Boardwalk Empire – More death, more tragedy, more of the same

Things have taken a considerably dark turn as we head into the finale of Boardwalk Empire. Main characters seem to be dropping like flies, and lives are being thrown completely into upheaval. Jimmy’s life, meanwhile is looking more and more like a Greek tragedy — Oedipus Rex, if you want to get specific.

It was interesting to spend so much of the episode in flashback, getting a glimpse into Jimmy’s time at college and his entrance into the service. Not surprisingly, Gillian has been causing trouble for Jimmy for a very long time. It also shouldn’t come to a surprise to any viewer that her relationship with Jimmy got … inappropriate. As shudder worthy as their tryst was, there has been a distinct creepiness between Jimmy and his mother since the very first episode of the show. It’s clear that she has completely broken Jimmy, as he is still damaged from the event, and who knows what other events from his childhood. Gillian is a bigger sociopath than I ever guessed.

In order to complete the Oedipus Rex metaphor, Jimmy had an altercation with the commodore at the end of the episode, stabbing him and killing the old man. So long to another cast member. At this rate, the show is going to be devoid of any actors by midway through next season. The Oedipal references were so overt, I was fully expecting Jimmy to gouge out his own eyes before the hour was up. Now I’m wondering what he is going to do about his mother. There is no doubt in my mind that he would have killed her if the commodore hadn’t intervened. Will he really allow her to raise his son?

Elsewhere, there were far less creepy story lines happening. Van Alden’s disturbing actions of the past finally caught up with him as all those witnesses to agent Sebso’s drowning came forward. I was not expecting Van Alden to turn tail and run. I was really counting on his religious guilt to push him to surrender, but as we were shown during his conversation with his nanny, he is in a very dark place. I think he already feels that he is condemned, so what does it matter if he keeps piling on? It will be interesting to see how far he goes. Will he try to seek protection with the mob? Will he crawl back to Mickey Doyle?

I imagine we will see some of Nucky’s trial next week. I’m curious to see if it is going to be the focal point of the episode, or maybe the focal point of next season? The writers could certainly draw it out if they wanted to. There’s going to be a lot of juicy moments there. Margaret has been subpoenaed and her own guilt seems to be driving her to testify. To what lengths will Nucky go to prevent that? He certainly seemed determined to keep her away from the trial. Then there is the Eli problem. Could Nucky have his own brother killed? It certainly seems like the easiest way to solve the problem.

The last few episodes have been impressive and I hope they have been leading up to a big, big finale.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Dec 04, 2011 @ 22:31 EST5EDT