“How much to go home?” Sally asks the Havana police officers before ending up dead on the street, a bullet in her brain. In a way, Sally’s death is a simple scene. She’s an expendable character whose time has come, just another name to add to the list of those people who have known Nucky Thompson and died because of it. However, Sally’s question and its fatal answer also perfectly capture what “Cuanto” and much of this final season of Boardwalk Empire have been about: the desire to go to a safe and familiar place, a “home,” and the refusal by time, circumstances and fate to let this happen.
All of the characters in last night’s episode of Boardwalk Empire are reliving and remembering moments from their past, whether it’s Van Alden’s former identity as a federal agent surfacing when Luciano arrives in Chicago to meet with Capone or Nucky and Margaret standing together on the boardwalk as they look out at the ocean. Even Eli’s call to Nucky near the end of the episode, in which all he says is “Hold for Mr. Capone,” is a little tip of the hat to the days in which the brothers used to work together.
However, what gives us an even deeper look back into Nucky and Eli’s relationship are this week’s flashbacks, which are the most successful ones of the season so far as they illustrate Nucky’s compassion for his brother and his longing for not only the lifestyle of the rich and powerful but for a family. In Sheriff Lindsey, young Nucky finds a surrogate father, and the impact that the sheriff and his family’s kindness has on him even prompts Nucky to ask the Lindsey if he’d be willing to “take care” of his dad for him because he’s just so desperate for a way out, an escape to a better life.
And that’s what the Nucky of 1931 is also trying to do, although through different means. The Nucky of the present is attempting to forge a new and better life for himself through the Bacardi rum deal, which completely goes south this week with Sally’s death and Joe Kennedy officially pulling out, and he is almost tempted to go back to the “home” that he and Margaret once had, especially after she kisses him. However, Nucky resists, and while he does devise a plan for Margaret on how to pay back Carolyn Rothstein, that’s as far as he goes–offering no more help to her, not even a place to sleep.
“Cuanto” is an episode that looks back at the long history of Boardwalk Empire and has its characters face who they were or what they have done in the past but not embrace it. Nucky, Margaret, Van Alden, and even Capone are not the people who they used to be. Nucky is no longer a successful bootlegger; Margaret is no longer a timid, scared wife; Van Alden is no longer a psychotic federal agent; and Capone is no longer a small-time criminal (as we are continuously reminded how much of celebrity he has become and how much he loves his star status).
The past doesn’t shackle any of them to their former selves. Instead, all of these characters continue to press on, to look towards the future, no matter how uncertain it may be, in search of that feeling of strength, security, and comfort–in search of their own personal versions of a “home.”
Other thoughts:
– As I said above, the flashbacks to young Nucky and Eli in this episode were much more successful than they have been in previous weeks, especially the scene of Nucky breaking down and crying at the the dinner table.
– It was such a pleasure to watch Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald share scenes together again. They pair have great chemistry and watching Nucky react to Margaret’s drunk and honest comments was fantastic. Here’s hoping we have more great Nucky/Margaret scenes ahead of us.
– Kudos to this episode’s director, Jake Paltrow, for the sequence where Capone in front of the movie screen, blocking the newsreel footage of himself. Fantastic filmmaking there and something that showed us so much about Capone and his mindset right now without him even needing to say a word.
What did everyone else think of last night’s episode of Boardwalk Empire?
Photo via HBO
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