By Jack Herbert

Season 2 on the Atlantic City boardwalk has started at a hectic pace following what some viewed as a slow beginning to the acclaimed show last year.

A furious start to the new season on the boardwalk following the life of Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) as he tackles new problems in is life as the man effectively in charge of running the city. As season 1 wrapped, some of Nucky’s closest allies were turning against him. The Commadore, played by Dabney Coleman had turned Nuckys brother Eli’s head against him, along with his nephew Jimmy played by the brilliant Michael Pitt.

The Commadore believes he can wrestle control of the city from Nucky with the help of his former allies  Sheriff Eli, and Jimmy, who he recently revealed was his son. Admitting he was too selfish at the time to raise him. The Commadore’s plan is to get Nucky jailed over election fraud, and regain control over the distribution of alcohol through his own vast array of contacts from his previous reign in charge and Jimmy’s chicago contacts, Al Capone and Johnny Torio.

It works well as Nucky is detained and thrown into a cell with Chalky White (Michael K Williams) the leader of the black community who is being protected from the KKK after shooting a clan leader. Nucky has time to reflect during this period and begins to realise he is being stabbed in the back by the people closest to him. After he is bailed out he gets in contact with Eli and Jimmy and gives them one last chance to stop what they are doing, to come back to him and all will be forgotten, neither do.

Eli seems to be savoring seeing his brother alone with all his allies deserting him, where as Jimmys is battling his conscience as he seems quite unsure if the decision he has made is the correct one. Nucky has always had time for Jimmy, acting as a stand-in father and mother to Jimmy while the Commadore was un-interested and Jimmys mother was absent.

For now though, the Commadore and his gang are firmly on top. He has swayed a vast majority of Nuckys political contacts and even brought a lot of the old guard back into power, (Sopranos fans, see if you can spot uncle Junior). Nucky is  finding out who his real friends are, unfortunately he quickly realises they are few and far between. He can’t distribute alcohol, he has no financial clout and has an election fraud indictment hanging over his head. Worse still, the man who is trying to ruin him is the Commadore, the man who imparted all his wisdom upon him as he grew into his role as treasurer of Atlantic City, and who knows Nucky better than Nucky knows himself.

An explosive start to the series suggests the producers know exactly the direction they are going in and are wasting no time in getting going. Episodes 1 and 2 are they best in the whole show so far in my opinion and things will only get better.

Will the Commedore prevail, or will Nucky claw his way back into power? Only time will tell.