Boardwalk Empire - Season 4 Discussion Thread

[Owain Taggart]

Nice to see Richard finally settle down

Does anyone else get the feeling that this season will be Richard's last? The focus on him in the first episode suggested that something big was going to happen to him this season, like the writers were preparing to say goodbye to a beloved character. Now he's married and has a family, it feels like he's being set up for a fall. Maybe I'm just over-analysing things, I certainly hope it's not the case.

Hmm, I hope you're wrong. I haven't got that feeling, but there's a chance you could be right. But they've really taken their time for it to get to this point, starting even as far back as season 2. Last season, Richard was on that killing spree and got that out of his system, and I think maybe the first episode suggested that things would soon be changing. You could see him struggle and come to terms with what he'd done and wanting to get back to the old life he had. To me, the fact that they took their time getting this far suggest that they wouldn't do something so drastic. Or they could, but then it would rather be a cold thing to do. I do find it interesting that he went to visit Nucky though.

 

[Tom]

I always had a feeling Richard was going to be working with Nucky at some point. This season they took there time bringing Richard to that point. I would hope that next season we see Richard becoming Nucky's right hand man, considering he has lost Eddie and possible issues with his brother helping the FBI.

 

[Anwar]

What the heck were Van Alden's co-workers thinking, going after him like that?

I mean, if it was just the burned guy who was now unemployed and totally lacking money I could get it but it was even his old boss (who came off as a normal guy) was in on it.

 

[lurok]

Great episode and nice to see Richard (and I guess the old Van Alden) return. Kudos to whoever did Daughter Maitland's post-beating makeup. Inferred all the savagery which gratefully the producers spared us onscreen.

 

[Ruaidhri]

Van Alden telling O'Banion all about himself...that was intense. Great scene.

 

[Warped9]

Tonight's episode had me nervous. I kept waiting for someone to bust through a door to waste Chalky. Fortunately Chalky's instincts are good and he stayed alive. Nucky has now made his choice as Narcisse reveals how much of a snake he is.

The scenes between Margaret and Rothstein were great.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, some interesting stuff happening this week. And yeah, Narcisse really shows his true colours. I think that he made that deal with Nucky in order to distract him from Chalky, knowing that he'd never deliver him anyway. He likely knew that Nucky wouldn't deliver him anyway and was tipped off by the Mayor. Great to see Margaret again.

I have a feeling that Capone will finally take over on his end during the finale.

 

[Warped9]

I was also edgy about what Narcisse might do with Chalky's daughter.

It'll be interesting to see what is done to deal with Narcisse. He talks about helping black people, but he's just another scheming crook with a polished manner of speaking.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I was genuinely fearful Chalky was going to buy it. Same for Meyer (I quite the little weasel, just like Mickey, weird, I know). We always knew Narcisse was a snake but now it's coming out in full force. My skin crawled during the scene with him and Chalky's daughter. Like I said last week, I fear that Chalky is going to lose big by the end. It's just a matter of what exactly.

The scenes with Margaret were great and Rothstein is going down an interesting path, following real life. Al Capone, too. I knew his other brother was going to die, but Al is madder than ever. Al is about to rise from the impending war. And dear ol' Van Alden, who just saved Al's skin just mere episodes after attempting to kill him, is going to be at his side. I love it.

Best part of the whole episode? The two scenes my two favorite characters shared together: Chalky and Richard. Beautiful.

Just about everyone appears in this episode with the noticeable exception of Gillian and Roy. They've had an interesting story this season but it's beginning to show just how disconnected it is from the rest of the show's tapestry.

 

[Warped9]

Best part of the whole episode? The two scenes my two favorite characters shared together: Chalky and Richard. Beautiful.

Yeah, I loved those.

 

[lurok]

Same here.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, that was a great scene, although I was a little worried about how Chalky would react to Richard with his friends around him. I don't think they ever had a scene together before that?

 

[Warped9]

These episodes are making me nervous. Chalky has the lives of a cat and is one of the luckiest sumbitch's alive. Every time I think he's out of luck he somehow lives for another day. Too bad he thinks Nucky sold him out.

Gillian was truly screwed. Just when she thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be a train running right over her. Talk about a life of waste and misery.

I'm glad to see Nucky smells something is wrong even if he doesn't know the particulars. His intuition seems to be telling him that something is up with Eli, the supposedly paid FBI guy and the "mysterious" insurance agent who visited Eli's house.

I've no idea where this is going, but I really want to see Narcisse get his.

