3.4 Blue Bell Boy Boardwalk Empire has larger ambitions than simply telling the story of Capone’s rise to power. Nevertheless, in this episode, Blue Bell Boy, Capone takes a leading role in a storyline that focuses on his family responsibilities. We’ve seen how touchy he is about his deaf son, all the more so when it appears the boy is being bullied at school. In a case of the apple falling very far from the tree, young Albert is weedy and reluctant to fight. The vacuum of violence is filled by his father, savagely beating one of Dean O’Bannion’s goons. Brutal? Yes. But it’s hard not to sympathise with Capone, especially given Stephen Graham’s performance, which adds more to the character every time we see him. Given the size of Capone’s reputation, it’d be easy to make him cartoonish, but Graham really manages to humanise him. We know how things end up for Al, but it’s great to watch them happen. In doing so, we’ll have to make do with the occasional cameo. As we’ve had with Nelson Van Alden, Eli Thompson and Chalky White over recent weeks, dipping into other storylines has been a treat, but it can leave the viewer wanting more. There is some narrative justification for all of this, especially this week, which concentrates on the division of the characters along loyalty –and increasingly ethnic- lines. In his meeting with Joe Masseria, conducted mainly in Italian, Luciano is reminded that Rothstein and Lansky ‘are not his people’. In Chicago, trouble is still brewing between the Italian Torrio/Capone operation and their Irish rival O’Bannion. We don’t even need to dwell on the difficulties coming between Nucky and Rothstein through the actions of Rosetti. As for Nucky himself, his ability to accurately read a situation has deserted him. The pressure is taking its toll. He’s snappy and irritable, and reduced to cowering in a damp basement for much of the episode. He’s a man under siege, literally in the case of the basement, and metaphorically with the various forces circling around him. Everyone else has the upper hand; Rosetti, an annoyed Rothstein, the agents prowling the house above. When he shoots the teenage Roland, it is not simply for stealing from him, it’s because he’s the only person over whom he has dominion. It’s a rum old turn for the once powerful Thompson. Things are still shaky for Lansky and the aforementioned Luciano. Still struggling to out-think Masseria, they’re still finding their feet. However, the youthful bravado they showed in previous seasons has now gone. When Lansky reminds Lucky about sitting near the window he shows admirable caution. Like Capone, it’s a real joy to see these two maturing and becoming the powerful players they are destined to be. It’s a gift to actors Anatol Yusef and Vincent Piazza to be able to portray such steady and true learning curves. I confess to having been irritated by both of them in the early days but now I find myself rooting for them, nasty as they undoubtedly are. The episode’s best moments come at the end. The montage to Capone’s badly-sung My Buddy is pitch perfect – the tense meeting of the Thompson brothers, Margaret with the wind taken out of her sales, Rosetti enjoying his success and Capone himself, being the tender and loving father that we know him to be. Not a legend, just a human being. Read Michael’s review of last week’s episode, Bone For Tuna, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
