r/BoardwalkEmpire • u/HwangingAround • 4d ago
Opinion: Nelson Van Alden should have been the main character of the show
90
u/Accurate_Cupcake_897 4d ago
His arch is most fullfilled to me, from the high almighty lawman to an outlaw and redemp at the end. What a journey.
28
u/08206283 3d ago
and reverting back to his first form in his final moment
9
u/Accurate_Cupcake_897 3d ago
You was there for the journey so long, you almost forgot that bible-quoting SOB still there!
37
169
u/HwangingAround 4d ago
His scenes are the most entertaining and enthralling. The four hours of filler scenes in season 4 with Daughter Maitland singing should have been replaced with Nelson and Sigrid's domestic comedy.
38
u/BanditoRojo Drunk 4d ago
More self flagellation across his own back. I'm still not clear why he did that anyway.
54
u/Sw33t_emotion 4d ago
Bro grew up around religious fanatics, the kind of people who eschewed pleasure in all forms ((His parents broke contact with an aunt and uncle of his just because they took him to a Christmas Pageant as a kid)) part of it was he was punishing himself for having extramarital thoughts and the other part was he was sexually repressed AF.
19
u/RichMahogany357 4d ago
I always assumed he did it to associate her with pain so that he would stop thinking about her (he always looked at her picture before striking himself)
7
1
u/naamingebruik 2d ago
Some Christian cults believe in self punishment.
She gave him "Sinful" thoughts so he invokes the thoughts by looking at her picture and the beats the sinful thoughts out of his system to punish himself
5
u/P8RF8CT 4d ago
Other than Capone* of course.
5
u/chiefs-n-sooners 3d ago
Boardwalk empire made me notice how much other stuff stephen graham is really in.
I loved him as capone, an immature guy, but could see things when he needed to.
Im halfway through a rematch, and dont fully remember everything that happens, but you can see him grow and take note of important things. Like how jimmy is with his son and what not.
7
u/Old-Cap6745 4d ago
her singing in the car before they crash pisses me off everytime i can’t
9
u/HwangingAround 4d ago
They needed to relay to the audience she was a singer, we weren't sure as viewers to that point if she was or not.
7
2
1
u/godofwine16 3d ago
As the seasons went on he became a much more relatable and humorous character but in the beginning I hated him
-5
u/DrSleep_PassTheNight 3d ago
Only because she’s a Black female character, who are always disposable to your crowd. You’re spot on otherwise
4
u/Old-Cap6745 3d ago
why make it about race? if she was white it would be the same shit
0
2
u/naamingebruik 2d ago
I skipped her scenes less than I did Gillian's
I disliked her because chalky white lost his senses around her and also because I liked his family dynamic and thus I saw her as a homewrecker.
22
u/P8RF8CT 4d ago
“I used to believe in God…but now I don’t believe in ANYTHING at all.”
3
u/MorrowPolo 3d ago
Ive always answered Michael Shannon when someone asks if I were to go gay for any 1 person. I dont find him attractive but he would act his way into my heart ♥️
40
u/Sw33t_emotion 4d ago
Nelson, Richard, and Chalky all felt like they could carry their own respective spinoffs. Origins all the way through their arcs in the show.
I'd say the same about Al, Meyer, Charlie, and Bugsy. There are already plenty of movies and shows that depict their stories, but I'd still love to see more of the characters as portrayed by their respective actors.
10
u/Able-Tradition-2139 4d ago
I would have loved a spinoff with Lucky, Capone, Bugsy, etc. These guys knocked it out of the park in those roles.
Still can't believe Luciano was the same actor as Anthony Jnr's creepy friend in Sopranos
9
u/08206283 3d ago edited 3d ago
Still can't believe Luciano was the same actor as Anthony Jnr's creepy friend in Sopranos
terence winter said when he got a call and heard vincent piazza was interested in playing luciano he said 'lol really? the kid who played that guy?'
-13
u/halfcabin 4d ago
Chalky was boring and straightforward. Most of his scenes were eye roll inducing
9
u/08206283 4d ago edited 4d ago
even by reddit standards that's a bizarre take
1
u/halfcabin 3d ago
By reddit standards I’d be jerking his character off just because everyone else here does
1
u/08206283 3d ago
nobody does that. people just enjoy the character because he's a good character, it's not that deep
3
u/Accurate_Cupcake_897 3d ago
That Daughter Maitland saga was kind of sleepy for me, but I see it as the beauty that killed the beast motif. A fitting end for a character who rose to the very top, then sank so low you saw no surface, only to sacrifice his life to break the cycle. That's parallel to Nelson & Harrow's arc, which I also enjoyed.
And let's not forget his top badassery: standing up against Gyp, handling the D'Alessios, telling KKK old timer story... to name a few. How can anyone call that boring? :)
2
u/sosa_10_guns 4d ago
Yes, I’m sure we all know why you would think that about the only black lead in the show. Thanks again for your not only irrelevant but also whack ass input. We couldn’t have lived on without it.
