Tuesday, October 16, 2012

50 Shades of Gyp

More than a few characters were caught with their pants down this week on Boardwalk Empire, some figuratively and others all too literally.
At the onset of "You'd Be Surprised," the sight of a creaking headboard should not have shocked anyone familiar with the show, but seeing Gyp Rosetti's fetish for erotic asphyxiation revealed may have caused some heads to do the confused dog head tilt. It is interesting that the man who has no doubt snuffed out the lives so many men gets off by being choked to within an inch of losing his. At least he remembered the cardinal rule and made sure to use a spotter. I wonder what their safe word was? Sauce! Linguine?

If Gillian's house of ill repute does not offer services like those Gyp's waitress was dishing out, maybe she should think about adding them to the menu. Gyp's appetite alone might bring in enough to get that roof fixed. Something needs to give if she is to keep that blissful escape from reality, which she described to Leander open till business picks up again in the summer.
Gillian: This place Leander, it's meant to be a dream. Every man who walks inside is young and handsome. Every girl is innocent, trusting and devoted. The light is flattering, the air is perfumed and nothing ever changes. Who doesn't need to believe that? Just for a little while.

If Gillian won't open her eyes to the obvious truth about Jimmy's fate, though, it won't really matter.
Denial is not a river in Egypt and Gillian was not the only one showing forbearance for the truth this week. Van Alden tried to come clean to Sigrid, but she set him straight before he could. Her willingness to consciously ignore the truth, for a fabrication instead, made me wonder if she also has run from something in her past.
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I have been wondering what would reunite Nelson with the florist O'Banion and here I got my answer.

Nothing brings people together like a dead body. Where is Dexter Morgan when you need him? I bet Richard Harrow could have told Nelson how to get rid of his unsatisfied customer. With the ex-fed in the Irish gangster's pocket now, I'd gather we will see him and Capone cross paths in the near future.

Getting back to shoddy service, Arnold Rothstein delivered some of his best material while discussing his disappointment in Nucky's organization and enterprise. He was visceral while fighting with Nucky as Owen and Lucky waited outside like children, but still was not above insulting himself mildly at the sit down with Gyp where he commented on the paleness of his albeit thick skin.


I liked seeing Nucky not back down an inch and fire back the way he did after Arnold insulted the great Garden State, but I hope deep down he knows Rothstein is much more than just a good poker face.
Owen and Lucky may have been told to "go watch the TV while Mommy and Daddy talk," but they each had some great moments of their own.
The two best of which were when Owen corrected Rothstein's comments about Rosetti, "he burned the sheriff," and when Lucky added his "sticks and stones" line at the Rosetti sit down.

I had wondered what Owen was referring to when he mentioned to Nucky that he did not like "it" being out of their hands. I guess he was talking about the attempt to take out Gyp falling on the young shoulders of Bugsy. Did you notice Rothstein's eyebrows perk up when Gyp told the newsy his room number earlier in the episode? That was a nice bit of foreshadowing.
I have gotten little enjoyment out of Margaret's storyline this season, but this week I found myself more intrigued. Perhaps it was because I felt a little heartache for her. She is alone while Nucky, Owen and her pipe smoking doctor all have someone romantically.

I did like how, despite her modesty, she really did seem to know everything Nucky was thinking. Her comment about Nucky struggling with Billie being able to take care of herself was spot on. She certainly is the less needy version of Lucy. Lets just hope she doesn't start calling Nucky "Daddy."
Chalky played a serious game of Who's Your Daddy when he and Don Purnsley got Eddie Cantor to fall in line without so much as raising their voices let alone their fists. Such a small but powerful scene those two delivered. The tension was tenable as "Milky" just played it calm and cool.

Things are getting tense in Washington too, demanding more screen time for Mr. Means and his assortment of phrases and his oh-so-unique style of delivering them. 

Also making the most of his limited screen time was good old Eddie K., who came a knocking on Nucky's door but still felt compelled to announce that it was he who had done the rapping. Thanks Jeeves.








This week ended with the state of things very far from Hunky Dory. If Nucky thought Gyp a mad dog before, wait till they get a load of him after a botched attempt on his life. He is going to make Cujo look like Odie from Garfield.
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Did you notice how he used the redheaded waitress as a human shield when Bugsy burst into the room? Guy is ruthless but a survivor. Also had no problem letting his chain hang while returning fire in the hallway with the belt still around his neck.

Lastly how bout the shout out to LOST. Probably not intended to be so, but I couldn't help notice that in both shows the heroin was smuggled inside religious statues.

What did you all think?

