The final Boardwalk Empire blogs are going to come in two segments. The first will consist of a summary and analysis of the on the edge of your seat finale. The second will serve as a comparison to what is arguably the best show to ever appear on TV; Sopranos.
Scorsese begins the finale with Jimmy and Richard finding the Klansman who shot up Chalky White’s operation. You may remember from two episodes ago, along with $15,000, Chalky wanted those men delivered to him. Jimmy, back and fresh from his heroin fix, gets down to business. One thing I noticed during this confrontation was Jimmy’s leadership style versus Nucky’s. Jimmy had to end the strike and this was the only way he knew how. Something tells me Nucky would have found another vehicle to satisfy Chalky’s thirst for blood.
Later on, as expected, we see Jimmy pleading to Nucky. He wants his old job back. He wants to be the No. 2 again. He offers anything and everything he can do. Obliging, Nucky accepts. He has Jimmy and Richard head to Ward Boss Neary’s office, forces him to writes a “suicide” note, retracting his statements about Nucky, and then boom! He’s dead. More than enough to scare anyone else who thinks of testifying against Nucky. The trial begins and all of a sudden, the DA has no case. What a shocker! You’re not putting away our main character. You are not sending Steve Buscemi to the pen. Not this season at least.
As the episode progresses, we see Nucky contemplating whether or not he should kill Manny from Philadelphia. Obviously, he owed Jimmy, even though Jimmy help orchestrate a Nucky hit. Finally, it all builds up to the final scene. Nucky calls Jimmy with the spot. However, Jimmy isn’t acting like a man who is about to avenge his wife’s murder. He refuses to let Richard come along. When he arrives, he has this calm, somewhat “I don’t give a shit” manner about him. After some chit chat, Manny shows that he no hostage at all, but just there for the show. Eli, also planned the murder of his brother, arrives with a shotgun on Jimmy. It was all a setup. Nucky had enough of Jimmy. He saw a business opportunity with Manny and decided it was more valuable. But Jimmy knew this all along. He didn’t bring a gun. He didn’t fight back. Hell, he even helped Nucky get through the kill. After a shot to the head, we get perhaps the line of the season.
“I don’t seek forgiveness,” Nucky says to Jimmy right before he put himself out of his misery.
At the end, Margaret, who gives away money like it’s her job, signs over the deeds for Nucky’s highways. She needs to be reminded who she’s dealing with.
And there you have it. The exciting prohibition, killing, sexy, corrupted and thrilling season two of Boardwalk Empire comes to an end. We saw the No. 2’s rise up and fail in the big boy shoes. We saw the emotional wherewithal Jimmy’s mother put on him. We saw heroin come into the mix. We saw Nucky nearly get thrown in jail. We saw guns. We saw Margaret cheat on the husband who has given her and her children everything. We saw it all. Who knows what will happen next. All I can say;
You didn’t disappoint Scorsese.
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