Boardwalk Empire

[[File:boardwalkempire_9155.jpg|fram]

"I do expect to have everything."

- Nucky Thompson, speaking for [[Grey and Gray Morality|pretty much everyon].|undefined

Boardwalk Empire is an HBO drama, set in Atlantic City, [[Joisey|New Jerse] in [[The Roaring Twentie] -- the end of the war, the upturn in the market, and the beginning of Prohibition. It is written by [[The Sopranos|Terence Winte]; the pilot episode was directed by [[Martin Scorses]. HBO ran the series from 2010 to 2014.

[[Steve Buscem] stars as [[Villain Protagonis] Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, a [[Sleazy Politician|corrupt county treasure] who develops his own bootlegging ring in Atlantic City in the wake of Prohibition. The series focuses on how Nucky balances his dual lives as respected public figure and underworld kingpin, and the multi-sided conflicts between the federal government, his own operations, and those of his rivals, all amongst an ensemble cast.

It has also done its research.

""Do you accept Jesus as your savior???""
 * [[Absurdly Youthful Mothe]: Gillian gave birth to Jimmy at the age of 14.
 * [[Abusive Parent]:
 * Nucky's father is a real piece of work, having scarred his hand at age 9 for grabbing food first, forced him into an impossible fight over a baseball glove, and undoubtedly many other traumatic events. Even as he's going senile he remains as hateful as ever.
 * Hans Schroeder beat his children.
 * Gillian, a control freak with [[Really Gets Around|no sexual boundarie], to Jimmy.
 * Van Alden was raised by fanatical members of a Doomsday cult. According to him, his father sold (or possibly just gave away for free) the family farm when he was a child, at the start of the supposed year of the Second Coming and when a whole year of living in poverty in a tent passed without it happening Van Alden's father blamed him for it.
 * [[Accidental Murde]: really did not mean to crush that guy's windpipe with the wrench.
 * Michael K. William]' character, Chalky White, was deliberately written as one in the first season. Once Chalky proved to be popular, it was announced that he would get a more prominent role in Season 2 (along with another minor character that the audience loved, [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Richard Harrow).
 * Affably Evil:
 * Nucky is quite polite and charming. Until you cross him. This is in stark contrast to Rothstein, who is polite but absolutely ruthless beneath it.
 * Chalky White is the closest thing to the black community's version of Santa Claus.
 * Meyer Lansky is excruciatingly polite, even with a gun pointed to his head. Or while pointing guns at other people's heads.
 * [[Alcohol Is Poiso]: Averted thanks to [[Values Dissonanc]; Eddie Cantor brings a heavily pregnant Lucy a bottle of hooch to cheer her up.
 * All Crimes Are Equal: Every side does this at some point.
 * [[Alter Kocke]: Manny Horvitz, when he isn't murdering people.
 * [[American Drea]: Referenced several times.
 * [[Amoral Attorne]:
 * Rothstein has one, Fallon, who is very impressed by his client's eloquence and ability to commit perjury with a straight face- so much so that he comments that Rothstein would be a great lawyer. Rothstein replies that [[Evil Lawyer Joke|he's chosen an honest professio]. As of "Georgia Peaches",.
 * Thorogood Junior is a weaselly little prosecutor just out of law school, living in Daddy's shadow and more than willing to live on bribes. He's in on the deal to get an easy trial for Nucky, but quickly gets booted from the case.
 * Nucky himself has Isaac Ginsburg, although he isn't really competent and does little beyond bailing him and his underlings out of jail.
 * And George Remus, as in [[Real Lif], is an attorney so amoral that he has decided to cast off the attorney job altogether and become a bootlegger instead - while using his knowledge of law to find the [[Loophole Abuse|correct loophole], of course.
 * Anachronism Stew: Usually avoided on a show where the writers obviously Did The Research, but there are some exceptions.
 * In "Anastasia", Margaret reads newspaper accounts of pretender Anna Anderson's claim to be Anastasia Romanov a good two years before those claims actually became public.
 * "Georgia Peaches" features a painting of the Divine Mercy by Hyla that wasn't made until 1943.
 * 1943 is also the year in which the lullaby sung by in "Two Boats and a Lifeguard" was released.
 * [[And Call Him Georg]: In "Paris Green",.

"Halloran: The D’Alessio brothers. A family of dagos out of Philly. Second story men who graduated to stickups. They once robbed Bookbinder's. Killed two customers, shot a waiter in the face. O'Neill: The little bastard called me fat."
 * [[And That Little Girl Was M]: Nucky's address to the Temperance League. He claims that it's a lie, but the way he reacts to the abusive husband later on [[Wild Mass Guessing|might impl] that the story wasn't completely fictional, possibly making it a [[Double Subversio].
 * [[Anti-Villai]: Nucky is a self-interested criminal and corrupt politician, but he's not without his humanity.
 * [[Anyone Can Di]: meet their ends in consecutive episodes at the end of Season 2.
 * [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalkin]: While reviewing the profiles of a pair of killers . Paraphrased:

"Nucky: I will ruin you. All of you."
 * [[Art Imitates Ar]: The first shot of "21" (the second-season premiere) shows a bottle of liquor washed up on the beach, a nod to the opening credits.
 * [[Asshole Victi]: Hans Schroeder, one hundred percent. He is a violent, abusive bastard who hits and mistreats his children and beats his wife so viciously she suffers a miscarriage. Really He's more of a [[Complete Monste].
 * [[Badas]: More than a few.
 * Jimmy Darmody has demonstrated himself to be fairly badass, probably best exemplified when he.
 * Harrow also qualifies, considering that sniper shot in "Home" and the.
 * In "The Emerald City", Meyer Lansky keeps his calm and is the one guy with the brains to keep his mouth shut and walk away from Nucky's vengeance for the hit against him.
 * Chalky much of the time, especially his confrontation with the Klansman, his revenge on the D'Alessios for lynching his driver, and his lengthy confrontation with Dunn Purnsley.
 * Manny Horvitz, who manages to take a shotgun blast to the shoulder and just doesn't care.
 * [[Badass Boas]: A quick two sentences from Nucky from "A Dangerous Maid" are all he needs.

