BOARDWALK EMPIRE: TO THE LOST {SECOND SEASON FINALE} (TV)
Summary
The second season finale in this historical drama series based on the nonfiction book by Nelson Johnson about the gangsters and bootleggers who rose to power in Atlantic City during the years of Prohibition. In this episode, Jimmy and Richard arrive at a Klan meeting and violently demand the names of the members who shot up Chalky's warehouse. Manny, who is in hiding, tries to make a deal with Nucky, offering to trade Waxey Gordon for Jimmy, though Nucky seems unsure about allying with him. Chalky agrees to put an end to the strike, as promised, when Jimmy delivers the killers as well as the cash. Jimmy also requests that Chalky speak to Nucky for him, though Richard points out that Nucky will never forgive him. Margaret meets with Randolph and tells her the brutal truth about Hans, though Randolph remains determined to prosecute Nucky and demands to know why Margaret still feels an attachment to him despite his many crimes and lies, urging her to "set herself free." Fallon tells Nucky that Margaret's testimony poses the biggest threat, and after a call from Chalky, Nucky visits Jimmy at home and offers his condolences about Angela, pretending that he does not know Manny. Jimmy declares that he should have killed his father long ago and blames the coup on Eli, offering to do anything to "make things right" with Nucky.
Nucky and Margaret have a heart-to-heart about faith, and he finally admits that he "needs" to marry her to protect himself legally. He declares that he genuinely loves her and the children and is afraid of prison, and she considers his words. Whitlock explains that the Commodore's death certificate has been doctored, though his outdated will names his treacherous maid Louann as his benefactor, and Jimmy, realizing that Tommy stands to inherit everything one day, tears up the will. He then meets with the ward bosses and shocks them by announcing that he has "rethought his position" on Nucky and intends to turn on Eli instead, and they all urge him to stick to his original plan, as Nucky is surely headed for prison. Margaret witnesses Nucky showing his kindly side to Emily and then announces that she will indeed marry him – after making a full confession. Father Brennan performs the ceremony, while elsewhere Randolph practices her opening statement for Lathrop as Jimmy and Richard storm Neary's office and force him to sign a "suicide note" recanting his statements against Nucky before killing him. Randolph is furious at Nucky's obvious manipulations, but the judge is forced to dismiss the case against him and releases Eli as well, though Halloran remains in prison for Hans' murder. Margaret comments on the "stroke of luck" of Neary's sudden death, and Nucky reminds her to sign the land deed back to him.
Jimmy spends a pleasant day at the beach with Tommy, and Nucky visits Eli, who in turn blames everything on Jimmy, but Nucky informs him that he will plead guilty after all and will serve a year in prison as penance for betraying him. Lansky and Luciano discuss their ideas for the heroin business with Rothstein, and when Nucky calls to ask his opinion about killing Manny, Rothstein reacts indifferently and tells him to "flip a coin" to make his decision. Van Alden and his "wife" Sigrid arrive in Cicero, Illinois and rent an apartment under an assumed name, and Jimmy spends the evening happily swapping war stories with Richard. Richard realizes that they are "still there," but Jimmy urges him to finally "come home" and then receives a call from Nucky saying that he has tracked down Manny. Jimmy leaves the house, gently refusing Richard's offer to assist him, and Gillian realizes that Tommy is wearing his father's dog tags. Jimmy, knowing that it is a trap and having accepted his fate, arrives unarmed at the war memorial in the rain and calmly tells Nucky that he "died in the trenches years ago." He reassures Nucky, knowing that it is his first direct murder, and Nucky then coldly executes his surrogate son, informing him that he is "not seeking forgiveness." In the morning, Nucky tells Margaret that he "cleared the air" with Jimmy and that he then reenlisted and shipped out, but Margaret seems to realize the truth at once. Nucky then meets with Mayor Bader and the others, happily toasting to his victory and their soon-to-be-valuable land, but Margaret, now aware of Nucky's true nature, signs the land over to the church instead.