A Tale of Two Finales

Sunday nights this fall have been wildly entertaining, incredibly thought provoking, and massively complicated. It feels like all the cable networks have loaded up some of their best stuff and fired it out there to be absorbed. I think Sunday, between four cable offerings, I got the fodder for what I'll write about the rest of the week.

Two of those shows offered up finales — one a season finale and the other a mid-season finale — that followed a similar strand. It was about characters grappling with their desire to hold onto what used to be while still embracing what is.

Boardwalk Empire
A couple weeks ago I lampooned this show for its pace, lack of direction, and lack of anything compelling. Turns out I started to jump ship too soon. The final few weeks of the third season have redeemed what came before and left me in a position of hopefulness moving forward. That's because the show itself seems to be moving forward.

After what felt like weeks of posturing, it seems the characters are ready to do the work it takes to be in the life they've chosen. Since episode one, the writing on the wall has said "you can't be half a gangster." Yet these characters, and the show itself, seems to have been stuck in that place of trying to prove that truth wrong. No more.

Nucky Thompson seems to be giving into what he is, and what he will have to do to earn the respect of those in his world. The past two episodes have been brutal reminders of the truth of that world, and an excellent season three finale seems to be setting the table for some great things to come. And all that starts by making use of some under utilized parts of the cast.

Stephen Graham is great as Al Capone, and it seems like the Al Capone we know from history is about to be unleashed. At the same time, in Atlantic City, Nucky is being Nucky, he's back in tight with his brother — an under rated Shea Wigham — and there is seemingly an expanded role for Chalky White, the excellent Michael K. Williams who was a fan and critical favorite as Omar on "The Wire." In addition, the finale seemed to set the table for a showdown between Nucky and Arnold Rothstein, who is played by the incredible Michael Stuhlbarg.

Better still, the show finally feels like the period mob drama it always claimed to be. If the final half of the third season is any indication, the fourth season will be a sight to behold.

The Walking Dead
The compelling part of "The Walking Dead" was also the struggle between what was and what is. That was best exemplified in The Governor and Milton, two characters I don't care for but who none the less provided some compelling personification of what is trapping those who are left following the zombie apocalypse. Both seemed to cling to the idea that there was a cure or solution that would allow them to go back. That fueled Milton's experiment and The Governor's efforts to keep his zombie daughter safe.

Oddly, The Governor also notes that is what has allowed him to build his kingdom in Woodbury. The people cling to the notion that idyllic town life is still possible — even while ignoring the horrors that pop up from time to time, the walls around down town, and the men carrying guns each day. They want to believe that a normal life is still possible.

That is an illusion that Rick and the others gave up on a long time ago. They've made peace with the horrors of this new world, and they're simply seeking community and a moment of peace. But they never forget what lurks beyond the walls.

But it's not zombies the world has to fear. As Maggie (Lauren Cohan) correctly notes, it's the evil of men that is the biggest threat. And as The Governor was disabused of his hope when Michone slayed his zombie offspring, it sets the stage for the inevitable clash between groups and ideologies this winter.

Given the dark view of humanity and the zombie apocalypse in "The Walking Dead," fans should rightly fear how that clash will end.