Nights in Ballygran
"Nights in Ballygran" | |
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Boardwalk Empire episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Alan Taylor |
Written by | Lawrence Konner |
Original air date | October 17, 2010 |
Running time | 53 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Nights in Ballygran" is the fifth episode of the first season of the
The episode is set during Saint Patrick's Day and progresses the relationship between Nucky and Margaret, while also showing how Jimmy is haunted by the consequences of the life he now leads.
The title is taken from the title line of an Irish folk song, “Carrickfergus”.
Plot
Margaret wakes to see men working for Atlantic City ward boss James Neary offloading barrels of illegal beer into a motor garage behind her house. She meets Nucky on her way to work with a present of soda bread, but he disappoints her with his sudden aloofness and refuses to accept the gift. Quietly, Nucky tells his brother Eli that he is unwilling to involve Margaret in the violent world he lives in. However, Margaret is deeply hurt and tears up the dress she stole earlier.
After discussing the garage at a
As Nucky and Eli prepare for
In
Nucky meets with his ward bosses, who anticipate large profits from selling booze on St. Patrick's Day. Nucky jokes about Eli's upcoming speech at the dinner, to the amusement of everyone except Eli. Carl comes to see Nucky, who
At the dinner, Eli's speech turns into a disaster when he brings up the Easter Rising, nearly triggering a violent brawl among the attendees and forcing Nucky to intercede. Eli drinks heavily and reveals just how much he resents his brother's natural charm and popularity. Van Alden, acting on Margaret's information, raids the dinner, arrests Neary, has him paraded before a gaggle of reporters, and has the doors to the Order's clubhouse locked and chained before overseeing the smashing of beer barrels. Nucky sees Margaret among the Temperance League members cheering on the raid and realizes she betrayed him. He angrily confronts her that night at home, and they sleep together after giving into their feelings for each other.
Reception
Critical reception
IGN said the episode was "Outstanding" and gave the episode 9/10. They said "For those who are still on the fence about Boardwalk Empire's greatness, shut up and watch episode five, "Nights in Ballygran". The episode features the show's strongest character interactions yet, as Margaret's role in the Temperance League threatens both Nucky's political and criminal enterprises as Federal Agent Van Alden applies pressure to both." "The more shows like this make it harder for their main characters to do the right thing - the farther away they get from what the right thing is - is when television approaches being great. With "Nights in Ballygran", Boardwalk pushes past great and puts its sights on landmark."[1]
Ratings
The episode rebounded a bit to a 1.3 adults 18–49 rating after the previous week's plunge to a 1.1 rating and received a total of 2.850 million viewers.[2]
References
- ^ "Boardwalk Empire: "Nights in Ballygran" Review - TV Review at IGN". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ "TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com". Tvbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
External links
- "Nights in Ballygran" at HBO
- "Nights in Ballygran" at IMDb