"Nucky: We all have to decide how much sin we can live with."
 * [[Badass Grandp]: The Commodore is still able to lift a giant elephant tusk over his head, which a man half his age couldn't do.
 * [[Bad Bos]: Van Alden to Sebso, Nucky to Eddie, Madame Jeunet to Margaret, Margaret to Katy and the other girls, Eli to Halloran...
 * Bad Guys Play Pool:
 * Arnold Rothstein is quite the expert. In reality, Rothstein's pool hall exploits inspired the film [[The Hustler (film)|The Hustle].
 * Lucky Luciano's a pretty decent pool player, apparently having picked it up from Rothstein.
 * Bait and Switch:
 * An interesting one in "The Ivory Tower". Near the beginning of the episode, Jimmy buys a necklace. Later on, he gives his wife an also expensive bracelet instead of that necklace, so it's already fishy. Then, he can't have sex with her because his son is napping in the same room. He looks frustrated, so he goes to a Broadway rehearsal. Backstage, a great-looking woman is jumping with joy when he sees her, so the audience assumes it's an old flame and Jimmy's there for a booty call. He gives her the necklace from the beginning of the episode. And then it turns out it's his mother and the necklace is just a similar one to the one she sold to provide for her family.
 * In "21", Mrs. Van Alden is visibly aroused after watching Nelson perform a raid of a restaurant selling illegal liquor. We cut to a shot of a headboard rhythmically pounding--but it's Nelson testing out the springs by pressing with his hand.
 * In "The Age of Reason",.
 * Nucky, Eli, and Manny Horvitz pull it on Jimmy in "To the Lost":.
 * [[Battle Butle]: Despite his usual clumsiness, Nucky's German butler, Eddie Kessler, can act fast when needed, like say,.
 * [[Battle in the Rai]: The finale of Season 2.
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished:
 * Averted when.
 * And also with Richard Harrow, who was very handsome as we see in a dream sequence, but has already suffered a horrific facial disfigurement by the time we meet him.
 * Bedmate Reveal:
 * in "Home".
 * Lucy and at the end of "The Emerald City".
 * in "Gimcrack & Bunkum". Apparently, she's a screamer.
 * [[Berserk Butto]:
 * Chalky normally has a calm, very collected exterior. However, insult his lynched driver, and expect him to slowly choke you to death with his bare hands in a bout of [[Tranquil Fur].
 * Insulting or harming Jimmy's family is a very bad idea.
 * It doesn't take much to set Lucky Luciano off. Or [[Brooklyn Rage|Al Capon]. Especially when they're around each other.
 * Abuse Your wife or kids when in Atlantic City and Nucky will personally see to it that You suffer a horrific death.
 * [[Betty and Veronic]: Margaret and Lucy for Nucky in Season 1.
 * [[Beware the Nice One]: in "Paris Green".
 * Margaret in early Season Two ("Ourselves Alone" and "Gimcrack and Bunkum" in particular).
 * [[Big Applesauc]: While most of the action takes place in Atlantic City, New York is a major part of the show. Gangsters Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer Lansky make their home in NYC.
 * Big Bad Ensembl]: There are a number of character who seem to step in and out of the [[Big Bad role.
 * Arnold Rothstein, as Nucky's chief competitor and the man behind the majority of the crime-based threats to his empire.
 * Nelson Van Alden, head of the Prohibition department trying to take Nucky down, who becomes mostly a [[Knight Templa] and even.
 * The Commodore, though he's really more of an [[Anticlimax Bos], since.
 * [[Dragon Ascendan]:, who becomes the real threat to Nucky in Season 2.
 * Then there's the [[Wild Card|Wild Card] of Eli Thompson, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer Lansky (the latter three of which [[From Nobody to Nightmare|history tells us will become major threat]).
 * [[Bilingual Dialogu]: During a business meeting, Lucky Luciano mutters a side-hand comment in Yiddish to Meyer Lanksy, who responds in Italian, showing their close relationship in spite of their different ethnic backgrounds.
 * [[Bi the Wa]: Angela. She seems to be genuinely attracted to Jimmy, but only pursues women when cheating on him.
 * [[Black and Gray Moralit]: Nucky is a corrupt politician and "half a gangster", but he has generally progressive attitudes. Van Alden is a federal agent enforcing the law, but he is clearly deranged. Prohibition, the law Nucky's flaunting and Van Alden is enforcing, is seen by posterity as a terrible idea. The conflict between these two would normally give this series [[Grey and Gray Moralit]. However, certain characters such as Arnold Rothstein serve to remind us that gangsters can certainly get a hell of a lot worse and a hell of a lot more unscrupulous than Nucky, significantly darkening this particular shade of conflict. The only "good" main character is Margaret, but her close association with Nucky and the power-by-proxy she gets a chance to wield send her on her own trip towards the middle of the morality scale.

"Chalky: Purnsley be done."
 * Blonde Guys Are Evil: Jimmy is an antihero gangster and Deputy Halloran is a sadsack Mook.
 * [[Bond One-Line]: A truly groanworthy one courtesy of Chalky White, following a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdow] on Dunn B. Purnsley.

"Richard (discussing possible ways to locate and eliminate the d'Alessio brothers): I could kill their mother. The sisters. And the dentist [a civilian brother]. That would make them stick their heads up."
 * [[Brainless Beaut]: Lucy.
 * Brand X: Heavily averted.
 * [[Break the Haught]: Dunn Purnsley. It works, too, considering that in "Battle of the Century",.
 * Brick Jok]: See [[Not Quite Dead below.
 * [[Brooklyn Rag]: Al Capone is one of the most famous examples of this trope.
 * [[The Brut]:
 * Charlie "Lucky" Luciano ([[Not-So-Harmless Villain|at this point in time anywa]) serves as the dim-witted right hand of Rothstein, though his higher aspirations quickly become apparent.
 * Chalky White is a [[Scary Black Ma]. [[The Dragon|Dunn Purnsle] is his scarier right hand.
 * [[Bullying a Drago]:
 * Dunn Purnsley to Chalky White when they're locked up together.
 * Jimmy knows how brutal and unforgiving Manny Horovitz can be, but he still reneges on a debt he owes Manny and then . Jimmy should have known better but Manny kept treating Jimmy like a kid and the lecturing got on Jimmy's nerves.
 * [[The Butche]: Manny Horovitz is literally a kosher butcher, but he's also a vicious gangster. He's shown combining the two when he beats up a treacherous subordinate and leaves him tied upside down to a meat hook for further interrogation. He doesn't kill the guy himself though, since that wouldn't be kosher.
 * [[The Butler Did I]: Played completely straight with . Being that this is a [[Dead Unicorn Trop] (and suspicion thrown on Gillian), it plays more like a [[Subverted Trope|subversio] of expectation.
 * [[Butt Monke]:
 * Luciano gets it in the first season, almost to [[Humiliation Cong] proportions.
 * Mickey Doyle is one to everyone, [[The Hyena|though h] [[Karma Houdini|deserves i].
 * Eddie is one for Nucky.
 * Call Back:
 * In Season 2's "Ourselves Alone", Margaret borrows a maid's clothes, dresses much like she did in the pilot, and coaxes her way into Nucky's office with a story much like the one she told in the pilot. She does this to rescue some cash and incriminating documents from the cops that are rifling through Nucky's things.
 * In Season 1, Nucky tells Margaret the story of how he lost his baseball glove as a boy to illustrate what a monster his father was. In Season 2's "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", the episode in which Papa Thompson dies, Nucky has a disturbing dream that features the glove. He also says the line, "Daddy eats first", the same his father said him when he scarred his hand as a child.
 * The scene where people discover 's "suicide" in Season 2 is strongly reminiscent of the one where people discovered 's in Season 1, screaming woman and all.
 * Early in Season 1, there are several moments where Jimmy looks distressed as the audience hears sounds of an oncoming train. In "Under God's Power She Flourishes", this is explained as.
 * Call Forward: From "Hold Me in Paradise": "A fortune-teller told me he would die in office."
 * [[Camera Abus]: Blood spatters the screen more than once in the pilot.
 * The Cast Showoff: Anthony Laciura, who plays Eddie, is an opera singer, and in "What Does the Bee Do?", Eddie sings beautifully at a birthday party, although [[Hookers and Blow|given what else was going o], the guests probably weren't paying too much attention.
 * [[The Chains of Commandin]
 * over the top. Except, [[Foregone Conclusion|of cours], he survives.
 * [[Chekhov's Gu]:
 * Jimmy's combat knife, which we see early in "Family Limitation" as he slides it into a special holster in his boot, is a [[Chekhov's Boomeran]. He later . It also appears again in "A Return to Normalcy", when . It appears again in "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", when Jimmy and Richard, and finally in "Under God's Power She Flourishes", when Jimmy uses it to.
 * In "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", Nucky visits a National Guard armory and is told that they have three thousand surplus Thompson sub-machine guns stored in the basement. At the end of the episode.
 * Van Alden's murder of Agent Sebso in "Paris Green" wasn't a case of [[Karma Houdin] after all:.
 * The Commodore was apparently practicing with Chekhov's Spear; the pike he is seen using in "21" comes back with a vengeance in "Under God's Power She Flourishes", when.
 * The insurance policies that Rothstein had the D'Alessio Brothers, and more importantly, Mickey Doyle, sign are also used in "Under God's Power She Flourishes". Luciano reminds Doyle that there is very little reason to keep Doyle alive, as dead, Luciano and Rothstein can split the half-million. Doyle begins to plot accordingly.
 * In "Battle of the Century", there is a long, lingering shot of Manny Horvitz's meat cleaver collection, conveniently embedded in a chopping block near the door.
 * [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorde]: Several characters, but Mickey Doyle in particular.
 * Click. "Hello.": Margaret, of all people, in "Gimcrack & Bunkum". With a shotgun.
 * [[Closest Thing We Go]: Not used in dialogue, but otherwise played straight when the feds burst through a dentist's door, in order to.
 * Cluster F-Bomb: Nearly every character seems to really fuckin' enjoy their blue language, but the fuckin' Commodore takes the fuckin' cake.
 * [[Cold-Blooded Tortur]: Chalky dishes out some [[Fingor] on a KKK wizard, Van Alden is not above performing some [[Open-Heart Dentistr], and Manny Horvitz likes to hang traitors upside down in his meat locker.
 * [[Cold Snipe]: Jimmy's friend Richard Harrow. Made a Cold Sniper and a [[Shell-Shocked Vetera] as well by his horrific experiences in The Great War.

