Episode Title: “Farewell Daddy Blues”
Writers: Terence Winter and Howard Korder
Director: Tim Van Patten
Previously on “Boardwalk Empire:”
“A man in an empty hotel pointing a gun at his brother.” That’s how Eli (Shea Whigham) describes Nucky (Steve Buscemi) when the shoe finally drops on Eli’s deal with Knox. Eli may be a rat, but he’s also a family man who will do whatever it takes to protect his son. As for Nucky, “nothing will fill that hole (he’s) got inside” according to Eli.
The stage is set in “Boardwalk Empire’s” fourth season finale with everyone’s wants and needs clearly established though hardly anyone achieves them. Eli wants to save his son, Agent Knox (Brian Geraghty) wants to take down Nucky’s operation, Richard (Jack Huston) wants to protect his family, Al Capone (Stephen Graham) wants to take over for Torrio, Chalky (Michael Kenneth Williams) wants to kill Narcisse and attend Maybelle’s wedding and Nucky just wants out.
While some of these storylines are really just power plays with little emotional consequence, Richard’s is all heart, which makes his outcome the saddest. Suspecting Gillian will try to revive her custody battle for Tommy if she’s exonerated, Richard promises to do “whatever” Nucky wants in exchange for giving up the location of Jimmy Darmody’s remains and sealing Gillian’s fate. Richard sends Tommy and the Sargorskys to his sister’s in Wisconsin and promises Julia (Wrenn Schmidt) he’ll be there in three days. But his heartfelt goodbye to Tommy has Julia worried she’s seen the last of her new husband. It’s flagrant foreshadowing, suggesting that we too may be bidding “farewell” to one of “Boardwalk’s” most memorable characters.
In the meantime, Nucky tasks Richard with killing Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright), whose feud with Chalky nearly costs Nucky his life when Chalky shows up at his place in the middle of the night with a gun and some serious grievances. Knowing one of them has to die, Nucky sends Richard to the Oynx club to kill Narcisse, who is having words with Chalky about Daughter Maitland’s whereabouts and Maybelle’s wedding. Richard gets Narcisse in his site, but falters and when he takes aim again, Maybelle (Christina Jackson), who is being held by Narcisse’s men, suddenly comes forward and takes the hit, instead of Narcisse. Shots are fired in his direction, but Richard manages to escape, though badly hurt.
Thought it looked like Chalky and/or Narcisse wouldn’t make it past the season finale both men survive, but with big questions remaining about their respective futures. Distraught over the loss of Maybelle, Chalky seeks cover at Oscar’s place while Narcisse becomes FBI Director Hoover’s pawn in his war on Marcus Garvey. How exactly Narcisse falls in Hoover’s lap is another story, entirely.
Chomping at the bit to crush Nucky, Agent Knox and his team get ready at the hotel where Nucky’s big meeting with his associates is set to go down. Only Nucky is hip to Eli’s relationship with Knox and instead of heading with his brother to the hotel, Nucky puts a gun to Eli’s head. Surprisingly, Eli doesn’t explain himself, instead telling Nucky he’s “ready.” But when a curious Willie (Ben Rosenfield) shows up, Eli tells Nucky why he’s working with Knox. Nucky lets Eli live, but we know the younger Thompson brother can’t just walk away from this mess.
Later that night, Eli finds Knox waiting for him in his home. Feeling like he’s been played for a fool, Knox demands answers from Eli and when he’s not satisfied with them, threatens to throw Willie in jail. The short-tempered Eli loses it and a fight breaks out involving a saw and a vase, among other things. “Boardwalk” has certainly been creative with the fisticuffs this season. Eli ends up strangling Knox with his own tie and kills him. Nucky sends Eli out west while Hoover (Eric Ladin) threatens to pin Knox’ death on Narcisse if he doesn’t cooperate.
It’s a bit of a stretch, tying Knox’ murder to Narcisse, but it shakes things up a bit heading into next season. We see Van Alden (Michael Shannon) pick up Eli and watching these two get (re?)acquainted should be interesting. As for Narcisse, hopefully his relationship with the FBI will put him back in Nucky’s path as he’s definitely one of the most interesting antagonists we’ve seen in a while.
Out in Chicago, an attempted hit on Torrio (Greg Atonacci) makes the old man realize he’s in a “young man’s game” and he passes the mantle to Al Capone.
Back in Atlantic City, Richard seeks shelter under the boardwalk where he thinks of reuniting with his family in Wisconsin. Sadly, it’s not to be as he succumbs to his wounds. He may not have gotten what he wants, but Richard’s come as close as anyone, as he dies with the knowledge that his family is in a better place.
Before “Boardwalk” fades out on a (mostly) excellent season, we catch a glimpse of Margaret Thompson (Kelly Macdonald) moving into her new digs, courtesy of Arnold Rothstein. It’s too bad we didn’t spend more time with Nucky’s estranged wife, but such is the blessing and curse of a show with so many great characters and so few episodes. While Margaret moves up, again, in the word through dubious means, Gillian cries to her lawyer in a jail cell. Like Richard, her story too, might have come to a sad end here. But it also means when “Boardwalk” returns there’ll be more room for several promising new characters introduced in this season. And yeah, Nucky Thompson, can’t forget about that guy.
