I think the Jimmy and the prostitute aspect was brilliant, actually. He lost his soul in war and then found this hollow love that became a quest. Makes sense to me
"These are the fever dreams of a restless imagination!" *He says, while standing over your bed, in the middle of the night, wearing gloves, holding a pistol. That's some serious balls right there.*
I kinda feel like it SHOULD have just been Luciano, Capone, AR, etc. A TV show based around Luciano’s rise to power, the formation of the Commission, all the gang politics involved.
The memory of season 5 still hurts. Such a disappointment... I mean, the ending itself I liked, but that 10 year jump after such a cliffhanger in season 4, and those painful flashbacks of young Nucky were terrible choices
*During Gyp's tirade at the meeting at the beginning of season 3, Rothstein's actor actually broke character with that smile because he found the insults so funny. Js.*
Fun fact Buscemi won a golden globe for this show back in 2011 and beat Bryan Cranston in breaking bad, Michael C Hall in Dexter, John Hamm in mad men, and Hugh Lori in House. Well deserved and boy did he have serious competition.
It literally took Decades for Steve not just too get a leading man roll, but Recognition from the academy for it. Long over due and well deserved he's quite the actor,
@@HaythamThorn Tommy becoming as batshit as his grandmother, an insane and deplorable reptile who they refused to kill off. Which also meant Richard died for nothing. Wasting Jeffrey Wright. Wasting Kelly Macdonald after she came back from maternity leave. A meandering and largely useless backstory that we’ve already heard orally. Killing Rothstein offscreen between seasons. That, my friend, is ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL garbage.
I absolutely *LOVED* the Gyp Rosetti character. You didn't want to miss a single second he was onscreen because he was so goddamn entertaining all the time! Also, Richard Harrow didn't abandon young Tommy Darmody out of guilt for killing Rosetti's entire crew. He did it for Tommy's own safety because he believed someone (most likely Joe Masseria) would track him down and avenge all the mobsters he killed in the whorehouse that night. He can't have Tommy around when Rosetti/Masseria's hitmen come looking for him to make up for their dead friends. At the very least, Richard recognized his entire embodiment as a living being on this planet was one that was too drawn towards conflict, fury, crime, and vengeance. As long as he was in Tommy's life, he'd be a liability to his wellbeing for that reason alone. Even if Richard were to ever try going straight, he was convinced that the chaos and the suffering would still find him anyway. Again, in Richard's mind at least.
His character was too much. The show was good but it had a lot of moments of just bad writing. I am sure you will disagree because the surface sheen of the production values hides it.
@@joelwillis2043 The last season wasn't up to par, as most of series was. Especially in the last six episodes. However, despite all of this still one of the best series ever made on cable TV.
@@joelwillis2043 No, I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment- although I do take offense to your accusation that I'm incapable of being sufficiently critical of a series based on a shiny verneer and the enhanced production values from HBO pouring significant resources into select works they've prioritized as their prestige projects. Agreed. There were indeed instances of bad writing throughout the lifespan of this show, but I don't consider that particular character's arc one of them. Jack Huston's portrayal of Richard Harrow was stellar, and took a backseat only to Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden/George Meuller. I genuinely place Huston's performance alongside Stephen Graham's (Al Capone), Shea Whigham's (Eli Thompson), and Michael K. Williams's (Chalky White). I was never particularly impressed by Steve Buschemi's work as Nucky Thompson. It wasn't bad or anything. It was only ever just serviceable. I just felt that he didn't rise to the occasion and meet the challenge as the leading man in his series the way James Gandolfini did on The Sopranos. Buschemi's performance was never subpar by any means- it just never seemed to rise above being solid.
@@bluelotusnefertoum2144 The show started to lose me in season 4, & something about season 5 doesn't rub me the right way. Kinda disregards Richard's sacrifice & arc by the end, & skipping through too much time & plot. Its upsetting, this show was on the path to be on par with Sopranos with first 3 seasons
@@HaythamThorn Listen sister , when T man wins in November they’ll be no more fooling around. You can call me whatever you want then, but only if we can play naked twister while doing it.
@@LarryLonson I'm not sure what politics have to do with any of this, I couldn't care less who you're voting for. Do you think you really "got me" with that comment?
"This is the kind of show where you can find the most mundane of clips pop up on your RUclips feed and even out of context they're still engaging." I've never felt so seen and specifically spoken for in a RUclips essay before this line.
Season 1 and 2 are the best, the show steadily declined after Jimmy Darmody was killed and replaced by the typical Italian Tony Soprano like neanderthal in Gyp Rosetti. Season 4 showed some promise, but by then it was clear they already knew HBO was pulling the plug, which culminated in the aweful and cheap final season, which was an injustice to a show that had its flaws post season 2, but was still good and deserved a better send off. We missed out on AR's assasination, Margaret's plight, Chalky's doom, Gillian's predicament, Nucky's time in Cuba, and the Stock Market crash of 29 -- which surely would have affected everyone involved. It was a sad end to a show that promised so much in the begining. Boardwalk Empire deserved at least an 8 season run to make everything work, and its demise is what happens when a network gives up on it.
