by Veronique Medrano:
After watching the first episode of Season 3, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what I watched. There seemed to be an array of senseless bloodshed, and passing plot points that it wasn’t clear whether I was watching an alternate reboot of the show or if this is what I’ve been following all along. Thankfully, HBO shows their episodes twice and so I was able to take another gander at it and pick out the key points from the first episode, which will probably play themselves out into more complex parts as the season continues. (Just a quick warning: The following review contains spoilers and if you read past this line you are aware of what you’re reading. Thanks!)
When I spoke of a reboot, it sure does fit with the theme of the first episode titled: Resolution, which brings us back to story a year and half after Jimmy’s passing, and is mainly centered on the upcoming New Year’s Eve party taking place at Nucky’s home, and the three different factions in motion around the town leading up to this party. If you were curious as to whether Jimmy’s death would be resolved in any way, well that isn’t going to happen. Instead we are introduced to a whole slew of new and old faces from the last two seasons co-mingling and starting up a whole new mess of conflict.
The first comes from Gyp Rosseti (Bobby Cannavale), who begins his descent into the ranks of this season’s villain. From the murder of a Samaritan who helps him with his car, just because he felt the man insulted his intelligence, and his constant conflict with Nucky all the way to the episodes end; it is clear these two will eventually go against one another in the episodes to come. Gyp doesn’t play by the rules, and his cold-blooded reaction to almost every situation will eventually put him in a predicament that will have him and Nucky’s relationship (or lack thereof) turning deadly.
The second plot-line of course comes from Nucky, who is obviously more cold-blooded and tactical about his movements with the different factions he is dealing with. We can see an obvious change in him from the acts taking place at the end of Season 2 to where he is in the beginning of Season 3. If anything he seems to embody the mentality of a gangster more whole-heartedly than he did before, and his growth towards this ideal is felt throughout the episode. Of course his marriage with Margaret Schroeder is not in a better place, instead we see them quite distant from each other and very argumentative. More so on his part, seeing as he still holds to the ideal that women should not speak about matters that don’t concern them (i.e: the medical care at the hospital, and the female pilot who appeared in the paper). Of course, towards the end of Nucky’s plot point, we see him meet up with the woman that he ‘met’ at the New Year’s Eve party waiting for him at The Ritz Hotel, and it makes us aware that this rendezvous is not the first, and probably not the last we’ll see throughout the season.
Finally, while there are many characters who had their part to play this episode, there were two with plot-lines that I feel will be delved into more thoroughly this season — and that is Margaret Schroeder (i.e: Mrs. Thompson), and Richard Harrow. Both of these characters had a large part to play in the overall structure of this season, and it seems that their actions in Season 2 will bring different ends for them this season. With the new Mrs. Thompson, we see that the honeymoon has obviously been over for quite some time, and that their marriage, which held lies and secrets throughout, whether it be her infidelity to Nucky or her discovery of the true reasons for the death of her husband, will bring some ugly things to the surface. If anything, we can start to see her distance herself from him, and worry more about the people around her that need her help than her husband’s desires or lack thereof, seeing as he is sleeping around, for what we assume is quite some time.
Secondly, Richard Harrow’s interaction and reminiscence of Angela’s life and ultimate demise, make him snap. He kills another man at the end of the episode and leaves us with one simple question: “Will this death of a man who killed his lover eventually lead to Nucky, the accomplice in that death, ultimate demise?” As of right now, with this spontaneous act we are unsure of where it will lead us in the next weeks, but it will have to be brought to light and dealt with.
Overall, while the episode felt like a reboot, it fits with the idea of a New Year. Since Jimmy’s death, thing have changed between Nucky, Margaret Schroeder, and the other multitude of characters that have entered and departed from Boardwalk Empire, and have lead to what will surely be a battle between the different runners and territories will collide, and the elephant in the room will have its chance in the sun.
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