k_dub

You know, many infamous U.S. gangsters are actually of Polish decent. The ones featured on Boardwalk Empire so far has been Meyer Lanksy, Waxey Gordon, and Micky Doyle, all real people. There are many more. You can go to Wikipedia and look it up.

That shouldn't be a hard decision. Many of the show's characters here are based on real people. There have been many movies done about Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lanksy, and Al Capone, but we never really saw they started out. And I doubt Arnold Rothstein and Johnny Torrio had any movies made about them. Micky Doyle, Waxey Gordon, as well as the show's star, Nucky Thompson, is also based on a real person.

Jay-Z is in the building. I repeat: Jay-Z is in the building.

^It's OK, he's not going to rob you.

Now that was HILARIOUS!!!

And Baron, how could you not know Adam Levine and and Anne V were not together? Did the see the show last year? He was the Orlando Bloom of 2010.

I agree with K_Dub that 2005 was probably the apex of the VSFS.

But the show has really been in a rut since 2007. Used to be even in the weaker years a couple of the veterans still shone in at least a few segments and there were always 1-2 new girls who managed to steal the spotlight in one outfit or the other. But in recent years there is just not much that stands out. All the shows are interchangeable.

I know the reason for that. After 2005, there was a regime change at the VSFS. Alex de Betak and his creative team were out, and a new one came in.

That's why the music hasn't been the same and the casting choices are sometimes head-scratchers. Do you think Alex would cleared some of the girls they've had recently if he was still heading creative for the show?

They kept the same music producer and various other productions folks...I see them every year in the backstage videos, but the creative tone of the show has changed...and if you ask me, it was probably CBS who ordered it. And since the ratings have been climbing, it was probably for the best for not only CBS, but VS and the continuation of the show to be aired.

However, I do miss the glory days of the show. 2002-2005 are classic viewing.

You have to take in consideration that 2005 was the last show for Tyra Banks(an "ORIGINAL" Angel, and QUEEN of the runway) Fernanda Tavares, and Naomi Campbell. Nobody since has had the presence, confidence, and swagger that Tyra had. Ed Mazek, the CMO of Victoria's Secret, was as far to compare her to MICHAEL JORDAN!!! It's a far comparison considering how groundbreaking she was, especially as a Black model. Her achievements, too many to name. Victoria's went on a fool's errand trying to replace her with Selita Ebanks. When u get compared to people like Jordan, they are saying you are "ONE OF A KIND", and Tyra was that. Eventually models get older and gotta retire, so after 2005, the VSFS kinda went to a transitional period. Matter of fact, the only girls left from the 2000 till now are Alessandra and Adriana. LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Now for the reviews of the models of this year's fashion show:

Candice Swanepoel: She has pretty much the whole package to be included in the fashion show, but she shouldn't have opened. She not exotic looking enough, nor does she have the "WOW" factor that other models have.

Anja Rubik: She was just ok, even though that last outfit was :x. Plus, she could have showed more personality. She stayed stone faced, even in the Superhero section.

Lily Aldridge: Just walk girl, don't try to do too much. You can't do it like the rest.

Alessandra Ambrosio: She is always great. Just the right amount of emotion, personality, etc.

Chanel Iman: Almost an afterthought. This year, she was not memorable at all.

Doutzen Kroes: It was great to her back in the FS. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I love her muscles.

Toni Garrn: New girl. Kept it simple and sweet. Camera didn't give her much airtime, though.

Sui He: Another new girl. Seems like they just brought her in so Liu Wen wouldn't feel like the token Asian chick, yet they used her twice. Not really impressed.

Lais Ribeiro: Was my favorite new girl last year. She was pretty decent, blowing kisses and winking here and there.

Bregje Heinen: Third new girl. Just plainly walked back and forth on the runway each time. You're a new girl. Do something else so people will remember you. You're on the biggest fashion show.

Miranda Kerr: She's pretty much a veteran now, so she knows what to do, smile and look pretty. Short, sweet and simple.

Adriana Lima: At this point, I think people find her either amusing or annoying. I'm of the former. She really hams it up for the camera, and tries to the get crowd amped. LOTS of personality.

Lindsay Ellingson: Thought she was good. Pretty much kept it simple.

Shannan Click: Did they really have to use her again? She is one of most plainest girls Victoria's Secret has ever used.

Izabel Goulart: Another girl coming back into the fold. I always loved her smile and personality on the runway.

Karlie Kloss: Out of all the new girls, this is the one they decided to focus on?

Joan Smalls: Made her wear that stupid ass looking inner tube around her neck in the Superangels section. She was supposed to be superangel of the pool? Looked better the 2nd time.