@@jerrysoh619 No, the 7 year jump in time for Season 5 was always planned. Terence Winter made sure HBO knew the story would end in 1931 when Lucky Luciano established the Commission. That was always the finish line.
@@Britton_ThompsonYeah, the 7 year time jump was clearly a rush to wrap it up, especially hearing and reading Winter's interviews shortly before the season 4 premiere, he spoke about further advancing each character arc, not wrapping them up, he was clearly operating under the premise that he had more time, considering the 1931 finishline which was well known.
I'd argue Mickey Doyle's death was important in setting the tone for season 5, the new status quo had no place for Nucky or his giggling goon. Season 5 is probably my favourite ending for any tv show. It goes back to show us Nucky's origin, we see the world passing him by and then finishes it with the cold karma of his original sin.
It's the greatest underrated show of all time. I watched it back when I was still drinking, and the stories of the characters were all so tragic, so intense, so unbearable at times. It's absolute genius from start to finish and it's unbelievable to me how few people know about it.
I was also drinking heavily when I first watched it, so I'll always associate it (along with Sopranos, Ray Donovan, and Better Call Saul) with my horrific binge drinking 😐
One of my favourite shows ever. It definitely was the best at evoking the era it was set in. The casting was incredible across the board and Richard Harrow remains one of my favourite television characters of all time.
This is the best re cap I've watched Thers a local shop in town here that has the complete box set. I'm going to go get it soon as this wraps up. Thank you! Forgot how much I enjoyed this series, agree w you all the janky plot diversions my wife and I rolled our eyes at and how incredible the overall experience of the series was.
Fantastic analysis. If there's one thing you left out it how great a villainess and femme fatale ms. Darmity was. She was the power behind Jimmy and in later days the Colonel's throne and I saw it as her making the best of what her life gave her. I get why you wouldn't want to think about her after the oedipal reveal but that's where her story becomes tragic for me. Her ending and all the asylum stuff made the final scene of nucky selling her that much more impactful. I do think a sane person or a borderline person locked in a place like that would be more likely to go fully insane, and all it would take is time. Her ending redeems her to me and I forgive her in the end even though she kinda ruined Jimmy's life and definitely that guy she killed to fake his body. It all serves to underline the lack of agency and power women had in the period and how their fates were often entirely bound to men. She was always just what the world made her.
The Eli vs. Knox fight is one of the most brutal fight scenes I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen…well, most of them, lol. Very few have made my heart actually beat faster and give me that numb feeling. The one that dies is the most is Frank finally getting his paws on Rawlings in the penultimate episode of Punisher season one. But man, Eli and Knox is bruuutal.
I loved sooo many aspects of this show, and right away I could tell you know what you're talking about but the hook that got me to subscribe came at 12:06 with that Pokimane simp joke... can't wait to get the part with Jimmy's mom...
I had to watch this for a recap on season 4, straight after watching season 4, because I thought I'd lost track of the story line. Clearly I hadn't, it is just like killing time. I'm glad for this review because watching it again would have been painful and I really didn't want to start season 5 believing that I'd not really understood season 4. So thanks for the recap.
I’m a devout Christian. Van Alden is a “devout christian.” I thought his character was terrible in season one, but he quickly became my favorite character….I was weirdly rooting for him to do whatever the heck he was trying to do….still don’t know what that was though.
I’m not gonna lie the Nucky Thompson Series Finale death feels even sillier once you find out Enoch Johnson (Mobster he’s based off) got away in real life and just ended up moving Mid-West
He didn't move to the Midwest. He stayed in Atlantic City and worked a few different jobs. He is buried only a few miles outside of the city, living to the nice old age of 85.
Great video, I'm rewatching it with my coworkers and they're enthralled. I was really disappointed with Season 4 and 5, the acting and setting were still amazing, but Season 4 felt like a setup season, and 5 was a rushed conclusion that made nonsense if you start pulling at the strings. Season 1-3 are amazing though, and I generally think of Nucky throwing his carnation on the Boardwalk at the end of Season 3 as the finale. I am also still sore that they changed the actor for Eli's son, he looked like someone with a lot of potential for being slowly integrated into the gangster business, and the actor they replaced him with just did nothing for me.
Dude I love your videos but I feel conflicted. On one hand most RUclipsrs make some kind of ending speech in order to end their videos ( a conclusion of sorts), but on the other hand the way this video ends making me feel confused and a little bit empty inside feels thematically appropriate to the show and is unique to your channel (which makes it very original in my eyes). Anyway, great video! Subscribed!!!
