Boardwalk Empire hasn’t missed a beat without Jimmy Darmody

The second season of Boardwalk Empire saw main character after main character end up dead and bleeding. By the time the season was over, three of the biggest players on the show were taken out one after the other. With so much turn around, I was wondering what the new season was going to look like. Would the show be able to survive without Jimmy antagonizing Nucky? Would the power of the Commodore be missed? Would the show be able to fill the void of Angela’s absence? After seeing the premiere, I’m not concerned at all.

Through the first two seasons of Boardwalk Empire I was very hard on Jimmy. At first I really didn’t like the character. Last season really deepened the character, nearly turning him into the protagonist of the show. He grew on me, even as he made stupid decision after stupid decision, ultimately betraying the one true ally that he had in Nucky Thompson. That course of action ultimately earned him a bullet in the head, and gave all of us one thriller of a season finale. Love him or hate him, though, there is no denying that the character was a huge part of the show through the first two seasons. With Jimmy gone, I was wondering what the show was going to look like and if it could survive without him.

What the premiere of the third season laid out was a new look Boardwalk Empire. Sure, Jimmy is not there to butt heads with Nucky, but there seems to be no shortage of folks to fill the void. New guy on the block Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale) seems like the prime suspect to stir up trouble in Atlantic City. I’m certainly curious to learn more about him. In the first episode he came off as little more than an ambitious thug. Is he going to prove to be a more interesting character than your standard power grabbing, violence loving gangster? There’s no doubt in my mind that a show as deep as Boardwalk will flesh out the character. As always, the more historical characters are still around, sure to give Nucky all sorts of headaches: Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano. There will be no shortage of villains, and with Nucky turning over a new leaf becoming more than “half a gangster,” he may fit in with all of them.

It was nice to see that even though Jimmy and company were gone, they are not forgotten on the show. So many lesser quality programs drop a main character and it’s like the rest of the characters never even acknowledge him or her again. On Boardwalk’s first episode of the new season, we saw the fate of little Tommy Darmody. It was perhaps my favorite part of the opener: watching Harrow care for the young boy, teaching him who his mother was. There is definitely going to be a power play between Harrow and Gillian for the child’s heart and mind. Gillian is already trying to erase any past Tommy may remember. Forget the mobsters and cold hearted killers on this show, Gillian may be the most terrifying person on Boardwalk Empire. The heart and soul that Angela and Jimmy brought to the show is going to be missed, but I have no doubt that Harrow will be able to fill  that role.

Yes, even though a big part of Boardwalk Empire was shot through the head at the end of season two, there is no need to fret. If the premiere is any indication, the show is going to remain one of the best on television. Jimmy and company may be gone, but Nuck is still scheming, Van Alden looks to be getting more interesting, Capone and the New York mob are becoming more powerful, and my favorite character Margaret is still causing trouble for Nucky. Boardwalk Empire may be down a few characters, but it is still plugging along!