Boardwalk Empire - The Final Season

[TheGodBen]

I'm not sure how I feel about that first episode. The jump to 1931 almost makes it feel like a different show, and the shortened season (only 8 episodes) has me thinking that this season is more of an epilogue than a final chapter. Skipping past the death of Rothstein is also disappointing, although there is a hint that Margaret has some unfinished business with him involving that filing cabinet, so maybe we'll see him in a flashback?

Seasons of BE always start out slow before building up steam so I feel I can't judge this episode yet, but they don't have time to waste if they want to give this show the send-off it deserves.

 

[Garak]

Holy shit didn't realized this was back on. I will start up tonight.

 

[ALF]

The show is very fragmented between time periods this year but I expect that might keep it fresh. They will go back and explore all the dead characters, surely in some way. I was completely glued to the screen, although no Michael Shannon or Gretchen Mol was irritating (they are still listed in the credits).

What Wiki has to say about the specifics of the two time periods:
"The fifth season takes place in 1931, seven years after the previous season, during the Great Depression, with flashbacks to 1884 and 1897 detailing Nucky's childhood and young adulthood."

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, the jump makes it somewhat jarring and makes it feel disconnected from the rest of the show.

 

[Gov Kodos]

This will end in a lot of violence.

 

[Mister Fandango]

I didn't have any trouble keeping up once I realized there was a jump. I also rather liked seeing Nucky's origin story.

 

[Icemizer]

I really have no interest in young Nucky. To me it just takes away from characters we are interested in. Still I will admit the episode kept my attention.

 

[Gov Kodos]

I would imagine young Nucky's story will add depth to his choices that brought him to where he is and also give explanation to the choices he will make in the road to the show's finale. If it does no more that show events we can already infer such as the abusive father and starting out with the Commodore, then it will have been something of a waste of the little time left.

 

[bbailey861]

I am disappointed in the jump in time. Selfish, I know, but I'd be so much happier to have a few more years of this phenomenal program even if it were only to be 6-8 episodes a season. I really don't understand why it didn't garner a larger following of fans. Looking forward, with trepidation, to the remaining shows.

 

[TheGodBen]

My problem with the time jump is that it feels like we missed most of the story. The show is being put out to pasture by HBO, so they skipped ahead to the end of prohibition and passed over a lot of important events, such as the death of Rothstein, the rise of "Lucky", and the Atlantic City Conference. It's like there's a big hole in the show where four or five extra seasons of content should be.

I'm still hoping for the best out of this season and I feel it may well be the most exciting yet, but the time jump just reinforces that this show needed a few more years to tell the complete story.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, agreed. It's going to need to massively pull ahead to make up for it. Also, i'm good with flashbacks, but it does feel like they should have been in an earlier season. I do feel like we should be learning more about what's happened during the intervening years, not less, and I feel the flashbacks are taking away from that. The flashbacks are ironically amplifying the disjointed feeling for me.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I was initially disappointed about the time jump (and I knew about ahead of time), but I felt the episode handled the new ground very well, even if we only saw half of the cast (no adult Eli, Capone, Van Alden, Mickey, Gillian or Dr. Narcisse). However, I'm more disappointed about the shorter season. HBO did this to Treme in its final season (although in retrospect, I'll admit it didn't really need more).

As for the episode itself, Michael Kenneth Williams continues to show what a great actor he is. He had very few lines in this episode, but his sheer presence and anguish in his face is breathtaking. I hope he finds another great show to (co-)star in after this one is over.

I'm always thrilled by more Margaret, even if she didn't really do much in this episode. Hopefully she'll have a larger presence this season than last, although I find it hard to see how her story will work with her separated from the rest of the cast and with Rothstein dead (a pity we didn't get to see it, but who knows, maybe we'll get a flashback).

I also loved the origin story of Nucky, focusing on his relationships with father, brother, ailing sister, and, of course, the Commodore (although I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't realize it was him until the final scene).

 

[Gov Kodos]

I'm not sure how much of Capone we'll see as he spent most of 1931 on trial for tax evasion and went to prison in November of 1931. The year is a good end point for the series, but a season prior that filled in some blanks between the last season and now would make things feel more complete. Rothstein simply vanishing is a shame and a waste.

 

[Tom]

Episode 2 IMO, was better than episode 1. The show felt more like it's old self. Did not think we would ever see Torrio again once Al took over Chicago.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I thought he was shot last season? As for the rest, I don't know. It feels like there's something missing. With less characters, you'd think that they would end up getting more of a focus, but the show feels very scattered, less cohesive. The episodes so far don't feel as satisfying.

 

[Tom]

Torrio did get shot but survived and told Al he was going back to Italy (in real life this is exactly what happened and put Capone in power). So in the show he either changed his mind, or came back tot he U.S. from Italy to live in New York.

BTW, like Nucky's new 'ear collector' bodyguard!

 

[Gov Kodos]

Torrio did get shot but survived and told Al he was going back to Italy (in real life this is exactly what happened and put Capone in power). So in the show he either changed his mind, or came back tot he U.S. from Italy to live in New York.

BTW, like Nucky's new 'ear collector' bodyguard!

Torrio returned to the US in the late 20's because of the rise of Mussolini and his putting pressure on mob crime in Italy. He remained an elder statesman of the mob much like in the show so far.

 

[sidious618]

I enjoyed the first two episodes. Seasons of Boardwalk Empire always seem scattered at first, but end up coming together.

 

[ALF]

It's important to watch every episode at least twice to figure out what is really going on - this show is very layered and if you have any distractions about two viewings are a must. I found the time change a little more jolting for S05E03 and was really hoping for more of the other storylines as it only focused on Nucky and Chalky. On the plus side we're getting a longer look at what makes Nucky tick through his upbringing.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Still rather ho-hum on the season at this point. I felt that the most interesting thing going on in last night's episode were Nucky's flashback.