The fifth and final season of HBO’s drama Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson airs September 7 at 9/8c. The final episode of Season 4 left Nucky making plans to leave Atlantic City, where he’s beloved and in trouble. The first episode of Season 5 picks up seven years later with Nucky in Cuba. It’s 1931. That means the writers dodged one gigantic historical event that certainly will have affected the life of Nucky Thompson, politician and gangster–the stock market crash of 1929. But if the show doesn’t deal with the event directly it won’t be able to avoid the economy it left–The Great Depression. It will be very interesting to see Nucky navigate these desperate times. Prohibition comes to an end in 1933 too. And the ill-fated law’s imminent repeal should also enter into Nucky’s considerations during what’s expected to be an intense 8-episode finish.
TV Guide expects a pretty high body count. The season’s tagline is “No one goes quietly.” Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter said: “Violence is an important part of any gangster tale and certainly a big part of our show… Problems are solved with bullets and blood, and I think certainly some will be spilled.”
