“The beginning’s over. The end hasn’t come yet. All I care about is now.” – Nucky
Our sophomore saunter down to the Boardwalk Empire is almost at an end, and once again we are getting glimpses into the deeper past that brought some of our characters to where they are now.
Flashbacks to Jimmy’s time at Princeton offer Angela a temporary reprieve — in story terms, at least — from her assassination at the hands of Manny Horwitz, though a visiting Gillian shows her the same disrespect in their first encounter as their last. In a strange reversal of cause and effect, we see the source of the ongoing, awkward tension between Jimmy and Gillian that has been unfolding over the last two seasons, and then watch as it culminates in another murderous encounter in the Darmody house in the present storyline.
History has done a lot in contributing to the characterization of the show’s designated villains; we already know, for example, that Lucky Luciano and Al Capone are notoriously nefarious before even being introduced to them. So I believe it is a real testament to the show’s writers – as well as Gretchen Mol – that amidst these historically homicidal and narcissistic individuals, a fictional woman emerges as the most-hated character.
Another bizarrely awesome and unexpected ending ultimately claims the Commodore’s life, just as he’s beginning to regain a semblance of his former physical strength. He overpowers Jimmy and stabs him in the back with a pole-arm, but Jimmy reciprocates by putting a dagger in his gut, and then upon his mother’s “kill” command, in his father’s heart.
No less tragic than the aforementioned murders, Margaret’s daughter Emily is cursed to live her life as a paraplegic as a result of her polio. The doctor’s warning to Margaret to not let Emily revert to crawling to get around holds widespread significance for more than just the Schroeders; everybody is coming upon difficult times, and like Emily’s leg braces, the future requires people to adapt, not regress.
Van Alden, for example, changes his stripes and flees when it is revealed to the Assistant Attorney General that he drowned his former partner. Instead, it is Margaret who is picking up on cues to repent her sins, believing Emily’s suffering is a result of the lifestyle afforded to her since her husband’s death. Though she doesn’t tell Nucky of her affair – as the previews would have us believe – she admits her fears to him when she receives a subpoena, and hints towards testifying against him.
Eli Thompson can also be counted amongst those who are taking stock of their situation, as can Mickey Doyle. Having been imprisoned for his suspected involvement in killing Margaret’s husband, Eli must now consider the threat of the electric chair if he is found guilty. Mickey, meanwhile, must reconsider his role in the Capone/Luciano/Lansky liquor and heroin operation now that Jimmy has been cut out of the deal. Having his previous encounter with Manny Horwitz go less than amicably, Doyle has also lost any support that could have been offered by Van Alden, as Nelson severed their relationship just before evading arrest. Something tells me that this season’s body count of significant characters has yet to finish climbing.
Some stats and info about Boardwalk Empire, “Under God’s Power She Flourishes”
TV SHOW – Boardwalk Empire
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2 Episode 11
AIRED ON – December 4th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – HBO/Max
GENRE – Drama, Crime Dramas, Period Show
CREATED BY – Terence Winter
CAST – Steve Buscemi,Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham,Stephen Graham, Vince Piazza, Michael Kenneth Williams, Paul Sparks, Grechen Mol, Michael Stuhlbarg, Anthony Laciura, Jack Huston, Anatol Yusef
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.