Boardwalk Empire – Something to fight for

Wow.

Boardwalk Empire really kicked the second season into a higher gear this week, didn’t it? I thought this was far and away the best episode of the season and as we approach the halfway point of the show’s sophomore year it looks like things are heating up. One of the best things about the second season has been the emergence of several of my favorite secondary players from the first season. Last week we got a close look into the home life of Chalky White, and this week there was a lot of attention given to Richard Harrow. As Memorial Day came to Atlantic City, Harrow struggled to find out what there was to fight for in life.

Harrow is really a heartbreaking character, which seems a little odd to say considering the amount of people he has killed in service to a gangster like Jimmy. Nevertheless, he is a sad soul. The war took more from him than is right, and his quiet suffering really is one of the more powerful stories on the show. I had a bad feeling when Richard packed up a light lunch and took off. My fears were realized when he took off his mask, laid down on a log, and stuck the barrel of his rifle into his mouth. Thank goodness he didn’t go through with it. I wasn’t ready to lose such an interesting character. The rest of his story was equally touching — spending time with a couple honest hunters who knew what he was up to and subtly urged him to reconsider his fate. Like their hunting dog that just continues to fight, Harrow didn’t know what to fight for. In the end, in another emotional scene, he found that something to fight for: Jimmy.

Something else that has struck me this season is how Nucky has really stepped out. Through the first season I was always concerned that he was too meek and too polite to compete with the likes of Jimmy, Al, and Lucky. The action this season has focused less on the doings outside of Atlantic City, but Nucky and Jimmy (and their tumultuous relationship) have been in the limelight. In the past couple of episodes, and this one in particular, the composed and mostly benevolent Nucky of season one has disappeared. I was a little surprised at how cruel he was to Eli, but I suppose that his betrayal was the worst of them all. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that their relationship was broken, and that he didn’t really care much about Jimmy or the commodore either. The fight scene between Nucky and Eli was intense — one of the better ones that I have seen. Once again Margaret proved to be the right woman to have at your back.

I did love the beginning of the episode when Nucky put Jimmy into a very uncomfortable position. He came out of it very well, but it was still fun watching him squirm. I’ve heard a lot of talk about the second season and whether Jimmy was being set up to come back to Nucky, but after this episode, I just don’t see it happening. If he is unwilling to forgive his own brother, could he welcome Jimmy back into his life? It will be interesting to see, especially given the father/son relationship that they have had.

You would think that watching Eli bash in the ward boss’s face would have been the most gruesome part of the episode. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything else after the cringeworthy murder. Boy was I wrong. Sure, the old guard that was funding Jimmy’s conspiracy turned out to be a bunch of spoiled rich old men, but I’m not sure scalping is ever warranted. Egads, what a nasty fate. Jimmy doesn’t come off as quite as big of a sociopath as Al or Lucky, but he is certainly a ruthless and relentless murderer. If I were Nucky, I would be concerned.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 23, 2011 @ 22:05 EST5EDT