"Eddie: You want me to frisk him down? Nucky: You're Tom Mix all of a sudden?"
 * [[Composite Characte]:
 * In Season 1, we meet [[wikipedia:Nan Britton|Nan Britto], most famous for her delusional relationship with US President [[Warren G Hardin] which probably existed only in her head. The show, however, portrays their affair as real, and at some point she reads a poem that Harding actually wrote for one of his mistresses, [[wikipedia:Carrie Phillips|Carrie Phillip]. Also like Phillips, the character is quietly moved out of town in order to avoid a scandal until the presidential election is over.
 * Season 2 brings IRA big-shot John McGarrigle. While his name and eventual fate indicate a loose inspiration in [[Real Lif] Irish leader [[wikipedia:Sean McGarry|Seán McGarr], his introduction as a funding collector in the States and his mannerisms and strict Catholic doctrine remind more of [[wikipedia:Eamon De Valera|Éamon de Valer], to whom actor Ted Rooney also happens to have some physical resemblance too.
 * Confessional: Margaret uses them in "The Age of Reason" and "To the Lost".
 * [[The Consiglier]: Jimmy seeks the advice and counsel of the Commodore's old lawyer Leander Whitlock.
 * [[Continuity Por]: "Under God's Power She Flourishes". It's as if the entire episode was written to brush aside the headscratchers collected since the first season.
 * [[Cool Old Gu]: Whitlock. Helps that he's played by [[The Sopranos|Dominic "Uncle Junior" Chianes].
 * The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: It's lampshaded that it cost a lot of money to get the coroner to put down "natural causes" for.
 * [[Corrupt Politicia]: The series is built on these.
 * [[Country Matter]: Margaret resorts to it after Lucy can't comprehend her analogy to a piano-playing rooster.
 * [[Courtroom Episod]: "To the Lost". Cut incredibly short by the metric ton of [[Courtroom Antic] dropped at the very start of the trial -.
 * Cowboy Cop: Van Alden. However, this is not out of a sense of moral righteousness, but out of a personal vendetta against Thompson.
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Rothstein has his employees take out life insurance policies with himself as the beneficiary, causing him to profit from their actions no matter what happens.
 * There's also Rothstein's lawyer, who has a drawer full of baseballs signed by Ty Cobb, in case any clients show an interest.
 * "Pine Barrens". You can definitely see this reflected in all of the scenes of intrigue that this series features in the same location. The very first episode seems particularly reflective of the influence, as it similarly features a criminal who against all odds, remains Not Quite Dead.
 * [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badas]: Eddie Kessler, Nucky's bumbling assistant is often treated as a [[Butt Monke] by Nucky and the other gangsters. When an assassin comes after Nucky, he tackles the assassin so he misses his shot, takes the assassin's gun away and then coldly shoots the guy in the back as he is trying to run away. These feats go into Eddie's head a bit, but Nucky [[Dude, Where's My Respect?|doesn't really change his attitude towards hi]:

"Eddie Kessler: (to Margaret) Nucky is a very nice man. Nucky: (to Luciano) You tryin' to sass me, you greasy cocksucker?"
 * Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!
 * [[The Dead Have Name]:
 * Jimmy reads off the names of Atlantic County's WWI fallen at a memorial dedication ceremony in "Gimcrack & Bunkum".
 * In Season 1, Jimmy is visibly pissed when people refer to Pearl as "the whore".
 * [[Deadpan Snarke]:
 * Nucky has a clever quip for just about any situation.
 * The new Federal prosecutor assigned to Nucky's case, Esther Randolph.
 * Margaret also has her moments.
 * Rothstein has them too, usually at the expense of one of his employees.
 * [[Death by Disfiguremen]: Pearl shoots herself after getting her face cut.
 * Death by Flashback: We suddenly get a lot of insight into backstory in the couple of episodes before his death.
 * [[Death by Racis]: In "Gimcrack & Bunkum", one of the Atlantic City bigwigs who insulted Jimmy and hit him with his cane also is shown bragging about his military experience which consisted of slaughtering Native Americans (about whom he makes racist comments). At the end of the episode,.
 * The Klansmen who shoot up Chalky's distillery and kill three of his people in the Season 2 premiere meet an ugly end in the season finale.
 * [[Deceased Fall Guy Gambi]: Done in the pilot, and numerous times afterward.
 * [[Decoy Protagonis]:.
 * Defeat Means Friendship: Dunn Purnsley is given a severe beat-down for taunting Chalky in jail. Episodes later, he makes a surprising comeback as Chalky's right hand man.
 * [[Description Cu]:

"Torrio: (discussing a meeting with George Remus) Romulus couldn't make it. Al: That his partner? Torrio: ..."
 * Dirty Cop:
 * Everyone in the Atlantic City PD, apparently, including Sheriff Eli Thompson.
 * Agent Sebso is a Dirty Prohibition Agent.
 * [[Dirty Old Ma]: The Commodore, who is known to have a taste for underage girls. Just about every other older man in the show also qualifies.
 * The Ditz:
 * Nan Britton actually thinks that President-elect Harding will divorce his wife and bring her and their love child to the White House. [[Truth in Televisio], as the real Britton really was that obsessed with Harding and continued to believe that he loved her until her death in 1991.
 * Deputy Halloran is rather thick.
 * The Dog Bites Back:
 * Deputy Halloran betrays Eli to the feds after Eli has him beaten. Ironically, Eli had him beaten because he incorrectly thought that Halloran had talked to the feds.
 * Mickey Doyle attempts to work out a deal with Van Alden after getting pushed around once too many times by his criminal associates.
 * After being, Gillian Darmody gets her revenge years later after.
 * Rose Van Alden is not pleased with her husband . Two episodes later,.
 * [[Domestic Abus]:
 * Margaret loses her baby due to a particularly brutal beating.
 * It's strongly implied Eli beats his wife.
 * [[Don't Explain the Jok]:
 * "Big Jim" Colosimo is never going to get it.
 * Happens a few times with [[Al Capon] as well.

"Nucky: Et tu, Eli? Eli: What? Nucky: Shakespeare. [[Julius Caesa].
 * [[Driven to Suicid]:
 * Poor Pearl.
 * in a fairly literal [[Pet the Do] moment.
 * [[Drop-Dead Gorgeou]: In the premiere episode, a gang of bootleggers put their distillery beneath a morgue to hide the smell. The only body we see is a fully nude young woman.
 * [[Dumbass Has a Poin]: In "What Does the Bee Do?" Eli comments about Jimmy's weird relationship with his mother. This is the first time anyone in the series has noted it out loud (although Angela obviously notices it too).
 * [[Dumb Muscl]: Eli is widely seen as this for Nucky, something he despises. And then there is Deputy Halloran, who is Eli's [[Dumb Muscl]... and seems totally OK with that.
 * Equal Opportunity Evil: Nucky, in stark contrast to pretty much everyone else. He relies particularly on his control of the black population through an alliance with Chalky White.
 * Et Tu, Brute?: Hilariously lampshaded in Season 2 finale "To the Lost".

