'We All Have to Decide for Ourselves How Much Sin We Can Live With': Boardwalk Empire Recapped

Let it be known that Boardwalk Empire saved its best for last. After a first season of downs and slowly rising ups, "A Return to Normalcy" was anything but -- a 60-minute high wire act that produced the best Empire moments of the season. If the finale is any indication of what we can expect from the HBO series during year two, expect many, many people to place Boardwalk Empire at the top of their Best Of lists in December 2011.

Admittedly, though, that's a story for 365 days from now. Today, let's just revel in the joys that was "Normalcy," an episode that managed to tie together many of Boardwalk Empire's loose ends, sharpen the dramatic focus and give each member of the overly talented cast a massive, Emmy-ready scene to sink their teeth into.

Those scenes didn't necessarily start with Nucky telling Margaret about his tragic past -- after all, Jimmy and Angela had a similarly tragic heart-to-heart, which I'll get to in a moment -- but none were better. After 11 episodes, we finally found out why Nucky had such a fetish for premature babies and damsels in distress: His son died after childbirth and his wife, fractured from the grief, kept up the charade of having a living child until Nucky found out. Ghastly stuff that got even more tragic when Nucky said his wife killed herself a month later.

This was Buscemi's best work yet -- possibly better than anything he's ever done. Not only did he adequately convey the sadness of the story, but the burning guilt he felt, too. The way Nucky's words seethed when he told Margaret that he was "very busy," and thus wasn't around for either of these tragic events -- at least one of which he probably feels he could have stopped -- turned this faux-mob-kingpin into something more. No longer is Nucky a twitchy version of Tony Soprano, or a well-dressed Mr. Pink. He's Nucky. As Margaret said through tears at the end of the scene, it was nice to finally meet him.

Contrast that with the "reconciliation" between Jimmy and Angela. Very little felt forced during "Return to Normalcy," but Jimmy telling Angela tales of the atrocities and nightmares he witnessed during World War I fell flat. Here's the problem: Unlike Nucky and Margaret, Jimmy and Angela had precious few moments together this season that you could call relationship-y. Most of the time, Jimmy just glared at Angela in between moments of forced sex and aborted blowies. It appeared that Angela realized this -- her dead stare while holding Jimmy, followed later by her dead stare into nothingness after reading the postcard from Paris sent by her Kissing Friend, point to strife down the line -- but Jimmy is still under the delusion that something can be saved. I didn't buy that, especially when Jimmy has his own burgeoning family to comfort him from the nightmares.

Speaking of which: It was The Commodore's abused maid who was poisoning him, not Gillian. Ah-ha? Sure! Boardwalk Empire did set that up fairly well -- did the Commodore ever say anything to her that wasn't racist? -- and it was nice that Nucky realized she was in the right. That didn't engender him any fans, naturally, but it did set up the dramatic conflict for season two. As The Commodore told Jimmy last week and again in the finale: Atlantic City is his birthright, and he's going to get it...with the help of The Commodore and Eli. That's right: Sheriff Eli is now the Uncle Junior of Boardwalk Empire. Huzzah to that! Shea Whigham was one of Empire's not-so-secret weapons during season one, and having him act as a double-agent of sorts will be a total joy to watch. Especially when Nucky does a Fredo on him in the season finale. You laugh, but considering "Normalcy" had its very own Godfather murder montage -- Nucky settled all family business -- don't be surprised when Eli is saying the Hail Mary on a fishing boat.

What of that family business? Well, the D'Alessio Brothers, as we all predicted, were brutally murdered. And everyone got a shot! Richard killed two with his soulless shotgun; Al Capone executed another holding a bag of groceries; and Jimmy slit the throat of Vinny from Doogie Howser. Blood, gore, violence! That coming war with Arnold Rothstein and Lucky Luciano never materialized because -- look it up on Wikipedia, dummy. All it means, though, is that this uneasy truce will get tested during season two, especially since Jimmy isn't ready to let bygones be bygones with Lucky Luciano. The price of being a mother...well, you know.

In the end, "Return to Normalcy" was a perfect season finale. It tied up many loose ends, created some new ones and should be the ideal springboard into season two. It took 12 episodes, but Boardwalk Empire finally delivered on its pre-premiere hype.

Before we shuffle off for the winter, let's investigate some other bullets.

· So, Van Alden decided to say that Agent Sebso died of a heart attack in the line of duty? Well that's certainly better -- and more believable -- than telling everyone that he actually drowned Sebso because he was Jewish. By the way, this went around the Internet last week, but I'm posting it here just because it's awesome. Eric Weiner, the man who played Agent Sebso, had one line on The Sopranos.

· Ahem. Speaking of Van Alden: Michael Shannon's antics as he waited for who he thought was Margaret to come into his office was one of his acting highlights this season; the revulsion when he saw it was Lucy was priceless. God works in mysterious ways sometimes, and so do screenwriters, so the fact that Lucy was pregnant with Baby Nelson wasn't all that shocking.

· Mama Darmody looked awfully upset during the episode's closing montage. Guess she isn't that happy with Jimmy and The Commodore being buds. Watch that in season two, especially since Gretchen Mol isn't a full-timer.

· We were promised big things from Michael K. Williams in the finale and failed to get them. If there is one character that doesn't need an actor the caliber of Williams playing him, it's Chalky. He's not useless, but he certainly isn't necessary to the show. Hopefully that changes next year.

· As history spoils, Warren G. Harding died in office on Aug. 2, 1923. Will Empire's second season start close enough to that date so we get to see that historical event happen, or will it save that for season three?

What did everyone else think?