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"Boardwalk Empire" -- "Battle of the Century"

By Aggie Maguire | Posted Under TV Reviews | Comments (19)

BOARDWALK-EMPIRE-Battle.jpg

Welcome my six loyal readers to this week’s discussion of The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight. If you ever suspect someone wants you dead, try to steer them toward the people Jimmy Darmody uses; because every hit he orders results in a minor flesh wound at best. The plan, apparently, was to induce Horvitz to open the door and then run at him shooting aimlessly? How incompetent are these guys? And while we’re on the subject of doing ones job incompetently, Special Prosecutor Esther gave Nucky permission to leave the country while he’s under Federal indictment? Without even checking the papers to see if the funeral plans were for real. Oh, and she’s also sleeping with her subordinate. Way to strike a blow for women in the work place, Esther!

So Nucky did the SAMCRO patented gun run to Ireland where he inexplicably introduces the Old IRA to Tommy guns? I assure you, the Irish were well aware of the Tommy gun prior to 1921. It was interesting to see Nucky like a fish out of water, as heralded by his garish purple striped suit (have we ever discussed his sartorial sins in detail?) among the muted clothing of the lads. He appears to have no comprehension of the concept that people might organize covertly for something other than money, or that loyalties can run deeper than to the person who’s paying you. Lucky for Nucky, the Irish are about to embark on a brutal civil war, so he gets his whiskey. Even more interesting was to see Slater playing his game of happy-go-lucky pawn. There’s a lot of potential to mine with that character if they don’t kill him off too soon (note to BE writers: have Jimmy organize it).

As we suspected last week, Emily has polio and Margaret seems to think she caused it by something she did; whether that’s her romp with Slater, her history of theft, or her relationship with Nucky, who knows. We’ll find out next week, but I’m finding it hard to care. Kelly McDonald is a good actor, and she started off with a good role last season, but I feel that this season they have reduced Margaret to two notes: shrewd manipulator or pathetic mess. What happened to the woman who used to spend happy time with her children or who wowed Nucky by exchanging clever banter with the guys? I think with the exception of the hospital scene, and her one foray to Nucky’s Ritz office to get the ledger, and the trip to Brooklyn (none of which was for pleasure) we have only ever seen her in her house this season. I get it, show: she’s trapped in a gilded cage, but that’s not the character you created in Season one.

Chalky and Purnsley are now working together, with the latter acting as the agent provocateur among the service industry workers in Atlantic City. To date I have loved every scene between these two. They speak almost in a kind of code that has an underlying current of menace. It’s by far the best writing in the show, dialogue-wise, and I wish the writers/director would rely more on good dialogue and less on the visual imagery, which was so heavy last night, I wondered if they’re working on a “bonus per visual clanger” incentive scheme. A “Fresh Killed Meat” sign behind Horvitz’s head when he kills Waxie Gordon’s guy. A painting of the beach showing two women close together behind Jimmy’s head in his house. Beautiful plates of food on the counter while the Black workers eat their mash. And don’t get me started on the doll.

Line of the week: “A lady lawyer, that’s a heck of a thing”. What’s next, horses and carriages?”

Anvil of the week: The doll burning on the pyre: I almost threw my shoe at the TV.









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Comments

You have more readers than commentors. I enjoy your write-up each week.

I think it was "What's next, horseless carriages." (Clueless response: "They already got those.")

Posted by: jollies at November 22, 2011 11:43 AM

Line of the week: “A lady lawyer, that’s a heck of a thing”. What’s next, horses and carriages?”

I agree, great line although I think it should read horseless carriages.

Posted by: zygomatique at November 22, 2011 11:45 AM

Oh, "horseLESS carriages". That makes it an even better line. Apologies readers, I screwed up.

Posted by: PaddyDog at November 22, 2011 11:51 AM

jollies is right, the clueless response killed it. That is one of the great things about this show; although some of the female characters are one note and moving backwards from a strong beginning the male characters are not overly glorified and their weaknesses are fully apparent.

Posted by: zygomatique at November 22, 2011 11:59 AM

yeah, I'm not torn up that there are only being 3 episodes left this season. I wish it were 1 to be honest. I like the show, and it is MUCH better than the tedious mess the Walking Dead has become, but they need better writers to integrate the storylines better. The stuff with Margaret is pretty boring, her affair is illogical and inorganic to her character. I wish they would do more with Chalky but he's been largely offscreen for several episodes this season. Everything is so heavy handed that it just gets tiring after awhile.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 22, 2011 12:18 PM

I think I missed something...When Darrow accuses Jimmy of mocking him, what was he talking about?

Posted by: Rene at November 22, 2011 12:20 PM

I read these recaps every week and look forward to them. I'm a chronic lurker.

I agree that Margaret has become totally boring. I dislike her even more now that she's rude to her household workers.

