‘Boardwalk Empire’ Returns For Its Final Season: Will Nucky Die?
The following contains spoilers from the previous seasons of Boardwalk Empire. You have been warned.
HBO’s Prohibition-era drama, Boardwalk Empire, returned for its final season on Sunday, September 7. And there has been quite a bit of speculation as to who will live and who will die in the remaining episodes.
Entertainment Weekly published predictions of who will survive the final episodes of Boardwalk Empire, and who will not. The article’s author, Esther Zuckerman, is predicting that Nucky will die.
“The show is attempting to build sentimental attachment to Nucky this season, thanks to flashbacks that show how he got his start in Atlantic City as a young boy in the 19th century working for the Commodore. The easier it is to like Nucky, the harder it will be to see him go—perfect fodder for TV writers.”
Some of the other Boardwalk Empire characters predicted to die this year include Nucky’s brother, Eli Thompson; the villainous Dr. Valentin Narcisse; and George Mueller/Nelson Van Alden. Those who are predicted to live after Boardwalk Empire ends include Chalky White; Gillian Darmody; and Margaret Thompson.
As fans know, Boardwalk Empire is not afraid to kill off beloved characters. Jimmy Darmody was shot point blank in the head at the end of Season 2, and Richard Harrow died at the end of Season 4. Now that the final season has begun, could Nucky Thompson get killed, too?
Obviously, Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter won’t say how the show ends; he wants fans to see it for themselves. In a related report from The Inquisitr, Winter said he has always knew what he wanted to do with Nucky.
“I had an end point for him from the beginning. Now, I know in specific detail how it exactly happens. He sees the chickens come home to roost.”
Steve Buscemi, who plays Nucky, didn’t say what happens, either, but he did spill some details to The Hollywood Reporter as to how the final episode of Boardwalk Empire was filmed.
“Usually, I get distracted by people in my eye-line. But for the very last take, I requested the whole crew to watch. They were all in my eye-line, and I tried to look at each one of them before I turned around and went into the scene. It was such a beautiful moment.”
Winter had a little bit of a different experience during the filming of the last Boardwalk Empire.
“My last day was spent fidgeting a lot. I was on set the entire day, with nothing else that needed to be done; I didn’t have any other writing to do, so it was weird. But I just had a really fun day. There was a lot of emotion and tears when we wrapped, followed by a very raucous party out in the studio parking lot in the Brooklyn Navy Yards.”
Winter noted that his dream is that Boardwalk Empire fans like how the show ends.
“I hope they feel they’ve been told a really fun, exciting, emotionally complete story. I hope they’ll feel satisfied, like when you’ve closed the last page of a great novel.”
Did you catch the Boardwalk Empire season premiere? Are you sad to see the show go?
[Image credit: HBO via Highsnobiety]
