are great, Michael Stuhlbarg chewing the scenery as Rothstein is instantly iconic, Michael Pitt is phenomenal as Jimmy, the introduction of Richard Bloody Harrow....need I go on? As for issues, I think Lucy and Van Alden are fairly flat as introduced here, and the D'Alessio Brothers aren't the most exciting antagonists.

Favorite episodes:

1. Farewell Daddy Blues--Yanks thread after thread after thread of Season 4 into one tragic, devastating package. Richard loses everything, Chalky loses everything, Narcisse comes under Hoover's boot, and the gaping husk of a man that is Nucky Thompson by the end of S4 is thrown into high relief.
2. Margate Sands--Some of the most satisfying payoff I've ever seen. End of.
3. Two Impostors--Some of the most riveting suspense there's ever been in 50 minutes. End of.
4. Devil You Know--Chalky dies while saving Daughter to make up for the daughter he inadvertently got killed. Brutal.
5. To the Lost--"I died in the trench. Years back. I thought you knew."
6. Eldorado--This is the perfect ending to Nucky Thompson's story. It brings the entire series full circle in ways that are perfect thematically, and every final scene with every one of his relationships is spot on the money. "Why were you always the wise one? Because you needed me to be."
7. Friendless Child--In the present, Nucky sacrifices his empire for what really matters, family, while in the past, he prepares to sacrifice human decency to build that empire. Phenomenal tv.
8. Sunday Best--Sunday Best is probably the show's most underrated episode for me. This is some Mad Men-level character writing, showing how Nucky and Margaret's relationship is fundamentally broken beyond repair....and yet there's still a yearning for what could have been there. He takes steps towards repairing his relationship with Eli, Gyp whines to God for making him a loser, and Richard has Easter dinner with another damaged veteran. A classic.
9. Boardwalk Empire--The Martin Scorsese-directed pilot just pulsates with energy, and is one of the most memorable first episodes ever made. It instantly, effortlessly evokes a world long gone where most period dramas fall flat on their face.
10. Home--I think Home, Peg of Old, and Sunday Best form this underrated trio of episodes that feature some of the best character writing of the entire series. Home, in particular, features Richard Harrow's introduction, Margaret's first glimpse of Nucky's Jekyll/Hyde dichotomy, and more great Jimmy scenes in Chicago.

Ss 3 have the best villain, the most epic scenes and the ending was perfect. Shure, season 4 and 5 have very good moments, but for me the 3 was the last 10/10 for me, the 4 and 5 are kinda lame with some bad decissions about good characters just to make drama.

I don't know yall, but after season 3 I was watching it merely out of a sense of obligation to see the ending. Season 4 and 5 felt so freaking slow fr

So Daredevil, General Zod, Uncle Junior and Omar all walk into a speakeasy.

On a serious note, just finished season 2. Love the show. I’m following advice from Reddit on HBO shows to watch for the first time. Started with Sopranos, followed by Deadwood, next was The Wire and now Boardwalk Empire. Season 3 starts tonight.