Eli: There was a character named Eli?|undefined"

"Gillian: Finish it, goddamn you!"
 * [[Even Evil Has Standard]: Nucky clearly takes pity on Margaret Schroeder and is enraged enough by her husband's abuse that.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Commodore.
 * [[Eye Screa]:
 * Richard Harrow lost an eye in the war, and is introduced with a startling closeup of the wound.
 * [[Face Death with Dignit]:
 * goes to his execution pretty calmly. He doesn't even take a gun with him.
 * [[Facial Horro]: Richard Harrow.
 * [[Fake-Out Make-Ou]: Jimmy does this on the boardwalk with Angela when he spots Nucky walking with Waxey Gordon and Herman.
 * [[Family Theme Namin]: The D'Alessios are named after popes, and the names of all the Thompson men begin with an 'E'.
 * [[Fan Disservic]:
 * Pearl, high on laudanum, comes downstairs in her lingerie to strut her stuff for the johns,.
 * Despite there being no overtly nasty images, will still likely just make you feel dirty.
 * Gillian sharing that she used to kiss Jimmy's "little winky" while changing his diapers. Good luck finding her sexy after that. ...
 * A naked, heavily pregnant, loudly sobbing Lucy in "A Dangerous Maid".
 * [[Fan Servic]:
 * Chock full of naked ladies. Pretty much every female character has shown at least her breasts at least once.
 * And for the ladies, Lucky Luciano goes full frontal. Not to mention all the men in gorgeous period clothes and states of undress.
 * [[Fanservice Extr]: Many, many hookers.
 * Faux Affably Evil:
 * Arnold Rothstein is polite, erudite and witty, but also coldly ruthless.
 * Manny Horvitz behaves like a friendly [[Alter Kocke] at calm moments, but when angered (which [[Hot-Blooded|happens a lo]), becomes a brutal sadist.
 * [[Fingor]:
 * Chalky unrolls some intimidating carpenter's tools in front of the local Ku Klux Klan leader, and after some unspecified torture (which he kept going for ten minutes after getting the information he wanted) he leaves the man's finger and ring with the police.
 * Owen Sleater's victim in "Peg of Old" attempts to stop a garrotte. It goes about as well as expected when his fingers get sliced off.
 * Finish Him!: "Under God's Power She Flourishes".
 * Finish Him!: "Under God's Power She Flourishes".

"Chalky: Tell Nucky I ain't got all day!"
 * Foregone Conclusio]: The fate of the historical characters is pretty much sealed. Also becomes [[It Was His Sled.
 * [[Warren Hardin] will become President and die in office.
 * [[Al Capon], Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lansky will all survive and become organized crime bosses running Chicago and New York. "Big Jim" Colosimo and Arnold Rothstein will be murdered.
 * [[Fortune Telle]: Gillian and Harding's wife are assiduous of them, and so far [[Prophecies Are Always Right|they have always been righ].
 * [[The Gamble]: Arnold Rothstein is a consummate high-stakes gambler and approaches life like a game.
 * [[The Gambling Addic]: Margaret's husband.
 * Going by the Matchbook: How finds out his attempted hitman is from Atlantic City.
 * [[Gold Digge]: Margaret, arguably, although she's a fairly sympathetic variant. She gets along with Nucky well enough but doesn't really seem to love him all that much, and the Season 1 finale makes clear that she goes back to Nucky because he's rich.
 * Lucy follows the trope pretty closely in Season 1. She's only with Nucky because he buys her pretty things and pays her for it, and throws fits when he takes up with Margaret.
 * Annabelle, like Lucy, is another gold-digging serial mistress.
 * [[Gorgeous Period Dres]: The setting makes sure that everyone gets their share of this, but Margaret really ices the cake.
 * [[Gor]: Many grisly murders throughout the run of the show.
 * [[Gory Discretion Sho]: Averted constantly. There are, however, a few straight uses scattered about.
 * [[Grammar Naz]: Nucky.
 * [[Guttural Growle]: Richard Harrow, presumably as a result of injuries inflicted during the war (check the scar on his throat). Serves to emphasize his both dangerous and shy nature. Actor Jack Huston came up with the voice by [[Doing It for the Art|stuffing his mouth with cotton ball], not unlike a certain [[Marlon Brando|famous Method acto] did for [[The Godfather|a certain mobster movi].
 * [[Handicapped Badas]: Richard Harrow.
 * [[Have a Gay Old Tim]: The result of using period music.
 * "For weeks I have him worried / but now he's feeling gay"
 * "I'm going to Cuba / where everything's gay"
 * [[Hazy Feel Tur]: Eli and Jimmy, conspiring with the Commodore to overthrow Nucky. But especially Eli, who flips back and forth between Jimmy and Nucky constantly in Season 2.
 * [[Heat Wav]: The Season 2 finale, with the unspoken implication that [[A Storm Is Comin]... sure enough, it ends with a [[Battle in the Rai].
 * [[Hero Antagonis]: Van Alden starts out as one, but his insane [[Knight Templa] streak and growing moral corruption dump him from Hero status. In the second season, Assistant US Attorney Esther Randolph is a more straight example.
 * [[He Who Fights Monster]: WWI turned Richard and Jimmy into this. Van Alden was sliding towards it before.
 * [[Historical Domain Characte]: Loaded with them. In fact, almost every politician and many of the criminals the main characters interact with are [[Historical Domain Characters, as are other minor characters like Eddie Cantor and Theodore "Houdini's brother" Hardeen. However, most of the main characte]s are aversions. Nucky Thompson and the Commodore were loosely inspired by real people and the other main characters--Margaret, Van Alden, Eli, Jimmy--are entirely fictional.
 * [[Historical In-Jok]:
 * Al Capone claims to have served in the famous "Lost Battalion" and says he got his facial scars in the war. Jimmy later calls him on it. In reality, Capone did not serve, but did indeed pass his scars off as war wounds.
 * Arnold Rothstein's first establishing scene has him being accused of cheating in Nucky's casino and walking away due to his connections. It's ultimately left ambiguous as to whether he was really cheating. The real Rothstein's murder is largely believed to be retaliation for his ducking a gambling debt after he accused the other man of cheating.
 * Capone also dismisses the Irish mafia as a threat - something that turns out to be a very, very bad idea later both in the show and in [[Real Lif] (considering his later conflict with Bugs Moran).
 * Van Alden moves to Cicero at the end of Season 2, which historically savvy viewers will know will soon be the place where Al Capone first makes a name for himself.
 * Blink and you'll miss it, but the poker chips on Rothstein's desk in "To the Lost" are from The Brook, his infamous high-stakes casino.
 * [[Hitman with a Hear]: Richard Harrow. Kind of, anyway. He dreams of love with a prostitute, makes a genuine connection with Margaret and her children, and keeps a scrapbook of happy families, but at other times is quite the sociopathic murderer.
 * [[Hobo]: A pair of wise, understanding ones and their tough dog makes Richard reconsider.
 * Holier Than Thou: The fact that Agent Van Alden is very religious only serves to make him that much more menacing.
 * [[Hollywood Histor]: Mostly averted, but not completely.
 * Much of the first season's plot is driven by the election of 1920 and Nucky's anxiety over the GOP's prospects. In reality, 1920 was a strongly Republican year both nationally and in New Jersey, and Atlantic City was a Republican one-party town both in 1920 and for decades thereafter.
 * Al Capone's son is portrayed as completely deaf from birth, when he actually went partially deaf at age 7.
 * The Klan was not as strong in New Jersey as is portrayed. Certainly there weren't lynchings [http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/shipp/lynchingsstate.html in New Jerse.
 * Hookers and Blow: Pearl introduces Jimmy to opium.
 * Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Pearl.
 * Hot-Blooded: Lucky Luciano, in contrast to the [[The Stoic|unflappable Arnold Rothstei].
 * Hot Dad: Jimmy.
 * [[Hot Mo]:
 * Jimmy's mom, Gillian, is a showgirl who gave birth at fourteen. Lucky Luciano sleeps with her under the mistaken belief that she's Jimmy's wife.
 * Margaret and Angela also qualify.
 * [[How We Got Her]: The pilot.
 * [[The Hyen]:
 * Capone surely likes to laugh a lot.
 * Michael "Mickey Doyle" Kozik's high-pitched giggle is hard to miss, especially since he is often the only one laughing.
 * [[Ignored Epiphan]: Nucky, lampshaded by Lucy: "They raised him to be a good Catholic boy. And sometimes he starts thinking he should change or he's going to go to hell. But all I have to do is this" *spreads her legs* "and he comes right back to me."
 * [[I Have a Famil]: Invoked by when facing a loaded gun. It starts to work until she offers money, which hardens her attacker back up.
 * [[I Have Many Name]: Salvatore "Sal" "Charlie" "Lucky" Luciano - born Lucania. Lampshaded by Jimmy in "Georgia Peaches".
 * Margaret Catherine Sheillah Rohan Schroeder, alias "Peg".
 * [[Impaled Pal]: Nucky gets this in the second season after he blocks an assassin's bullet with his hand. This was the same hand that his abusive father had deliberately burnt him on as a child, injuring the other side of the hand at that time. When receiving treatment, Nucky acknowledges the symbolism, calling it "stigmata".
 * [[Incoming Ha]: Michael K. Williams as Chalky White in the pilot episode. He even gets special camera work for his one appearance and his one line.
 * [[Incoming Ha]: Michael K. Williams as Chalky White in the pilot episode. He even gets special camera work for his one appearance and his one line.