Just finished my 5th watch of this magnificent show. Incredible characters, mostly compelling story lines. Nelson Van Alden's hilarious arc is so different from what you think it will be in Season 1. I''m tempted to jump in for a 6th watch
This was an enjoyable watch. Earlier this year I rewatched the first season and I loved watching it but I didn't really want to spend the time to fully watch it all again. I love this show but for some reason it doesn't have the same level of rewatchability as The Wire does for me. Or DS9..
Love it. Guess it wasn't everyones cup of tea. But yeah, some people say it was rushed, i feel like it went on too long. I didn't have a single episode i wasn't satisfied with! Love this time period. Maybe I'm just biased
I really loved the ending. The full circle. How the whole series is the show of Nucky making the choice to groom Gillian for the commodore to "get ahead", and it eventually chaining directly into his demise and death. It was the most fitting ending for Nucky, to die by the hand of Tommy Darmody. It was three generations worth of Darmody he had wronged. First it was the grooming of Gillian as a 13 year old, for her to be raped by the commodore in his 50s. Then it was James aka Jimmy Darmody whom Nucky neglected and turned against him, eventually killed him because he couldn't take responsibility for making Jimmy into what he became. And after ending or ruining the lives of Tommy's mother, father and grandmother, eventually Tommy learned the truth about how his entire family is a tragedy because of Nucky. And being shot by that teenager there on the same boardwalk where everything began, it all comes full circle. So poetic. What I didn't like about the show? My main criticism? How god damn much the writers abused the cheating trope. Seriously there is not one single character with a relationship, who did not cheat. Not one. Jimmy? Cheated with the whore at Al's cathouse. His wife? Cheated with like 5 people. Nucky? With the blonde milf, with his future wife when he was still with the bimbo, then later with the actress on his new wife. His wife cheated on him with his bodyguard. Chalky cheated on his wife. Eli cheated on his wife together with the Norwegian who was Nelson's wife. Every. Fucking. Character. That had an established relationship. They cheated on screen at least once. And it got a bit old after the first few times. And it became more of like a depressing expectation.
Randomly decided to jump back into the show after years. Was pleasantly surprised by how much I had forgotten and think I love it more after the 2nd watching. Great video and thank you.
25:30 In my opinion, its the best gun fight in TV history. Amazing scene. 28:36 Oh yeah...scratch that the scene above was the 2nd best gun fight in TV history. Richard Harrow was the man.
I almost wished this show stayed more a slice of life show. In a long form show like this I'd rather they avoid(which they somewhat did) the typical TV series/season pacing. And I think I like the way you think about certain topics.
Great video. Thanks for making it. I just want to add that A.R. being killed in between seasons was criminal. Also, who was your favourite character out of the whole show??
Sally Wheet! Nah, I'm just messing with you. I have to give the favorite character award to Eli - he was equal parts sympathetic and darkly funny, and even in the weaker seasons his plotlines were highlights. Van Alden is the runner up but... as I mentioned in the review there's some storylines of his that just don't seem to click.
Boardwalk Empire: “See, now, the show has become an epic about the rise of the mob, and the violence it spawned!” HBO: “That sounds expensive.” Game of Thrones: “See, now, Daenerys takes over Westeros with her three dragons.” HBO: “That’s a lot of CGI. How about two dragons? Or one?”
A great video essay for a great show :) really nice work, man! If I had one nitpick, it'd be on how you read that Narcisse not believing women thing - that's the show reflecting on how black men are cast as rapists and a threat to white women in America/the West in general, I think. Not just the character being a misogynist or something - I think he sniffed out that the story she fed him was bullshit also, and was earlier just using it to leverage something with Nucky (its been a minute since I watched it so I can't remember exactly what)
Mackey Cusick Doyle was a real mob boss, born of Polish parents he changed his name to join the Irish Mob and truly was one of the great gangsters of his day clearly misportrayed in Boardwalk Empire!
They really burned Chalky. Revenge arcs are overplayed, but god, I wanted him to kill Narcisse. The fact someone else did it, felt cheap and didn't pay off. Why did THAT person deserve to kill Narcisse, no clue. Like they just wanted his character gone to end the show.
I don't agree at all. His final scene with Narcisse is one of his best scenes. He saves the love of his life and even if he doesn't get to kill Narcisse himself, he knows he's done for and he let's him know that. And in that final shot on Narcisse's face you can see that he knows that Chalky is right. It's a beautiful scene.
Boardwalk Empire was a great series. My only issue with season 5 is that I was following the show on Instagram and they would post these "toast for the fallen" pics and I would dvr the episode so I wouldn't see it until the next day. That spoiled Richard and chalkys deaths .
Unfortunately my wife actually dated Michael Pitt so I can tell you what actually happened since she was dating him right after the show ended this is what happened Steve buscemi apparently got jealous that Michael Pitt was becoming the main character or the focus of the show and therefore he forced the showrunners to kill him off but at the same time Mike did also have a heroin addiction that he was dealing with so he probably wasn't very easy to work with at the same time but apparently they those two hated each other and that's why he got kicked off
Am I the only one that thinks things just weren’t the same without Jimmy? Also great job on this video. I really appreciate the excellent work. Blessings.
