re: Boardwalk Empire doesn’t get enough love

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Cannavale stole the spotlight in every scene he was in and Rothstein was a god amongst men.

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"You smug k*ke midget, creeping around like a fricking dentist with ether."

"Why don't you go sit in the corner, short pants?"

"And then there's you, fricking breadstick in a bow-tie."

"I'll shite you out like yesterday's sausage, you bog-trotting prick." 

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Narcisse

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"In times such as these the words of Ecclesiastes are ever on my mind..."

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Narcisse is my most hated character of all time. Especially after the incident with Richard Harrow.

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Chalky White and Richard Harrow are two of the most original and beloved supporting characters of any gangster themed media ever.

Even aside from his involvement with them, Narcisse is built to be hated by everyone Black supremacist that sells out the black community, civil rights leaders, and everyone he deals with.

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yeh Dunn Pearnsley is almost as unlikable as Narcisse. I never understood that whole plot stretch, after Pearnsley's disrespect to Chalky in jail why would Chalky want that guy anywhere near him, much less as a number two.

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Maybe I'm extrapolating too much, but I thought this was a bit of them mirroring Chalky off Nucky.

Nucky fashions himself a capital-G Gangster, even though he's just a puppy nipping at the heels of the big New York and Philadelphia outfits. He is ever at their mercy, and though he's allowed into some of the same parties and afforded some level of mutual respect and understanding, he's an entirely different class beneath them.

And Chalky is in that same position to Nucky - aspiring to a level he will never reach, playing at being partners, existing only at his mercy. He was molded into the crime boss he became by Nucky, and I think he saw Dunn as a useful dog that he could mold into a loyal soldier.

Nucky was playing at being a Gangster.

Chalky was playing at being a gangster.

The lower down the totem pole you go, the more likely that someone sells you out over a petty grudge or for a buck.

Narcisse is truly an evil POS. Loved this show and definitely owe it a rewatch.

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Maybe I'm extrapolating too much, but I thought this was a bit of them mirroring Chalky off Nucky.

Nucky fashions himself a capital-G Gangster, even though he's just a puppy nipping at the heels of the big New York and Philadelphia outfits. He is ever at their mercy, and though he's allowed into some of the same parties and afforded some level of mutual respect and understanding, he's an entirely different class beneath them.

And Chalky is in that same position to Nucky - aspiring to a level he will never reach, playing at being partners, existing only at his mercy. He was molded into the crime boss he became by Nucky, and I think he saw Dunn as a useful dog that he could mold into a loyal soldier.

Nucky was playing at being a Gangster.

Chalky was playing at being a gangster.

The lower down the totem pole you go, the more likely that someone sells you out over a petty grudge or for a buck.

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This is true, but at that time period (Pre Commission era/Prohibition era) the Italians were strong but not top dog and they clashed often with Jewish gangs and Irish Gangs (both Jewish and Irish gangs had a real strong hold in certain areas) which was something Lucky saw, IRL Maranzanno had the idea for the commission but it was just for Sicilians and Lucky knew that wouldn't work and he really admired the American spirit where you can be anything you want, and he set it up to where Italians would be the official guys but they could work with anyone as long as it was good for the bottom line (think the Combination Mob (jewish/italian) like Murder Inc. and guys like Lanksy who was held in just as high, if not higher, esteem than many itlalian bosses after the commission was set up. According to a lot of sources Lucky wanted to get rid of the "made man concept" because he saw it as a relic to the Mustache Petes and foreign to the American Big Business model that the Commission was based on, but Lanksy convinced him to keep it as a way to motivate guys and help keep order on the streets and give them more of a sense of pride in what they were doing.

As for the plot, they would have worked with Nucky post Commission likely except there was too much bad blood and he was considered greedy and more trouble than he was worth. I do agree with your input of Chalky Mirroring Nucky. Nucky was more just a political boss and that era was dead after the rise of the Gangster in America.

The scene with Mellon was great. Showed Nucky how far out of his depth he was and also foreshadowed what would happen with the real mafia

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This ruined it for me. I love Buscemi but he's a guy not the guy

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You are crazy he was awesome in this show.

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The fact that a main character bites the dust early still blows my mind

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After the first couple of episodes where he serves to introduce us to the cst, Jimmy is really only interesting if the Commodore is in the picture. Once Jimmy and the Commodore link up, there can only be one ending. Maybe they squeeze 1 more season in there between 1-2, but no one wants to wait 3 seasons for Nucky to go full-bore, do they?

No way Nucky keeps both Eli and Jimmy around after they sold him out, and of the 2 Eli was a much better character for the show.

We just started watching it. I got through about half and then quit watching. Steve Buscemi is definitely underrated. It’s a real commitment at an hour an episode.