Boardwalk Empire - "Erlkonig" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.


Well, I didn't see that coming.  Maybe there was lots of foreshadowing, but I somehow missed it.  So I was surprised at what transpired at the end of this good episode.

Clayton's being charged with the murder of Bucky!


William finds himself in a police station being questioned about his role in the demise of Bucky, a.k.a. Chet from Weird Science.  Even in death, the parallels between Bucky and Chet are obvious.  I mean, Bucky literally crapped himself to death.  William calls Uncle Nucky, and the Nuckster goes to Philadelphia to take care of William's problem, by calling in a favor to Waxy Gordon, who leans on the District Attorney.  Problem is, Bucky's parents are major campaign contributors, so somebody has to take the fall for their son's death.  So William's mousy partner in crime is arrested and charged.  

Meanwhile, Gillian is having a bad heroin day.  She's running low on drugs and options for getting Tommy back.  So she propositions the judge, who after giving her offer some thought, throws her out of his office.  She finds Dunn via the rumor mill at the Onyx and scores some heroin, even though she's short on cash and offers alternative payment.  Methinks she's in debt to Dunn, a.k.a. Mr. Oxford, now and her story arc will not end happily for her.  But Roy Powers is still on Team Gillian, even after finding out about her addiction.  Gillian is at rock bottom.

Van Alden is still running around with the Capones.  Alphonse is not giving him much respect, though.  But a coked-up sociopath will do that sometimes.  The Capone brothers have taken an interest in working with George Mueller, and good things are in store for our favorite loony ex-Treasury agent.  All Van Mueller has to do is to crack some heads and help swing the Cicero mayor's race the way that benefits the Capones.  But after trying the nonviolent route, George Van Alden discovers violence is the only way to convince these potential voters to support the Capone candidate.  All hell breaks loose, and we see some history happening, as Frank Capone was really killed on Election Day.  I doubt the history books mention a disrespected Van Mueller in the middle of the Capone shooting, but our story demands some linkage with Boardwalk's characters, so we witness a slight rewrite of history.  Van Alden looks poised to play a significant role in the Capone machine this season.

And then there's poor Eddie, who we find out is a thief who was run out of Germany because of his various transgressions.  Agent Knox has him in custody at an undisclosed location, and decides to isolate Eddie, just to see what happens.  A little trans-oceanic investigation finds out about Eddie's past, and all the ingredients are in place for Eddie to break and give the agents some intel on the Nucky Thompson operation.  Plus, the agents remind Eddie that they intend to use him as an informant.  So Eddie goes to Nucky's hotel, arranges the Nuckster's socks, and takes a header off the top floor of the hotel.  

I'm going to miss Eddie.  He was a fun character.  But I'm interested to see where the Van Alden arc is going.  


Random Thoughts:

- I've tried, and I still can't get invested in William.

- Dunn has risen to the top of the Atlantic City heroin trade, with help from his association with Narcisse (who was absent this week).

- What's Roy Powers' endgame?


What did you think?

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