I loved this series. Watched it end to end a number of times. I read up on the real Nucky Johnson out of curiosity. Lived to a ripe old age living it up. No complaints about the artistic license and the mix of fictional and factual characters and events. It all worked and I just loved the time period and music. Having been to Atlantic City NJ numerous times it was fun to see the recreation of the early Atlantic City or at least the vision that fit the show.
Personally I like Gyp Rosetti I felt he was a perfect foil for Nucky. How do you defeat someone that relies on intelligence and influence? You send in a character who has a character who is too stupid to fool and does not give a crap about anyone else.
I love this show and I think it's better than peaky blinders not saying I don't like peaky blinders these are the two greatest shows ever but if I had to watch one of these for a week than boardwalk empire and to be honest I thought the fist season was perfect it reminds me of the problems that people say the sapranos have in don't know why everything needs to go somewhere and evey death needs to be meaningful or epic sometimes some prick with a gun shoots ya that simple same thing in real life with this stuff some deaths are big some huge things happen sometimes nothing
Great series overall. Personally would rank the seasons 2,3,1,4,5 favorite to least favorite, though I'd argue none of the seasons are bad by any stretch
Michael Shannon definitely should’ve gotten an award for his performance. His character was so well written.
It's what really got my attention on him
Michael Shannon has always been too scenery-chewing for me.
They don't give guys that look like him and awards anymore. Get real
his "fuck-up-a-room" scene is defintely in the top 5 of those kind of scenes. Up there with Citizen Kane
@@LarryLonson No one else looks like him.
I think the Jimmy and the prostitute aspect was brilliant, actually. He lost his soul in war and then found this hollow love that became a quest. Makes sense to me
She was also a stand in for his mother who he couldn’t save from being victimized as a child.
Season Four had the most devastating finale I’ve ever seen. And I watch A LOT of television.
"These are the fever dreams of a restless imagination!"
*He says, while standing over your bed, in the middle of the night, wearing gloves, holding a pistol. That's some serious balls right there.*
Boardwalk Empire was such an underrated show, and I swear they could have a sequel with Luciano, Capone, and Lansky.
I kinda feel like it SHOULD have just been Luciano, Capone, AR, etc. A TV show based around Luciano’s rise to power, the formation of the Commission, all the gang politics involved.
@@fort809 Yea kinda like the movie Mobsters, but as a series.
The memory of season 5 still hurts. Such a disappointment... I mean, the ending itself I liked, but that 10 year jump after such a cliffhanger in season 4, and those painful flashbacks of young Nucky were terrible choices
I still recommend it to anyone for being such a masterpiece in seasons 1 to 5
Scorsese’s last American gangster epic Luciano and lanskys empire and fall Bugsy in Vegas and hit and Capone in and out of Alcatraz
*During Gyp's tirade at the meeting at the beginning of season 3, Rothstein's actor actually broke character with that smile because he found the insults so funny. Js.*
Is that true?
@@johnwayne-3701
100%
@@honkeykong4049 Yeah, and I’m playing shortstop for the Mets.
@@chrisdawson1776 I wouldn't admit that in public.
@@amado4249It's a Sopranos reference, puddin' head.
Buscemi’s performance as Nucky was pretty underrated imo.
Fun fact Buscemi won a golden globe for this show back in 2011 and beat Bryan Cranston in breaking bad, Michael C Hall in Dexter, John Hamm in mad men, and Hugh Lori in House. Well deserved and boy did he have serious competition.
@@michaelnally2841damn man that is some serious competition. I can't believe he beat Brian Cranston. I'm about to watch this show now.
It literally took Decades for Steve not just too get a leading man roll, but Recognition from the academy for it.
Long over due and well deserved he's quite the actor,
Kelly Macdonald as Margaret was pretty underrated too
Jimmy's send off took my breath away. Unbelievably good
"My first time I threw up after."
"I died in the trench"
"Just breathe, Nuck..."
@@stevenstuart152 Awesome lines, Jimmy's death was one of my favorite scenes of the show.
I connected with Richard on such a level that is not comparable, nor able to be put into simple words.
The actor that played Chalky had a very small part on the Sopranos when Jackie Jr gets whacked in the projects.
that actor just died. keep forgetting his name. a shame. it is said he was shooting junk. he was an intimidating MFer as Chalky. rest his soul.
@Speaker of Thoughts, Free Speech Advocate thank you. I was shocked, myself. he was a young man.
Michael K Williams. IIRC it was a fentanyl OD.
Michael K Williams also has a great role as Omar Little in The Wire
Boardwalk Empire will forever be my favorite series.
Not a single bad episode.
Disagree, season 5 was garbage.
@@baxatakbaxatak2014Disagree, it wasn't garbage.