Karmen Pedaru: She was one of the prettier new girls. Only appeared once, maybe she will be in future fashion shows.

Behati Prinsloo: She is definitely becoming one of the more popular angels. Very animated, and hamed it up for the camera in the Superangel section. Good stuff.

Erin Heatherton: Very pretty, and except for Adriana, is the most animated angel. Her outfits didn't give her a chance to be that animated as she was last year, though.

Maryna Linchuk: Uh, she was ok. Only got to see her once though. Doesn't give you much of a chance to stand out.

Lily Donaldson: She was decent looking. Pretty average, though.

Julia Stegner: She tried. However, I didn't find her face that attractive.

Flavia de Oliveira: This girl is new to Victoria's Secret? Now that is a girl you should focus on. Too bad they only showed her once.

Constance Jablonski: Pretty girl, and I loved her outfit, but so damn STOIC!!!

Caroline Winberg: Got damn, another blonde from your past shows? Seriously?!

Anne Vyalitsina: Seems like they brought her back because Maroon 5 was performing. The hand-holding and kiss on the cheek was sweet. Much better than the duet between Seal and Heidi.

Anais Mali: Well, at least they tried to add more color this year. Body was good, and liked her skin tone.

Toni Garrn: Average looking. Nuff said.

Emanuela De Paula: Oh, c'mon DUDE!!! You're bring a fine Brazilian like her and only use her once?

Cameron Russell: Pretty much an average looking brunette. Got big lips, though, so she is probably a good kisser.

Shanina Shaik: She was my favorite new girl. She should had been in the show more, and she is the new model they probably should have focused on. Then again, she's not american, and maybe she doesn't speak english that well.

Ieva Laguna: I did like her. Decent enough face, and definitely animated enough to be featured in the pink section.

Jessica Clarke: She was cute. Think she could have been more animated, but was animated enough.

Caroline Brasch Nielsen: WORST girl in the pink section. She tried to be animated, but her facial expression never changed.

Elsa Hosk: Hamed it up for the camera. An otherwise decent looking girl.

Jacquelyn Jablonski: Think she would have been better the 2nd time. Hardly showed emotion the the last minute. Did she realize it was the pink section?

Like I said, I liked it better than in years past. However, that might have been in part the the hip-hop theme the show had. Even some of the girls didn't impress me, most of the outfits did. Also, the inbetween things featured the angels were entertaining, especially the ones talking about the 1st ever fashion shows, and showing themselves as kids.

Boardwalk Empire' quick recap: Arnold Rothstein makes his move, Sunday's episode of "Boardwalk Empire" was written by Steve Kornacki and directed by Brad Anderson. Between the looming election and the damage control following an attempt on his brother Eli's life, Atlantic City Treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) seems to be spinning many of his plates in the air.

Some key events:

• A matured Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) returns to Atlantic City after spending months in Chicago only to find Agent Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) waiting in the wings ready to arrest him on five counts of murder.

• Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) decides to helps Madame Jeunet (Anna Katarina) when she tells her that Nucky is charging her double rent and may have to close the shop.

• As a result of a weakening political machine, Nucky decides to shake things up as he positions a new Atlantic City Mayor and acting sheriff.• In New York, Nucky Thompson-rivals the D'Alessio brothers are introduced to Arnold Rothstien (Michael Stuhlberg) and hatch a plan against the Atlantic City Treasurer.

"I understand that you’re interested in the liquor business," Rothstein asks them. He goes on to say that he can only see going into the bootlegging business one way -- with good hooch, not the diluted "rot gut" kind.

"There's a growing demand for good whiskey in the United States," Rothstein tells them. "And I'm not talking about the swill you stirred up in your chamber pot. I'm talking about the best scotch from Britain."

He wants to set up a business to import scotch and have ships with crews waiting outside the three mile limit so all they have to do is smuggle it ashore.

Rothstein says that the ports in Atlantic City are ideal for their kind of distribution. The only snag? "The man that runs that city," Rothstein tells them.

"Normally I would make a deal with such a man," he tells them. "But I find Nucky Thompson greedy and unreasonable."

Before they leave, Rothstein has the D'Alessios and Doyle sign life insurance policies to ensure he won't get chiseled by them.

"Think of it as an incentive -- not to screw things up," Luciano says.

Whoa, dude, you're going back to LAST SEASON!!!

Don't know how many of you are awake, and if you're not, no worries. No need to wait for Azkid to deliver, just go http://vsholic.com/videos/victorias-secret...how-video-2011/ and you good to go. HD 1080, HD 720, Xvid, you good.

Usually by now there's pages of people complaining and ranting how it's not as good as it used to be. I'm surprised.

