Sigh.
I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, I know. But I can’t help it. Boardwalk Empire just isn’t measuring up to the other cable dramas I love. I expect a lot from season finales. I want plot twists and shocking revelations and major story development. This? This just felt like a normal episode. If I were to choose between watching this season finale a second time or Dexter’s penultimate episode from the same night, I’d give Dexter another viewing.
Just look at the last couple episodes in a season of Mad Men, The Wire, or Dexter. They suck you in. They leave you thinking “What??? No! How can I make it another nine months without an episode of this show?” After Sunday night’s Boardwalk Empire finale, I thought “That was nice, I guess. I suppose I’ll watch next season.” I am vaguely interested in knowing what Nucky’s brother Eli is planning with Jimmy. If I knew a little more about what they were planning, perhaps I’d be a little more excited about what’s to come for season two.
In the season finale we saw Warren Harding become president, which wasn’t news to anyone with access to Wikipedia or an American history textbook. We also saw Nucky get everything he wanted from the elections in Atlantic City. Even though I was supposed to think there was a chance things wouldn’t go his way, I never really felt much suspense in that area.
The part of the finale that I was most invested in was the reunion of Nucky and Margaret. After she saw a gravestone for both his late wife and child, she went to learn the full story from him. It was a heart-wrenching tale, about how his wife had cared for their ailing son for days before Nucky, who’d been “busy”, realized the premature baby had actually died. His wife took her own life not long after. Margaret left, but later showed up at the election party – it was reminiscent of the way she showed up at one of his parties to deliver a dress for Lucy, and it was a nice way to bring them back together.
The rest of the storyline did little for me. Agent Van Alden impregnated Lucy, but his entire storyline (save for last week’s startling murder) has fallen flat for me. Jimmy couldn’t really patch things up with Angela, which wasn’t surprising at all. Even the idea of Eli and Jimmy turning on Nucky and trying to take him down wasn’t very shocking.
This review sounds more negative than it should, because I will watch the second season. Boardwalk Empire is a beautifully shot series and features two fascinating characters – Nucky and Margaret. I want to know if she’ll continue to stand by him now. I want to know if she’ll be taken down with him. But I won’t be waiting on the edge of my seat to find out.