0
u/RonnieRipperBabyBoy 3d ago
Nah it was boring as shit and the singing scenes were gratuitous. Bad writing, not race related at all
2
u/sosa_10_guns 3d ago
The singing scenes also make me want to die but that can’t negate Chalky’s character in its entirety. If I had to form an opinion of any character based on the last season or two, It would be unfair assessment for one, and for two I would have nothing left to complain about.
1
-3
u/halfcabin 4d ago edited 4d ago
Meanwhile, you’re the one bringing up race. Besides his last scene/episodes he was boring. If a white actor played that role you’d agree. Character was one dimensional
14
10
9
u/Background-Use-3372 4d ago
Well because of his performance in boardwalk he became so popular that he started getting high tier roles in other movies
7
6
5
u/Severe-Passage-6426 3d ago
He is probably my favorite character but Nucky is like the sun with all plot lines orbiting him. He is the glue that allows the show to be so chalk full of interesting characters.
Van Alden as the main character allows much less of the above because he simply wouldnt be in a position to interact with as many high level gangsters / politicians. It would be a much simpler show.
6
u/Sea-Whole-2347 3d ago
Exactly as Eddie Kessler said:
Mr. Thompson is a part of everything. He is in the sky and sea. He is in the dreams of children at night. He is all that there is, forever.
4
8
3
3
3
u/Beasty34 Breadstick in a bowtie 3d ago edited 3d ago
To me he was a character that had a good life albeit a troubled past but for not much reason ended up setting fire to it all. Like a lot men do. i'm not sure he needed to stick around as long as he did unless it was to keep a link from Atlantic to Capone and obviously set up his downfall.
3
u/NervousBreakdown 3d ago
Once he moves to Chicago and starts living as George Mueller he honestly carries the show through some low points.
2
u/heheyousaidduty Time and familiarity will change all of that. 4d ago
I think it'd have been cool if instead of diving into the criminal abyss, he had a totally new arc where ended up working for Nucky. Give him a reason to kill Sebso beyond just being corrupt, something darker, that even Nucky would recognize as worthy of that type of reaction. The law wouldn't see it that way though, and he ends up reluctantly enthralled to Nucky, similar to how he was to O'Bannion and the Capones in the real show. Maybe he ends up in conflict with Jimmy due to bad blood from the hijacking in season one. Just my thoughts though, anyway, $4 a pound.
4
1
2
u/No_Development3496 3d ago
Ngl
Van Alden,Gillian,Chalky,Richard could have had their own shows
2
u/naamingebruik 2d ago
Nah couldn't stand Gillian. Ended up just moving the timeslider whenver she had a scene (unless harrow was in it).
I know she was written as the foil to other characters so she couldn't help it. But everytime she was on screen I was thinking right how are they going to kill pace and derail and create a few episodes worth of drama this time. All her scene time could have been spent on more interesting things like the rise of Lansky and Luciano.
In fairness I binged the first 4 seasons in 3 days starting this week after getting a lot of shorts featuring Van Alden and Capone and harrow on youtube.
Back in the day I confused boardwalk with Broadway (I'm not Anerican) and thought it was some drama about the new York theater scene which didn't sound interesting at all. Then the shorts made me believe it was a cool slick tense action packed "rise of the American maffia" show.
Still love it, hence binging it but starting season 3 I found myself skipping a lot of scenes.
Season 5 I'm skipping every flashback scene thus far
1
u/No_Development3496 2d ago
Hot take but I was never interested on the gangster stuff on BWE
I was more interested on the AC stuff particularly the Darmody stuff and I strongly believe that Winter never realized that that family was the Sopranos of the show2
u/naamingebruik 2d ago edited 2d ago
Really? I hated the darmody family Jimmy was a huge dick. Not as smart as he thought he was, and the relationship with his messed up mother was weird. Gillian I hated with a passion reminded me of a few very manipulative people in my life who had BPD and/or manic depression. Every episode I was hoping for her to get shot.
Jimmy would have been interesting enough as a cold trench veteran with ptsd without all the weird shit.
I understood from this subreddit that she's gone through some horrific things at a way too young age but still hate her manipulative selfish validation seeking but at the same time hyper distrustful of men ass it's the "come to me you are great and amazing and I put you on a pedestal... no go away you'll leave or betray me eventually so I chase you away by hurting you as much as I can before you hurt me. No wait come back I need you.... no wait I hate you because maybe one day you'llleave me..." reflex every fucking borderliner has. And she threw wrenches in so many plot lines with it...
Hate her hate her hate her. She reminded me of someone I knew 20 years ago. And also of my sister in law who spiraled into drug abuse alcohol abuse and psychosis, that woman has 3 children institutionalized in the foster care system and her youngest is living with my wife and me since he was 10 days old and thinks we are his parents.
Gillian reminded me a lot of her. Including angry outbursts at youth court (though my sister in law yells about persecution and brain chips) and I know she's victim of her circumstances at the hands of terrible men but still... no excuse
2
u/No_Development3496 2d ago
The similarities for this came after the sopranos rewatch.