Wait for it, its coming. I'll break the show and the models later. I actually enjoyed the show. I'm a major hip-hop head. I don't like Kanye because of his attitude and I think Jay-Z is WAYYYY OVERRATED as a rapper, but I can't front on their music. I've always been a fan of Maroon 5, and I guess it was cool to see him hold Anne V's hand and kiss her on the cheek. I was much better than seeing Seal and Heidi Klum sing that duet a few years back. She sounded terrible. Heidi, you're a model and definitely NOT A SINGER!!! Also, Nicki Manaj gave a great performance and her songs and interesting outfits were perfect for the Pink Section.

All the Runway segments were cool. Most of the outfits were good. However, I think the overemphasized the more famous models, especially current and former Angels, while they underemphasized the news and second year models. Adriana, Alessandra, Miranda, Behati, and even Lily were able to ham it up even before they, and sometimes after, they walked. The camera would be focused on them, shot from all angles. That camera stayed on them during the walk to the front, and even the back if a less famous model followed them. However, the 1st and 2 comers like Shanina Shaik, Joan Smalls, both of the Asian girls and Bregje Heinen didn;t have much camera time. Some of them were reduced to one shot, when they reached the front of the runway. Only Karlie Kloss really got noticed in a big way, and that was because they did a segment on her. Also, I knew the slow motion thing was coming so it didn't bother me too much. They actually started that in 2005, and that was THEIR BEST SHOW!!! I also could have did without showing the celebrities in the crowd. I think they went a little overboard with that, when the lesser known models paying the price. And why do they pick on some models and show mistakes to add DRAMATIC EFFECT?! Did we really have to see Miranda losing her shoe on the runway or see Adriana having trouble getting out of her Superhero outfit?

I thought the inbetween segments were good. It was kinda interesting to see them talk about each other, discussing their 1st fashion shows, and their opinions on one another. I really enjoyed them looking at pictures of themselves when they were kids. A bunch of ugly ducklings growing up to be BEAUTIFUL SWANS!!!! :shock:

I will watch the show again and break the models down a little more, but I liked the show, and I think it was better than years past.

Well, The secret's out now. Clay actually did survive, but now Jax knows everything. Well, ALMOST everything. Gemma gave the Jax the letters written by his father, as well as the fact that Clay tried to get Tara killed. However, she made sure to cover her and Usner's tracks, so he didn't give him all the letters. Thing is, while they sorted thing out with Clay getting shot by Opie and Jax shooting Op in the hand to stop him from finishing the job, you need somebody to blame, right? So the Son's do what they do best. When the shits hits the fan, blame it on the BLACK MAN!!! :blueeyedbaby: :anger: <_< And this isn't the 1st time SAMCRO has done this. They tried to blame the Niners for Donna's death. When they couldn't pin on them, they blamed the Mayans. Opie believed it, and in turn killed a Mayan and left SAMCRO'S logo on the body. But hey, they didn't want the blowback on the club, so Jax instead blame on who else, but the NINERS. Ok, I get this is just a show. Still, it's not like black people don't get blamed for many things they had nothing to do with in this day and age. Remember Susan Smith and Charles Stuart? I am a African-American man, and I have faced some racism in my life.

Anyway, I'm interested to see what part 2 of the finale has is hold for us. Obviously this thing with the Niners is gonna come to ahead. Jax pretty much intent on killing Clay. Don't know if Tara is gonna tell Jax about Usner and Gemma's involvement in John's death.

I would like to make a note that I had not yet seen the preview for the next episode when I posted last I see now that Clay really is dead

REALLY?! They showed the previews right after the show aired. I don't see how you coulda missed that. Hormones still got your BODY OUT OF WACK?! :x I covered all the emotions, right?

I'm looking forward to the finale. So big gotta do a 2 parter, which leads us to a dilemma as viewers. What are we gonna watch and what are we gonna DVR or TIVO? Parenthood, Sons season finale part 1, and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show all come on at the SAME TIME!!! Both Parenthood and Sons of Anarchy both come on Demand. However, they air SOA a week later and you can't fast forward NBC Shows on Demand. Now, I can DVR 2 shows at the same time, but I gotta be watching one of them. Ehh, enough of my bitching. I'll figure something out.

I highly doubt Clay is really dead. Yes, he was shot, but you must remember, because Gemma is OUT OF HER FRIGGIN' MIND he knew Opie was coming. He was probably wearing a bulletproof vest And if you listen to how she talks about building the club, she considers herself a part of the club, not just an old lady. Maybe she doesn't want Opie to kill him because the "son" she was talking about was herself?

