During the pilot of Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) looked at premature baby in an incubator with a longing reserved for the childless. The takeaway of the scene was to wordlessly show that Atlantic City's most corrupt treasurer has a baby-sized hole in his heart that needs filling. That hole helps explain Nucky's relationships with his surrogate children, Jimmy and Margaret, and how they could wind up being the downfall of both his professional and personal life. Of course, the incubator scene also has another reading: Boardwalk Empire arrived with premature hype, and so far that early birth has permanently stunted its growth.
I've taken some flack here for complaining about Boardwalk Empire through two episodes. If you don't like it, why do you recap it? I don't particularly have an answer to that random italicized question, other than to say that something keeps drawing me back. Whether that's the hope for something better or the fact that part of me is enjoying what has played like a prestige version of Mobsters is uncertain. But here I am, and here's episode three: "Broadway Limited."
Consider this episode a closing iris upon the life of Nucky Thompson; as the smack-you-over-the-head final scene showed, the Nuckster is trekking mud into his ivory tower. By aligning himself with Chalky White, Nucky has alienated the Philadelphia mob and could start a race war; by aligning himself with Jimmy, Nucky's facing a Federal investigation and a coming war with Arnold Rothstein; and by aligning himself with Margaret, Nucky's at risk of losing Lucy.
Of the three twisting knots, the Lucy-Margaret-Nucky triangle is the one with lowest stakes; his "decision" is the Madonna/Whore Complex on comical steroids. To wit: As played by Kelly MacDonald, Margaret is tender, loving, chaste and ready-made for saving; as played by Paz de la Huerta, Lucy is naked, naked and naked. If Nucky's bored reaction to Lucy's oral sexcapdes is any indication, she won't be around much longer.
As for Chalky, he's proving to be a worthy associate for Nucky. Not only does he know more curses than Nucky (see: "Motherf***er"), but he's also even more business oriented. Whereas Nucky has let his relationships get in the way of how he's handled his transition into underworld boss, Chalky has not. Even the tragic lynching of his driver is an opportunity: "50 percent," Chalky says through tears and gritted teeth. The more the series concentrates on him (and the wonderful Michael K. Williams, who stole "Broadway Limited" in a way that would make Omar Little proud), the better.
Which brings us to Jimmy. I had wondered why Michael Pitt wasn't the focal point of the series -- wondered why Pitt wasn't front and center in the marketing campaign (it's not like Steve Buscemi is an A-lister either) -- and it appears I've gotten my answer: He's simply not long for this world. With both the Feds and the New York mob gunning for him, it seems impossible at best, and irresponsible at worst, to imagine him surviving past season one. Either Terence Winter has painted himself into one crazy corner that will take an unbelievable Deus ex Machina to sort out, or he's signed Jimmy's death certificate. Either way, though, the handling of Jimmy (and Pitt) has been Boardwalk Empire's biggest downfall. This is the character that needed to be our audience surrogate; instead he's on a train to Chicago to hook up with Al Capone and keep that section of the story involved until the bloody season finale that brings everything to a head. It's...fine, but it feels all too obvious. Watching Jimmy fight his own demons would have been more fun than watching him dodge bullets.
Alas, there I go again, complaining about what Boardwalk Empire is not. So, let's end on a happier note and leave it to the commenters: "Broadway Limited" was the best episode yet. That it still didn't get me nearly as excited as a boring episode of The Sopranos, is neither here nor there; this was progress. Before we all get on that train to Chicago, three bullets for contemplation.
· The title of this post comes from a conversation that Nucky had with Gillian (Gretchen Mol), wherein she reveals that she's Jimmy's mother. OK, then! For the record, I don't think Jimmy's father is Nucky. (See: the baby incubators.)
· That was Max Casella as the Philadelphia mobster who was probably behind the lynching of Chalky's driver. You might remember him from The Sopranos, but he'll always be Vinnie from Doogie Howser, M.D. to me.
· Michael Shannon's Nelson Van Alden went without mention in the recap this week, but if he isn't completely owning every scene he's in, then I don't know the definition of owning. I'd watch The Van Alden Diaries every week if that show existed. Just sayin'.