No. 43 Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Part 2 Eps. 7-12 (2013) 44 of 100

 

This season ended up, as most have so far, with some stories resolved and others just hatching. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the three previous seasons and I got the impression that the writers had painted themselves into a corner somewhat. Nucky keeps doing his deals and looking somewhat constipated, whilst once again his brother Eli plots against him. I think they are going for a Kane and Abel dynamic here but it doesn’t make sense that a savvy business man like Nucky would allow himself to be betrayed once again.

To be fair Eli was motivated by helping his son who was being threatened with the jail, quite correctly, by FBI man Knox. Nucky seems a bit asleep at the wheel having been enchanted by the busty Patricia Arquette who is now running his Florida interests. Nucky is keen to get out but keeps getting drawn back in due to his many commitments and previous actions.

The main thread throughout the season concerns Chalky and Narcisse. Chalky now runs the main nightclub on the Boardwalk, The Onyx, but has to take on Narcisse as a partner when Chalky’s man Purnsley does some collateral damage when taken in by a kinky couple. Purnsley, played by Erik LaRay Harvey, is one of the best supporting characters who offers quite menace in every scene he appears in. It’s a pity we won’t see any more of him but he certainly made an impact.

The slow talking Chalky shares a lot of scenes with the flowery taking Narcisse and frankly I could do without them. Michael Kenneth Williams was good as Omar in ‘The Wire’ but here his boiling rage just looks like he needs a good crap. The two are at loggerheads over Narcisse’s singer who Chalky falls for. This means we get several long songs from the chanteuse which reminded me of the scene of the awful singer in ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucker’ who was revealed to be the producer’s sister. The lady sings well but it just broke up the narrative flow – a bit like Barbara Dickson’s bit on ‘The Two Ronnies’.

The long running Jimmy/Gillian storyline heats up somewhat with Ron Livingston’s dull salesman revealing hidden depths. This never-ending tale around the custody of Tommy finally gets some movement although the ultimate conclusion sees my favourite Richard Harrow exit the series, which is a shame.

What about Shannon you ask? Well, he’s barely seen – only showing up for the first time in the opening scene of Episode 9. He’s working in mobster O’Bannion’s flower shop and has a funny scene when his former co-workers track him down for ironing one of their faces – HUGE mistake. A couple of events have Van Arlen saving Al Capone and he ends up helping Eli escape after he flees to Chicago.

He has slowly worked his way up the echelons of the Chicago mob but hasn’t had a lot to do. He is still working on his poorly built house and is egged on in his nefarious antics by his wife Sigrid. He also missed out on Episode 11 so we are only running at a 50% hit rate. Kelly MacDonald does show up for a few scenes, despite enjoying second billing, and I got the impression these actors were only fitting in fleeting appearances whilst being busy elsewhere. I enjoyed Margaret's scheming with Arnold Rothstein in New York but it had no bearing on the wider storyline and was presented almost as a side attraction to the main event.

There were a couple shoot-out scenes but the spectacle as a whole has been reined in and the whole enterprise seems to be going through the motions somewhat. The next season is the last and only has 8 episodes. I hope we can see some more Shannon and some definite conclusions given the characters no longer need to be preserved.

When is Shannon-On? - 01.39 (Episode 9)

Outcome? Giving Eli a lift in Chicago

Programme 3/5

Shannon Stars 3/5