I don't know, he looked pretty dead to me. However, if he's not, that means Opie gotta go. As far as Gemma is concerned, she most definitely thinks as herself as part of the club. As far as a son killing Clay, I think she was talking about her "SON", Jax. Maybe she was planning to tell Jax what really happened to John, and therefore he would be the one to kill Clay. She also knows that Clay hired someone to kill Tara, which is another reason for Jax to kill him.

Anyway, 2 part finale coming up. It looks like Gemma and Tara are giving the letter for Jax to read, which leads more to believe that Clay is dead. Looks like the Sons are gonna go the war with the 1-9 Kings, thinking their leader killed Clay. It can just be for retaliation if Clay is actually still alive, but I doubt it.

P.S. We found out that blacks can not be a member the Sons. Juice told Clibs that his father was Black, and that was the reason why the cops were hounding him. Chibs told him not to worry about though, because the paperwork on his birth certificate says he's Hispanic.

About to be some problems in A.C. Dunn Purnsley is still around, and now he is Chalky's ally. That guy thought he could treat his workers bad just because they were black. He tried to fire Purnsley, but the other workers have his back. Atlantic City don't run if the blacks refuse to work. Now we see how much power Clalky really has.

Meanwhile Nucky is in the business of dealing guns to the Irish and hoping to get Whiskey in return. He makes the trip to Belfast, but now Joe McGarrigle seems have changed his mind, upon hearing the English will allow Ireland to be a free state. Nucky says, "Are you really gonna let me leave empty-handed?", and McGarrigle pretty much says that he is. However, when Nucky is driving away, he hear gunshots. He asks what that is all about, and the guy in the car says "You deal with me now". Owen Slater, who accompanied Nucky on the trip, asked him if he knew that was gonna happen. Owen acknowledges that he did. Nucky tells him that Owen better let him know from now on if he knows something, he better tell him. "I don't like secrets", Nucky tells him.

Know I know this is a little off topic, but Sweet Lu, what with this "arse" stuff? You're from Boston, not England.

you are a week behind i see. that question gets answered in the next episode. you won;t be disappointed i think

Well, I watch it On Demand, and I think they air the episode a week later. "Parenthood" usually fills up my spot at 10:00. However, I was able to watch episode 11 On Demand, and thanks to some new technology, was able to watch tonight's episode. And I was definitely NOT DISAPPOINTED. I actually threw a fist bump in the air when it happened. WHOO-HOO!!! Clay is FUCKIN' DEAD!!! :hell yea!: :shock: (Y) :dance: Only thing I'm confused about is Jax. He had the drop on Ope, why didn't he pull the trigger?

So now there is gonna be a 2 part Finale. I guess we will figure out is anything happened to Opie. However, I think that Jax might have covered that up, because for some reason SAMCRO thinks the leader on the 1-9 Kings gunned down Clay. I remember he did that before, when Ope killed a Mayan thinking they killed Donna, and then blamed it on the Kings so the Mayans wouldn't come at the Sons. And now that Clay is dead, no need for the letters to be a secret anymore. Gemma seems to realize that, and since Jax and Tara are leaving, she gives the letters to her son to read.

Damn. Clay gotta go. Even Gemma realizes that now. Thing is, is he gonna tell Jax about his father, or Opie about his? Gemma told Unser that Clay is gonna die by the hands of a "Son", but a son could mean just another member of the Club.

Judging from the pics we've seen thus far, so far, so good. Nice to see Miranda and Doutzen back into the mix. The music looks good, too. I've always been a fan of Maroon 5. Jay-Z and Kanye West, not so much. Unlike other fans of rap music, I don't think Jay-Z is all that, and Kanye, for other MANY REASONS. <_< I'm also not a fan of Nicki Manaj, either. Her sense of fashion is :x, but that probably fits well with the Pink section. I have no idea who they have host it, but don't have Heidi Klum do it again. She has done it so many times, even the year she wasn't even in the show. I'm guessing the inbetween sections are gonna be interviews with the best known models. However, I wish this year they would interview and give us the backgrounds of the newcomers and 2nd comers to the show. Shanina Shaik, Lais Ribeiro, both of the Jablonski's and Joan Smalls were among my favorites, even though that last outfit worn by Smalls was like WTF?!

Is closing, the show looks promising. Yeah, the editing will probably be questionable, and they will probably still do the slow motion thing, but hopefully it won't detract too much from the show. Plus, they can't do much worse than 2009, right. That show was a good one gone HORRIBLY WRONG!!! The outfits were great, there was only one celebrity shot, and the music was good. It was looking like the best show since 2005(pinnacle never to be reached again), but they had to bore us to sleep with that MODEL SEARCH inbetween the segments.