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. WELL DONE CHRIS. SO much crammed into this episode and so many characters involved. Kudos on teh Little Shop of Horror reference! Sigrid wants nothing more than to see only good in Van ALden and see anyone outside of their little world as malevolent.Even as Van Alden smothers the f*&k out of that poor guy she holds his legs down definitely suggesting that this ain't her first rodeo."Say ahhhhh....say ahhhhhh, now spit!"
    I am not surprised at Gyp's asphyxiation persuasion. Man is a sick mutha and there is no line crossing when it comes to getting off on life gambling, even when it comes to his own..If that intimate detail gets out, and i were Nucky or any of these guys looking to off Gyp, throw the guns out and get his next trick to tighten that noose without release to put that horse down. Ruthless disrespect for his suffocateur's life huh...Even Bin Laden, who himself used one of his wives in the same manner to block himself from bullets was screaming from hell all like, "Bitch stole my look" RIP newsy.
    How uncomfortable was Cantor's performance..Tough crowd. was like throwing Nathan Lane circa Birdcage into a solo Live at the Apollo audition for Mr. T and Tupac . I would bow out of my Broadway contract too if that was the alternative...I'm sure most viewers didnt pick up on this or dont know yiddish but during the first meeting when Nucky brings Eddie in with the Kosher Vodka, Eddie makes an offbeat "shvatsa" joke. Shvatsa means the N word in yiddish so I found it only appropriate for Nucky to have Chalky and Don Purnsley be the forces of coersion used to set the record straight.
    Margaret is boring me. somethings gotta change on her front and soon.
    I know AC wasn't exactly thriving with Victoria's Secrets and La Perla shops in the twenties, but its hard to think that Nucky was any sort of surprised to find Margaret in or around the lingerie store considering her daytime job was force feeding "Talk about your Vagina" fliers right outside of the Ritz . I see the makings of Vagina Monologues in the works here. Everyone would be happy. Nucky wouldn't have to worry about any dudes touching his girl Billy, Margaret could educate her audience, and Billy could do her little schtick. Toss Gillian up in there and voilla, magic. Imagine if Lucy were in the mix too? Bitches would Run this show, really give something for the nuns to learn from .
    Can't wait for next week. Boom.

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  3. What a way to start an episode!!! I mean I knew that Gyp was a freakshow but how does one even spark that conversation to get that done w/ a newbie!?!!? “yeah so here’s the deal…..lets hold on on twisting for now, take this belt and wrap it around my neck and chock the life out of me while I pounch my crank? Cool? Cool. I’m not really mad per se…IM IMPRESSED! I would have to imagine that Bobby Carnavale gets himself a nod this year for the role he played no matter how long it lasts. PS-that last comment you mad in the first chapter was ignorant! But I like that.


    If it wasn’t for the fact that we know that someone is going to spill the beans about what really happened to Jimmy and/or to tie Lucky into the storyline a little bit more than I couldn’t give a WHAT less abt what is going on w/ the whr house. (until Mcbeal debuts in it on week 8)…I do think that we’re going to see what Gillian is all about when one of the grillion people that saw nucky murder jimmy finally does tell her what happened cuz you KNOW she gonna raise hell when she finds out


    SO FINALLY THEY DID SOMETHING WITH AGENT WACKADOO AND HIS B THAT WAS EVENTFUL!!...I LOVE THE WAY THAT THERE ARE SOOO MANY RIDE OR DIE CHICKS IN THE SHOW THIS YEAR!...WHY CANT I GET DOWN WITH ONE OF THESE B’S?...just wack a dude with blunt object while he was just tryin to get his money back on his iron!?!?...das my lady! Love her


    Nuck if you buck really showed that he was a real man with facing off with AR in the parlor btw—was I the only one that maybe AR had manned up and put nucky down when they couldn’t see him in the conference room at first??...there is going to come a point where one of those two is going to have to make a grown man move on one or the other because this sht is getting out of control

    “YOU WANT ME TO START A WAAAAAAR IN NEW YORK WHERE THINGS MATTTER!” luv that


    I really do like the way the two “number two’s” were interlocked in this episode….it was like “soooo, should we jus fk eachother up as well just because??”…Owen is really starting to grow on me..guy is on some gentleman’s sht….besides the fact that he blew the inners walls out nucky’s lady, he is down for whatever for his homey..respect that


    Two of maybe the most awkward scenes ever were 1.) Margaret walking in on nuck and Billie ( I literally put my hands over my eyes and hoped it would go away) and 2.) chalky dizzle and purnsley watching little boy George perform in front of them….i thought for sure that was gonna turn into an episode of “savages on blones” and not the type that makes me want to be alone either if u know what I mean

    (“if we stand perfectly still……HAHAHAHAHAHA)


    Last but certainly not least…how crazy was the Bugsy/Gyp scene?!?!?!..i mean…we all knew that bugsy was real pyscho but I mean that mofo isa real blood thirsty son of a btch!!! So I guess that we are to assume that Nuck put them up to that? or was it AR? I guess that we wont know till next week but what did you think?

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  4. L-digz!...so riddle me this…where does this little fun fact about bin laden come from (not that I’m surprised but I am curious)…LOVE THAT UR BACK BTW!

    “WAS LIKE NATHAN LANE DOING A PERFORMANCE CIRCA BIDRCAGE AT THE APOLLO THEATRE FOR MR T AND TUPAC” HAHAHAHAH YESSSSSSSS! SOOO IMPRESSIVE! (mr T really brings that joke home)

    Also…I have to agree….Nuck really did have some large marbles to bring billie to the same shop that Maggie moo used to work in!!!! I mean! Come on! That sht isn’t bad form, its just greedy!!

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