Broadway Limited (Boardwalk Empire)

"Broadway Limited" is the third episode of the first season of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire, which premiered October 3, 2010. It was written by supervising producer Margaret Nagle and was directed by executive producer Tim Van Patten.

Nucky makes a deal with gangster Chalky White to handle the repackaging and distribution of bootlegged whiskey. Margaret is given a job at a boutique through Nucky's connections. Agent Van Alden learns that Jimmy was involved in the shooting in the woods.

Main cast

• Steve Buscemi
• Michael Pitt
• Kelly Macdonald
• Michael Shannon
• Shea Whigham
• Aleksa Palladino
• Michael Stuhlbarg
• Stephen Graham
• Vincent Piazza
• Paz de la Huerta
• Michael Kenneth Williams
• Anthony Laciura
• Paul Sparks
• and Dabney Coleman

Plot

Nucky orders Eli to kill the robbery survivor to prevent him from providing testimony, then leaves to meet with Chalky White and complete their bootlegging arrangements. Eli attempts to smother the witness, but is interrupted by van Alden, who uses a ruse to take the survivor into federal custody.

Nucky arranges for Margaret to be hired at a dress shop, where she learns another worker was fired to make room for her. Nucky's mistress Lucy visits the shop, insulting Margaret while she assists her in trying on dresses.

Van Alden tries to transport the witness to New York, but he needs medical attention en route. At a dentist's office, as the witness is dying, Van Alden tortures him until he reports Jimmy Darmody's involvement. Arnold Rothstein learns that the witness, a distant family member, has died, and sends Lucky Luciano to Atlantic City to deal with Darmody.

Jimmy learns of Angela's friendship with a local photographer. He then meets with Nucky, who warns him that Van Alden is targeting him for the robbery and killings. Jimmy leaves for Chicago, leaving Angela and their son.

Mickey Doyle meets with his financial backers, the D'Alessio brothers, and tells them that Nucky gave away their operation. The brothers tell him that Mickey owes them the money he lost. Soon after, Chalky White's driver is found hanged, as though lynched. Nucky and Eli direct White to put out the cover story that the driver was killed by a jealous husband, to prevent racial tension during an election year.

Reception

Critical reception

Phil Pirrello at IGN gave the episode a positive review with an 8/10 score. He said ""Limited" ends with Nucky forcing Jimmy out of town, and we're left surprised that this turn happens in episode three as opposed to at the end of the season. The first three episodes burn through a lot of story on the Nucky-Jimmy front, but that's okay - sending Jimmy to Chicago to play gangster with Capone is a good thing. It will complicate things for Nucky worse than Rothstein sic-ing Luciano on him. And more Nucky drama is never a bad thing."^[1] When talking about Shannon's character Van Alden he said "Shannon's Van Alden is one of the few characters who uses violence as a last resort, as he interrogates the suspect by putting his hand wrist-deep into the man's shotgun wound. As powerful and threatening as men like Nucky are, Van Alden emerges as a truly unique and dangerous threat; a pious federal agent who can use both the Bible and the law to justify his actions. Shannon excels in this scene, and in its follow-up: A quiet dinner at home with the wife that says very little but speaks so much about how complex and unpredictable Van Alden is." Joseph Oliveto at ScreenCrave also gave the episode 8/10 and said "Things are heating up: The previous two episodes of this show featured excellent performances but not much plot development. Luckily, we're picking up the pace now. Characters are facing actual threats, be it from the authorities, or competing criminals. Any good gangster drama needs a constant atmosphere of danger, and now we're getting one."^[2]

Ratings

Ratings for the third episode were mostly stable. Ratings were down 0.1 with adults 18–49 to a 1.4 rating but once again having over 3.4 million viewers in its initial telecast.^[3]

References

External links

• "Broadway Limited" at HBO
• "Broadway Limited" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Broadway Limited" at TV.com