# Boardwalk Empire (Final) Season 5 Thread \[Open Spoilers\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 30, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018 "2014-09-30T21:51:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/1 "2014-09-30T21:51:47Z")

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I’m really enjoying this season so far (already up to episode 4). Episode 3’s house break-in scenes with Chalky and his new friend Milton were intense. The flashbacks to Nucky’s childhood are enjoyable too. Are they doing a voice-over with Dabney Coleman?

Wish they had included Rothstein’s expiry instead of just talking about it, though - thought I missed it somehow.

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**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/2 "2014-09-30T21:57:47Z")

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> [@Mixolydian](#):
>
> I’m really enjoying this season so far (already up to episode 4). Episode 3’s house break-in scenes with Chalky and his new friend Milton were intense. The flashbacks to Nucky’s childhood are enjoyable too. Are they doing a voice-over with Dabney Coleman?
> 
> Wish they had included Rothstein’s expiry instead of just talking about it, though - thought I missed it somehow.

Is this the same character that Nucky saw in Cuba? I’m a little confused.

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**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/3 "2014-09-30T22:04:09Z")

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> [@UncleRojelio](#):
>
> Is this the same character that Nucky saw in Cuba? I’m a little confused.

No Rothstein was one of the NY gangsters from the earlier seasons. He was last seen conspiring with Margret to rip off her boss. He died off camera, between seasons 4 and 5, and its his death that’s put her in her current legal difficulties.

The historical figure was murdered during the time-jump, so apparently they decided to kill the character off as well.

Fun show, but the sprawling, disconnected cast does make it kind of hard to follow.

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**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/4 "2014-09-30T22:08:18Z")

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Thanks, I guess I was confusing him with the Lansky character.

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/5 "2014-09-30T22:13:02Z")

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Rothstein was the degenerate gambler. I think it was last season where we saw him in a poker game metaphorically losing his shirt, and then he had to go borrow more money to stay in the game.

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**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/6 "2014-09-30T22:17:47Z")

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Im not overly impressed by this season. Both the Cuba stuff and Al Capone as a psycho narrative have been done to death elsewhere. The flashbacks of Nucky as a kid have been the highlight of this season. I thought the mixture of real and fictitious characters in the early seasons were enjoyable. By the time they added Joe Kennedy this season it had became a tiresome trick. I fully expect a teenage JFK to make an appearance. An appearance in which a youthful JFK impresses Nucky with his drive, his sense of entitlement and his political savvy at a suprisingly young age.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/7 "2014-09-30T22:26:27Z")

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Well, between this show and _Sons of Anarchy_, there’s no shortage of material for viewers who like to see a character introduced in an episode just to be brutally murdered at the end.

I’m just hoping to see Van Alden’s/Muller’s hot Norwegian wife again. I like her.

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**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/8 "2014-09-30T22:57:37Z")

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I thought episode 2 of this season was one of the strongest in the show’s run. I have found this season more deliberately macabre than previous ones. I am sad there are only 8 episodes in it.

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**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/9 "2014-10-06T09:23:20Z")

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They guy they got playing young Nuky is pretty spot on with the facial expressions. For a minute I thought it was Buschemi made up to look younger.

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**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/10 "2014-10-06T10:58:31Z")

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I like the Van Alden and Eli Thompson show. I feel though that they have too much to pack into the final few episodes.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/11 "2014-10-07T05:01:46Z")

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If Van Alden survives, I want him to get his own show.

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**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/12 "2014-10-07T05:36:02Z")

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> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> I like the Van Alden and Eli Thompson show. I feel though that they have too much to pack into the final few episodes.

I agree totally. Too many side issues to get resolved. Some of them are less gripping than others.

> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> If Van Alden survives, I want him to get his own show.

[Michael Shannon](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788335/?ref_=nv_sr_1) has some impressive credits already. I’ve seen several of them and he’s an intense and menacing character in the ones I’ve seen. Check out _The Iceman_ for sure!

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**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/13 "2014-10-07T10:51:02Z")

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> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> They guy they got playing young Nuky is pretty spot on with the facial expressions. For a minute I thought it was Buschemi made up to look younger.

I found his giant fake choppers distracting, and he was doing an impression as opposed to acting, but even with that I still thoroughly enjoyed his scenes.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/14 "2014-10-07T11:18:48Z")

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> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> I found his giant fake choppers distracting, and he was doing an impression as opposed to acting, but even with that I still thoroughly enjoyed his scenes.

I find Buscemi’s giant _real_ choppers distracting, so it balances out.

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**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/15 "2014-10-07T13:47:32Z")

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> [@EllisDee](#):
>
> I found his giant fake choppers distracting, and he was doing an impression as opposed to acting, but even with that I still thoroughly enjoyed his scenes.

Agreed. He looked like Nosferatu. The actor had the mannerisms down pretty well, so I wish they’d have toned down the teeth. The young boy Nucky didn’t look anything like Steve Buscemi to me, but he did fine without a prosthetic.

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**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/16 "2014-10-07T13:48:43Z")

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I thought Nelson Van Alden died in that alley after the big shootout so I was very pleasantly surprised to see him this season. I hope he goes back to his original badass demeanour eventually. (The guy who says stuff like “micturate”.)

Did anybody else catch what The Commodore was looking at in his office? That iconic photo of Alice Liddell was in the pile.

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**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/17 "2014-10-13T18:28:34Z")

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Well, goodbye Van Alden and Chalky.

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**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/18 "2014-10-13T19:39:24Z")

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I couldn’t quite figure out the Chalky/Narcisse arrangement, though I was watching it while my flatmate was in the room so I missed bits. Chalky gave his life so his former paramour could have a singing career?? Was it not all a bit neat and tidy that she was there when Chalky landed in? This season really feels like they were caught unawares and had to end things quickly.

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**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/19 "2014-10-13T20:02:55Z")

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> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> I couldn’t quite figure out the Chalky/Narcisse arrangement, though I was watching it while my flatmate was in the room so I missed bits. Chalky gave his life so his former paramour could have a singing career?? Was it not all a bit neat and tidy that she was there when Chalky landed in? This season really feels like they were caught unawares and had to end things quickly.

The girl was Chalky’s daughter so my feeling was that Chalky agreed to the deal with Narcisse to keep her and Daughter safe. If he tried to kill Narcisse right then, it’s likely that Daughter and the girl would have been killed by Narcisse’s men. Chalky had nothing left to live for by that point.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018/20 "2014-10-14T03:05:22Z")

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> [@california\_jobcase](#):
>
> Well, goodbye Van Alden and Chalky.

The only two characters I liked. Damn.

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire-final-season-5-thread-open-spoilers/700018.md?page=2)