"Nucky (puzzled): What's "motherfucker" mean...?
 * [[Incredibly Lame Pu]: "I'm a little short!" The little person rolls his eyes after being forced to deliver this line.
 * Indirect Kis]: Gillian and Jimmy get a creepy one in "Gimcrack and Bunkum" in which she takes a cigarette out of her mouth and puts it in his. This is a gesture which would generally be in a romantic/sexual context and not between a parent and child, which is probably underscored by the fact that other characters have [[Smoking Hot Sex in the same episode
 * [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villai]: Eli, in Season 1. He becomes pretty reprehensible in Season 2.
 * [[I Never Got Any Letter]: Angela's relation with Jimmy strains while he is in Chicago because Van Alden is intercepting their mail.
 * [[Interrupted Suicid]: is about to shoot himself but is interrupted and does not go through with it.
 * [[Irish Revolutio]: Being fought during the time frame of Seasons 1 and 2. IRA leader McGarrigle solicits financial support from Nucky, and Owen Sleater hunts down an IRA traitor in Atlantic City. The June 1921 ceasefire threatens an arms deal Nucky is trying to set up with the IRA.
 * [[Iris Ou]: Last shot of the pilot, in a nod to early silent films.
 * [[Ironic Nicknam]: As if Albert White wasn't ironic enough already, everyone calls him "Chalky".
 * [[It Gets Easie]: 's last words, talking to his own killer.
 * [[It Works Better with Bullet]: Nucky's rather ungrateful response to Margaret after she chases off with an unloaded shotgun before he can.
 * [[I Will Fight No More Foreve]: Nucky tells Jimmy and the rest of the plotters this in "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", announcing that he's stepping down and out of the way. It seems less than sincere, as he starts plotting with Chalky White and the IRA afterwards.
 * [[Jerkas]: Nucky, Van Alden, the Commodore, Mickey Doyle, Lucky Luciano... it's [[Black and Gray Moralit], what do you expect?
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nucky can be quite abrasive towards the people around him, but he gets a few [[Pet the Do] moments to show that he's not that bad of a guy.
 * [[Joise]
 * [[Jumping Out of a Cak]: Lucy does this for Nucky at Nucky's birthday party.
 * [[Kansas City Shuffl]: Torrio, Capone, and Jimmy pull one in "Family Limitation". While Jimmy.
 * [[Karma Houdin]: get this status to various degrees at the end of Season 2.
 * Karmic Death: Hans Schroeder being beaten to death after abusing his kids and inflicting such extreme abuse on his wife that she miscarried.
 * [[Kick the Do]:
 * When Van Alden kidnaps and tortures a hospitalized man to get information he makes it quite clear that no, he isn't the good guy in this story either.
 * Van Alden during a baptism in front of a church full of witnesses.
 * Rothstein once forced a man to choke to death on a cue ball for his own amusement.
 * Richard Harrow volunteering to murder an innocent family without blinking, then actually murdering without blinking.
 * Manny's response to Jimmy ducking his debt,.
 * Eli and later.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch:
 * In "What Does the Bee Do?", it might seem cruel to . When the man is the Commodore and the attacker is, it's hard to find much fault.
 * Nucky's in "Gimcrack & Bunkum".
 * Jimmy.
 * Nucky arranging the brutal murder of Hans Schroeder. It was brutal but given that how despicable Schroeder was, its difficult to see his beat-down as anything other than Karma.
 * [[Killed Mid-Sentenc]: - reassuring his assailant that [[It Gets Easie], for added awesome points.
 * Killed Off for Real: After largely avoiding this despite being a show about violent gangsters, one main character is killed off in each of the last three episodes of Season 2.
 * [[Knight Templa]: Van Alden, who cares more about catching Nucky than about enforcing the law for good if we look at his treatment of the dying, bleeding witness.
 * Lady Macbeth:
 * Gillian is this in Season 2 [[Oedipus Complex|for her son, Jimm], with a side of [[The Consiglier]. She's the one who encourages him to stick to his guns and.
 * [[Laser-Guided Karm]:
 * Liam, the Mook that is.
 * [[Domestic Abuse|Hans Schroede], who also counts.
 * Parkhurst in "Gimcrack & Bunkum". Disrespects Jimmy and bludgeons him with his cane, but is reverent of Native American artifacts. Gets.
 * Lawful Stupid: Van Alden. He believes that by getting rid of Nucky, the only gangster boss in the series who actually has a decent side to him, that "This Sodom will be cleansed", Sodom being Atlantic City. However, in Season 2 he starts learning hard lessons about corruption and unenforceable laws.
 * [[Law of Inverse Fertilit]: Mrs. Van Alden wants desperately to get pregnant but can't. Meanwhile,.
 * [[Let Me Tell You a Stor]: Occurs a lot.
 * The journalists waiting for Nucky outside jail in "Ourselves Alone" [[Lampshad] his tendency toward this.
 * Libation for the Dead: In "To the Lost". This doubles as a Title Drop as well as [[Throw It I].
 * Light Is Not Good: The scene in which Van Alden is filled with much light and Christian-based imagery. Van Alden's fundamentalist religious views and [[Knight Templar|severe self-righteousnes] also play into the trope.
 * [[Loads and Loads of Character]: As of the second season, sixteen actors are series regulars and a few dozen more make up the recurring characters. No HBO show since [[The Wir] has had a cast this sprawling.
 * Lonely at the Top: Nucky is without family other than a father and brother that hate him, and he doesn't even seem to have many friends. Margaret is the only person he has an emotional connection with.
 * [[Luke, I Am Your Fathe]: The [[Wild Mass Guessin] wasn't so far off the mark -.
 * [[Male Frontal Nudit]: Lucky Luciano, briefly.
 * [[The Man Behind the Ma]: Nucky is this in-universe. His only official position is Treasurer of Atlantic County, New Jersey, but he controls not just the city but the entire New Jersey Republican Party.
 * [[A Man Is Not a Virgi]: Jimmy makes sure to get Richard Harrow laid as soon as possible.
 * [[Meaningful Background Even]: 's murder.
 * [[Meet Cut]: In "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", while on the beach, Angela sees a woman arguing with a police officer who tells her to cover up because she's showing too much leg. As the conversation grows heated, Angela intervenes, and hits it off with the woman. Apparently Angela's gaydar was pretty good...
 * [[Melee a Troi]:
 * Season 1 is Nucky vs. Rothstein vs. the U.S. Prohibition Agents.
 * Season 2 is Nucky vs. Jimmy vs. the U.S. Attorney's office.
 * Mexican Standoff: In "The Age of Reason", it's Luciano and Lansky against Jimmy, Richard, and Horovitz.
 * [[The Mistres]: Nan Britton is Warren Harding's.
 * Margaret would be this if Nucky were married, but instead she's just a kept woman..
 * Lucy is.
 * [[Modesty Bedshee]: Margaret wears a nightie for sex with Nucky in numerous episodes.
 * Esther has the bedsheet version in "Battle of the Century" when she's talking to Clifford post-coital.
 * Moe Greene Special: Considering Terence Winter's [[Author Appeal|love of all thing] [[The Godfather|Godfathe], it's unsurprising that this trope pops up a number of times. The preeminent example is probably Jim Colosimo's death in the pilot - shot through the eye so that the blood spatters the camera.
 * [[The Mol]:
 * Agent Sebso.
 * Herman was one for Waxey Gordon. Emphasis on was.
 * [[Moral Guardian]: The Woman's Temperance League.
 * [[Morality Pe]: Margaret is debatably one for Nucky, depending upon how moral you think she is.
 * Al Capone has his deaf son.
 * Jimmy has Richard Harrow, a disfigured and awkward veteran, who Jimmy got laid and introduced into gang life.
 * [[More Gu]: The Klansmen use a truck-mounted heavy machine gun to shoot up Chalky's warehouse.
 * Mother F-Bomb:

Eddie: I think it's a schvartze word."