@@HaythamThorn Tommy becoming as batshit as his grandmother, an insane and deplorable reptile who they refused to kill off. Which also meant Richard died for nothing. Wasting Jeffrey Wright. Wasting Kelly Macdonald after she came back from maternity leave. A meandering and largely useless backstory that we’ve already heard orally. Killing Rothstein offscreen between seasons. That, my friend, is ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL garbage.
@@baxatakbaxatak2014 Your opinion.
@@HaythamThorn Hey, it’s cool. You’re allowed to be wrong.
I absolutely *LOVED* the Gyp Rosetti character. You didn't want to miss a single second he was onscreen because he was so goddamn entertaining all the time! Also, Richard Harrow didn't abandon young Tommy Darmody out of guilt for killing Rosetti's entire crew. He did it for Tommy's own safety because he believed someone (most likely Joe Masseria) would track him down and avenge all the mobsters he killed in the whorehouse that night. He can't have Tommy around when Rosetti/Masseria's hitmen come looking for him to make up for their dead friends.
At the very least, Richard recognized his entire embodiment as a living being on this planet was one that was too drawn towards conflict, fury, crime, and vengeance. As long as he was in Tommy's life, he'd be a liability to his wellbeing for that reason alone. Even if Richard were to ever try going straight, he was convinced that the chaos and the suffering would still find him anyway. Again, in Richard's mind at least.
His character was too much. The show was good but it had a lot of moments of just bad writing. I am sure you will disagree because the surface sheen of the production values hides it.
@@joelwillis2043 The last season wasn't up to par, as most of series was. Especially in the last six episodes. However, despite all of this still one of the best series ever made on cable TV.
@@joelwillis2043 No, I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment- although I do take offense to your accusation that I'm incapable of being sufficiently critical of a series based on a shiny verneer and the enhanced production values from HBO pouring significant resources into select works they've prioritized as their prestige projects.
Agreed. There were indeed instances of bad writing throughout the lifespan of this show, but I don't consider that particular character's arc one of them. Jack Huston's portrayal of Richard Harrow was stellar, and took a backseat only to Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden/George Meuller. I genuinely place Huston's performance alongside Stephen Graham's (Al Capone), Shea Whigham's (Eli Thompson), and Michael K. Williams's (Chalky White).
I was never particularly impressed by Steve Buschemi's work as Nucky Thompson. It wasn't bad or anything. It was only ever just serviceable. I just felt that he didn't rise to the occasion and meet the challenge as the leading man in his series the way James Gandolfini did on The Sopranos. Buschemi's performance was never subpar by any means- it just never seemed to rise above being solid.
@@bluelotusnefertoum2144 The show started to lose me in season 4, & something about season 5 doesn't rub me the right way. Kinda disregards Richard's sacrifice & arc by the end, & skipping through too much time & plot. Its upsetting, this show was on the path to be on par with Sopranos with first 3 seasons
Canavale is awesome in Mr Robot season 3 also
Literally started bawling my eyes out when Richard died. I wanted him to find love and happiness soooooo bad.
Literally? Your eyes fell out of your head?
I'm love ! Someone find me!
@@LarryLonson I want to call you names, but RUclips won't let me 😂
@@HaythamThorn Listen sister , when T man wins in November they’ll be no more fooling around. You can call me whatever you want then, but only if we can play naked twister while doing it.
@@LarryLonson I'm not sure what politics have to do with any of this, I couldn't care less who you're voting for. Do you think you really "got me" with that comment?
"This is the kind of show where you can find the most mundane of clips pop up on your RUclips feed and even out of context they're still engaging." I've never felt so seen and specifically spoken for in a RUclips essay before this line.
Rest in peace Michael K Williams 😭
God, I absolutely loved that show. Then the last season happened and I wished they'd just left things hanging and wrapped up with season four.
the last season was meh but I'm just glad it never did a Game of Thrones I guess
Season 4 and 5 were disappointing, but still fantastic
Season 1 and 2 are the best, the show steadily declined after Jimmy Darmody was killed and replaced by the typical Italian Tony Soprano like neanderthal in Gyp Rosetti. Season 4 showed some promise, but by then it was clear they already knew HBO was pulling the plug, which culminated in the aweful and cheap final season, which was an injustice to a show that had its flaws post season 2, but was still good and deserved a better send off. We missed out on AR's assasination, Margaret's plight, Chalky's doom, Gillian's predicament, Nucky's time in Cuba, and the Stock Market crash of 29 -- which surely would have affected everyone involved. It was a sad end to a show that promised so much in the begining. Boardwalk Empire deserved at least an 8 season run to make everything work, and its demise is what happens when a network gives up on it.
@@jerrysoh619 No, the 7 year jump in time for Season 5 was always planned. Terence Winter made sure HBO knew the story would end in 1931 when Lucky Luciano established the Commission. That was always the finish line.
@@Britton_ThompsonYeah, the 7 year time jump was clearly a rush to wrap it up, especially hearing and reading Winter's interviews shortly before the season 4 premiere, he spoke about further advancing each character arc, not wrapping them up, he was clearly operating under the premise that he had more time, considering the 1931 finishline which was well known.
