The blood that was spilled at the end of “Belle Femme” was that of an innocent, but it landed right where it belonged: on Margaret (Kelly Macdonald).
That’s because Margaret’s journey down the Yellow Brick Road of corruption took a decided turn for the worse in Boardwalk‘s ninth episode. As she stumbled and faltered her way to learning the proper way to manipulate Nucky (Steve Buscemi), she had perhaps one of her most defining moments to date. “My daughter didn’t help you, I did,” she says to Mme. Jeunet, finally cashing in on her own machinations. The art of selfishness is not lost in Atlantic City but quickly found. The continued brilliance of Margaret’s evolution is that her tale is told mostly through the eyes: both hers and whoever she learns or takes from. It’s as if we can see her soul literally blackening from within.
Speaking of empty souls, it was good to see Jimmy (Michael Pitt) verbalize what I’ve been saying for weeks now: that Nucky will do everything he can to convince himself that he’s a good man. “Are you trying to kid yourself that you’re not a murderer?” Jimmy asks and Nucky can barely respond. There was a subtle power shift here, the first time Jimmy has had the upper hand on Nucky (at least for a few minutes until Jimmy is arrested).
Politics are at the heart of Boardwalk and they played prominently here. How easily the puppets are replaced by the men who actually wield the power. Even one’s own brother is not immune when it comes to covering your ass. Eli (Shea Whigham) is not exactly of the rational or forgiving kind and even if we don’t see this completely payoff this season, it’s sure to become a major factor in the next.
Meanwhile, as Van Alden (Michael Shannon) tries to clean up Sodom, he failed to see exactly just how near the sinners have become, perhaps blinded by his own righteousness. After Agent Sebso shoots Billy on the beach, we cut to the Atlantic City: America’s Playground sign and it immediately tells us everything we need to know. One can sometimes accuse Boardwalk of being too on the nose with its symbolism (Margaret’s bloodstained dress from Belle Femme being the other obvious example), but that doesn’t make it any less apt.
The rest of the episode played Angela Damody’s (Aleksa Palladino) struggles against Margaret’s victories. While Margaret may be the spokesperson for women’s suffrage, it’s Angela who has become the example of women’s suffering. This is what happens when you don’t play the system. Angela has no say over her own reproductive rights (Jimmy turning to his son to absurdly confirm the need for another child), her sexual independence, or her economic freedom. For every bit of power Maggie gains, Angela loses. “You have power you don’t suspect,” Mme. Jeunet tells Margaret at the beginning of the episode. But that power comes from the same place Nucky’s does, a place Angela isn’t willing to go.
At times 1.09’s pace felt a little sluggish. Jimmy’s near murder of Luciano (Vincent Piazza) gave it a boost, but this was a subtle episode that chose to focus on the lightening fast way in which power is either gained or lost, whether it’s a backroom deal to put a new beholden mayor in place, or the way a woman must rely on her feminine appeal (rather than rational argument) to have any say at all. In every example, morality is the loser. Just ask Angela.
Grade: B
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