Nuck If You Buck

As Boardwalk Empire Season 3 opened, most of the characters were busy preparing to usher in the new year - but there was just enough time for some last minute blood shed.
In the first scene of "Resolution" we got our first glimpse of (Nurse Jackie resident D.B.) Bobby Cannavale's Gyp Rosetti and his quick temper. For such a well-healed man, Gyp's skin seemed pretty thin, almost to the point of over doing it. He's a big fan of dropping the insult then trying to play it off as a joke huh? "I said with all due respect."

Nucky did not so much as blink though when the aggressive Sicilian beat his chest before storming out of their kitchen nook conference call. Nor did Rothstein when Gyp lashed out with him. (Note the smile at the end)

Nothing like some anti-Semitic slurs on the eve of the second most important Jewish holiday. Arnold is as cool as the glasses of milk he tends to drink. Important to note from that scene was Lansky and Lucky have finally earned a place at the table. Lucky showed he has matured as he kept his cool when Gyp called him short pants.  Don't you worry, he still knows how to coin a phrase.

Also with them was Franky Yale played by Joseph Riccobene. We have seen him before as the man who shot Colosimo.

Nucky seemed to have taken Jimmy's parting words to heart and showed us he is no half way gangster as he flippantly ordered Manny to put a bullet in Nate the thief's head. Some may argue, though, that unless he actually pulls the trigger, he will forever be a "shook one."

Meanwhile, Jimmy's mother Gillian appears to have been a busy woman. People cope with empty nest syndrome in a variety of ways, but turning your ex-sugar-daddy's mansion into a brothel, I have a feeling, was a first. The new girl Evelyn seemed to catch Richard's eye...(get it? eye?) I think she reminded him of Angela.

Thankfully for young Tommy's sake, Richard has been kept on and seems to have become the boy's attendant. How amazing was the scene where he was winning Tommy all those prizes at the fair shooting gallery.

The owner was like "that's enough pal, move along." Richard complied but you know inside he was like...

I'm not sure why I was initially shocked when we learned Gillian has been telling Tommy she is his mother, especially after all the creepy mommy dearest stuff from last season.

As Richard ushered in the new year by showing Manny's brains the back door out, I initially figured he was on some sort of vendetta to wipe out those who did Jimmy and Angela in... but part of me wonders if Nucky is somehow pulling his strings now.

Dean O'Banion might think Al Capone is Torrio's little puppet, but he might want to start setting aside some Calla Lily's for his own wife, so she has something to rest on his casket. The old scene where Al told Jimmy about his son being deaf was one of the most emotional moments in the show's history, so when the Chi-town florist made light of the poor boy's handicap I was shocked to see Al settle down so easily. He is one dog whose bite is certainly worse than his bark, and Van Alden or not, Dean will have his day soon enough. Al's line about chewing through his leash was one of my favorites of the episode.

Not sure going door to door is necessarily a smart career move for an ex FBI agent who is on the run. He didn't exactly seem to have the Glengarry leads did he? And how about his Stuart Smalley moment?

Van Alden's little Tony Robbins-esque mantra is actually from Emile Coue,  a French psychologist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy in his book, Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion. A bestseller in 1923 it is still in print today.
In an episode where multiple characters took shots to the dome, I think the one I felt the worst for was the poor little girl who had her stroller force fed to her when Van Alden tried to squeeze by her and her mother.

The premiere did well to remind us of most of the story lines from last season, be it the political aspect with Shooter McGavin (Harry Daugherty) or Margaret's infidelity with Owen Sleater. Throw on top of all that, this new storyline of Margaret's involvement in the hospital - along with Chalky White - and we have a recipe for amazing. I loved how Margaret didn't throw that young doctor under the bus for telling her about the lack of prenatal care at the hospital. She and her family might be in for some trouble though. The way Gyp Rosetti handed her the dog he took off the motorist he killed seemed like a bad omen. It may have well been a severed horse head judging by the face Nucky made as he watched the scene unfold. Nucky might beat Gyp to it though when he finds out she donated the land to the church. She already got a talking to at the party for speaking out of line.

Things were relatively back to normal for the time being. Margaret continues to feel like a trapped bird wanting to fly, Nucky has himself a new mistress and the people of Atlantic City still kneel before his altar of booze and debauchery. I will be there along side them each week as well, as I feel we are in for a great ride this season.