Posted by: Squirt at November 22, 2011 12:21 PM

I think Margaret is more interesting this season. Now that the halo seems to be put aside for good, and with the introduction of religion/paying the price for your sins. Ninety percent of the time she seems completely unaware that acting like a selfish bitch is going to come back and bite her in the ass. The other ten percent is what keeps me hooked into caring about her. And the scene in the hospital with the spinal tap was a killer for anyone who's ever had to watch their child go through something painful like that.

I was completely surprised by the Horvitz non-death scene. That was awesome.

Posted by: Wednesday at November 22, 2011 12:31 PM

I absolutely relish every scene involving Chalky and Purnsley. Their exchanges are becoming almost Shakespearian in sheer intensity, so powerful are the personalities each on them seems to be holding in check.
These scenes are most welcome since the rest is becoming increasingly heavy handed and predictable.
I also did not get Darrow's comment about being made fun of.

Posted by: Frank B00th at November 22, 2011 1:31 PM

Also missed Jimmy's sleight of Richard.

Jimmy is a great killer but is terrible at delegating it, which I would hope is an intentional choice made by the writers.

After I watched the episode I wondered "how does one get polio?" The answer it turns out is fecal matter with the virus ingested in food or drink, so the maid did it?

Posted by: aroorda at November 22, 2011 1:48 PM

The spinal tap scene fucking killed me.

Re: Richard being insulted,
He asked Jimmy whether he meant it when he said that Richard would find a pretty girl and settle down, or if Jimmy was insulting him.

Posted by: Paultera at November 22, 2011 2:19 PM

aroorda:

It's more likely that she got it from swimming in the lake (that's where they said she was when Margaret was in Brooklyn)than from food. Swimming pools and other closed water systems were a major factor in the transmission of the virus in those days because children were grouped so closely together in their swim clothes..

Posted by: Aggie Maguire at November 22, 2011 3:45 PM

I was also confused by the Richard question about being mocked. I just assumed that he was still dwelling on the question of his possibly ever settling down and warning Jimmy about lying to him.

I disagree about Margaret's character getting short shrift. Confined? O.k. But that's the course of the story at this point. Give her time; she'll have more to do.

I was amused that Jimmy could throw Doyle off that balcony and Doyle would still be there simpering and laughing at his side.

I loved the scene in the theater. Yes, it was a red herring, but it did a fantastic job of palpably portraying paranoia, a feeling Jimmy is tasting very early in his days as the boss.

I loved the doll anvil. I guess I love all the anvils in this show.

I also dug putting the end call of the Dempsey fight over the end credits. Very nice touch.

The only thing that really takes me out of the show is the unbelievable amount of time that Capone, Lansky, and Luciano are spending in Atlantic City. Don't they have their own rackets to run in their own cities as opposed to just hanging out with Jimmy all the time?

If you want an interesting story, check out the real-life bio on the new bootlegger character George Remus. I caught it on the second part of Ken Burns Prohibition miniseries this past week; it's quite the tale.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 22, 2011 3:48 PM

Did anyone else think that when Esther called O'Halloran in it was to ask about that missing Ward boss? Why does no-one miss him?

Posted by: PaddyDog at November 22, 2011 4:16 PM

The Irish probably were NOT aware of the Tommy gun. Full production didn't start until later in 1921. Until then, there were only a few dozen prototypes. Used to try to make sales. The U.S.govt weren't really interested. Btw, the first production guns are some of the most beautifully made things you will ever see.
Firing a Tommy on full auto is the most fun you have with your clothes on.

Posted by: Sean at November 22, 2011 6:03 PM

I understand your point Sean and I hate to quibble but the Old IRA were the first "group" purchasers of the Tommy gun which, you correctly point out was not mass produced until late 1921, but it was being closely watched by their procurement people from 1919 (and therefore they were well aware of it). The first batch was purchased by for the Old IRA by Harry Boland who was a close friend of my grandparents and I have heard the story of the first Tommys in Ireland ever since I was a babe.

Posted by: Aggie Maguire at November 22, 2011 6:25 PM

Aggie,that is a cool story! I stand corrected. But I sure wish I could afford a full-auto Tommy. Have a hard enough time being able to shoot the semi-auto...

Posted by: Sean at November 22, 2011 6:48 PM

Glad that Munya's still around. He's pretty heavy-handed, but dammit, he's a fun character. Funny enough, that felt like the last straw as far as any sympathy I may have had for Jimmy. Yes, he's essentially the villain for this season, but I've only just now come to the conclusion that Jimmy needs a solid ass beating. Again, I'm glad that Munya's still around.

Already been said, but that Chalky/Purnsley scene was simply awesome.

Posted by: Kala at November 23, 2011 8:29 AM

Indeed, you have more readers than commenters, and I also look forward to these recaps each week. There are so many great Sunday shows I usually don't get to this one until Tuesdays. Loving this season, much better than Season 1.

Hurvitz is a bad ass. That's all.

Carry on-

Posted by: Riles at November 23, 2011 5:36 PM