I really hope they can make the next season successful. Jimmy was half the show, IMO. I think Margaret is the character who is on her way out next year. She is a replaceable actor, however, Pitt is not. Who could they possibly find who is more compelling than Jimmy? It would be like Breaking Bad killing off Jesse in Season 2, or The Sopranos killing off Chris in season 2. The whole master/apprentice plot is essential to these types of crime dramas. Without the young apprentice, these shows would be about a bunch of old corrupt motherfuckers jerking each other off for one hour each Sunday.
It is a fucking risky move, I highly doubt they can just bring in any new young guy to be the new apprentice. This show had enough trouble getting the ball rolling for the entire first half of the season. I was very disappointed in it up to a point, where it eventually redeemed itself. And hey, it had an awesome season finale, but they are in a dark fucking corner right now. Yeah, it will be cool to see Horowitz, Luciano, Capone, Lansky, and Rosthein doing their prohibition gangster shit, but it is also overplayed.
Anyways, this might as well have been a series finale. It was a great episode, but removing the most compelling character on the show this early will leave me with very low expectations for next season. They really need a ringer next year, because Nucky, as the central character and always smooth and unstoppable gangster/politician cannot carry this show by himself, no matter how well Buscemi plays the character. Chalky White has been underwhelming (I guess the standard expectation was that he would be Omar 2.0, but Chalky is a pretty forgettable character in this one, his impact on the central plot is so negligible I sometimes believe he was only brought in to snag a few Wire viewers), The Commodore is gone, Eli is an idiot(nobody cares about him), and nobody else central to Atlantic City even comes to mind.
The show is basically starting from scratch, I suppose.
u Memph!!!