Dexter is good this season. However, people seem to be less enthusiastic, which not surprising considering how good some of the previous seasons were. For example, he has no direct adversary here. He had Doakes and his brother in season 1, it continued with Doakes in season 2, and they added Lyla to the mix. Season 3 they threw Miguel Prado in the mix, a prosecutor who later became Dexter's friend and accomplice, and then turned into his enemy. Season 4 he had the Trinity Killer and his adversary. And Season 5 threw a curveball in the mix. He partnered up with Lumen Ann Pierce, a women whose life he had to save after he seen him kill one of the men who gang raped her. He continued to take care of her, and they both down tracked down the men who were responsible. He still had the adversary in Quinn and his former cop buddy.

This season is a little different. Kudos to adding Colin Hanks(son of Tom) and Edward James Olmos into the mix. Dexter is still raising his son, and he briefly made a friend in the character played by rapper/actor Mos Def. The character is a former criminal who did kill somebody, and Dexter was gonna kill him. However, the guy really did turn his life around, preaching to former inmates and even hiring them to work at his auto shop. However, the writers were good enough to add a twist. His dead brother and son of the Trinity killer came BACK INTO THE MIX!!! :shock: His brother took the place of his mentor over his father in the last episode. His brother was a serial killer like him, but he had no code. It seemed like he was gonna lead Dexter down a dark path, turn him into a serial killer who killed just because. The Trinity Killer's daughter and wife winded up dead in Nebraska, so Dexter knew that his son was probably the killer. We later found out that his sister committed suicide, and the son killed the mom after blaming them for what their father had become. The son found out that Dexter killed his father and wanted him to kill him as well. In a rare move, Dexter lets him go and tells him that he should forgive himself. As Dexter arrives back in Miami, his father becomes his mentor again.

Oh well. I haven't season episode 7 yet, but episode 6 proved my point that Juice being black would be a big deal to the Sons. Even though the rules were from a different time, it's pretty clear that blacks could not be a member of the Sons.

In response to your question, I think he just wanted to shut up Dunn at the time. Also, it seemed that he was reading it fine before Dunn knocked the book out his hands. However, he was looking at a picture in the book at the time.

in this case, it was revealed that he could not read, hence why after Dunn was beaten down he asked for someone to read it to everyone. Obviously he just didn't want to give him the satsifaction of knowing he is illiterate

Which begs the question why his wife brought him a book in the 1st place.

Moving on, I would just like to ask some questions about the last episode. Chalky losing his grip on his constituency, is that the reason why he took it out on his family? Now we know why Jillian didn't want the Commodore to go to the hospital. Thing is, how bad did she beat up to Commodore, to death maybe? Eli is freaking out because with the Commodore's current condition, Nucky might get the upper hand back again, and he already promised he would ruin all of them. Jimmy might be in the driver's seat now, and the deal he made in Philly will add more tension between him and Nucky. However, in previous episodes, it looks like he might be able to forgive Nucky. MIGHT. And to LMS, you saw Micky Doyle's warehouse explode, right? Van Alden's guys were there, and as you saw, one of them is definitely going to the HOSPITAL.

In episode 2 last week, The Commodore was quite confident that Nucky was on the ropes and would be rendered powerless before long. After this week's epsidode entitled "A Dangerous Maid", I'm certain the Commodore doesn't feel that way after their confrontation inside the restaurant. Nucky simply won't go away quietly.

Van Alden Returns After a One-Week Hiatus

Everyone's favorite scumbag and creep Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon) returns this week. Lucy Danziger is really, really pregnant and looks like she could have his child any day. And, she's also being held prisoner by Van Alden "per their agreement."

She wants to get out of this virtual prison (a seedy apartment Van Alden put her up in), but he won't let her until she satisfies her end of the agreement. Later on in the episode she is ready to throw herself down the steps, when a special delivery comes in the form of a record. This music saves her from complete madness. Even Van Alden can't take it away from her when he comes to the apartment to see her dancing.

Something tells me this won't end very well. Either Lucy will commit suicide or Van Alden will murder her before or after she has the kid. There is a brilliant, subtle, dark undertone to this storyline which the writers and director of Boardwalk are carefully playing up to. And, you know something disturbing will come out of this...

Al Delivers the Bad News to Nucky

Al Capone has a sit-down with Nucky and delivers the bad news to him. Torrio found a new supplier and is moving in another direction. Nucky pries Al for information on this "new supplier" and is told simply they are from Canada.

Deep down Nucky has to know that the Commodore is behind this, which is he is. Right after the meeting, Al heads over to Jimmy's house and they have some catching up to do. Al is in town to settle his father's affairs who just passed away. His father was a barber, which Al claims worked him to death, but you can see that this honest form of living was something Al did respect.

