What I’m Watching: Boardwalk Empire (Season Finale)

Boardwalk Empire: Season 2, Episode 12 “To the Lost” (A-)

It wouldn’t be an HBO season finale without a whole lot of shaking things up before plateauing off with a rather calm resolution that seals things up neatly for the time being. Jimmy delivering the Ku Klux Klan shooters to Chalky was the first step in reconciling unpaid debts, and then, of course, he had to try to make peace with Nucky. His brush-off comment to Owen – “It’s okay, I used to do your job” – wasn’t a great way of starting off, and his apologies, which sounded decently sincere, fell on deaf ears, given Nucky’s unforgiving nature. I was surprised that Nucky bartered the deal with Manny and decided to off Jimmy, telling him that he would pull the trigger himself. Jimmy’s last words, about what it’s like to kill someone for the first time, are sure to haunt Nucky, who has spun the story that Jimmy is reenlisting and has already left. His definitive declaration that he wasn’t seeking forgiveness is an interesting counterpoint to his conversations with Margaret, in which he first said that he needed her to marry him before correcting himself to say that he wanted her to marry him. Admitting his fear to her was an unusual lowering of his guard, and now they’re bound together in an inescapable way that may permit Margaret to see the cruelty Esther discussed that she had been able to avoid previously. Going after Eli and sending Halloran to jail was a clever way of getting a mistrial declared and absolving Nucky of all blame. Esther did her best, but that’s going to be it. Her opening arguments before the mirror juxtaposed with Margaret’s confession and music worked extremely well, and I also enjoyed Eli’s inability to comprehend Nucky’s Shakespeare reference. Nelson’s new life may or may not play a part in next season, and I wonder what they’ll do with the character. Either way, this year has been terrific, and I look forward to season three, which was announced in October.

Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Michael Pitt as Jimmy