When Nucky Thompson gave his former protégé, Jimmy Darmody, two bullets in the head during the Season Two finale, it essentially ended the life of the most beloved character in the entire series of Boardwalk Empire. Jimmy’s soft-spoken, complicated, and introverted nature propelled him to super-star stature in the world of Boardwalk fandom and Michael Pitt’s portrayal Jimmy was undoubtedly fantastic. Writers for the series certainly had their work cut out for them trying to find a decent replacement for the lovable Jimmy, and with the deaths of several other of key adversaries, Boardwalk needed a new tough guy to replace the violent mobsters that posed a threat to Nucky’s gleaming empire. The good news is that in premiere for the third season HBO’s prohibition-era gangster story, a new worthy opponent was presented in the form of a ruthless gangster named Gyp Rosetti.
A Sicilian immigrant, Rosetti will inevitably fill the void that was created by absence of Jimmy. So much so, that he just be the reason behind much of the violence this season, as well as a possible war between Atlantic City and New York. Gyp’s crazy short temper and extremely violent personality was on display early in the premiere episode as he beat a Samaritan to death with a tire iron.
An annoying situation that we can all sympathize with, Rosetti’s car has a flat tire while en route to Atlantic City to have a meeting with Nucky. When a random Samaritan comes along and offers to help Gyp change the tire. Unfortunately, the Samaritan offered to change the wrong guy’s lugs nuts because Gyp kills the man for simply confusing him about the name of a tool that would solve his tire problems.
Later on the episode, when Gyp learns that he won’t be able to buy booze directly from Nucky anymore, Rosetti flips his lid and responds in an egotistic array of insults and masculine pretension.
Gyp isn’t a smart fellow, but what lacks in brain he clearly makes up in brawn. He’s a gangster, a mean and scary one at that. Unlike Nucky, who wants to rise above the criminal aspects of business, Rosetti is perfectly happy being a cold-hearted gangster. Whether or not he fully replaces the role of Jimmy, Rosetti’s brash attitude and aggressive nature will most likely be enough to satisfy most Boardwalk fans. The actor behind the man, Bobby Cannavale, is an excellent actor in his own right. In fact, he will be acting opposite Al Pacino on Broadway’s upcoming revival of “Glenngarry Glen Ross”. He’s a great actor and I have no doubt that he will be just as great as Michael Pitt was. Bottom line, Rosetti’s character is exactly what this show needed, another gangster.
In case you didn’t get enough of Rosetti’s character in the premiere episode, here is a preview for next week.
What did you think of the introduction of Boardwalk Empire’s New Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy? Leave your responses in the comments below.
1 comment
Most popular character? Jimmy Darmody? Excuse me but he was a motherf####r, and i don’t mean just in name calling, he actually had sex with his mother, sorry don’t find it admirable.Ok , great acting by Michael Pitt but i’m not missing Jimmy and the scenes between him & his mother, his wife being killed,that was “good” too, she was kinda dull. Last but not least “Boardwalk” is my third place favorite of on going series right now, “B B” being in first place (sorry HBO) “The Walking Dead” a in strong second position.