Nucky and Jimmy Square Off at The Restaurant

Nucky tells Margaret to get dressed so he can take her out for a fancy dinner. Once they get there the hostess didn't realize he was coming as he sees The Commodore and Jimmy dining at a table. Nucky doesn't give in and wants to get a table anyway.

Nucky eyeballs the table as he walks by and when Margaret is told they are out of lobster it's the final straw for The Nuckster who sees The Commodore chowing down on a big one.

He rushes over to their table and promptly throws the Commodore's expensive dinner on the floor and tells him it's his last dinner inside this restaurant and that he will ruin all of them.

Jimmy gets in Nucky's face and is ready to deck him when Nucky gives him the business about The Commodore. The truth is The Commodore is only Jimmy's father by accident - he just happened to pick his Mom to sleep with that night.

When Jimmy goes home he's asked how his Dad is doing and he responds "which one?"

Jimmy is playing the game right now to rise up, but don't be suprised to see him side with Nucky at the end of the day. He was always more of a father to him than his elderly counterpart.

One final thing to point out is an emerging character on the show - Owen Slater. He has a proposition for Nucky in that he wants to step up and provide some muscle. Nucky doesn't say anything and he thanks him for his time. Slater makes his first move when he steps in and refuses a liquor shipment, which is about to be delivered. Look for Slater to play a critical role in Nucky's battles this season.

You forgot one thing: what was going on in NYC. Arnold Rothstein, Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano had a sit-down with Joe "The Boss" Masseria(who was a real person, I might add). Obviously, he is angry that his guys were murdered after the left Meyer's place of business, and that they should come to a arrangement before any more blood should be shed. Rothstein agrees. Joe gets up and speaks to Luciano in Italian. He says "What are you doing with these Christ killers?", referring to Rothstein and Lansky, who are Jewish. He continues, "Join me and I'll make you rich", then leaves.

“Ourselves Alone”, the second episode of Boardwalk Empire‘s second season, is brilliant and the fact that the show is firing on all cylinders this earlier in the season shows that Terence Winter and company have a good grasp on how things are going to play out over these twelve episodes. And the smartest thing they did was have Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) arrested. So while he’s busy doing some damage control to fix his reputation, and to fend off The Commodore’s (Dabney Coleman) brand new posse of politicos — and newly dyed hair — three characters get to shine in ways they haven’t in Season One.

JIMMY DARMODY: Jimmy (Michael Pitt) travels to New York City, on the behest of his father, to meet with Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg). He wants Rothstein to end his deal with Nucky and to go into illegal booze business with him and his cohorts instead. Rotherstein is taken by his gumption, and the fact that Jimmy rose up quick through the political/gangster world in Atlantic City, but he can’t simply jump ship as of yet. Jimmy is disappointed at the not-rejection but his mother’s lover, Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza) tells him that he has been on Meyer Lansky’s (Anatol Yusef) radar and invents him to his underground poker game.

Lansky’s world isn’t as glamorous as Rothstein’s. His underground poker game is really underground, as in only the riffiest of raffs come to play. It’s blue collar and immigrant as it gets, a far cry from The Ritz where guys like Rothstein, Nucky, and The Commodore could feel at home.

Lansky offers to go into business with Jimmy, if he agrees to deal his heroin on The Boardwalk. It’s a brand new endeavor, one that not many people in the 1920′s understand or are aware of.

Jimmy walks away from the poker game, a little richer, when two of the riff raffs attempt to mug him. Jimmy is clam, cool, collective, and a f***ing badass when it comes to slicing throats. He might not have taken Manhattan they way he originally planned, but he’s taken it nonetheless.

CHALKY WHITE: Chalky (Michael Kenneth Williams) is still sitting in a jail cell, to both punish him for killing a Klan member and to protect him from the racist lynch mob calling for his blood. He even shares a cell with Nucky for a short while, proof of how powerful both of these men are. Or how powerful Nucky is because when Nucky is bailed out, Chalky is transferred to a ‘Blacks Only’-cell, which happens to include a borderline psychopathic man named Dunn (Erik LaRay Harvey) who has no problems ogling Chalky’s wife and making fun of the book she left for her husband. (She leaves him a copy of “David Copperfield” but when Dunn demands to know what book Chalky is holding, Chalky tells him it’s “Tom Sawyer”.)

Dunn’s berating doesn’t end there. He goes on about Chalky’s ‘zip coon’ clothing and the like, pretty much insinuating that Chalky is an ‘Uncle Tom’. Dunn talks to the other men in the cell as if Chalky isn’t one of them. He even knocks the book out of Chalky’s hands. All in the while, Chalky sits silently, biting his tongue. He’s calm, cool, and collective — much like Jimmy — but he also has more power than other people think. When Chalky grows tired of Dunn’s jealous shenanigans, he asks his cellmates to remember all of the awesome things he did for them and their families. When they do, he asks them to return they favor. And they do, by beating the living shit out of Dunn.