I'd argue Mickey Doyle's death was important in setting the tone for season 5, the new status quo had no place for Nucky or his giggling goon. Season 5 is probably my favourite ending for any tv show. It goes back to show us Nucky's origin, we see the world passing him by and then finishes it with the cold karma of his original sin.
The reveal of Gillians lover who nursed her through heroin dts only to stone cold arrest her was some fantastic tv!
It's the greatest underrated show of all time. I watched it back when I was still drinking, and the stories of the characters were all so tragic, so intense, so unbearable at times. It's absolute genius from start to finish and it's unbelievable to me how few people know about it.
What does you drinking have to do with it? Honestly just curious mate, I might be missing something lmao...
@J the show is about bootlegging
I was also drinking heavily when I first watched it, so I'll always associate it (along with Sopranos, Ray Donovan, and Better Call Saul) with my horrific binge drinking 😐
One of my favourite shows ever. It definitely was the best at evoking the era it was set in. The casting was incredible across the board and Richard Harrow remains one of my favourite television characters of all time.
This is the best re cap I've watched
Thers a local shop in town here that has the complete box set. I'm going to go get it soon as this wraps up. Thank you! Forgot how much I enjoyed this series, agree w you all the janky plot diversions my wife and I rolled our eyes at and how incredible the overall experience of the series was.
I always wanted better for Richard. Just one more job and he could finally have a normal life with his girlfriend... so close
Fantastic analysis. If there's one thing you left out it how great a villainess and femme fatale ms. Darmity was. She was the power behind Jimmy and in later days the Colonel's throne and I saw it as her making the best of what her life gave her. I get why you wouldn't want to think about her after the oedipal reveal but that's where her story becomes tragic for me. Her ending and all the asylum stuff made the final scene of nucky selling her that much more impactful. I do think a sane person or a borderline person locked in a place like that would be more likely to go fully insane, and all it would take is time. Her ending redeems her to me and I forgive her in the end even though she kinda ruined Jimmy's life and definitely that guy she killed to fake his body. It all serves to underline the lack of agency and power women had in the period and how their fates were often entirely bound to men. She was always just what the world made her.
The Eli vs. Knox fight is one of the most brutal fight scenes I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen…well, most of them, lol. Very few have made my heart actually beat faster and give me that numb feeling. The one that dies is the most is Frank finally getting his paws on Rawlings in the penultimate episode of Punisher season one.
But man, Eli and Knox is bruuutal.
10 years later, I still can't get enough of this show.
Agreed.
I loved sooo many aspects of this show, and right away I could tell you know what you're talking about but the hook that got me to subscribe came at 12:06 with that Pokimane simp joke... can't wait to get the part with Jimmy's mom...
When Eddie (the German butler) got shot, I was hoping they'd reveal that Nucky, like Mr Burns, doesn't know how to drive.
Enjoyed this and Boardwalk is in my top 3 series list . Look forward 2 more of ur work
I had to watch this for a recap on season 4, straight after watching season 4, because I thought I'd lost track of the story line. Clearly I hadn't, it is just like killing time. I'm glad for this review because watching it again would have been painful and I really didn't want to start season 5 believing that I'd not really understood season 4. So thanks for the recap.
This video and channel are 'criminally' underrated
Remus will get revenge against Remus' wife . Remus swears it .
What the hell ever happened to Narcisse being an FBI informant?! Complete plot hole smh.
Boardwalk Empire was a Phenomenal Series! ❤️💐
I’m a devout Christian.
Van Alden is a “devout christian.”
I thought his character was terrible in season one, but he quickly became my favorite character….I was weirdly rooting for him to do whatever the heck he was trying to do….still don’t know what that was though.
I’m not gonna lie the Nucky Thompson Series Finale death feels even sillier once you find out Enoch Johnson (Mobster he’s based off) got away in real life and just ended up moving Mid-West
He didn't move to the Midwest. He stayed in Atlantic City and worked a few different jobs. He is buried only a few miles outside of the city, living to the nice old age of 85.
10:14 one of the most badass lines in TV history.
This is really good, you remind me a lot of MandaloreGaming
Great video, I'm rewatching it with my coworkers and they're enthralled. I was really disappointed with Season 4 and 5, the acting and setting were still amazing, but Season 4 felt like a setup season, and 5 was a rushed conclusion that made nonsense if you start pulling at the strings. Season 1-3 are amazing though, and I generally think of Nucky throwing his carnation on the Boardwalk at the end of Season 3 as the finale. I am also still sore that they changed the actor for Eli's son, he looked like someone with a lot of potential for being slowly integrated into the gangster business, and the actor they replaced him with just did nothing for me.
I agree. Whenever I rewatch, I usually stop at 3. It’s a much more satisfying conclusion.
