Steve Buscemi may have top billing, but the show does not revolve around Nucky. Boardwalk Empire is a show of this latter type.
The Sopranos managed it by maintaining the focus on Tony, while other ensemble shows, The Wire, Game of Thrones, seem capable of doing it with only a nominal ‘lead’. With so many spinning plates there is always the risk that some depth in characterisation will be lost. They have a large cast, and several storylines at play. This exposes the extent of the challenge that the writers of Boardwalk Empire have set themselves. It was only a few weeks ago that she was taking the lead in her relationship with Nucky. With Carmela, the conflict emerged fairly naturally, with Margaret it is a little forced. Although it feels like we’re stepping ever closer to some major revelations concerning Margaret’s past, this reconnection with her culture seems a little forced. I can’t help but feel that the topic was handled better in the earlier show. Several of Carmela’s storylines were driven by the conflict between her faith and her marriage to a violent criminal. Once again, we’re back in Sopranos territory. This sparks a crisis for her as she is forced to confront her relationship with Nucky. She seems genuinely taken aback when the priest suggests she does the same. As he approaches his coming of age, she wants him to be ready to make his first confession. Not so much a lapsed Catholic, as a ‘forgotten-she-ever-was’ a Catholic, Margaret nevertheless wants to see her son Teddy educated in the faith. Margaret’s relationship with her faith is slightly less troubled than that of her erstwhile stalker. Quite where Van Alden goes now is anybody’s guess. As the episode draws to a close and we, like him, discover that his wife knows about Lucy and the newborn baby, it comes almost as a relief.
After making a tense near-confession to both his wife and his boss, it becomes clear just how much pressure he is under. The moment when we are led to expect that he is being called in to see Lucy in a maternity ward, only to have him shown in to see the deep fried Agent Clarkson is clichéd, but is at least effective in demonstrating how utterly confused things have become. Van Alden is a confused, desperate man, and his two lives intersect dramatically. Although not a Catholic, he is certainly the most prone to religious mania, as the unfortunate Agent Sebso could testify.īy now of course, he has one or two things he needs to get off his chest, professionally and personally. There are a lot of troubled souls in Boardwalk, not least of all Nelson Van Alden.
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