"Jimmy: I think you'd agree that Greek Town belongs to us now."
 * [[Mr. Fanservic]: Jimmy Darmody, Lucky Luciano, Richard Harrow, Owen Sleater, Meyer Lansky, and for those who like slightly older guys, Chalky White.
 * [[Ms. Fanservic]: Lucy seems to have difficulty keeping clothes on. Then there's Gillian Darmody and her topless revue.
 * [[Mugging the Monste]: Happens with both Chalky and Jimmy (literally mugged, in the case of the latter) in "Ourselves Alone", although the former might be closer to [[Bullying a Drago].
 * [[Murder Is the Best Solutio]: Pretty much all of the gangsters who Jimmy associates with in the second season endorse this, and it borders on a life philosophy for Al Capone and Manny Horvitz. Well showcased when.
 * [[My Life Flashed Before My Eye]:.
 * [[National Stereotype]: In universe, Nucky takes advantage of . Use of slurs about any ethnic group and their mother is rampant.
 * Never Learned to Read: Chalky, who was born a poor, black working man, in contrast to his classically educated family. Dunn Purnsley is also illiterate. He insinuates that Chalky can't read, but can't actually prove it by pointing out that Chalky gives the wrong title for the book he's "reading".
 * [[Nice Ha]: Both Jimmy and Capone ditch their working-class caps for fedoras as a metaphor for their maturation as gangsters.
 * [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdow]:
 * Jimmy dishes one out to a photographer after misunderstanding his son and thinking that the photographer was having an affair with Angela. In reality, Angela was with the photographer's wife, although the photographer did suggest a threesome.
 * Dunn Purnsley gets one after picking a fight with Chalky in a cell full of guys who owe him a favor.
 * Gillian dishes one out on the Commodore after his stroke.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: McGarrigle, the Sinn Féin big shot in "Ourselves Alone" is a transparent [[Exp] of [[wikipedia:Eamon de Valera|Éamon de Valer]. However, he's somewhat older at this point in history than his historical counterpart was, and diverges from him in "The Battle of the Century" where the real de Valera is mentioned and.
 * [[Not Now, Kidd]: Nucky's servant Harlan overheard him talking to his lawyer about Van Alden, and Nucky snaps at him for eavesdropping. When he starts to say he's worked for Nucky for years, Nucky cuts him off with a thank you for not joining the strike. When he mentions his church, Nucky curtly thanks him for his prayers. Just as he's leaving the room, Fallon asks him what he wanted to say, and he finally gets a chance to reveal that he and his entire congregation witnessed Van Alden drown his partner.
 * Not Quite Dead: Hey, remember.
 * [[Obfuscating Stupidit]:
 * Agent Sebso seems extremely incompetent, but he is actually [[The Mol]. He uses the fact that people think he is an idiot to get away with murder.
 * Mickey Doyle is not as stupid as the others think. When his Italian partners are laughing and talking about him behind his back, he knows that it is time to.
 * After Nucky is arrested, Margaret goes to his office pretending to be a poor, pregnant woman who needs Mr Thompson's help and is utterly confused by the fact that he is not there. The state policemen searching his office are completely fooled by this and take pity on her. She uses the opportunity to retrieve incriminating evidence.
 * Odd Friendship: Hotheaded and loud-mouthed Lucky Luciano with impeccably-polite businessman Meyer Lansky. [[Truth in Televisio].
 * Oedipus Complex: Jimmy and Gillian's relationship is shown to be increasingly Oedipal as the show goes on until "Under God's Power She Flourishes", when it's revealed that . In the same episode, Jimmy takes it to its logical conclusion by.
 * Oireland: Discussed in-universe. Eli and Nucky are Irish-Americans who idealize their homeland and buy into Oirish stereotypes, and have been called on it by actual Irish people.
 * [[Ominous Pipe Orga]: The classic Tocatta plays after Richard Harrow does his first assassination. A definite [[Visual Pu] given Harrow's resemblance to [[The Phantom of the Oper].
 * Ominous Walk:
 * The show seems to like giving them to Richard and Jimmy, who both have notable ones in "A Return to Normalcy" and "To the Lost".
 * Nucky has one in "The Emerald City" and another in "Ourselves Alone".
 * One Dialogue, Two Conversation]: In "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", Nucky takes Owen aside to demand to know what Owen was doing during a time he was supposed to be on duty and when Owen gives the excuse he was visiting an old friend, Nucky pointedly asks if that friend was from Ireland. Owen has an [[Oh Crap reaction, as while he did visit with (and kill) an acquaintance from Ireland that day, he also . Luckily for Owen, Nucky was referring to the assassination and Owen gives a sigh of relief when Nucky brings up approaching the IRA for a business deal.
 * [[Only Sane Ma]: Nucky, at times. Meyer Lansky, at others.
 * [[Open-Heart Dentistr]: Although in this case, Van Alden only needs the dentist's cocaine to keep his witness alive long enough to give him a name.
 * [[Parental Inces]: ...
 * [[Passed Over Inheritanc]:.
 * [[Patricid]
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: Chalky and his father's carpentry tools are set loose on a Ku Klux Klan leader to see if the Klan was involved in his friend's lynching. Eventually Chalky is satisfied that they weren't... and keeps going for another ten minutes.
 * When the Klan attack Chalky's business in "21" and an entire season goes by with Nucky refusing to allow Chalky vengeance, Jimmy and Richard deliver the three Klansmen to Chalky in "To the Lost".
 * Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: In "Peg of Old", Jimmy most likely would not have if Al, Eli, Lansky, Luciano, and Gillian hadn't been pressuring him to do so. Overlaps with [[The Chains of Commandin], as he discusses with Gillian how he had to be seen to be decisive.
 * [[Perfect Poiso]: Averted. Jimmy eats a cookie poisoned with arsenic and it causes him to vomit. The Commodore is being poisoned with the arsenic for much longer, but it also just makes him really sick. The poison is discovered before it has a chance to kill him.
 * [[Pet the Do]:
 * Nucky with Margaret, especially when he visits her at the hospital at the end of the pilot.
 * Van Alden buys Lucy a record player after she becomes suicidally depressed due to months of isolation (at his insistence) while she's pregnant. It's actually an equally humanizing moment for both of them.
 * Al has a soft spot for kids, both his own son and Jimmy's son Tommy.
 * [[Phony Vetera]: Al Capone, although he stops making such claims after Jimmy calls him on it.
 * [[Police Are Useles]: Unless you are the [[Villain Protagonis], then they're excellent tools. The Prohibition Agents are just as prone to corruption, many are incompetent and they are prevented from pursuing non-alcohol related crimes.
 * [[Politically-Correct Histor]: Averts it just as much as [[Mad Me]. Casual domestic abuse, racial slurs, midget boxing, and [[Uncle Tomfoolery|a band in blackfac] feature just in the pilot. A black man shooting a white one in self defense still faces a lynching no matter how well connected he might be.
 * [[Politically-Incorrect Villai]: Pretty much everyone (with the exception of [[Equal Opportunity Evil|Nuck]), especially the Commodore and Senator Edge.
 * [[Ponz]: An excellent [[Historical In-Jok]--one of Nucky's friends in the first season is a client/victim of the [[Trope Name], the infamous [[wikipedia:Charles Ponzi|Charles Ponz], seller of "international reply coupons".
 * [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Line]: Chalky ain't building no damn bookcase.
 * [[Pre-Mortem One-Line]: When Jimmy and Al Capone assassinate Charlie Sheridan and his men.

"Lucien: (While Jimmy is loading his gun.) Oh, oh fuckin' tough guy. Are you gonna shoot me for mouthin' off?
 * Also, from "Paris Green".

Jimmy: I wasn't going to, but you kinda talked me into it."

""Lead me on a merry chase these five months, you traitorous fuck!""
 * Owen's got one in "Peg of Old":

"Jimmy: It's not a confession. Richard: It's a suicide note."
 * Richard and Jimmy get a tandem one before Richard blows Neary's brains out:

""I am not seeking forgiveness.""

