^I, too, have it saved on my DVR but have not yet watched it. I've kind of forgotten what happened in the first season except for the major stuff.

9/8/2011 11:44:22 PM

started the season 1 last night.....looks good!

9/9/2011 10:18:49 AM

September 25th 9pm


Oh we back. Just saw some previews. Looks like it's going to get even better.

9/18/2011 8:19:14 PM

I watched the recap thing, it's only 15 mins long so it's worth it to get caught up. I'll probably watch the final episode of Season 1 again to get fully ready before Sunday.

9/19/2011 9:09:37 AM

T-minus 1 hour

9/25/2011 8:02:02 PM

last minute reminder!

9/25/2011 8:53:36 PM

good episode, glad its back on

9/26/2011 12:51:08 AM

The whole thing with Van Alden was a ruse to keep his wife at bay while he raises his unholy child with his whore. He gave her a taste of what he does (which she got off on), but realizes that AC is a version of Sodom that she doesn't want anything to do with while her husband stays behind and deals with his righteous cause.

9/26/2011 8:32:45 AM

seeing Van Alden's wife's pure devoutness makes me question if he himself was always as batshit crazy as he showed in S1 or if she somehow "corrupted" him to become that way. and if what we are seeing with his whore is really his true character which is now being brought back out.

9/26/2011 9:09:26 AM

i enjoy this show, but it was probably the one i was least excited about returning. for some reason it just doesn't pump me up the way some others do.

though i still love all the small moments with Richard Harrow. he's a scene stealer

9/26/2011 10:07:37 AM

I loved the transition from the look on Van Alden's wife after the raid to the bed hitting the wall and it was just Van Alden looking for broken springs in the bed.

9/26/2011 10:12:35 AM

lol yeah, and then they really did fuck. That was some meta shit right right there.

9/26/2011 10:13:21 AM

Yep, but he had to turn the lights off first.

9/26/2011 10:15:34 AM

Richard Harrow is an interesting character. He so easily murders without questioning or having a second thought. But is still so tender and loving in having a soft side that you root for him. I hope there is a lot more of him this season.

9/26/2011 10:23:47 AM

Yeah, more Richard Harrow and more Chalky White, please.

I wasn't thrilled with the season debut last night. Moved as slow as molasses. I loved last season, but I fear this show is in danger of falling too in love with its costumes and set designs and allowing the storytelling to suffer as a result. Admittedly, though, that's pretty reactionary; we'll see how the rest of the season pans out.

Then again, I thought that about Mad Men when I was about halfway through season 2, only to be blown away by just about every episode afterwards. So I'm probably jumping the gun.

[Edited on September 26, 2011 at 10:45 AM. Reason : /]

9/26/2011 10:43:04 AM

Speaking of costumes, Chalky White can dress. For a split second when he had the shotgun pointed at his head by the KKK dude, I thought it might be over for ole Chalky in a Game-of-Thrones-Upset type of way, very glad to see it didn't end that way.

9/26/2011 5:00:28 PM

i thought the premiere was great. Nucky knows something fishy is going on with Jimmy and the Commodore. seems like the Commodore was behind Nucky's arrest.

and add in the race war and future conflict to come with Chicago...i never felt like the episode was sub-par or slow at any point.

9/26/2011 5:44:22 PM

Well played in the jail cell, Chalky.

10/2/2011 11:52:45 PM

Yeah that was fucking badass.

THANKS FOR THE TURKEY BRO.

10/3/2011 12:12:56 AM

Topic for debate...


David Copperfield/Tom Sawyer


was this a play by Chalky knowing Purnsley was simple and illiterate and didn't want to give him the satisfaction of telling him what he was reading? Or is it possible that Chalky, himself, is illiterate and was using the book as a cover in order to not show any weaknesses?

I could see it either way, and i lean towards the latter for two instances. first Chalky's wife makes it clear that the book is from their son who we know is properly educated and perhaps Chalky's illiteracy is something they've tried to keep from him. Second the scene towards the end after the fight when he invites the other man to read the story aloud. This could be incentive for their loyalty, but also a chance for Chalky to actually learn the story along the way

10/3/2011 8:24:56 AM

i don't think there really is a way to know for certain if Chalky is educated and can read. just because his son is, doesn't mean he is. but i thought the same thing at the end when he asked if "anyone knew their letters".. that maybe he wasn't really reading and it was all for show.

10/3/2011 8:27:24 AM

It was pretty clear he couldn't read but doesn't want people (outsiders, at least) to know that.

10/3/2011 9:32:15 AM

great episode imo, especially enjoyed chalky and jimmy (including his exchanges with lucky)

missed seeing Harrow though

^^^ i'm totally on the side that chalky can't read... the tension in those scenes was really great

^ this

[Edited on October 3, 2011 at 9:39 AM. Reason : ^]

10/3/2011 9:39:02 AM

^^ please explain how it was "pretty clear."

