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Shot Glass Half Empty?: On Boardwalk Empire’s Troubled Legacy

I was a bit hesitant to start watching the series finale for Boardwalk Empire. I didn’t even have it in me to watch it until a few days after it aired. Why was I so hesitant? Probably for a number of reasons. A part of me wasn’t ready to say goodbye to a series I …

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 5.07: “Friendless Child” laments its losses and rhymes like poetry

Three seasons ago Enoch “Nucky” Thompson met his former protege, Jimmy Darmody, in a dusty field and told him that he wasn’t seeking redemption. And then he shot him in the head. Twice. Things have changed.

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 5.03: “What Jesus Said” consists mainly of setup

“What Jesus Said” opens with Chalky and his loose cannon partner breaking into the house of the latter’s former employer. In what is easily the low point of the episode, Chalky’s plot consists of balancing precariously between his edgy accomplice, Milton, and the a mother and daughter whom they have taken hostage. Although on paper, the idea might sound engaging, it plays out in a mostly uninspired manner due to the fact that Chalky isn’t given a whole lot to do. These scenes, which take up roughly 1/3 of the main plots explored this week, consist widely of three other characters who we are given little emotional investment in.

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 5.02: “The Good Listener” tightens the noose for several necks

There are revelations aplenty as we catch up with a few more members of the cast after the crash, and in the beginnings of the Great Depression. Gillian is seen early on under surprising circumstances; in not a prison, but a mental institution. Her initial sequence, in which she dozes comfortably in a steam bath while discussing frivolities is rapidly dissipated when one of her fellow patients loses control over a radio program, and riles up the other patients in kind.

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 5.01: “Golden Days for Boys & Girls” stops roaring and gets dirty

There is an air of finality to even this first episode of Boardwalk Empire’s final season. From the opening scene to the final moments, “Golden Days for Boys & Girls” has the distinct feeling of a ticking clock. Ironically while the episode takes its sweet time, from skipping out on several of the shows most notable characters to adding in a recurring flashbacks of the childhood of the Thompsons, it only further solidifies the fact that this is the end. Like the last ruminating drink of a dying man, the simplest of things only matter more with the end in sight.

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 4.11, “Havre de Grace”: Action stalls in penultimate episode

Much of this season, Boardwalk Empire has struggled with too many characters and disconnected storylines, leaving the overall narrative scattered. This week the show focuses in, following Chalky and Gillian while the other characters take the episode off, other than a few scenes setting up Eli and Nucky for the finale. However while this helps highlight these two characters and allows them to shine, the direction the writers choose to go with them makes the episode, and in one case, much of the season, feel absolutely wasted.

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Boardwalk Empire s03.12 ‘Margate Sands’: Missed Opportunities

Boardwalk Empire Season3.12 ‘Margate Sands’ Written by: Terence Winter and Howard Korder Directed by: Tim van Patten Airs Sunday 9.00pm EST on HBO This was the show when I thought the talking would stop. Boardwalk Empire, always a little dialogue heavy, had moved itself into prime position for an episode where plotting was kept to …

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Boardwalk Empire Ep. 3.08 “The Pony”: Out with a Bang

Boardwalk Empire Episode 3.08 “The Pony” Written by: Terence Winter & Howard Korder Directed by: Tim Van Patten Airs Sunday 9.00pm EST on HBO Nucky has his mojo back. Nelson Van Alden has his mojo back. After a quiet beginning to the series, what else do we need to up the pace? When Gyp Rosetti …

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 3.06, “Ging Gang Goolie”: Skating on thin ice

Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 6: “Ging Gang Goolie” Written by Steve Kornacki Directed by Ed Bianchi Airs Sunday 9.00pm EST on Sunday Ever since the sad departure of showgirl Lucy Danziger from the show in Season 2, leaving her baby girl to the tender care of Nelson Van Alden (which is a bit like …

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 3.03, “Bone For Tuna”: The women take over

Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 3, “Bone For Tuna” Written by Chris Haddock Directed by Jeremy Podeswa Airs Sundays at 9pm (ET) on HBO Top moment this week: watching Bobby Cannavale and Gretchen Mol in their first scene together. It’s like watching a Great White and a cobra face off. Two entirely different but equally …

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Boardwalk Empire, Ep. 2.08, “Two Boats and a Lifeguard”: Calm waters with a storm on the horizon

Boardwalk Empire, Season 2, Episode 8, “Two Boats and a Lifeguard” Written by Terence Winter Directed by Tim Van Patten Airs Sunday at 9pm ET on HBO Recovering from an assassination attempt, King of the Atlantic City boardwalk, Nucky Thomson, takes stock. His common-law wife Margaret wants him to treat his lucky escape as an …

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