# Boardwalk Empire **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008 "2010-09-25T14:53:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/141 "2010-12-06T15:23:23Z")
Loved the finale… wondered what the 2nd season would focus on, but didn’t foresee Jimmy and Eli teaming up with the Commadore to over-throw Nucky Can’t wait for the next season. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/142 "2010-12-06T21:42:14Z")
The guy they’ve got playing Eddie Cantor is actually more entertaining than the real Eddie Cantor I’ve seen in old movie clips. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/143 "2010-12-07T02:57:04Z")
What an underwhelming finale. I was expecting at least \*something \*to happen. It really doesn’t leave me wanting to see the next season. Who played the singer at the end? I don’t see him listed in the IMDB cast list. I did think the closing shot of the boardwalk was pretty cool. I think that was the only time we’ve seen the whole place in one shot. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/144 "2010-12-07T03:19:04Z")
It was Stephen DeRosa as Eddie Cantor — and I believe nearly all his lines are directly from Cantor’s real act. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/145 "2010-12-07T13:45:57Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > Loved the finale… wondered what the 2nd season would focus on, but didn’t foresee > > Jimmy and Eli teaming up with the Commadore to over-throw Nucky > > Can’t wait for the next season. Eli is probably having some second thoughts… should be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/146 "2010-12-08T05:02:21Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > What an underwhelming finale. I was expecting at least \*something \*to happen. It really doesn’t leave me wanting to see the next season.. Yea, the whole series seems like characters in search of a plot. Nuky has a bunch of problems that seem like they’ll be big deals, but they all kinda work themselves out without much effort or suspense. I like the setting, so I’ll probably still watch the next season, but they really need to find something to do with the show. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/147 "2010-12-09T16:30:35Z")
\*\* rushes into the thread, hair messy, dropping things, out of breath \*\* Sorry, sorry, I’m late to this party - been behind on my DVR. But I can’t shake this: WTF is up with Jimmy’s babymomma cutting her hair so short? He made it clear he liked it (that scene with them reconciling at the kitchen table) and they were both trying to “start over” so why would she go any do something like that? She must’ve know it would piss him off. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/148 "2010-12-09T17:04:06Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > \*\* rushes into the thread, hair messy, dropping things, out of breath \*\* > > Sorry, sorry, I’m late to this party - been behind on my DVR. But I can’t shake this: WTF is up with Jimmy’s babymomma cutting her hair so short? He made it clear he liked it (that scene with them reconciling at the kitchen table) and they were both trying to “start over” so why would she go any do something like that? She must’ve know it would piss him off. it believe it is a sign of her forgiving, and not forgetting, her lesbian lover… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/149 "2010-12-09T17:07:32Z")
She’s setting the limits of her emotional commitment to him. ---
**Author:** ![Pantani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pantani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantani)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/150 "2010-12-09T21:18:38Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > \*\* rushes into the thread, hair messy, dropping things, out of breath \*\* > > Sorry, sorry, I’m late to this party - been behind on my DVR. But I can’t shake this: WTF is up with Jimmy’s babymomma cutting her hair so short? He made it clear he liked it (that scene with them reconciling at the kitchen table) and they were both trying to “start over” so why would she go any do something like that? She must’ve know it would piss him off. She’s showing that she is independant of him and in her own way punishing him. Its very hard to impossible for women in presocial security days to leave abusive husbands or unhappy marriages, she’s stuck with him, especially as in 1920’s America he’ll get custody their son and she’ll never see him again. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/151 "2010-12-10T03:18:43Z")
In what way is he abusive or deserving of punishment? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/152 "2010-12-10T03:44:22Z")
He’s a psychopathic, murderous, emotionally stunted asshole. He scares the shit out of Angela. And Angela doesn’t love him, but she is forced to stay with him. Essentially he has her trapped in a cage. I don’t see any reason for Angela to be happy about her situation. Even before the war broke his soul, he was an idiot, dropping out of Princeton to volunteer in the Army for a foreign war. Where was his concern for his family then? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/153 "2010-12-10T04:48:38Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > In what way is he abusive or deserving of punishment? I hope you mean to ask this only within the context of their relationship, because while we enjoy him and all, _he has murdered a least ten or so people_ that we know of. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/154 "2010-12-10T06:07:58Z")
