In 1920s Atlantic City, the Ku Klux Klan terrorized, the Republicans were in office and America stemmed into a dangerous consumerism amidst rivers of moonshine. This is the circus-like world of Nucky Thompson in HBO's award-winning Boardwalk Empire, which airs Sundays at 9 p.m. The Martin Scorsese-produced series returned for its second season a month ago. The series, which has drawn comparisons to The Sopranos for its nuanced depiction of organized crime, has also been bogged down by critical accusations of heavy-handed storytelling and jerky anachronism. The second season, it seems, strives to take on these perceptions.
Season one revolves around Atlantic City crime boss Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi) and his ascension to power. Further episodes demonstrate his attempts to retain influence, even at the expense of alienating his followers. Later in the season, a plot-moving clandestine business agreement between three of Nucky's former allies arises out of a need to usurp the criminal kingpin from his throne. Meanwhile, the perpetually conflicted character of Agent Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon), a theatrical show stealer in the last season, struggles with his possible blame for the murder of his partner and an illegitimate child on the way. In the last minutes of the previous season's finale, we were left in a quagmire of smoke and mirrors - alliances were broken and backs were stabbed, leaving anticipation high for the new season.
The buzz question around the series' second season was, of course, the question of how it would outdo the ultragraphic violence, the cheesy music and the glossy extravagance of its debut season. In the first episode, "21," which opened with old-school Harlem jazz streaming out of the radio during a deadly KKK machine-gun-and-hate-fueled raid on Chalky White's (Michael Kenneth Williams) illegal distillery, it seemed the writers were actively trying to retain such high standards.
In the new season, creator Terrence Winter looks to maintain the complex relationships in the show, demonstrating how Nucky's fate has been driven by karmic forces. Simultaneously, Winter attempts to explore the strength of fraternity as all men involved in the main power struggle have been linked through past familial obligations. This aspect of the bootleg war adds an extra element of interest for later episodes in the series where such ties will undoubtedly be tested.
In season two, Nucky's grip on his power is clearly at the center of the show - the character has finally come to realize political maneuvering and sweet talk may only stretch so far. The season appears to springboard off the virtually undefeatable Nucky of the first season. The undertones are darker, the stakes higher. What one can look forward to in later episodes are the ruthless graphical panoramas - yes, the guns and the many bottles of alcohol - as well as the delicate unravelling of a complicated thread of contingencies and relationships.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
