Boardwalk Empire

[BillyG]

I think I figured out why I'm so bipolar on this show. I'm in love with the young scrappy guys coming up (especially excited for Capone), and the bigger guys we know (Luciano, etc)...but our lead? I don't give a fuck about Buscemi's middle management ass. He's no longer really hungry, he's just doing middle management bullshit in a mid-sized city while all the REAL action is going on in NYC, Chicago, and Philly. If Buscemi was a tertiary character I would like it more. Give me more of Jimmy and Al plotting from halfway across the country together, and the war hero doing dirty...less "god I need to hire new people" shit. And now Buscemi is a HUGE target that 3 people need to take down? He isn't a boss. Nobody is going to give a fuck if you drop him. Who REALLY works for him? His driver! Everyone else is a paid hand or hates him. Two in the head, declare yourself the new boss of AC and run the shit properly (respect Omar and make him your right hand!).

[IggytheBorg]

The role of the political boss is hard to explain. Ousting him from power isn't as simple as bumping him off. While he's not an elected official, as treasurer he has a hell of a lotta say over how the county money gets spent. He in turn uses that to get public officials elected or appointed to their positions, in exchange for a tithe of their salaries. They're usually more than happy to provide the tithe, because if they don't they'll be fired, or have the support of the party withdrawn, and probably the next election along with it. People like Nucky Johnson (the real name of the character Buscemi's playing) and Frank Hague (who made another cameo; anyone notice? ) were as powerful as they were because, among other things, but primarily because they could get people out to vote, and vote for them. Losing an election is the only thing they really feared. You remove Nucky, a beloved figure, with his unparallelled gifts for organization, gladhanding & patronage spreading from the equation, and all the cronies would probably lose any public support they once had. And their offices along with it. Exacerbating this problem would be infighting if the party or parties ousting him are factionalized. Step One, to this day, of maintaining a successful political machine in Jersey (and anywhere else, I'd imagine) is maintaining a unified front. I've seen firsthand machines succeed because they did this, and figureheads get too big for their britches, alienate the wrong powerful party, and lose spectacularly when the unified front crumbled.

In short, if Jimmy, The Commodore & Eli want to get Nucky out, they have to have an Operation: Valkyrie in place to fill that vacuum up quick, and a Machiavellian scheme for consolidating & holding the power once they sieze it.

One thing I am surprised at is that Nucky seems to be pissing in the faces of those most loyal and important to him (namely, Eli & Jimmy). An early lesson you learn in politics is to fucking take care of the ones that take care of you. These two, in particular, are instrumental in Nucky maintaining his hold on things. It is extremely unlikely that a politician as smart as he is would do this. The one truly unrealistic and unbelievable part of the show for me.

[IggytheBorg]

Also, and I'm surprised Tim didn't chime in with this, Babette looked especially hot in her top hat at the end.

[Captain Russ]

Watched the finale again tonight.

This is all prelude to something grand and terrible.

[Ed Hocken]

I know this show just wrapped and isn't on dvd.

But I have to ask, what in the fuck is up with the markesman's face?

I just saw a picture of that guy and OH HOLY SHIT!

[Timothy225]

War wound - WW1 wrapped up only a little while before the show started. Jimmy, a WW1 vet, befriended the guy back in Chicago. The mask he wears covers up the wounds he received.

Pretty interesting article about the real world masking of wounded vets here.

[Ed Hocken]

I see.

Apparently, that guy is the grandson of Director John Huston and nephew of Angelica Huston.

[BillyG]

I see.

Apparently, that guy is the grandson of Director John Huston and nephew of Angelica Huston.

It shows. He's the best thing on the show.

[gravedigger]

Yeah, he is. The "Wizard of Oz" scene is probably the best thing from the entire season.

[Timothy225]

Hell, yeah. He's become my favorite character on the show, to the point that I dread anything bad happening to him.

Hope the character makes it through the next season!

[Ed Hocken]

Well guess what Tim,

They have.

[Timothy225]

Fuckin' A! Thanks, Ed!

[IggytheBorg]

[*Laughs Like Bart Simopsom*] He talks like Batman!

[Timothy225]

But more gooder than Bale!

[Captain Russ]

We've got another squeakquel to beat that horse into horsedust.

On topic: Halfmask Marksman is great (barring the hamfisted Phantom of the Opera cue), but my favorite moment remains as Jimmy's "You kinda talked me into it" moment.

Runner up: "You made me pregnant" with tortured/constipated Mike Shannon "Aww shit" face as rebuttal.