Shame we had to lose Louis Gossett Jr. so soon.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, congrats to those who guessed at what was really going on with Gillian It was great finally seeing that witch get her dessert. Great scene. Loved how it was revealed to her.

 

[Warped9]

I half expected her to try throwing herself over the railing or something.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Ugh, I did not like the Gillian twist. I had a pretty go idea where it was going but it seemed a little too far fetched. It makes it slightly more bearable that old man Soprano was in on it, but still. It didn't help the way the two other agents just emerged from the other bedrooms and they way they pushed her around in a triangle like some musical. I actually liked her storyline this season and I don't think it payed off well.

Not sure what they're doing with Chalky. For me it really hurts his character that he just dumped his family like that. I could see him being overcome with lust for her and banging her a few times, but to just up and leave with no regard to his family was pretty shocking. This episode Daughter finally mentions them and he basically brushes it off.

Truthfully the whole revelation that dr. Narcisse was the one that killed Daughters mom I thought was lame. It didn't help that she almost immediately betrayed him for Chalky.

I hope this finale is amazing since they basically left out a bulk of the story lines I really liked this season so far.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Ugh, I did not like the Gillian twist. I had a pretty go idea where it was going but it seemed a little too far fetched. It makes it slightly more bearable that old man Soprano was in on it, but still. It didn't help the way the two other agents just emerged from the other bedrooms and they way they pushed her around in a triangle like some musical. I actually liked her storyline this season and I don't think it payed off well.

Not sure what they're doing with Chalky. For me it really hurts his character that he just dumped his family like that. I could see him being overcome with lust for her and banging her a few times, but to just up and leave with no regard to his family was pretty shocking. This episode Daughter finally mentions them and he basically brushes it off.

Truthfully the whole revelation that dr. Narcisse was the one that killed Daughters mom I thought was lame. It didn't help that she almost immediately betrayed him for Chalky.

I hope this finale is amazing since they basically left out a bulk of the story lines I really liked this season so far.

Gillian, there was no use for her character after Gyp shot her up. This was a coda that just took time away from far more interesting characters. Better the chap left Gillian for his wife than being a Pinkerton for the lawyer. This whole arc was a third wheel to the season.

Chalky and the family. His rise in society has been a curse. He has been unhappy for a long time. The dinner conversation over his favorite dish not being on the table way back when because it was associated with poor blacks and wouldn't make the right impression. He has been chaffing mightily against his wife's classiness and class consciousness. It's a shame they haven't developed that more. He wanted to save Daughter and stick it to Narcisse, I think Oscar had that sussed. Chalky was being dishonest with himself and with her, and I doubt Oscar really trusted someone who didn't have a real name.

Did she betray Chalky, sure, most likely. The abused will often go back to their abusers. As for Narcise as a whole, I was hoping for a more subtle spider like villain. This just made him a thug.

The episode took too much time on Gillian, time that could have given much more depth to the other stories. More Oscar and Chalky, more Nucky and the family, more Louis Gosset, Jr, more Elie angst, more Louis Gosset,Jr, More Narcise, did I mention more Louis Gosset, Jr?

 

[Icemizer]

The Oscar/chalky scenes really had no where to go beyond what was said which is dont trust anyone brown or white.

The Gillian angle was not played out well. Yes she had to go down, but the Pinkertons was not the way for her to go. She needed a much more violent and horrid end to her existence. Glad to see Uncle Junior was behind the plot though.

 

[Tom]

I just think they did not want to lose Gretchen Mol so they gave her an extended story this season so to speak. Still it was very contrived and the clues were there in a couple previous episodes to point to this being linked to Rogers death.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Gillian, there was no use for her character after Gyp shot her up. This was a coda that just took time away from far more interesting characters.

This. The character could have just as easily disappeared this season due to what happened last season, but they chose to bring her back, yet again and much to my dismay. All of what they showed with the custody battle was already implied last season, so it would still have made sense if they just had Tommy already be in custody of Richard. So in bringing her back, they had to find a way to make her fall and hard. This season felt like two steps back for her, being more like the character she was in season 2 and negating everything that had happened to her in season 3. She was the character that wouldn't die and it was getting ridiculous.

Personally, I'm fine with how they did things. She was manipulative. They had to use that against her and make her feel confident. Yes, they could have killed her last season and have her go out with a bang, but they didn't use that chance and we had to have this. Personally, the realization that she was no longer in control after having manipulated so many people was appropriate.