"'"'Mr. Thompson just said some impressive things about me, but they're not true. I'm no one's idea of a hero, least of all mine. When people ask me what I did [[World War I|over ther], what I tell them is 'I made it back'. We fought for the idea that democracy was worth saving. We fought for our mothers, for our sons, for our wives. We fought for America, and I believe it was worth it. (pauses for applause, then holds up the list of names) These are all brave men."''|undefined"
 * [[Precision F-Strik]:
 * Margaret goes from zero to [[Country Matter] when she's finally had enough of Lucy.
 * She also drops an F-bomb to Nucky when she's finally had enough of his patronization.
 * Richard, who rarely swears, says "I don't fuckin' believe this!" when it's revealed they've caught Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano (and by proxy, Arnold Rothstein) working with Nucky.
 * [[Preemptive Declaratio]: In "Belle Femme", Agent Sebso tells a mook that he had to shoot the mook because he tried to commandeer Sebso's gun. As the mook is trying to puzzle this out, Sebso shoots him.
 * [[Pretty Little Headshot]: Averted big time.
 * "with" credit.
 * [[Psycho for Hir]: The D'Alessio Brothers seem to enjoy killing a little too much.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Al Capone, before getting called on it.
 * [[Punny Nam]: Albert "[[Ironic Nickname|Chalk]" White, the black mobster, has three names meaning "white".
 * [[Put on a Bu]: Lucy blows town in Season 2 after popping out Van Alden's baby.
 * [[Quizzical Til]: Harrow will do this in reaction to violence, showing his detachment. He does it as he regards a crying, panicky twelve-year-old boy, right before shooting him as well as when Al callously suggests that he kill Nucky.
 * Raised Catholic: Margaret Schroeder. Nucky and Eli too, actually, but far more prominently with Margaret, who starts feeling guilty about living the good life as Nucky's kept woman and has a Catholic relapse in Season 2.
 * [[Rant-Inducing Sligh]: In "A Dangerous Maid", Nucky is shown as largely successful at containing his rage at the Commodore for betraying him (as well as encouraging others to to do so). He is even able to keep his temper when he sees the Commodore at the same restaurant he had chosen, eating with Nucky's former cronies. However, when the Commodore orders a dish Margaret had wanted, and the restaurant was consequently out of it, Nucky [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|lets the Commodore have i] (and throws his dinner on the floor).
 * [[Reality Ensue]: No matter how [[Badas] and well connected Chalky White is, in the 1920s a black man killing a white Klansman will cause a shitstorm of trouble. No one cares that it might have been self defense or that the Klansman just murdered four black men.
 * Reality Is Unrealistic: This may be an explanation for the appearance of Harrow's facial prosthetic. They looked much more true to the wearer's face in reality than what's seen on the show.
 * [[Red Oni, Blue On]:
 * Al Capone's hotheadedness compared with Jimmy's rationale.
 * Luciano and Rothstein, as well as Luciano and Lansky. Luciano's always the Red.
 * Richard is the Blue to Jimmy's Red.
 * [[Refuge in Audacit]: Al executing, stepping over the corpse, picking up an apple from the dropped bag of groceries, and biting into it.
 * [[Returning War Ve]: Jimmy and Richard.
 * [[Revealing Hu]: In the first-season finale, Jimmy makes a tearful plea to Angela to rebuild their relationship. She agrees, but her empty stare when they hug reveals mixed emotions. Later in the episode she confirms it by getting an [[Important Haircu] referencing her departed lover.
 * [[The Roaring Twentie]
 * Rousing Speech: Jimmy pulls one out of nowhere in "Gimcrack & Bunkum" during a Memorial Day ceremony.

