What I’m Watching: Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire: Season 2, Episode 11 “Under God’s Power She Flourishes” (B+)

Without all that much testimony, the case against Nucky seems to be coming close to its end. I had almost forgotten about Nelson’s deadly baptism of his partner, but it seems that Nucky’s most trusted servants haven’t, and his new attorney is eager to exploit that to get him thrown out as a credible witness. Finding out about Nelson’s religious family past was quite intriguing, and I didn’t expect him to shoot Clifford in the foot and run when he was confronted about his actions. If the case isn’t thrown out all together, Eli will likely turn against his brother to avoid the death penalty, and Margaret seems close to letting her guilty conscience speak for itself as well. Nucky’s recent-displayed kindly nature seems to have his vanished, as he tries to get Margaret to admit to sleeping with Owen before outright denying that he had Hans killed and telling Margaret that he won’t permit her to sacrifice him. This episode was particularly moving because it chose to deal with Angela’s death by flashing back to when Jimmy first met her, as an optimistic and enthusiastic college student. Not seeing his reaction in the present until midway through the episode was enormously effective, and the most monumental revelation was that of a physical relationship between Gillian and Jimmy that reared its ugly head once again when Gillian told Jimmy that his son wouldn’t even remember Angela in a month. The stabbing of the Commodore by Jimmy won’t have much of an effect on the show as a whole, but it’s sure to make Jimmy even more lonely and determined to take things over now that he has little left to lose.