I dont really get what people mean that the show is tieing together now. Its not. Just because the storylines meet up doesnt make it necessary to have every characters storyline explained. I like the capone storyline but little changes if we dont have all the info about what is going on in chicago atm. I dont know who the guy moving furniture in nuckys suite is but the scene still worked.

Just because sometimes the storylines intersect doesnt mean that they all tie together.

I dont see what having seen the black doctor added to that scene really. Also i think the actor is good but some of his lines were pretty awful.

It's not that you mention irrelevant things, it's that you seem to come to conclusions without considering relevant information in between plot steps. It doesn't seem to matter to you who the characters are, where they came from, or what they internally struggle with. You mostly seem concerned with "The Game" and not much else

Capone's story is in part about him having the autonomy to make the decision to support Nucky with the presumed full force of Torio's organization. That plot was building, in part, to this moment.

Chalky didn't want his son-in-law to get involved in his gangster side, now he's been forced for that to happen. That story built to last week's moment.

The moment in Richard's story where he met with Nucky and established that he was cool with seems like it will become important as they presumably side together vs. Gyp (and maybe Gillian to some degree).

This isn't just everybody randomly ending up in the same place at the same time- these are plotlines that were arced to put everybody together. IF that's not "tying together" I'm not sure what is.

Had not considered that about capone depending on what gets revealed about tye decision to help nucky that could be a good point. As of right now whether capone or torreo decided capone should help nucky has little to no importance. Maybe in the future.

I dont think the doctors story built to this at all. There was one forced episode with him in it which i guess sets it up but nothing was built up. Seems like the entire story was an afterthought they threw in at the end. I hope you are wrong too because this is not interesting enough to continue imo.

Also i never said it was people randomly showing up. I said some things dont need to be explained.

I can't imagine that they wrote both of those episodes without having this kind of thing in mind - granted, in AVClub's Season 2 Walkthrough, Terrence Winter indicated that he's not always thinking along the same lines as viewers when it comes to plot and theme, but it doesn't make sense to write Chalky and Samuel's relationship as they have, then use that as an element in a later plot, and have the two things be totally unrelated.

Him bringing in a random black doctor wouldn't have any import at all - it changes the dynamic of that scene for the character to be someone we know. Especially in light of the fact that Eddie is in a similar boat to Samuel - Eddie used to just be Nucky's secretary, but now he's handling pistols and being shot at. Everything these guys touch turns rotten.

The doctor stuff is good because it shows how deep the bond between Nucky and Chalky really is. The second his son-in-law walked through the door it was obvious that Chalky was on Nucky's side 100% and that no matter how mad he was about the club or anything else, that he and his people were going to help Nucky. If a random doctor comes through it doesn't stress how much of a sacrifice Chalky is really making to help Nucky.

The Margaret hospital stuff on the other hand... (cue OOTV white knights)

I mean ideally we'd spend a bit more time with Samuel/Chalky/Chalky's daughter (maybe say at the expense of some of the Billie stuff). I don't think they've plotted this out perfectly, but I have a lot more appreciation for imperfectly arced stories with a plan than seat-of-the-pants plotting that just ends up with weird one off stories disconnected from the plot.

Godamn. Not everything needs to tie together in a tight, neat, little package. Enjoy the amazing sets, actors, dialogue, interactions.

Who cares if every action by each character doesn't ultimately wind up being some part of some pivotal scene in a comprehensive plot?

I enjoy learning a little bit about each character. I enjoy the introspection and internal conflict that each character is challenged with. In a show that does nearly everything well, IDGAF if not every piece of awesomeness somehow fits perfectly in a grand scheme.

I'm not accusing this show of spinning its wheels plot-wise, but I have accused of it throwing in a bunch of stuff that seems to be unrelated to the show at large. Without these interactions between Chalky and Nucky in this past episode, Chalky's existence in the show looked like a way for the writers to look at Negro culture in the 1920s. But that's tangential to the show at large.

I wouldn't argue that Boardwalk Empire does 'nearly everything well'. Female characters are usually the biggest challenge for these types of shows, and while Margaret Schroeder has had an intriguing arc, she's been put together somewhat piecemeal. Mrs. Darmody has probably had the most interesting arc - her character has been more consistent. Jimmy Darmody's wife also seemed to have this function of looking at arty culture of the 1920s - she never quite made sense as Jimmy's wife, but she was a way into something the writers were interested in. (Billie functioned this way in this season, too). So yeah, the show doesn't have that many well-developed female characters, but they can excuse this away as being somewhat a product of the times. Regardless, I've never seen a serialized show that isn't set mostly in a single location - this one is all over the damn place. By spreading itself so thin, the moments we would get with some of these less-developed characters came off as cliche. But, again, they've been building into something better than that, it's just taken a LONG time for that to happen.

Are the police totally irrelevant in AC? Seems like nuck should ask them to stop Gyp from shooting up neighborhoods around hospitals, etc

I imagine by this point the police are pretty much resigned to Gyp being in charge.

gtfo

Think the police may play a part in the finale

Seriously? That is something that actually bothers you in real life?

I was thinking this as well. I understand Gyp is super powerful but its like complete anarchy. Shootings at the hospital, blowing up the boardwalk. sending dead people around in wooden boxes; its almost SOA territory lately.

I'm bothered than a thread about a show I enjoy isn't very good because of all the terrible conversations in it. I don't think that's strange at all.

Nice.

Def agree with dids there. Tbh the whole plot this season is a bit forced...probably largely due that aspect. The story is still amazing but thats a valid critique.

Police doing nothing definitely a pretty big plot hole.

#LetGypLive

Ya its funny how the AC police went from Nucky's muscle earlier in the show to non existent.

Yes.

And omg this was so good. It couldn't possibly be bad with so much screen time for Chalky and Gyp. Can't wait to see the season finale tomorrow (from Europe ldo)

**** yeah im back

No way Gyppie makes it out alive tonight.

Prediction: Gyp gets locked in a room with Margaret for an hour, kills himself.

Is there any way someone would give me odds on Gyp surviving?