Boardwalk Empire vs. The Sopranos

Before Boardwalk Empire ever started, true HBO watchers knew this had to be the next Sopranos. The characters, the storyline, the channel, the time and the writers all gave you the feeling of the greatest show ever to hit television. For my last Boardwalk blog, I am going to jump back into the season and compare/contrast four characters from the thrilling HBO dramas. Let’s get into it.

Margaret versus Carmela

When the series started, we see Margaret as a weak, shy and timid mother of two. Boy what a change a season makes. We now see her standing up to her more powerful, rich and straight up baller husband in Nucky Thompson. She now steals from him. She cheated on him. She treats their housekeepers like they are below her, when in fact, she was in their position not long ago. Now who does this all remind you of?

Carmela Soprano. Let me start off by saying she may be one of my most hated characters in all of TV, so I may have some bias here. Anyways, at the beginning of Sopranos, Carmela wasn’t really a factor to the show. She was more of an afterthought. She was Tony’s wife who helped him portray that frame of normalcy in a mobster’s world. However, as the series progressed, she gained some steam. She had romantic relationships (in non-sexual ways). She started stealing money from the bird feed out back and giving it to the church or school (remind you of anyone?). She had more of a pivotal role in the show during the divorce that happened later on in the series. At certain points, she was the vocal point of the show, when in all honesty, she had no business being the center of attention. Really sounds familiar doesn’t it.

Jimmy versus Christopher

The most intriguing comparison has to be Jimmy and Christopher. When the second season of Boardwalk got under way, the audience has that feel that Jimmy is on his way up in the world. As expected, he starts making moves. He leaves Nucky and runs back to the father who abandoned him. He then teams up with fellow second men Lucky Luciano and Al Capone. They end up forming their own bootlegging business. Turns out, Jimmy bites off more than he can handle. Jimmy doesn’t know how to play the politics game. He doesn’t know the finance world of Atlantic City. He doesn’t know how to handle business in a nonviolent manner. After failing on his own, killing his father, reflecting on his wife’s murder, he comes running back to Nucky. Mr. Thompson sees this as an opportunity. After convincing Jimmy to do his bidding, he ends up killing him. It was a surprise ending, but not unexpected.

And now we go to Christopher. A bright up and comer related to the big man. At the beginning, there wasn’t much Chris couldn’t handle. Nevertheless, it was clear he was not ready for the big time. As time moved on, Chris gained more confidence and looked for ways to move up. He started his own dealing business. He bought a club for his wife. He was an ambitious kid looking to become captain, if not more. Then, drugs got to him. He got greedy. He wanted the world before he was ready. That’s when it changed. He bit off more than he could handle. He debated killing his Uncle Tony (hint, hint). His wife turned into a rat and therefore, had to be taken out. He took his relationship with Tony for granted. In the end, Christopher was too much. After a car accident most likely caused by Chris’s drug habit, Tony decides it’s enough. He chokes him on his own blood, putting an end to the “up and coming.” I can imagine, something along the lines of “I don’t seek forgiveness” was going through Tony’s head at that moment.

Other tidbits in Boardwalk Empire that reminded me of Sopranos;

• In Boardwalk, the priest mentions the children having a better life as a result of blood money.
• In Sopranos, Carmela went through the same situation with her priest (who she had a bizarre relationship with).
  
• During her preparation, the DA in Nucky’s trial said “he orders up murder like you or I order up a cup of coffee.”
• During Uncle Junior’s trial (who, by the way, is a regular on Boardwalk), the DA mentions the line, “he orders up murder like you or I order up a steak.”

As the seasons move on, keep an eye out for Soprano moments in the hit series Boardwalk Empire. 

Boardwalk Empire - December 11, 2011 - Season Finale

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. 

Boardwalk Empire - December 4, 2011

Forgive my tardiness. All my shows have been piling up lately.

Two weeks ago, we saw one of the most bizarre episodes in the Boardwalk Empire series. Like every other show, at one point or another, they have a “blast from the past” episode. Jumping back to college, we see Jimmy doing quite well at Princeton. We all assumed he failed out and joined the army because of this. Something must have happened. We find out exactly what that is later in the episode.

Jimmy’s mother comes to visit her son for a nice college hang out (yea right). In her flirtatious manner, his mother becomes the center of attention at a social gathering with members of the upper class and a few professors. We see his mother talking, laughing and drinking, almost as if she was the popular sorority sister. We all knew something was going to happen. After seeing his mom stumble out of a hallway, Jimmy notices her dress has been ripped. A second later, we see the very same professor who encouraged Jimmy to not forget who he is and reassured that he was on the right track, stumble out as well. Putting two and two together, Jimmy punches out his teacher, likely resulting in expulsion.

Next, we see Jimmy and his mother return to his room drunk beyond their minds. After some questionable behaviors by his mother, Jimmy starts to put his mother to bed. His mother confides that she sometimes sees the world as just Jimmy and herself and no one else is matters. After some emotional banter by the mother, and some questionable mother/son actions, they presumable “make love” that night. If that isn’t enough to screw with an eighteen-year-old’s head, I don’t know what is. The next morning, the mother is gone and assuming an expulsion, Jimmy enlists in the army.

Let’s now evaluate the emotional, physical and mental harm Jimmy’s mother has caused him;

• She discouraged his relationship with Angela, even at the very beginning
• Due to her actions, he was on his way to expulsion from Princeton
• She forced him into sexual relations with her, causing unimaginable emotional distress on him
• She drove him away from Nucky and into his father’s arms
• She drove him into this new role as “head of Atlantic City” (which later costs him dearly)
• She later encouraged him to kill his father (keep in mind, Jimmy already stabbed him in self-defense)

Is she a true manipulator (like another character my readers know about) that no one knew or is she truly in love with her son? How much more can Jimmy endure from this monster?

Share your thoughts on this thrilling second to last episode of Boardwalk Empire.