Seems the editor was nodding: "hiring a light-skinned, petite actress to portray a dark-skinned, plus-sized hip-hop icon? "

"At last, these flashbacks serve their purpose in reminding us of that wrong" — I think the flashbacks served to do much more than merely remind us of Nucky's primary sin, his betrayal of Gillian (and of Mabel, and of himself, and, well, everyone). The flashbacks were not there simply to indict a character or explain…

Genevieve sums it up beautifully — Nucky is "an engine powered by the audacity of his enemies"

"These reminiscences are still taking up an awful lot of time for a season without a minute to spare, and the many callbacks have never quite added up to insight . . . all feels superfluous. "

Actually, I agree with you on those points. I like the atmosphere, I like the cinematography, definitely like Demian Bichir, and I hope to see more of him and a few of the other actors. I do watch it still, but not attentively, because of my disappointment. But these elements you mention are compelling. With so much…

"For all of it’s [sic] good moments, sometimes the season felt like it existed without purpose or meaning" — sums up the whole show for me. Yes, there are moments, and I think the actors all do a helluva job, but the writing is aimless — this is a show with nothing to say. It's just a rehearsal of old tropes…

Yes, Gatsby definitely. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on with the suitor, so I missed the allusions to American Psycho. As for Jimmy's kid, I was wondering about that, but isn't he a few years too old for that? By my calculation the kid would be a few years shy of 16.

By the way, did anyone happen to realize that the home break in story was lifted from "In Cold Blood"? Several elements were borrowed.

I am one of those who welcome the flashbacks, and as I wrote last week, I think that they are central to understanding this season's thematic arc — and not merely because they give us a look at Nucky's past, because I don't think their primary purpose is to help us understand his motives or his character. We already…

I would elaborate a little on that: I think the reason for the dating of this season just before repeal, in conjunction with the flashbacks, is to explore this theme of survivors, but with a twist: these are survivors who dream of something better but end up frustrated. Nucky wants to be like Joe Kennedy, but I…

Yes, I was wondering the same thing. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. So far, I like this season and the fact that the writers seem to be pushing the envelope a bit.

I am going to take a stab at guessing at what is in the writers' minds in order to wrap up the series. I think the flashbacks and the unusual decision to date the final episodes in the year 1931 are connected: they function as bookends, prologue and epilogue, to the central story, which is basically already…

meant to add: The flashbacks develop Nucky's character in subtle ways. When young Nucky brings back the hat with the money still in it, he forfeits the easy winnings and gambles on a more lucrative outcome, because he figures that he can curry favor with the commodore and his crowd. The Commodore is not so clever as…

Love your reviews, Genevieve. Wanted to put a word in here in favor of the flashbacks. I suspect they are setting up a mood for the season, but that mood is not merely nostalgic, even if ironically. There seems to be more going on: for one thing, as you noted last week, there's the surreal nature of the scene in…

There is considerable irony in the fact that a show that pretends to break new ground or "epater le bourgeois" with its "outrageous" humor (the husband jerks off in bed next to his tired and unfazed wife, who tosses off a few wry comments — oh how droll!) manages so thoroughly to reinforce the stereotypes of the sit…

A lot of fans would probably agree, but for me the show is best when it balances its pulp and the character studies, resisting the temptation to go for the easy score with audiences. Also one of the best things about the show is when they manage to unify the separate plots around a theme — as in last season's Easter…

On second thought I would have to give this episode a much lower grade than a B plus. Maybe a C plus or at best a B minus. It's contrived, maudlin, strains credulity, and clichéd. The key scenes: Eli spilling his guts to Knox, Nucky spilling his guts to Sally, and Chalky giving the business to Daughter Maitland are…

I am glad to see Margaret back too. Some fans of the show are not into her, but she is one of the few women on the show who survive by their wits, are equal to the manipulation and coercion exercised by the men, and provide interest beyond the allure of their sexuality. Gangland is by no means feminist but the…

The first episode opens with a typically sly allusion to not one but two famous movies. The lunch counter with two gunmen trading wisecracks of course recalls The Killers, but did anyone happen to notice that the counterman is the very same actor who played a perplexed gas station owner browbeaten by Javier Bardem in…

Yeah, I was thinking of White Heat.  But the raging mobster is psychopathological, just like Cagney's character in WH.  Paul Muni, yes.  Mad Dog Coll.