Peg of Old
Another thing we have learned: Jimmy Darmody didn’t watch Game of Thrones! You can’t put out a hit on the putative main character of a show on the same network that let Ned Stark’s head roll, and expect it to work. Jimmy may have gone all football coach-y and insisted it’s not whether you’re right or wrong, it’s whether you can make a decision; but he’s clearly no Vince Lombardi. He can’t even see the whole field.
I’m really disappointed with Jimmy’s leadership. Chris Moltisanti, may he rot in peace, at least knew enough through all his machinations to only talk to Adrienna about killing the boss. Jimmy clicked on the Whack Nucky link as soon as it hit his inbox without even thinking about password security. Eli Thompson, phishing extraordinaire!
I’m calling this war already. Without knowing yet what Arnold Rothstein will do, or to what extent Gretchen Mol will continue to live in Jimmy’s inner ear, or what it all means for Chalky White’s bonus, there’s no way Nucky Thompson is not still running Atlantic City this time next season. Nothing gets more obvious faster than a failed coup.
Speaking of identity theft, Margaret’s real name is Peggy Olson! I swear Winter & Weiner are on some Jacob & Esau shit. Imagine Matthew Weiner with goatskin panels on his forearms and you not only have a really good belated Halloween costume you were really good at Sunday school. This is why The Sopranos still matters—see also: last week’s recap. The Sopranos is the thawing permafrost of recent television history; it releases more oxygen over a wider area than the fucking rainforest.
This thing with Margaret is also the plot of every Louis L’Amour Western ever: Irish person comes over from Skibbereen or wherever and is forced to live more or less on the lam, ducking the law on one side and cartoonic prejudices on the other. When Margaret goes to Brooklyn to eat potatoes with her secret other family it’s got none of the seascape glamour of Don Draper’s California getaways. Her roots are ripped out in front of us all muddy and gangly. Just like that, this is a show equally about Margaret.
I can’t tell if the neutralization of Nucky has been totally intentional due to the investigation plot or if they’re just trading up to get Kelly MacDonald into the lead actress Emmys. But she’s now officially a Carmella, not a Dr. Melfi. Which is why she really really shouldn’t be fucking the help. Still: Owen is so way more Irish than Nucky is, and is a fully functional member of the 88.4%, and has a hugely functional member. (I loved Margaret’s gaspiness but I wish she’d have done a Julianne Moore in The Kids Are Alright—welll…helLO!)
Margaret’s chief difficulty with Nucky is his apathy, which is kind of Protestant-y of him, and the way his apathy settles over her own guilt like a cloud. She’s guilting for two right now, and at least with Owen she can still smell the blood on his hands. Nucky can’t stop washing his.
Nucky’s attempt to turn Van Alden was about as effective as the U.S. incentivizing farmers in Afghanistan to switch from heroin to wheat. Van Alden’s like, well no cause now I get to use my big dossier on you while not jeopardizing my job! Thx though.
Nucky knows the exact date he quit fucking Pax de la Huerta. Wouldn’t you?