Question–did the maid really do it, then? (The arsenic poisoning.) I thought maybe Nucky was trying to put the blame on her…that would explain why he allowed her to go and even paid her. Or did she genuinely do it? I don’t know. I also didn’t want to believe she did it. I really liked her. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/155 "2010-12-10T12:53:02Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Even before the war broke his soul, he was an idiot, dropping out of Princeton to volunteer in the Army for a foreign war. Where was his concern for his family then? Staying in college to avoid WWI was a coward’s way out. He hasn’t been abusive to Angela in any way. From a relationship perspective, her cheating on him while he was away at war and then trying to steal his son and take him to another country was beyond despicable. She has been far worse to him than he has to her. And then she’s going to punish him by cutting her hair? Way to pin the “immature brat” needle in the red. The only reason she’s scared of him is because she knows she’s acted badly enough that if he beat her, nobody would blame him. And despite that, it’s pretty clear he’d never hurt her. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/156 "2010-12-10T14:46:35Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Staying in college to avoid WWI was a coward’s way out. > > He hasn’t been abusive to Angela in any way. From a relationship perspective, her cheating on him while he was away at war and then trying to steal his son and take him to another country was beyond despicable. > > She has been far worse to him than he has to her. And then she’s going to punish him by cutting her hair? Way to pin the “immature brat” needle in the red. > > The only reason she’s scared of him is because she knows she’s acted badly enough that if he beat her, nobody would blame him. And despite that, it’s pretty clear he’d never hurt her. I largely agree with you – she’s treated him far worse than he’s treated her – but she does have reason to fear. He beat a man right in front of her and their son, so even if he hasn’t beaten her, she has clear evidence that he’s more than capable of just whaling on her. ETA: What a bad season finale, though. The crescendo the series had been building to really petered out (or perhaps crested in the penultimate episode). ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/157 "2010-12-10T16:53:32Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Question–did the maid really do it, then? (The arsenic poisoning.) I thought maybe Nucky was trying to put the blame on her…that would explain why he allowed her to go and even paid her. Or did she genuinely do it? I don’t know. I also didn’t want to believe she did it. I really liked her. My take is that she did it and Nuckey paid her off because the election was coming up and he didn’t want to cause any issues with respect to the “colored” vote. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/158 "2010-12-10T16:57:33Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > ETA: What a bad season finale, though. The crescendo the series had been building to really petered out (or perhaps crested in the penultimate episode). My take was that they didn’t plan long-term for this series, and needed to create a plot for Season 2… ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/159 "2010-12-10T17:00:29Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > My take is that she did it and Nuckey paid her off because the election was coming up and he didn’t want to cause any issues with respect to the “colored” vote. That does make sense. I was surprised that the Commodore had so little power that someone could try to kill him and basically Nucky makes it go away. But I think it’s a good illustration of how well Nucky ran things, too. And it explains why the Commodore would be bitter. On IMDb boards a lot of people were debating it. They thought that Jimmy’s mother’s reaction seemed so unsurprised that she had to have known. And some thought that Jimmy’s mother AND the maid were in on it and the maid just took the fall. The whole thing about the Commodore going away to prison and taking the fall while Nucky stayed in the limelight kind of reminded me of the Sopranos: Buscemi’s character on Sopranos, Tony B. Tony Soprano was supposed to go with Tony B. on some heist and he didn’t because he had a panic attack. Tony B. ended up in jail for 17 years and Tony Soprano always felt guilty about it. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008/160 "2010-12-10T17:15:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The whole thing about the Commodore going away to prison and taking the fall while Nucky stayed in the limelight kind of reminded me of the Sopranos: > > Buscemi’s character on Sopranos, Tony B. Tony Soprano was supposed to go with Tony B. on some heist and he didn’t because he had a panic attack. Tony B. ended up in jail for 17 years and Tony Soprano always felt guilty about it. However, in this case, Nucky does not appear to be the slightest bit guilty [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boardwalk-empire/555008.md?page=9)