Boardwalk Empire 5.3: Veal Parmagian and Family

Well, for the second time as many weeks, my favorite scene in Boardwalk Empire - episode 5.3 in this case - was once again Nucky and Joseph P. Kennedy.

Nucky introduces Joe to a new dish, veal parmagian - a veal chop, in this serving, split in the middle, breaded, and smothered in tomato sauce.  I don't eat veal parm that much anymore, but it just so happens I had a mouth-watering rendition, made just as Nucky described, in Slyce, a trendy new restaurant in Ardsley a few weeks ago.  Joe loved it on the show, too.  Here's my review from my food blog.

In addition to the food, the conversation was also prime.  Joe regales Nucky with talk of Joe's family - eight kids at this moment, and a ninth to come (to complete the team, as Joe says).   Wild to think that that ninth would be Teddy Kennedy.

Nucky, asked by Joe about his own family, sort of bends the truth a little when he responds with Margaret's children as his.   But this works as an excellent segue into bringing Margaret back into Nucky's life, which we see with a great last scene with Nucky waking up to Margaret in his room.  Not that she's about to jump into bed with him - as yet or ever again - but the two look good together, smiling and relaxed.

What brought Margaret back to Nucky is also important.  Arnold Rothstein - regrettably killed off camera (his death was historically factual, so there was no avoiding that, but why make it between seasons when we couldn't see it?) - is still a player in absentia in many peoples's lives.  Everything Lucky and Meyer do, at this point, is in a sense in Rothstein's image, and it's good to see the fight ratcheting up between those two (and Benny) and everyone else, including that nefarious Narcisse - who, if we know one thing about him, has the ability to hit back hard when he's down.

I could have lived without the whole Chalky story, which was somewhat predictable and really beside the point.  But if it gets him out of the outskirts and back into the central action, that's a good move for the series.


See also Boardwalk Empire 5.1: Lucky Rising ... Boardwalk Empire 5.2: Joe Kennedy

And see also Boardwalk Empire 4.1: Sneak Preview Review ... Boardwalk Empire 4.2: Sneak Preview Review ... Boardwalk Empire 4.2: J. Edgar ...Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview Review 4.3: Honey, Sunny ...Boardwalk Empire 4.3: Nucky, Sunshine, and Heroin ... Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview Review 4.4: Downfalls ... Boardwalk Empire 4.4: Bullies and Betrayals ... Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview 4.5: The Gift of Rage ... Boardwalk 4.5: Two Deaths ... Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview 4.6: Good Lovin' ... Boardwalk Empire 4.6: Sally and Margaret ... Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview 4.7: Beds, Promotions, Surprises ... Boardwalk Empire 4.7: Family and History ... Boardwalk Empire Sneak Preview 4.8: The Blues ... Boardwalk Empire 4.8: Knives in the Back ... Boardwalk Empire 4.9: The Imbecile ...Boardwalk Empire 4.10 Sneak Preview Review: Unholy Alliances ...Boardwalk Empire 4.10: Family Treachery ... Boardwalk Empire 4.11: Nucky on the Beach

And see also Boardwalk Empire 3.1: Happy News Year 1923  ... Boardwalk Empire 3.2: Gasoline and the White Rock Girl ... Boardwalk Empire 3.3: The Showgirl and The Psycho ... Boardwalk Empire 3.5: "10 L'Chaim" ... Boardwalk Empire 3.7: Deadly Gillian ... Boardwalk Empire 3.8: Andrew Mellon ... Boardwalk Empire 3.9: Impaired Nucky

And see also Boardwalk Empire 2.1: Politics in an Age Before YouTube  ... Boardwalk Empire 2.2: The Woman Behind the Throne ... Boardwalk Empire 2.3: Frankenstein and Victrola ... Boardwalk Empire 2.4: Nearly Flagrante Delicto ... Boardwalk Empire 2.5: Richard's Story ... Boardwalk Empire 2.6: Owen and Other Bad News for Nucky ... Boardwalk Empire 2.7: Shot in the Hand  ...Boardwalk Empire 2.8: Pups with Fangs ... Boardwalk Empire 2.9: Ireland, Radio, Polio ...Boardwalk Empire 2.10: Double Shot ... Boardwalk Empire 2.11: Gillian and Jimmy  ... Boardwalk Empire Season 2 Finale: Stunner!

And see also Boardwalk Emipre on HBO ... Boardwalk Empire 1.2: Lines and Centers Power ...Boardwalk Empire 1.10: Arnold Rothstein, Media Theorist  ... Season One Finale of Boardwalk Empire

 
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