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: December 11, 2011 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 110020
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; Crime and criminals; Prohibition
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2010-2014
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Mark Wahlberg … Executive Producer
- Martin Scorsese … Executive Producer
- Steve Levinson … Executive Producer
- Terence Winter … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Tim Van Patten … Executive Producer, Director
- Howard Korder … Co-Executive Producer
- Eugene Kelly … Co-Executive Producer
- Joseph E. Iberti … Producer
- Rick Yorn … Producer
- Steve Kornacki … Co-Producer
- Steve Turner … Co-Producer
- Pepper O'Brien … Co-Producer
- John Flavin … Associate Producer
- Cristine Chambers … Associate Producer
- Jennifer Ames … Associate Producer
- Richard Friedlander … Visual Effects Producer
- Glenn Allen … Visual Effects Producer
- Tolly Swallow … Visual Effects Producer
- Nelson Johnson … Based on the book by
- Steve Buscemi … Cast, Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson
- Michael Pitt … Cast, James 'Jimmy' Darmody
- Kelly Macdonald … Cast, Margaret Schroeder
- Michael Shannon … Cast, Nelson Van Alden
- Aleksa Palladino … Cast, Angela Darmody
- Shea Wigham … Cast, Eli Thompson
- Michael Stuhlbarg … Cast, Arnold Rothstein
- Stephen Graham … Cast, Al Capone
- Vincent Piazza … Cast, Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano
- Paz de la Huerta … Cast, Paz de la Huerta
- Anthony Laciura … Cast, Eddie Kessler
- Michael Kenneth Williams … Cast, Albert 'Chalky' White
- Paul Sparks … Cast, Mickey Doyle
- Jack Huston … Cast, Richard Harrow
- Gretchen Mol … Cast, Gillian Darmody
- Dabney Coleman … Cast, Commodore Louis Kaestner
- Dominic Chianese … Cast, Leander Cephas Whitlock
- Charlie Cox … Cast, Owen Sleater
- William Forsythe … Cast, Manny Horvitz
- Julianne Nicholson … Cast, Esther Randolph
- Erik LaRay Harvey … Cast, Dunn Purnsley
- Robert Clohessy … Cast, Jim Neary
- Kevin O'Rourke … Cast, Mayor Edward Bader
- Victor Verheaghe … Cast, Alderman Damien Fleming
- Michael Cumpsty … Cast, Father Brennan
- Adam Mucci … Cast, Deputy Raymond Halloran
- Anatol Yusef … Cast, Meyer Lansky
- David Aaron Baker … Cast, Bill Fallon
- Denny Dale Bess … Cast, Klansman Informant
- Donté Bonner … Cast, Chalky's Man #1
- Charlotte Booker … Cast, Cicero Landlady
- Curt Bouril … Cast, Clifford Lathrop
- Rony Clanton … Cast, Langston
- Christian Davidock … Cast, Dick Heatherton
- Roy Milton Davis … Cast, Pony Wrangler
- Lucy Gallina … Cast, Emily Schroeder
- Josie Gallina … Cast, Emily Schroeder
- Tim House … Cast, Klansman Raider #3
- John Keating … Cast, Ernie Moran
- Heather Lind … Cast, Katy
- Trisha McCormick … Cast, Eunice
- Naomi McDougall Jones … Cast, Screaming Secretary
- Edward McGinty … Cast, Alderman Al Boyd
- Ian Scott McGregor … Cast, Halloran's Attorney
- Declan McTigue … Cast, Teddy Schroeder
- Rory McTigue … Cast, Teddy Schroeder
- Randall Newsome … Cast, Douglas Wallbridge
- Brady Noon … Cast, Tommy Darmody
- Connor Noon … Cast, Tommy Darmody
- Thomas Philip O'Neill … Cast, Dick Halsey
- Jacqueline Pennewill … Cast, Lillian
- Christiane Seidel … Cast, Sigrid
- Dan Sharkey … Cast, Herb Crocker
- Ian Stuart … Cast, Judge
- Samuel Taylor … Cast, Paddy Ryan
- Brandon Zumsteg … Cast, Brian Thompson