On Easter Sunday, Eli looks to get back in Nucky’s good graces at a Thompson family reunion. While Richard and Tommy spend the day as guests of the Sagorskys, Gillian stays athome and makes a sacrifice to improve her future.Download Video Boardwalk Empire Sunday Best Episode On ABC Family Tv Online Tv Live Streaming Video. Online Watch Boardwalk Empire Full Episode Watch Stream HD Video on Internet TV.In New York, after dinner and prayers, Gyp heads downtown in search of a blessing – from Joe Masseria.Chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster. A bustling little city by the seashore, totally dependent upon money spent by tourists, Atlantic City’s popularity rose in the early 20th century and peaked during Prohibition. The resort’s singular purpose of providing a good time to its visitors - whether lawful or not - demanded a single mentality to rule the town. Success of the local economy was the only ideology, and critics and do-gooders weren’t tolerated. By 1900, a political juggernaut, funded by payoffs from gambling rooms, bars, and brothels, was firmly entrenched. For the next 70 years, Atlantic City was dominated by a partnership comprised of local politicians and racketeers.
This unique alliance reached full bloom in the person of Enoch “Nucky” Johnson - the second of three bosses to head the Republican machine that dominated city politics and society.
I have commented before on the way that Boardwalk Empire slams its characters’ personal and business lives together, complicating both sides. This is particularly the case in You’d Be Surprised, an excellent episode which shows how badly this can turn out.
Nucky is still underperforming commercially. Is he letting his relationship with Billie Kent cloud (or even remove) his judgement? Rothstein certainly seems to think so, and calls him out on it in a fantastic opening scene that neatly summarises the parlous position in which they find themselves.
Rosetti, it transpires, is connected to Masseria, who, as we know, can make things very difficult in New York. We should have seen this coming. The racial connections I mentioned last week are proving definitive, and likely to prove bloody.
Speaking of which, proud Sicilian Gyp Rossetti had an interesting episode, driven partly by luck but chiefly by sheer brute determination. The shoot-out scene - the episode’s pinnacle - established just what a tough mother he really is, even if he is a little odd in bed.
Sleater’s laconic "...four fatalities, none of them Rosetti" deliberately underplayed the brutality of the scene. The naked, bloodsoaked Gyp, still wearing the ligature from his kinky session, made for an arresting sight, the overhead camera making it particularly so.
Rosetti frequently sounds dumb, but this is clearly a ploy as his knowing look at the dead paperboy revealed. He’s a cunning operator and would test even Nucky at his best.
James Cromwell’s turn as Andrew W. Mellon was excellent. Brisk, efficient and in control, he dominated the Senate hearing with polite ease and, were it not for the bloody events at Rosetti’s, he would have stolen the episode in under five minutes.
Gaston Means is a fascinating character, more audacious in real life than in the show (although the season is relatively young) and he is wonderfully played by Stephen Root. Root delights in Means’ loquaciousness, deftly avoiding the trap of making him seem comical. He is one of the most quietly capable characters on screen and I just hope the script continues to do him justice.
It was good to see the Van Alden storyline begin to blossom into an actual story as opposed to a series of fractured vignettes. Circumstances have brought him back into the orbit of Dean O’Bannion who will presumably want something in return for disposing of a body, Van Alden’s earlier ‘favour’ notwithstanding.
It was a surprise to see how effortlessly he switched back into bad-guy mode, which is testament to how effectively he’s been playing the role of downtrodden sadsack George Mueller. It also suggests some dynamism to come. Not to mention violence. There’s a war brewing.
I really liked the pilot, but it was the 2nd episode that really hooked me up!! The characters are so well written, filled with humanity and contradictions.
Most of the dramatic situations are pretty conventional, but, as someone once said: "it is better to start with a cliché than to end with it".
I have no doubt the show will end up being a freshening experience for the crime genre fans.
And no, Nukcy Thompson is not Tony Soprano. This is not a family drama.
This unique alliance reached full bloom in the person of Enoch “Nucky” Johnson - the second of three bosses to head the Republican machine that dominated city politics and society.
I have commented before on the way that Boardwalk Empire slams its characters’ personal and business lives together, complicating both sides. This is particularly the case in You’d Be Surprised, an excellent episode which shows how badly this can turn out.
Nucky is still underperforming commercially. Is he letting his relationship with Billie Kent cloud (or even remove) his judgement? Rothstein certainly seems to think so, and calls him out on it in a fantastic opening scene that neatly summarises the parlous position in which they find themselves.
Rosetti, it transpires, is connected to Masseria, who, as we know, can make things very difficult in New York. We should have seen this coming. The racial connections I mentioned last week are proving definitive, and likely to prove bloody.
Speaking of which, proud Sicilian Gyp Rossetti had an interesting episode, driven partly by luck but chiefly by sheer brute determination. The shoot-out scene - the episode’s pinnacle - established just what a tough mother he really is, even if he is a little odd in bed.
Sleater’s laconic "...four fatalities, none of them Rosetti" deliberately underplayed the brutality of the scene. The naked, bloodsoaked Gyp, still wearing the ligature from his kinky session, made for an arresting sight, the overhead camera making it particularly so.
Rosetti frequently sounds dumb, but this is clearly a ploy as his knowing look at the dead paperboy revealed. He’s a cunning operator and would test even Nucky at his best.
James Cromwell’s turn as Andrew W. Mellon was excellent. Brisk, efficient and in control, he dominated the Senate hearing with polite ease and, were it not for the bloody events at Rosetti’s, he would have stolen the episode in under five minutes.
Gaston Means is a fascinating character, more audacious in real life than in the show (although the season is relatively young) and he is wonderfully played by Stephen Root. Root delights in Means’ loquaciousness, deftly avoiding the trap of making him seem comical. He is one of the most quietly capable characters on screen and I just hope the script continues to do him justice.
It was good to see the Van Alden storyline begin to blossom into an actual story as opposed to a series of fractured vignettes. Circumstances have brought him back into the orbit of Dean O’Bannion who will presumably want something in return for disposing of a body, Van Alden’s earlier ‘favour’ notwithstanding.
It was a surprise to see how effortlessly he switched back into bad-guy mode, which is testament to how effectively he’s been playing the role of downtrodden sadsack George Mueller. It also suggests some dynamism to come. Not to mention violence. There’s a war brewing.
I really liked the pilot, but it was the 2nd episode that really hooked me up!! The characters are so well written, filled with humanity and contradictions.
Most of the dramatic situations are pretty conventional, but, as someone once said: "it is better to start with a cliché than to end with it".
I have no doubt the show will end up being a freshening experience for the crime genre fans.
And no, Nukcy Thompson is not Tony Soprano. This is not a family drama.