Boardwalk Empire

HBO rock drama Vinyl more than had our attention by its first trailers, but doubly so for Martin Scorsese’s direction of the two-hour pilot, much as he’d done for Boardwalk Empire. That said, where Scorsese never returned to direct more Boardwalk, the revered director hopes to stay much more actively involved in Vinyl, or so he says.

Most Daredevil Season 2 news of late has focused on Jon Bernthal’s surprise announcement as The Punisher, though plenty of roles remain to be filled when Netflix’s man without fear returns in 2016. A new rumor suggests one such role could be a Boardwalk Empire reunion, as Vincent Piazza joins former co-star Charlie Cox for an unknown role.

If Mark Wahlberg is pals with Martin Scorsese, then surely he must know that the director is pretty busy. Scorsese is currently working on ‘Silence,’ after which he has a rather ambitious to-do list (as usual). But Wahlberg wants to add another project to the growing pile of possibilities: a movie version of ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ the show produced by both Wahlberg and Scorsese, which just ended its run after five seasons on HBO.

We've come to the series finale, to the end of the line, where all of Nucky's reflections on his past -- both recent history and memories nestled deep in those flashbacks that have punctuated the season -- serve to illustrate that timeless question: is it the man who makes the choices, or do the choices make the man? This final season has been guiding us to the understanding that for Nucky, it was one singular choice that made him, a choice that also shaped the future of Gillian Darmody, intertwining their lives and fates.

With an intense, all-out war being waged between Nucky and Charlie Luciano, 'Boardwalk Empire' plunges onward toward its conclusion. The past bleeds into the present, as chance encounters blossom into opportunities given to those desperate for them, and how that desperation inevitably lends itself to gruesome circumstance. Most startling and perhaps poetic of all in "Friendless Child" is the way that two fates are intertwined, and how redemption can come at the 11th hour for Nucky Thompson in the most unexpected way.

HBO subscriptions have been something of a running joke through the TV industry, with a great many of the network's loyal fans sharing HBOGO passwords to avoid expensive cable packages, previously the only mean with which to watch shows like 'Game of Thrones' or 'True Detective.' Now, the company has finally acquiesced, and announced an independent streaming service due out in 2015.

This season of 'Boardwalk Empire' has been spiraling down a drain, and the further we go down, the more tightly coiled it becomes. "Devil You Know" posits the obvious question implied by the title, but it also darkly toys with ideas of judgment of character and role reversal, while delivering a tense episode and an emotional beating.

Within every organization -- be it criminal, institutional (hey Gillian!), legal, or social -- exists a hierarchy. There's always someone in a position of power who wants to put the pieces, or the people, in their places. And there's always frustration when those pieces don't fit, or when those pieces turn and try to knock you over to take your place, or upset the balance. In these 'Boardwalk Empire' flashbacks, a younger but slightly older Nucky is climbing up the ladder, still learning about all these moving parts. In present day, an older and wiser Nucky has made some kind of peace with how the tides have changed, and is content with his more minimalistic set of circumstances. Just when I thought I was out, well, you know.

The fifth and final season of 'Boardwalk Empire' seems to have established a pattern within a pattern, where everything feels so scattered. The plot threads are dangling and frayed and yet, slowly a couple of threads find their way together before an abrupt and violent tug jerks yet a couple more into position by episode's end. This season more than any other feels elusive in meaning -- as cold and distant as Nucky himself -- and at the same time, it all reads a bit on the nose.

'Captain America' star Hayley Atwell will return as Marvel's 'Agent Carter' as soon as tomorrow's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' season 2 premiere, but Peggy's spinoff series may yet upstage ABC's 'Avengers'-adjacent drama. The latest to join the cast of 'Agent Carter' is none other than 'Boardwalk Empire' and 'True Detective' star Shea Whigham, ostensibly the show's male lead.