BOARDWALK EMPIRE: Season 3, Episode 11

It looks like the Boardwalk Empire fans who have been screaming for more Capone, Luciano, Chalky and Harrow are finally going to get their wish! I cannot wait to see how this turf war is going to play out! I have a feeling Gyp Rossetti’s days are numbered – seven to be exact.

I didn’t think the writers had any more room to ramp up the climax to this saga, but it looks like they were able to make the climax point the size of a pin head last night. Margaret and the kids have safely escaped, whether that is from Nucky or Gyp Rossetti’s henchmen is not known yet. It looks like we will have to wait a year to find out how Owen perished and what the next move is for the Thompson relationship.

Nucky and Eddie are taking refuge on the north of the tracks, and Nucky finally knows who is truly willing to back him. Eddie took a bullet for the man, and Chalky is risking his life and the lives of his community members for the man who has denied him everything this season. Why are Eddie and Chalky backing Nucky? I guess it is the only way Chalky knows he will gain any leverage in Atlantic City. Gyp surely isn’t going to give Chalky the turf and respect he deserves. We still don’t know why Eddie puts up with Nucky’s abuse. Hopefully Nucky’s eyes stay open to who helps him out of this jam.

Speaking of men who have finally had enough abuse from their captors, I cannot wait to see Harrow finally give Gillian what is coming to her. I want him to take Tommy away from that nightmare and to live a happy and healthy life with Julia. I really have a feeling that Harrow is going to not only save Tommy but also Nucky and the rest of the Atlantic City gang.

Body Count Prediction: I think Gyp’s time is up next week, and I think Harrow is going to be the one to send him to his maker.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: SEASON 3, EPISODE 10

Unfortunately, my body count prediction was correct for this episode. Margaret and all of the female viewers swooning over Owen are heartbroken. Even I woke up this morning feeling a little sad for Margaret. What is she going to do? Pregnant with Owen’s child, and we all know she hasn’t been physically romantic with Nucky. If she knows what’s best for her, she’ll buck up and perform her wifely duties or she’ll end up at the bottom of the sea with Owen, instead of in St. Louis. OR, she can continue with her plan to move west with only the children.

Killing the wife off in mobster stories is a very touchy area. First reason being, the first suspect in any woman’s death is the husband. Secondly, why kill her when you can make her pay for her adultery for years to come. Maybe Nucky will once again see the helpless woman that he fell in love with and grow a heart. After all, he did just lose his love only weeks ago. Speaking of which, how is Nucky healed from his PTSD symptoms so quickly? No ear ringing, no shell shock, no flashbacks.

I was hoping this season would bring more in terms of Harrow. It is great that Harrow has found love, but it’s looking like he is setting himself up for making the body count list. Not only does it look like he is thinking of taking Tommy from Gillian Darmody but now he is on the old man’s list.

Both Margaret and Harrow have intentions of making a run for it, and if there is anything I know as a mafia crime writer it is that no one escapes without either dying or getting their hands bloody.

Body Count: There are so many people that could make the chopping block next week! Margaret for cheating, Harrow for beating up an old man, Gillian so Harrow can take Jimmy, and Gyp for the turf war and just being plain evil. We have two more episodes, and I have a feeling Gyp is going to get it. Maybe Chalky will come to Nucky’s rescue once more by killing Gyp, and he will get that club after all.

Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 9, ‘The Milkmaid’s Lot’

Steve Buscemi did an amazing job with portraying a wide array of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in last night’s episode. Is it coincidental that Nucky battled with PTSD on Veteran’s Day? Was this a tribute to today’s understanding of what our soldiers inherit from war? The writers could have chosen many ways for Nucky to grieve Billie’s death. I believe this is just another social history lesson Boardwalk Empire is trying to tie into the series.

Fortunately, for the more brutish of Boardwalk fans there was no mention of women’s health or any other such “drama”. Is it just me or are there a large amount of fans that are just into the show for the violence and action? I personally find the look into the social issues of the time to be informative and intriguing to watch.

With that in mind, watching Margaret walk through a lobby full of gangsters on her way out from escorting Nucky to his “business” meeting was the most dramatic of all of the scenes last night. A woman who is acting as Nucky’s backbone finally confronts the world which she is helping Nucky keep alive – the world that is keeping her and her children in nice clothes and fancy housing. Hopefully, she doesn't lose the man she cares so deeply for now that a war is being waged.

Looking back to the history books, neither Nucky Johnson or Joe Masseria die in 1923 due to a turf war which makes me wonder if Nucky is going to go through with his plan to stop Masseria and Gyp without the backing of Rothstein and the other mob bosses. Masseria tells Gyp to think before he leaps into war. We’ll see if Nucky is capable of making this wise choice in his shell-shocked state.

The good news from this episode: Harrow gets a kiss!

Body Count: Can you believe it?!? No one died in last night’s episode. There is one for the history books. Unfortunately, I think Sleater is the next one to go. If there is anything I know as a crime writer, once a mobster’s wife decides to runaway with another man, that other man somehow ends up disappearing. The question is: will he die for Nucky or by Nucky’s hands.