Boardwalk Empire

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Joe R: N/A | 1477 USERS: B
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Nucky's on his way back to his office, barking orders to Deputy Halloran. He finds Jimmy waiting in his office, and seeing this new Jimmy back in his old environs really puts the changes he's undergone into stark relief. It's not just the suit he's wearing, it's the way he's carrying himself like a big shot -- like the kind of man who doesn't have to ask Nucky permission to help himself to a cup of coffee. It's also the barely-veiled contempt with which he now views Nucky. This isn't simple anger at being done wrong. This is "you are beneath me, you war-dodging paper tiger, and you're lucky I'm on your side." Gotta give it up to Michael Pitt for the physical performance this week. So Jimmy has some demands if he's going to work for Nucky again, first among them being a job for Richard Harrow. Nucky asks him what's under the mask anyway, and Jimmy describes how half his jaw and cheekbone are gone. Halloran buffoonishly wonders how a man like that could keep on living. Speaking of people who are beneath Jimmy's contempt. Nucky starts to discuss the first order of business: the D'Alessio brothers, but Jimmy's second condition is that whatever they discuss is between them alone. HINT, Deputy Halloran. After he's gone, Nucky hands Jimmy the D'Alessio police records, and Jimmy notes that they're all named after popes. He asks Nucky what he's supposed to do when he finds them. "You need me to spell it out?" Nucky asks. In fact, he does. Or at least acknowledge his reluctance to do so. Again, Jimmy is positively reveling in this current power dynamic. Nucky's the one in charge, sure, but he's also the one who doesn't have the stomach to murder at will, like Jimmy does. Nucky thinks this makes him more civilized, cleaner somehow, but it only makes him weak. Weaker than Jimmy, at least. This all goes back to that "half a gangster" speech from the premiere that gave me so much hope for this show. Back then, I thought the dynamic was that the student (Jimmy) would corrupt the teacher (Nucky). Now, it seems like a more standard story of the New Ways (murder, aggression) paving over the old ways (being a smart people person). Nucky finally says "yes," he wants them murdered. Jimmy looks at the photos once more and asks, "Even the kid?" Nucky looks queasy, but he doesn't object.

Boardwalk Empire

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