‘Boardwalk Empire’ season 5 spoilers: Don’t think that Gillian Darmody is done

The thing about “Boardwalk Empire” is that unless someone is dead and buried, you can’t altogether assume that anyone is going to be off of the show for good. Even some characters who did disappear for a time have managed to come back in some capacity, and hiatuses have just become a little more natural so that the supporting cast can go with the ebb and flow of the series.

What we’re getting at in the context of season 5 right now is simple: Just because Gillian Darmody is in jail now does not even remotely mean that she is gone from the show. Just take a look for some evidence of that at what executive producer Terence Winter said recently in a new interview with TV Guide:

“Gillian is very much a linchpin on this series. You can trace Nucky’s downward spiral to the fact that he is the one who delivered Gillian to the Commodore. Crossing that line is the one pivotal event in Nucky’s life that helped him rise to power and then descend into the hell that he’s in now. It’s all about that relationship.”

Given the type of character that Nucky is thanks to Gillian and some other people, it almost seems impossible to imagine the show without her. You may hear Steve Buscemi’s name the most thanks to Emmy nominations and star power, but this is far more of an acting ensemble than any sort of casual viewer would ever realize. Now, let’s just see how that the rest of the story manages to live up to what were a pretty excellent final few weeks of season 4. After season 3 sputtered at times and struggled to establish its footing in a post-Michael Pitt era, we feel like we’re closer to that great season 1 of “Boardwalk Empire” than we have been in some time.

If you want to read some more “Boardwalk Empire” season 5 scoop, just be sure to click here for details on who is returning and not returning for the new season, away from Gillian of course.

Photo: HBO