10/3/2011 9:57:00 AM

he was just flipping pages and used the picture to explain what was going on

10/3/2011 10:30:36 AM

I, too, got the impression that Chalky couldn't read.

And where was Harrow and Van Alden!? Those are the two most interesting characters on the show in my opinion.

Question though, those two guys that Jimmy killed near the fountain were the two that were arguing with Lucky and the other dude at the poker game right? Maybe I just missed it, but what were the circumstances that led to them meeting with Jimmy? Obviously he knew it was a set up since he hid his knife, but what was the original plan?

10/3/2011 11:05:02 AM

^ from what i've read, analysis-wise, the 2 guys at the fountain were in fact the same 2 from the poker game. they followed Jimmy and wanted his poker winnings since he had won pretty big that night. the knife he took out of his boot and put in his waistband was a normal occurrence for him, like his security in case trouble came.

so based on that i don't think he knew he would be ambushed but rather was just being prepared like he normally did.

10/3/2011 11:37:18 AM

i think he knew it was coming. He purposely cashed out so that they could see Benny (Bugsy Siegel) hand over the large amount of cash. And by baiting them, and subsequently killing them he's gotten rid of a problem for Meyer and Lucky and they'll be more inclined to do business with him.

10/3/2011 11:43:04 AM

hmm good perspective on that, does make sense since he was trying to win the business of Lucky

10/3/2011 11:46:19 AM

Purnsley should've known not to come at the king.

10/3/2011 12:01:20 PM

Going back to the Chalky thing...I was under the impression that he likely cannot read, and that both his son and his wife are unaware of that fact.

Then again he coulda been fucking with that guy all along...

Definitely missed Van Alden and Harrow (Harrow is my favorite character in this show)

However, Schroeder definitely stepped it up a notch with the "stand by your man" thing. Kudos to her, hopefully Nucky will start to value her more than he seems to at this point.

10/4/2011 8:05:33 AM

I kind of feel as if a big part of it was her wanting to make sure her kids are provided for. When she read the newspaper about Nucky being arrested she looked into the other room to see the kids playing.

10/4/2011 9:20:10 AM

yeah, no way in hell Margaret is going back to her old lifestyle.

10/4/2011 9:49:58 AM

@Chalky - I don't think he can read.

@Jimmy - I agree with Jeepin4x4 that Jimmy baited those guys to get on Lansky's good side for future business. He saw there was an argument and cashed out while they could see how much and moved the dagger to his waistband knowing they'd come after him.

@Margaret - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHP6FVnyr0

@Commodore - While Eli is a mindless pawn, I think the Commodore underestimated Jimmy's loyalty to Nucky. I think Jimmy can tell that a real father is more than flesh and blood and won't forget that. I mean the Commodore knocks up his teenage mother and never speaks to him up until the last 3 months? I am interested to see how that pans out.




Kinda upset that the 3 best characters were left out completely. No Van Alden. No Richard Harrow. No Al Capone. Still an okay episode though.

10/4/2011 10:23:30 AM

Solid episode tonight. I'm really liking that new Irish guy.

10/10/2011 12:43:31 AM

Gonna have a boardwalk empir mini marathon this week as I've not watched any since the return yet. One per nap and one once babe is in bed

10/10/2011 11:25:07 AM

I think the new irish dude and Richard Harrow are gonna be buddies.

10/10/2011 12:41:57 PM

Can you say.... SPIN OFF!!!

10/10/2011 1:27:21 PM

That would be kinda cool although since Slater works for Nucky (and Harrow is obviously jealous of Jimmy) I could see Harrow going back to Nucky and a possible badass fight between him and Jimmy in the future.

10/11/2011 9:49:55 AM

liked how Harrow not-so-subtly told Capone to fuck off

10/11/2011 9:54:43 AM

Irish dude and Harrow are going to be the most badass pair of frenemies evar.

10/11/2011 10:13:16 AM

Irish / British people always start fights by head-butting people on tv

10/11/2011 10:16:56 AM

Watching ep2 now and the jail fight scene. Badass!!

10/11/2011 11:24:20 AM

picked up for a 3rd season:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/hbo-renews-boardwalk-empire-for-season-3

10/12/2011 1:26:40 PM

Nice. I didn't think that period dramas ever made it past 2 seasons on HBO.

10/12/2011 1:38:47 PM

Enjoyed tonight's episode, especially the scenes with Chalky or Richard. REALLY looking forward to next week's episode.

10/16/2011 10:31:04 PM

I can't wait until I can act like Chalky at Thanksgiving dinner.

10/16/2011 10:32:20 PM

I don't think Chalky can read, especially after his daughter asked him to look over her homework and he said that was usually done by her mom and then his son tried to make a snide comment.

10/16/2011 10:37:15 PM

The jail cell scene established he couldn't read. In fact, it's the only scene of this show I've seen. Caught it on youtube.

10/16/2011 10:59:20 PM

yes it's been pretty well established that he can't read

10/16/2011 11:20:10 PM