Boardwalk Empire S2E6 “The Age of Reason”
After last week’s barnburner, we all knew this was coming. We knew for having so much fun and payoff, we’d have to go in the confessional and talk it all out this week.
Part of this is due to the structure of television - there can’t be a huge climax every week. We need slower episodes. But the biggest problem with “The Age of Reason” was it took everything that made the last few episodes thrilling and put them in the backseat - and put the show’s least-popular characters front and center.
The confessional talk above was obviously punny, but we spent a lot of time this week talking about religion and how it impacted life in this era. It’s a well Boardwalk Empire has gone to in the past, but never this heavily. In particular, we see Van Alden dealing with this balance. He’s always been very religious, but some seams were starting to show. That was before he saw a sign from God in his injured man, who says He knows what he’s done. Of course, we find out later the man is just saying that to everyone (and what Van Alden heard was just a small snippet), and that it wasn’t a sign from God. Instead of a clever reversal on religion’s power, it’s more of a lazy trick. This season hasn’t had many moments like this, thankfully.
Because of his guilt about the way he’s been leading his life, Van Alden calls Rose and ambiguously confesses. I’m not sure why he did this, but it gets her into his apartment, and that means the end of this plotline, which is awesome. It means we don’t have to see Paz De La Huerta moan and groan for any more screen time, which, how was that ever a good idea? Anyway, she has the baby, finally, and Rose (predictably) freaks out and leaves Van Alden. Can you feel my enthusiasm emanating from your screen?
Van Alden has always been one of the boring characters on Boardwalk Empire, and pairing him with Lucy was simply a bad idea. I get what they were going for (he’s frustrated! she’s easy!), but neither one of these characters are likable. Thematics are important and all, and those mostly worked. But the sheer process of watching those scenes are painful.
(Digression: I compare this to watching a certain type of movie: one that’s important to see, and quite good, but you never want to see it again. I rewatched Do The Right Thing this weekend, and still felt it was an excellent film. But I will actively avoid watching it from now on, just because it’s so unpleasant to watch. The Lucy/Van Alden scenes are like this, except they’re not as good in any way.)
On the other religion front, Margaret’s son Teddy is getting ready for his first confession, and Margaret has to confess with him. She’s nervous about this because she hasn’t confessed in years, and Nucky is nervous because of what she could say. (“How Catholic are you?” he asks.) Teddy seems to do a good job, and Margaret doesn’t confess about Nucky, as Father Brennan expects her to - she says she has an attraction to Owen Sleater, Nucky’s new muscle. It’s been pretty obvious since they first met, but more interesting is that she says this to the Father instead of anything else. This, coupled with her lackluster love life with Nucky, signals she’s getting ready for some type of a change.
I also loved Nucky’s dialogue in the first scene with the Father - “every shoe salesman thinks you need a new pair of boots” is an awesome line. He also puts a $20 bill in Teddy’s bible, showing exactly what he believes in.
But he has other problems. His green-shoed attorney, Charles is about to be kicked out by Senator Edge, who has problems with Attorney General Daugherty’s wranglings. I love how Boardwalk Empire has developed these characters - ever so slightly, just in the background. They come into play just enough to mess with our main characters. But what this means for Nucky is that he may actually have to fight the vote-rigging charges instead of the federal government forgetting about them. Daugherty seems like he could change his mind, given the right amount of pushing. Nucky is suddenly right back on the ropes. He thinks he has power the way he pays everyone, but those people could be out-bought.
And that’s what happens to his ever-important liquor shipment. Jimmy sees Waxy Gordon and Nucky walk on the boardwalk along with Jimmy’s supposed man Herman - so Manny the Butcher gathers (and hogties) him up. Jimmy is reluctant to kill him, but Manny sees it as a test of Jimmy’s fortitude, so he does it. Anything to keep his power.
Herman, before he died, spilled the beans about Nucky’s Philadelphia operation. Jimmy and Co. decide to hijack it, but they can’t when Lucky and Meyer Lansky turn out to be the muscle, because they’ve already got a deal regarding heroin. They decide to fleece both of their bosses, continuing as is for right now. The young guns are tired of being told what to do - Lucky, in particular, is perpetually aggravated. This is no longer just Jimmy v. Nucky - it’s Old v. New.
Jimmy gets some advice early in the episode - “Not every insult requires a response.” In other words, murder is messy. Nucky has money as his go-to, but he’s learning that’s not the easy answer either. Jimmy seems to have the reins right now, but Nucky has rebounded from everything thus far. Leander, the old man with the awesome hair, seems to suggest that Jimmy could “win” in many ways. Right now, he’s only seeing winning as being the one in charge.
“The Age of Reason” seems like a wrong step, since Nucky’s case seems to be where we were a few weeks ago and there was so much time spent on aggravating characters. But it’s really setting up the rest of the season after last week’s excitement. The outcomes of this episode will probably be good, even if the actual journey wasn’t as fruitful. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make episodes like this any more fun to watch.