Fantastic video, and a wonderful tribute to an extremely criminally underrated show that humanity should know of. I take my hat off to you sir
One of the best videos I’ve seen in awhile great work. Also one of the most underrated shows ever made so many s tier characters
So many great cuts mate, excellent video. Did not agree with some takes but your appreciation for the show is there, ty so much!.
Eli refusing to slide over is such a mood.
Dude I love your videos but I feel conflicted. On one hand most RUclipsrs make some kind of ending speech in order to end their videos ( a conclusion of sorts), but on the other hand the way this video ends making me feel confused and a little bit empty inside feels thematically appropriate to the show and is unique to your channel (which makes it very original in my eyes). Anyway, great video! Subscribed!!!
Just finished my 5th watch of this magnificent show. Incredible characters, mostly compelling story lines. Nelson Van Alden's hilarious arc is so different from what you think it will be in Season 1. I''m tempted to jump in for a 6th watch
This was an enjoyable watch. Earlier this year I rewatched the first season and I loved watching it but I didn't really want to spend the time to fully watch it all again. I love this show but for some reason it doesn't have the same level of rewatchability as The Wire does for me. Or DS9..
Love it. Guess it wasn't everyones cup of tea. But yeah, some people say it was rushed, i feel like it went on too long. I didn't have a single episode i wasn't satisfied with! Love this time period. Maybe I'm just biased
“Catholic Church bad… Synagogue good. We get it.”
I hurt my thumb subscribing and hitting the bell. I’m all in with this channel.
Jesus. This was a good video. You should do The Sopranos
no-one got hurt it was a gas leak is the greatest line in the whole show
Synagogue always good in Hollywood.
I really loved the ending. The full circle. How the whole series is the show of Nucky making the choice to groom Gillian for the commodore to "get ahead", and it eventually chaining directly into his demise and death.
It was the most fitting ending for Nucky, to die by the hand of Tommy Darmody. It was three generations worth of Darmody he had wronged. First it was the grooming of Gillian as a 13 year old, for her to be raped by the commodore in his 50s. Then it was James aka Jimmy Darmody whom Nucky neglected and turned against him, eventually killed him because he couldn't take responsibility for making Jimmy into what he became. And after ending or ruining the lives of Tommy's mother, father and grandmother, eventually Tommy learned the truth about how his entire family is a tragedy because of Nucky. And being shot by that teenager there on the same boardwalk where everything began, it all comes full circle. So poetic.
What I didn't like about the show? My main criticism? How god damn much the writers abused the cheating trope. Seriously there is not one single character with a relationship, who did not cheat. Not one. Jimmy? Cheated with the whore at Al's cathouse. His wife? Cheated with like 5 people. Nucky? With the blonde milf, with his future wife when he was still with the bimbo, then later with the actress on his new wife. His wife cheated on him with his bodyguard. Chalky cheated on his wife. Eli cheated on his wife together with the Norwegian who was Nelson's wife. Every. Fucking. Character. That had an established relationship. They cheated on screen at least once.
And it got a bit old after the first few times. And it became more of like a depressing expectation.
Wanna watch this show for like 3 reasons
Pokey lefarge’s rendition of “lovesick blues”
Richard harrow
The 20’s are cool
It’s pretty refreshing hearing someone point out it’s always “church bad synagogue good” in media
And the soundtrack was fabulous!
Randomly decided to jump back into the show after years.
Was pleasantly surprised by how much I had forgotten and think I love it more after the 2nd watching.
Great video and thank you.
25:30
In my opinion, its the best gun fight in TV history. Amazing scene.
28:36
Oh yeah...scratch that the scene above was the 2nd best gun fight in TV history.
Richard Harrow was the man.
Great video! I love this series, I’ve viewed it many times and agree with a lot of the points you brought up. I really enjoyed your analysis!
I wish I could experience this show as if it was the first time again.
Why in the hell does this not have more views?!?!??!?!
This is top notch stuff. Where the hell have you been and why do you only have 1.55k subscribers. To the moon with you!
53:14 my old gen z mind cannot handle Randall's greasy ass with Merida
I love this show. It's literally my favorite show
Rest in peace micheal k williams aka Albert chalky white :( my top 5 favorite Chraracter
Amen.
Nobody gets a happy ending. That’s the moral of the story.
Edit: Except for Remus apparently 🤔
Mickey Doyle is the Origin Comic of The Riddler.
I almost wished this show stayed more a slice of life show. In a long form show like this I'd rather they avoid(which they somewhat did) the typical TV series/season pacing. And I think I like the way you think about certain topics.
Great video. Thanks for making it. I just want to add that A.R. being killed in between seasons was criminal. Also, who was your favourite character out of the whole show??
Sally Wheet! Nah, I'm just messing with you. I have to give the favorite character award to Eli - he was equal parts sympathetic and darkly funny, and even in the weaker seasons his plotlines were highlights. Van Alden is the runner up but... as I mentioned in the review there's some storylines of his that just don't seem to click.