And with the stomps of the men’s feet, Chalky White declares himself a badass gangsta and Mayor of Black Atlantic City.

(Question: did we also get a reveal that Chalky can’t read? Or was he feigning dumb regarding the book’s title as a ways of shutting Dunn up the first time?)

MARGARET SCHROEDER: Margaret (Kelly Macdonald), in the meantime, is contending with the aftermath of Nucky’s arrest at home. It sucks because as the help try to keep the news from her, she and they have to plan out an important dinner that will involve members of the IRA — and it also happens to be Valentine’s Day. (She did get a nice card that was handmade by her children.) When she she finally reads the newspaper, she asks the maid for her coat and goes to Nucky’s office incognito as a poor, pregnant Irish lass looking for some assistance (an amazing callback to her introduction in the Pilot episode). There she meets the men investigating her lover, pretends to need to go to the bathroom, and grabs Nucky’s ‘secret’ ledger and $20,000 (give or take). She reveals what she’s done to Nucky with the advice that he burn the ledger and start memorizing the ‘kick backs’ he receives. Nucky may still be corrupt but damn him if Margaret loses another man.

We get a couple of very interesting meetings in “Ourselves Alone”. There’s one where Nucky and the IRA — which include Joe McGarrigle, a straight laced Protestant-hating lanky hulk of a man (kinda of an oxymoronic description but if you’ve seen the episode, you know what I’m talking about) and a rather charming Irish rogue (Charlie Cox) — come to an agreement of how much he will donate to their fight against the British. There’s another where The Commodore introduces Eli (Shea Whingham) to the ‘powers that be’ — which includes The Sopranos’ Dominic Chianese — after Eli calls Nucky at his office and taunts him for being left out in the wind. (Chianese, in two episodes, has only said a few words and they happen to be in Latin. Weird but kind of creepy as well. It’s intriguing but here’s hoping that we get more of a glimpse into what his character’s all about.)

By the end of the episode, Nucky takes center stage again. Margaret sweetly asks him who is plotting his downfall. He answers: “all of them”, including Eli. It’s a heartbreaking admission for a man who had amassed so much power. But in the meantime, others found theirs.

Boardwalk Empire’ Season 2 Episode 2 Review: ‘Ourselves Alone’

In response to your question, I think he just wanted to shut up Dunn at the time. Also, it seemed that he was reading it fine before Dunn knocked the book out his hands. However, he was looking at a picture in the book at the time.

Great for the hells angels. We are not talking about reality we are talking about a fictional biker gang on a television show.

And I happen to know plenty of REAL BIKERS IN MC CLUBS WHO WOULD GLADLY RIDE WITH ANYONE OF ANY COLOR OR CREED

Yeah, you are talking about REAL MC CLUBS. And by real MC Club I just mean a group of people who just like to ride motorcycles and are not one percenters or are involved in any criminal activity. Yeah, those groups have people who comes from all walks of life. True, this is a fictional biker gang on a TV show, but they wanted to give some authenticity, so they hired consultants who were one time or another members of a outlaw motorcycle club, and those groups are racially exclusive. Sure, the Sons have a few Mexicans, but the Mayans are all Mexican and the Grim Bastards are all black.

Show is getting good. Clay wants Tara dead, and lies to the Mayans why she should die. She knows nothing about the coke, but she found the letters of John Teller, and Jax might find out that Clay and his own mother had John killed. However, former Chief Usner is not down with it, so not only does he leave an anonymous death threat in Tara's car, he even goes to the current Sheriff of Charming Roosevelt to tell him that her life might be in danger and to look out for her. Juice is in a F@#% UP SITUATION!!! He may have covered up his crime by killing Miles and saving the prospects by returning the coke, but after having that conservation with Chibs about his old lady(who is black) and if the old rules of SAMCRO are still the same racially, I think Chibs suspects something is up with him.

ok, let's let peace win out here. and sorry k_dub, but the big writing is usually a way people indicate they are yelling when it comes to online messaging, so yes, YF has a valid reason for feeling it was you yelling.

However, let's bith step back, take a deep breath and remember this is a show. There are no udnerlying racial messages here. It is simply being used as a plot device on the show. In the past we have seen the SOA deal with blacks and have never shown any racial discrimination against them. At times it seems they re more "friendly" ith them than the latinos.

They jsut needed somethign to make Juice scared. It is more about fear than race right now.

