With every character on HBO's Prohibition-era-set Boardwalk Empire leading a double life, the second season revolves around making changes or facing the consequences. The central figure, Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), aims to please all of his constituents but loses several supporters after African-American bootlegger Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams) kills a Klansman. Estranged from his brother, Eli (Shea Whigham), and his former assistant, Jimmy (Michael Pitt), Nucky and his common-law wife, Margaret (Kelly Macdonald), become more of a team. Meanwhile, FBI agent Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) holes up with Nucky's pregnant ex-girlfriend, Lucy (Paz de la Huerta). With enemies like Commodore Louis Kaestner (Dabney Coleman) trying to remove him from office, Nucky hires an Irish lothario (Charlie Cox) who keeps the booze flowing while meting out the occasional head-butt. Other new arrivals include a brutal butcher (William Forsythe) and a persistent prosecutor (Julianne Nicholson) who wields more power than the other women combined, although Jimmy's mother (Gretchen Mol) becomes more Machiavellian by the minute. Nucky also joins forces with Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg), as Jimmy aligns with Al Capone (Stephen Graham) and Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza). Of course, it wouldn't be a gangster epic without casualties, so there's some spectacularly bloody business—including the murder of a major character. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2011, extras include audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a character dossier, and an interactive guide with historical facts. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Second Season
HBO, 720 min., TV-MA, DVD: 5 discs, $59.99; Blu-ray: 7 discs, $79.99 Volume 27, Issue 6
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Second Season
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