Before you read this, be aware that the following post is filled with SPOILERS from the last episode of seaon two of Boardwalk Empire. If you have not seen it yet, my heart would suggest you don't, but if you must, wait until after you do to read what I wrote. Now that the SPOILER ALERT (sorry, just being sure) is out of the way, let's have a little chat.
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So, let me start by saying I love what Boardwalk Empire and specifically, Terence Winter has done for television. Supreme casting, beautiful set design and costumes and knock out scripts with authentic dialogue. The whole series is saturated in sugary, syrupy sweetness in terms of content and you can't ask for a better product on television. That said, I just might never watch Boardwalk Empire again. I feel as though someone punched my cat in the face, then blew up my X-box and told me my Mom was fat.
I know, I know, I'm over reacting, but the emotional wounds inflicted within are the result of what has befallen my most cherished and beloved character, Jimmy Darmody. My heart has broken. I know a lot of fans will agree that Jimmy was the cornerstone in the series. Michael Pitt, who I've had my eye on since Murder By Numbers and who I knew was an acting asset since The Dreamers, was made for that role. The man killed it with a stare and that is something that can be taught, but takes natural talent to master. I could spend hours talking about why Michael Pitt will one day win an Oscar and break in the new age of cinema (coincidentally with his once co-star, Ryan Gosling), but let's stick to Empire, shall we.
I understand why Winter did what he did. He said it was staying true to the story and the characters. On some level, it made sense to the story, but if you really watch the structure of what happened in this season and the way Nucky Thompson fluxuates between sinner and saint, it really wasn't the best move for the story. Not because Pitt is gone, not because they killed off one of the most complex and brooding characters in recent television history (or ever), but because the rationality behind it wasn't there. I suppose it didn't have to be, because Winter wasn't after rationality. He was after shock and awe. He wanted to do something different and he wanted to do so by starting a storm of outrage and tears and really drive home how the show was unlike anything else on television. He did that, but it wasn't the best option, believe me.
Look at Nucky and Eli's relationship this season. Eli, at every turn, backstabbed, lied and tried to eliminate Nucky from the picture. All the while, it was Jimmy who was skeptical of it all. Eli even tried to kill Nucky with his own hands (and again secretively) and then sat in jail and waited to testify against him, yet Nucky embraced him like he only dented his car. I understand, blood > water, but water isn't that thick and when you're a cutthroat go-hard (Workaholics, anyone?) you do what you have to. Ask Michael from The Godfather or Patty Hewes from Damages. You don't let people stand in your way...even family. I guess, by that rationality, I justified the ending of the season, but the real transgressions and the real betrayal was on Eli. It was written that way to throw us for a loop when Jimmy was shot. I, however, had thought he was going to be killed off after the incest episode. Here is why.
If you notice how Jimmy progresses from the beginning of the season to his unfortunate end, you'll notice that not only does his character and personality grow wilder and more unstable, but his story does as well. He begins as this young, groomed war vet who is learning the business of being a gangster from his real father. As time goes on, he starts to act peculiar. Then, he does things for no reason at all. He appeared distant and conflicted, which Pitt does an amazing job portraying, until we finally get a good episode of his past at college. Granted, it all turned Oedipal and Fraud would have had a field day, but even after the fling with his mother, Jimmy was still likable by most viewers. You cannot buy that kind of loyalty. It is something that Pitt, as Jimmy, earned through staggering performances and silent stares. It was also obvious something was up when everyone on Jimmy's end of the story-line started dropping like dimes. Arguably, Jimmy's best moment comes at the very end when he suddenly won't shut up while Nucky's pistol screams in his face, but how can you say he really had it coming?
Nucky never really took a hard line with anyone in the show he has cared about before. Suddenly, Nucky decides now is the time to make a stand, when the logical move would be to use Jimmy. Yes, it was a bold, bold move to remove him and it allowed Steve Buscemi to show some grit, but I think the same gravity could have been instilled if Nucky shoots past Jimmy and puts one in Eli's dome. Owen clips Manny from behind and suddenly Jimmy is saved. Is it orginal? Not really, but neither was killing of Jimmy. Sons of Anarchy killed off Officer Hale suddenly at the beginning of season three. It was shocking and I believe a mistake, but it was similar. Damages does it all the time. Lost. Deadwood. I could keep going, but now I'm missing Charlie and Wild Bill.
The point is, while it was bold and brave and that is commendable, Pitt brought a dangerous quality to the show that no one else had. He was a wild card, but he was also very, very good at it. Who else is going to throw people off balconies one day and sit beside them in a meeting the next? He brought a natural insanity to a world where everyone put up a sane front in public. He didn't care what people thought of him or what he had to do (unless it involved Nucky), he just did it and kept on the razor's edge. That kind of character can't be replaced. You can't bring in a new young gangster with a lot of promise and ambition and hope people will take to him. Jimmy was too important. Pitt was too talented. Christopher Nolan couldn't even kill off Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, even after his real life death. The Joker was too pivotal to be sacrificed (and it's not Batman's style).
The question becomes, where do we go now? All the originality from this move will lead to a slew of cliches and repetitive damage control. They have to bring in new season blood, but they also have to replace the ever expanding black hole where Jimmy once was. Nucky will be haunted by his decision, which might bring Pitt back for a ghost guest spot, but the obvious course is Richard Harrow, who will likely eliminate Manny and then go after Nucky. They already established that Owen could be the new best friend of Harrow, since they had some nice words over a stand-off, but Jimmy anchored Harrow. He anchored Gillian, who is basically useless now, and he was the main link between the show and Al Capone. Yes, Capone sort of disowned him (which was another tell-tale sign of Jimmy's demise), but Darmody was so intricitely woven into the story that to eliminate him basically restarts the show from scratch. It's not Boardwalk Empire anymore. It's something else. Something cruel and unforgiving. But hey, that's television.
Tyler Baker
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