So the SOA deal with blacks and Latinos: BIG DEAL!!! Take my oversized text how you want. The Hell's Angels are allies with both the Cali Cartel out of Columbia and the Indian Posse out of Canada, who are Hispanic and Native American, respectively. However, they refused to let Hispanics into their gang because of their race. The rejects later formed the Mongols MC. Just because you tolerate and make dealings with other groups doesn't necessarily make you color-blind.

As for the show and the plot device being used, sure, its more about fear. However, his racial background is the reason why he is scared. My guess is that they wouldn't be cool with it if they found out he was black. Why else would he be so scared?

I get that it's a show I'm just saying IT MAKES NO SENSE!!! It has nothing to do with all white MC or all Hispanic... I'm just saying they know he isn't white, so why would it matter if he's secretly a purple martian from outer space? If they are going to be racist, be racist don't get picky about one race that isn't yours over another. It's stupid. Of course, it is a tv show and they can do whatever they want with it so it doesn't have to make sense. Like in the 90's when the guy used to tell the girl he'd pick her up at her place even though they'd just met and she didn't give him an address, he just knew where to go

Anywhooooo... The reason I said white is because I am getting confused about his race now I was thinking that because they are bringing up this black stuff they were contributing the way he looks to being half black and NOT Puerto Rican, like maybe he'd made that up to explain why he didn't look white. As I said before, it would make more sense about why he doesn't know a lick of Spanish.

And please don't get all pissed off at me just because there are some things I may not be catching. I have a pregnant brain, they work different than regular brains, they don't have as much power or work as fast . I like to say it's because I'm growing a second brain in my uterus and it's using up a lot of the power Add that to the fact that I'm going through an amazing amount of stress and my daughter is beginning her terrible twos and I'm just a mess

Also, what is with all the big writing? Don't yell at me sir.

I get it that it makes no sense, but it does happen. There was a man named Joe "Pegleg" Morgan who was one of the co-founders and a high ranking member of the Mexican Mafia, and he WAS WHITE!!! The members of his gang knew about his racial background from the get-go, but they didn't care. Also, 18th Street is a predominately Mexican gang, but anybody, regardless of race, can join 18th Street. I already mentioned the Bandidos. I agree with you if you're going to be racist, be racist. However, some groups are picky, and they do make exceptions.

As far as Juice's race, I looked up his character profile on wikipedia, and it says that he is of Puerto Rican and African-American decent. I doubt he used his Puerto Rican ancestry to explain why he doesn't look white though. I doubt Happy and the members of the Sons out of Arizona have to explain why don't look white. And hey, just because you're Latin doesn't necessarily mean you can speak Spanish. I've met a lot of Mexicans who don't know a lick of Spanish.

Sorry your hormones are out of whack. Hope you have a healthy baby and no postpartem depression after you give birth.

As far the big writing goes, the oversized text is kinda my trademark around here. Sorry if seemed too intimidating or inflammatory. Just wanted to get my point across, and the big texts help me to do so.

Also, yours_forever, how do you figure that Juice is HALF-WHITE?! He is half Puerto-Rican, and remember Latin is not white. And it is obviously is a big deal, or he wouldn't have took that 1 brick in the 1st place.

Also, yours_forever, how do you figure that Juice is HALF-WHITE?! He is half Puerto-Rican, and remember Latin is not white. And it is obviously is a big deal, or he wouldn't have took that 1 brick in the 1st place.

And I don't get the issue with Juice being part black? They have mexicans out the wazoo but one black guy with make the club fall apart?

One thing about Outlaw Biker Gangs: They are usually racially homogenous and exclusive. All Hell's Angels' members are white, and if you ever seen an episode on Gangland on biker gangs, many members of the racially exclusive white gangs wear swastikas on their jackets. As for the Hispanic Biker gangs, I also believe they don't have any black members. Matter of fact, the only "real" black biker gang I ever heard of are the East Bay Dragons out of Oakland.

Granted, this is just a show, but give the writers credit for keeping it real. The Sons finding out Juice is half-black would be a big deal. If it wasn't, the fact that he is wouldn't have been part of the storyline.

Juice wouldn't even be able to join a black MC, since he's half white too... And if they are supposed to be racially exclusive, why don't they care that he's "Puerto Rican"? Latin is not white I don't think it would be a huge deal, that Sherriff is just trying to play the card because they don't have any members maybe? I guess it's all gonna be a wait and see...

Remember, I said "GRANTED, THIS IS JUST A SHOW"?! I was talking about "real" biker gangs, and obviously the "Sons of Anarchy" are not a "real" biker gang. I don't know much about black MC's, but let's face it, because of slavery, none of my people are 100% black. Do you think they would deny a light-skinned black person? I mean, you can be half-white and join the Nation of Islam. Also, FYI, the Bandidos are one biker gang that is an exception to the rule. Like the Sons, they have White and Hispanic Members.