The first season of Boardwalk Empire is more about internal problems than external. The characters grapple with who they are and what the empire is supposed to be. There are external pressures put on from the Italians and Rothstein, but they only serve to further the internal conflicts.
"A Return To Normalcy" largely puts things back into their rightful places, except that everyone's mindsets aren't the same. The large change comes from Jimmy, who has grown increasingly tired of Nucky. After the Commodore tells Jimmy about Nucky practically taking New Jersey from him, he requests that Jimmy, his son, take his rightful place as ruler of Jersey. Eli is sheriff again, but he in league with the Commodore wants to move on Nucky. Gillian, the Commodore, and Jimmy are a family, but there is still a dark undercurrent (The whole maid poisoning Commodore thing seemed way too easy. I still think Gillian was involved and Nucky is helping her. Maybe we'll learn the truth next season or maybe we already have it.)
Meanwhile Margaret is back with Nucky, believing him to be a financial safety net, but her doubts and concerns are still there. As much as she dislikes what Nucky does, she has a connection with him and his wallet is large enough to sustain her needs.
Van Alden continues to fall further and further. He covers up his murder of Sebso and then quits his job. There has to be a limit to how much he can cling to the Bible while knowing everything he's done. To make things worse, Lucy tells him she's pregnant. It's interesting that she would go to Van Alden instead of Nucky. Couldn't Nucky be the father? It would be an easy way to get into his life. In any case, Van Alden might snap and do something totally insane.
Chalky pops his head into the episode to show his loyalty for Nucky and his business sense, squeezing Nucky for a little more. I really hope we see more of him in the second season, because besides his incredible speech about his father, he hasn't done that much.
The beef with Rothstein is done for now, Nucky getting his DA friend in Chicago not to charge him. In exchange, Nucky gets a nice million dollars and the D’Alessio to take out.
On the political side of things, Nucky gets his wishes; the Republicans own New Jersey and Harding wins the presidency, both expected developments which show Nucky's power under all that's going on.
Looking ahead to the second season, we've been well-acquainted with every character and they with each other. How does they cope with where they are? Does Jimmy act on his father's wishes and go after Nucky? Does Margaret stay with Nucky, or does an opportunity present itself to set her free?
Score: 9.3/10
Monday, December 6, 2010
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