"Owen: Why did you not shoot me? Richard: I may yet."
 * [[Rule of Thre]: Three main characters, die at the end of Season 2 in just as many episodes in a row.
 * [[Ruthless Foreign Gangster]: The crooks from out of town are all more ruthless than the local Atlantic City hoods. Arnold Rothstein is the most dangerous.
 * [[Scary Black Ma]: Chalky and Purnsley both know how to play it.
 * [[Scenery Por]: The incredible recreation of the Atlantic City boardwalk.
 * [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousnes]: Nucky, Rothstein, and Lansky are prone to it.
 * [[Shell-Shocked Vetera]: Jimmy is not the same guy since he volunteered to serve in [[World War I|The Great Wa]. Richard Harrow is even more messed up.
 * [[Shout-Ou]:
 * In Season 1, Jimmy takes his family to watch a the 1920 edition of [[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyd]. Later, Eli and his buddies watch a vintage porno.
 * The Season 1 finale does two in the same scene;.
 * In the second episode, the Commodore humiliates his servant, by asking her opinion about politics and finance, just to prove his point: women shouldn't be allowed to vote. There is a very similar scene in [[The Remains of the Da].
 * Margaret's family watches The Kid early in Season 2.
 * Margaret reads The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to the children, and Richard Harrow compares himself to the Tin Woodsman.
 * Molly Parke], who starred as Alma Garrett in HBO's drama [[Deadwood, is shown in a framed photograph as Nucky's deceased wife.
 * Shown Their Work: The producers spent millions painstakingly recreating 1920 Atlantic City in modern-day Brooklyn. As with HBO's earlier series [[Carnival], the writers have put much time and effort into creating an entire world in the show and doing the proper research into real life figures.
 * Eli has a book on public speaking by "Dale Carnagey", who not long after changed his name's spelling and is now remembered as Dale Carnegie.
 * Michael Stuhlbarg researched Arnold Rothstein so thoroughly that writers often asked him how Rothstein would handle a situation.
 * The conversation between Nucky and Harry Daugherty about how Warren Harding would take the nomination at the 1920 Republican convention is almost exactly what the real Daugherty actually said at the time.
 * The play Eddie Cantor gives to Lucy to read, which gives its title to the episode "A Dangerous Maid", was [[wikipedia:A Dangerous Maid|the first pla] by [[George Gershwin|Georg] and Ira Gershwin.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: Margaret's response to Lucy's attempts at a [[Hannibal Lectur].
 * Shut Up, Kirk: Nucky to Margaret in "Paris Green". He points out Margaret never said "no" when he was helping her and reveals his knowledge about trying anti-conception. He also refuses to feel guilty about the death of Hans Schroder, who was beating her, the children, made her miscarry and did all of that with a smile.
 * [[Sibling Rivalr]: Eli is jealous of Nucky, his [[Aloof Big Brothe], and wishes people would bow to him the same way they do to Nucky. To Eli's exasperation, most just ignore or outright mock him.
 * [[Siblings in Crim]: Nucky and Eli, the D'Alessio Brothers gang.
 * Sibling Yin-Yan]: Nucky is single and a womanizer (at least initially), [[Equal Opportunity Evil, and is pretty much a [[Non-Action Gu] relying on intellect and charm; Eli is married with a large family, is a [[Politically-Incorrect Villai], and relies more on brute force than smarts.
 * [[Sickbed Slayin]: Nucky arranges for the hospitalized gangster who survived the first episode's massacre to be silenced, but this is prevented by federal agents, although the gangster still ends up dying.
 * Signed Up for the Dental: Nucky thinks that Jimmy joined the Army because he "couldn't hack it at Princeton." As "Under God's Power She Flourishes" reveals that while he actually was kicked out of Princeton, he was also.
 * [[Single Mom Strippe]: Gillian.
 * [[Sir Swearsalo]: Many, but in particular the Commodore and Chalky, to the extent where Chalky can be jarring, considering the actor previously played [[The Wire|Omar Littl], who made it a point not to swear.
 * [[Slashed Throa]: A lot. It seems to be Jimmy's calling card.
 * [[Sleazy Politicia]: All of them.
 * Sliding Scale of Shiny Versus Gritt]: Like [[Gangs of New York, 1920 Atlantic City is surprisingly clean. Along with generous helpings of [[Living in a Furniture Stor] and [[Gorgeous Period Dres], the show is dripping with elegant [[Roaring Twentie][[Buffy-Speak|nes].
 * [[Smug Snak]:
 * Mickey Doyle, a smirking schemer prone to giggling.
 * Thorogood Junior likes to bring up [[Nepotism|his powerful fathe] and is rather too pleased with himself, despite the fact that his part in Nucky's plan involves his convincingly seeming like a total incompetent (which doesn't really require any acting from him).
 * The Sociopath: Most of the gangsters, frankly.
 * [[Soundtrack Dissonanc]:
 * Almost all the final act of the pilot, first with a comedic number by Eddie Cantor taking place while a gang of bootleggers attack the members of a rival gang, and later with an opera playing as.
 * Cheery music interupts Lucy's screaming as she gives birth.
 * Considering that the show's theme music is "Straight Up and Down" by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the soundtrack is (historically) pretty damn dissonant from the get-go...
 * Spiritual Successo]: To other HBO period dramas such as [[Deadwood and [[Carnival], with its lavish production values, use of foul language, and nudity; and other mob themed shows, most notably [[The Soprano].
 * [[Spousal Privileg]: One of the many [[Courtroom Antic] Nucky plays to get his case dismissed.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Agent Van Alden to Margaret Schroeder. He steals her hair ribbon for some late-night ribbon sniffing and requisitions her immigration file to peruse in his free time. Even after his boss calls him out on his seeming obsession with the Schroeders, Van Alden still stops by Margaret's house and uses the opportunity to get details about her from her neighbor. Let's not forget about the time he.
 * [[Stating the Simple Solutio]: Eli, of all people, suggests that killing is how the new coalition of gangsters deals with.
 * [[Stepford Smile]: Jimmy's mother has acted cheerful and nice to the Commodore and even tried to bring him together with his son, but after he has a stroke she [[Beneath the Mask|drops the ac] and tells him how much she loathes him for raping her as a child.
 * The Stoic:
 * The unflappable Arnold Rothstein, who tends to smile when he's annoyed.
 * Van Alden, until you hit his [[Berserk Button|Berserk Button] of duty, religion, or imply he isn't doing his job.
 * Harrow has aspects of this.
 * Meyer Lansky as well (who also picked up the smiling habit from his boss), in contrast to Luciano's hotheaded ways.
 * Straight Edge Evil: Rothstein doesn't drink or womanize and uses some of the least profane language in the series. Van Alden could probably also be seen as this/[[Family Values Villai] with a dose of religious fanaticism and hypocrisy.
 * [[Stuffed Into the Fridg]:.
 * [[Surrounded by Idiot]: Rothstein's reaction after.
 * Sympathetic Criminal/Sympathetic Murdere]: Liking pretty much any of these characters (and the audience does) is a side effect of [[Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster! and the sliding scale of [[Black and Grey Moralit].
 * first published in 1985.
 * A Taste of the Lash: Self-inflicted by the piou] agent Van Alden: the most obvious reason are his [[Seven Deadly Sins| impure thought] caused by a [[Fetish Fuel|16-old Margaret's phot]. [[Casual Kink|He keeps staring at the photo while he flogs himself, though.
 * [[The Teetotale]:
 * Margaret is one when the series starts but begins to drink as she is corrupted by "the good life".
 * The Temperance League, of course, is a legion of teetotalers.
 * As was true historically, Arnold Rothstein is one, drinking tea or milk when others imbibe, allowing him to be sharp when engaged in gambling or other activities.
 * As expected, given his values and dedication to his job, Van Alden starts out as one, but "gives into temptation" in this and other aspects toward the end of the first season.
 * [[Thicker Than Wate]: The Commodore uses this to . Averted by.
 * finds this axiom out the hard way when.
 * [[Third Person Perso]: George Remus.
 * Black Sox Scandal of 1919.
 * [[Too Dumb to Liv]: One of the taunts the mobsters that have them tied up. Lansky winces, expecting the inevitable result, and does not make the same mistake.
 * [[Twisted Echo Cu]: In "21", Nucky is delivering an impassioned speech to a black church congregation promising to protect them from Klansmen--then, after a cleverly disguised cut, Nucky is shown in a near-identical setting telling a racist white church congregation that the "coloreds" will be taught a lesson.
 * Two-Faced: Richard Harrow. And.
 * The Unfavorit]: Both Thompson brothers believe themselves to be. "Home" reveals that their father is quite disapproving of the successful but [[Lonely at the Top Nucky, seeming to prefer his younger and more traditional family-man son, Eli. Later however, Eli learns that their father believes that he's incompetent and needs Nucky to look after him.
 * Villain Ball: Played with in "21"..
 * [[Villain Protagonis]: Nucky and Jimmy.
 * [[Vomit Indiscretion Sho]:
 * Eli violently expelling his stomach contents after a St. Patrick's Day dinner.
 * The Commodore, after drinking medication and being unable to eat breakfast.
 * Jimmy after.
 * Vorpal Pillow: Averted. Eli attempts to murder a semiconscious, hospitalized witness with a pillow, but it takes forever, it wakes up a patient in an adjoining bed (separated by a curtain), and he eventually has to quit with the witness still alive when Van Alden comes in.
 * [[Vote Early, Vote Ofte]: We don't see this in Season 1, even as Nucky gets more and more anxious over the local 1920 elections, but in Season 2, Nucky is charged with election fraud. In jail, he and Chalky discuss how they spent election night giving out money to anyone who would vote for their candidates.
 * [[We Can Rule Togethe]: Lansky talks his way out of a hail of bullets by proposing this to Jimmy, Harrow, and Horowitz; he and Luciano, along with them, will.
 * [[Well-Intentioned Extremis]: The Prohibition agents- one even says specifically that he doesn't care about all the graft and corruption Nucky is responsible for; just that he gets nailed for trafficking liquor.
 * [[Wham! Episod]: The last three episodes of Season 2.
 * In "Georgia Peaches", having survived an assassination attempt that Jimmy encouraged to avoid paying him back, Manny.
 * In "Under God's Power She Flourishes", we find out in a flashback that.
 * The season finale "To the Lost" tops it all off when Jimmy, Nucky and Margaret.
 * When Elders Attack:
 * Jackson Parkhurst, the handicapped racist investor who whacks Jimmy across the skull with his cane, bloodying him up for apparent disrespect.
 * Even at his advanced age and suffering from partial paralysis, the Commodore manages to.
 * Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: A grateful Margaret announces her intention to name her unborn child Enoch, to which Nucky replies that he can't think of something more cruel.
 * Who's on First?: The scene in the pilot where all the major gangsters are arriving at the hotel. Sebso doesn't know who anyone is and mistakes "Nucky" for "Lucky", Rothstein for Colosimo ("does that man look big to you?") and doesn't know what a concierge is.
 * World War I: Barely fifteen months in the past when the show starts, and frequently referenced. Jimmy Darmody and Richard Harrow are veterans with PTSD, Al Capone lies about being in the Lost Battalion, and Nucky reminds his German valet of how Nucky stood up for him during the recent wave of anti-German sentiment.
 * In "To the Lost", we get a brief flashback of Jimmy in a trench in France, going over the top.
 * [[Worthy Opponen]: Richard seems to regard Owen Sleater as this in "A Dangerous Maid".


 * [[Yiddish as a Second Languag]: Due to the location and time period, there are many Jewish characters who speak Yiddish as either a secondary or primary language. Some of Rothstein's gangsters, Agent Sebso and Manny Horvitz are all examples. Lucky Luciano also reveals that he can speak Yiddish, apparently from doing business with Jews like Rothstein and Lanksy.
 * [[You Have 48 Hour]: Nucky delivers this ultimatum to Jimmy in "The Ivory Tower".
 * [[Young Future Famous Peopl]:
 * In the pilot, Nucky meets the crime dons of Atlantic City, New York and Chicago at a restaurant while Jimmy waits outside with one of Jim Colosimo's thugs. After a rather long conversation, the thug identifies himself as [[Al Capon].
 * Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky start out the show as young upstarts still in the service of Arnold Rothstein.
 * Meyer Lansky's yelping assistant who irritates Jimmy in "Ourselves Alone" is Bugsy Siegel.
 * [[Your Head Asplod]:
 * An unfortunate rum-runner who takes a shotgun to the face in the pilot.
 * To a lesser extent,.
 * [[You Shall Not Pas]: Dunn Purnsley bellows for the striking restaurant workers to "hold the line!" against strikebreakers. It's a valiant effort, but the strikebreakers have bats.
 * but you kinda talked me into it."

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