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The second season of Boardwalk Empire went out with a bang. I had a feeling that on a high-quality show such as this that no one was safe, and I was right. As much as seeing our favourite characters go pains me, I love the unexpected freshness of it all. I mean, were you expecting Nucky to really kill Jimmy?

Let’s back track a bit. The first half hour of the episode was used to tie up all the loose ends from earlier in the season—and they did that exceptionally well. After Jimmy’s re-enactment of Oedipus Rex, he tries to make amends with Nucky. The rest of his gang of well-connected Nucky-haters isn’t so keen on backing off Nucky, especially since he seems to be in real trouble with his legal issues.

Jimmy and Richard hold the current county treasurer at gun point and force him to write a signed statement, essentially clearing Nucky of all charges. In the same montage, Nucky and Margaret get married, ensuring that she can’t testify against him. In court, the prosecution tries to plead their case, but the judge advises Esther Randolph to get her ducks in a row for the future. I hope we get to see more of her next season.

Remember when Nucky was all badass and told the Commodore and Jimmy that he would destroy them? Well he totally did. He messed with Jimmy’s business and later got his revenge. After setting up a trap to capture Jimmy, Nucky shows him who’s boss by shooting in the head. With Nucky’s gun pointed at him, Jimmy taunts his former boss by giving him pointers on how to cope with killing a man. After all, he’s got nothing to lose; Jimmy lost his wife, his business, his mother screwed him up, and he died emotionally during the war.

When Nucky was certain he was going to jail he signed an important parcel of land over to Margaret. Once his legal problems are cleared, he asks his new wife to sign them back. While Nucky and his friends celebrate the new highway and its promise of money, Margaret signs over the deed: to the Church and not Nucky.

Some other notes:

• Van Alden and his nanny moved to Circero, IL. Expect some Al Capone-related storylines to arise with this in the future.
• Eli’s an idiot. Enough said.
• I expect to see lots of Jimmy’s mom Gillian next season. I’m sure she’ll find a way to corrupt cute little Tommy.
• Chalky and his boys ended the strike when Jimmy brought him the men responsible for shooting his warehouse.

Want to re-watch Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire in all its bloody glory? Check schedule for showtimes.