'Belle Femme' - Boardwalk Empire, Season One

Boardwalk Empire

Season One

Episode Nine

'Belle Femme' - 8.0

Pictures are getting harder and harder to find as the series goes on

These recaps are beginning to eat away at my soul. I occasionally enjoy venting my feelings about these episodes, but in reality I feel like I need some sort of work to keep me going, something to stop myself watching like ten episodes of things a day.

'Belle Femme' doesn't really have any faults. We have definitely continued on from the constant exposition and entire lack of action, with the episode featuring a major character's incarceration and another D'Alessio brother attack.

Margaret's character has grown considerably over the last few instalments, and she’s really beginning to come into her own as a woman in a position of power. Tonight her power is finally called upon as Madame Jeunet of La Belle Femme desires for her to convince Nucky to cut her some slack. It's by no means high risk, but it is good to see her really learning - and enjoying - having influence and say in society. After at first being entirely ignored by Nucky, she manages to convince him when she pretends that she personally wants the store to remain where and what it is. At her next visit, she even unsubtly asks for remuneration for herself once Madame Jeunet offers her something for her daughter instead. In her own words 'My daughter didn't help you'. This new Margaret could be fun.

As usual there is a lot of political conversations I understand very little of. For whatever reason, Nucky doesn't want to keep the current Mayor of Atlantic City in his position, offering Bader the position. I don't know who that is, really, all I know is that I recall hearing the name before. Perhaps he's evil, and can raise the dead? Dragons? The Bringer of fire and darkness? I don't care, to be honest. Unless he's one of those things. I'm sorry, but I really am a genre guy, I like a little degree of the impossible thrown into my shows, pure drama generally bores me. That said, I do enjoy Boardwalk Empire, and for a drama it is pretty fantastic, even if I don't understand everything that's said.

Jimmy doesn't have too much fun tonight, arriving back in Atlantic City with his own conditions for re-employment under Nucky's regime, that being that he wants Richard Harrow on the job with him. Nucky doesn't appear to give a rat's arse about his conditions, he only wants his protégé back in the fold, initiating him with a simple chore; rid the world of the D'Alessio brothers, who have been identified as the culprits behind the casino heist last episode. Jimmy starts his job by using his mother to trap Lucky Luciano with his pants down. Gillian is able to take his gun and leave him entirely unarmed and unaware, as Jimmy walks in with a splash of boiling hot coffee and a pointed gun.

It wasn't meant to be, however. I don't have any big issues with Lucky, he's actually kind of cool, but the show wouldn't be overly damaged by the loss of the secondary character. Lucky gets away, regardless, as while Jimmy heads out of his mother's apartment, Agent Van Alden bursts in, taking Jimmy in for the massacre from the first episode.

Agent Sepso had actually intercepted the telegrams Jimmy had tried to send to Nucky and his wife, but had failed to inform his partner as early as he could, hiding the messages and claiming that a higher officer was nervous about the investigation into Hans Schroeder's murder, and that he feared that the case may jeopardise both their jobs. Van Alden doesn't take that shit, throwing one of his trademark tantrums by throwing a bagel or something at the floor, and tearing into his colleague. It works out fine though, and with Jimmy in custody and a witness from the massacre on hand, the agents look set to make a serious conviction. It doesn't work out that way, with Sepso taking the witness out on a long trip to a safer location, obviously on Nucky's money roll. Intriguing.

That's not the only shooting however, as in the final sequence of 'Belle Femme', Nucky, Margaret and Eddie are exiting a dinner with Bader. This might be a good point to explain how much I love the 1920s entertainment, it's so vaudeville and over-the-top, and the comedy routines are often laugh-out-loud funny, especially the one we see tonight. Sorry, sidetracked, but as the three characters stroll down the thriving and colourful boardwalk they are distracted by a man interested in Nucky. Next second, a man in the crowd pulls out a gun and points it right at Mr. Thompson. Luckily Eddie reacts quickly, pushing it out of the way, with the shooter getting some poor innocent lady instead, who falls into Margaret's arms and spills blood all over her free dress from Madame Jeunet. Eddie manages to put a bullet in the shooter's leg as he gets away, so that will no doubt be a plot point later on, but as of right now the killer or attempted-such has escaped. We don't even get confirmation that it was the D'Alessio's responsible, considering shows like this like to pull such manipulative moves. We shall see.

If anything, it was like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the true beginning of what is bound to be all out warfare between two rival factions in Atlantic City. I certainly can't wait for the real fighting to get going, as this show is pretty fucking awesome without constant action, so imagine what it will be like when people start hitting the ground. There are still the odd characters who haven't grown from their expository phases, like Angela, who I'd be interested in seeing in the thick of things, but I guess this show can't focus on everyone. It is unfortunate though, since there are a hell of a lot of fantastic actors and actresses here, many of whom are simply standing on the sidelines waiting for the right moment to do something.