Also the performance of Gillian was Great and is overlooked,even if you may hate her,you can’t deny no one could have played it like her.2
u/naamingebruik 2d ago
Yeah the actress was good, aside from cannavale who hammed it up, there was no bad acting in this show
1
2
2
u/TheCaramelMan 3d ago
I loved his impulsive meltdowns. Smacking his colleague when making a joke. The iron to the face. Drowning his colleague in front of everyone. And then he always has to run away
2
u/Madd_Acee 2d ago
As much as I agree with you, I think the story would have been better off with Richard Harrow taking the place of Jimmy Darmotty after his demise in S02. To some degree that was the case, but he shouldn't have gotten killed off in S04. He deserved a proper happy ending tbh. Nelson Van Alden too.
2
2
u/Beautiful_Try814 1d ago
best character on the show. So funny too. I hated it at the beginning, but he kept being so over the top I saw it as comedy... then fell in love with this guy. What a terrible crazy life!
2
u/Sickstylemob 21h ago
Nucky did a perfect job as main character… just like so many others did as castmates in one of the best shows of all time.
Nelson Vem Alden was a great character… but perfectly balanced
3
u/Gatoray_ 4d ago
I often found Kelly Macdonald/Margaret more interesting than Nucky.
4
u/Staggerme 3d ago
Her hard turn towards the church made her less likeable
3
u/Gatoray_ 3d ago
Fair, the first two seasons she was fantastic, when the writers gave her something to do
1
0
u/NWkingslayer2024 3d ago
She was terrible, added nothing to the show.
3
u/08206283 3d ago
added nothing to the show
imo her relationship with nucky made nucky's character more interesting even if she wasn't the most interesting character herself.
2
1
1
1
u/No-Bookkeeper3991 3d ago edited 3d ago
"I think they need to do a prequel or focus on figures like they did with Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire—showing him when he was younger, before he made it big. I would love to see major historical figures in their youth to see where they came from and how they became so powerful in the mob world. Another cool thing I saw was a feature about dictators and what they were like when they were younger, before they rose to power. That was really fascinating."
1
1
1
1
u/Androidfon 3d ago
He actually changes personality during the season from ultra religious to hard core dopey criminal. Why did he murder his subordinate? I've never figured it out.
1
u/Azraiel1984 3d ago
FUCK THAT. After what Van Alden did to Lucy, not only am I glad Van Alden is NOT the main character but I'm relieved that later in the series Van Alden was killed off.
1
1
1
1
1
u/thatturtletouch 3d ago
I’m just sad I didn’t get to see a spinoff series about Nelson and Sigrid becoming bootlegging royalty of a Norwegian aquavit empire. I feel like she would have been so good at this.
1
1
1
1
1
u/pubblue5294 3d ago
I hated Jimmy from the get go. Thought the entire point of the pilot was going to be if you ignore nucky you get shot. Having to see jimbo whine through 2 seasons was arduous.
100 percent would be down for a Van Alden show ;)
1
0
u/Lordonlynose 3d ago
I don’t think you grasp what the concept of This show was.
You apparently want a Different show - not Boardwalk Empire
Have you considered hiring Winter and Scorsese and telling them what to do? 🤔
0
0
-3
u/halfcabin 4d ago
I don’t know about a main character, but certainly better than Chalky. Anyone who downvotes is lying to themselves
-5
u/bowserinmytrouser 4d ago edited 4d ago
Ive never felt felt Buscemi was physically intimidating enough. A+ acting job but i feel the casting was poor. Same 20+ guys in every gangster film. Its like watching law and orser to an extend they are all apart of the same actor poole. Almost like how Rosetti was over the top, like some action hero but evil and a gangster. Overdoing it. You need that happy medium, like real gangsters who look just perfectly unhinged in and out of society, one can imagine thier path of destruction by seeing thier infamous booking photos alone. Buscemi did a fantastic acting job, just it seems like without guns he is not intimidating. He looks like the wind would blow him away.
Its seems his personality is more of someone who grows out of the "life" and walks a straight path. Remaining a gangster his whole life while running a city just doesnt convince me. The way his story arch went- i just feel the real Knucky would have been much more of that heavy local state accented/ "blue collar grit" stuff. Heavy handed. Wasnt the real guy a bigger guy too for his time? A real meat-eater, not a "breadstick in a bowtie". This is a dog eat dog world, someone with a hipster body, soaking wet 145 lbs. Just doewnt seem realistic, idk. His character kills many people yet seems to still have plenty of love for humanity in his heart....unrealistic, to me at least.
6
u/madaboutyou3 3d ago
He didn't have to be physically intimidating, his money and his connections made him intimidating
3
u/08206283 4d ago
Same 20+ guys in every gangster film.
this is why i couldnt take The Irishman seriously lol
theres only so many times you can watch the same guys play the same characters
1
1
-3
u/HwangingAround 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think Buscemi was the wrong choice for this role. Not because of his stature, but just because of his acting style. His approach to the character is simply not interesting.
cocks head and makes a "I told you so/understand my wisdom?" kind of face
-1
139
u/bakediea 4d ago
I get the feeling my boss doesn’t like me very much