Excellent video. I really hope you do more of these long form series retrospectives. You earned a new sub!
Only commenting to tell you you did an incredible job with this video! Fckn...wow!
Boardwalk Empire: “See, now, the show has become an epic about the rise of the mob, and the violence it spawned!”
HBO: “That sounds expensive.”
Game of Thrones: “See, now, Daenerys takes over Westeros with her three dragons.”
HBO: “That’s a lot of CGI. How about two dragons? Or one?”
I miss shows like this.
A great video essay for a great show :) really nice work, man! If I had one nitpick, it'd be on how you read that Narcisse not believing women thing - that's the show reflecting on how black men are cast as rapists and a threat to white women in America/the West in general, I think. Not just the character being a misogynist or something - I think he sniffed out that the story she fed him was bullshit also, and was earlier just using it to leverage something with Nucky (its been a minute since I watched it so I can't remember exactly what)
Mackey Cusick Doyle was a real mob boss, born of Polish parents he changed his name to join the Irish Mob and truly was one of the great gangsters of his day clearly misportrayed in Boardwalk Empire!
Jimmy Darmody is one the greatest characters to grace the small screen
Holy shit that George Remus story was epic.
21:40 - ::Whispers:: "You're the worst."
Agreed with almost everything. Chalky's sendoff was the worst part of the series, though.
it made no sense, if he would have killed narcise she would have been truly free.
They really burned Chalky. Revenge arcs are overplayed, but god, I wanted him to kill Narcisse. The fact someone else did it, felt cheap and didn't pay off. Why did THAT person deserve to kill Narcisse, no clue. Like they just wanted his character gone to end the show.
I don't agree at all. His final scene with Narcisse is one of his best scenes. He saves the love of his life and even if he doesn't get to kill Narcisse himself, he knows he's done for and he let's him know that. And in that final shot on Narcisse's face you can see that he knows that Chalky is right. It's a beautiful scene.
@@user-uq4gr5nl5o A fair interpretation.
12:05 that was funny ! Great video mam !! Keep up the great work and persevere !
Back then LOL. Chicago has ALWAYS been a robbers guild
I knew someone was gonna make this comment
terrific analysis my man!
Boardwalk Empire was a great series. My only issue with season 5 is that I was following the show on Instagram and they would post these "toast for the fallen" pics and I would dvr the episode so I wouldn't see it until the next day. That spoiled Richard and chalkys deaths .
Unfortunately my wife actually dated Michael Pitt so I can tell you what actually happened since she was dating him right after the show ended this is what happened
Steve buscemi apparently got jealous that Michael Pitt was becoming the main character or the focus of the show and therefore he forced the showrunners to kill him off but at the same time Mike did also have a heroin addiction that he was dealing with so he probably wasn't very easy to work with at the same time but apparently they those two hated each other and that's why he got kicked off
Great review of a brilliant series
Top work 👌
Boardwalk empire was a great series!
Yeah, they never pick up on the land deal in Season 3
I don't have time to waste watching every episode of every season so I watch recaps.
I only got 2 criticisms for Board Walk Empire. Too many superb actors and too many memorable scenes!
This show was amazing from start to finish!
The character Lucky Luciano may have been stupid... but the real Lucky was an absolute genius.
Slip Maker Pro-Tip:
Beware viewer's this will be the hardest synopsis to follow ever of Boardwalk Empire.😵🤯
Am I the only one that thinks things just weren’t the same without Jimmy? Also great job on this video. I really appreciate the excellent work. Blessings.
man you deserve a whole lot more subs . great vido
I loved this series. Watched it end to end a number of times. I read up on the real Nucky Johnson out of curiosity. Lived to a ripe old age living it up. No complaints about the artistic license and the mix of fictional and factual characters and events. It all worked and I just loved the time period and music. Having been to Atlantic City NJ numerous times it was fun to see the recreation of the early Atlantic City or at least the vision that fit the show.
Personally I like Gyp Rosetti I felt he was a perfect foil for Nucky. How do you defeat someone that relies on intelligence and influence? You send in a character who has a character who is too stupid to fool and does not give a crap about anyone else.
I really like your point of view. They should’ve done. Murder inc. spin off of this show to be honest.
i give this tv series a thumbs up , loved it !
I love this show and I think it's better than peaky blinders not saying I don't like peaky blinders these are the two greatest shows ever but if I had to watch one of these for a week than boardwalk empire and to be honest I thought the fist season was perfect it reminds me of the problems that people say the sapranos have in don't know why everything needs to go somewhere and evey death needs to be meaningful or epic sometimes some prick with a gun shoots ya that simple same thing in real life with this stuff some deaths are big some huge things happen sometimes nothing
Really good video. Really expected to see more subscribers after watching it. Here’s one more
Great series overall. Personally would rank the seasons 2,3,1,4,5 favorite to least favorite, though I'd argue none of the seasons are bad by any stretch