‘Boardwalk Empire’ season 5, episode 1 spoilers: Steve Buscemi goes inside Nucky’s head

You have waited many months for the beginning of the end when it comes to “Boardwalk Empire,” and come Sunday night, the moment is finally here: The big premiere for the final season.

Before that happens, though, why not take a minute to reflect with one of the greats? Steve Buscemi has had the honor of playing Nucky Thompson for the entire run, and he feels like this is “one of those series” that can be remembered for a long time after it airs. The actor said this while chatting with the New York Daily News, where he also discussed a little about Nucky’s reflective nature (or lack thereof) during some of the final episodes:

“I don’t think he really feels a sense of regret … He just feels this is what happened. He feels like he made the best of his life and tried to do the best for others.

“He had to do some bad things to survive, and they do weigh on him. If they didn’t, if they didn’t affect him, he would have been a lot less interesting to me and much harder to play.”

With some scripted series with these “antihero” leads behind them, we often feel as though there really is no other alternative than watching the leading man or woman die. We actually don’t feel that way at all when it comes to “Boardwalk Empire.” There are other alternatives here, but one of the key questions is whether or not there will be enough time for them to be explored, and for Nucky to get into a position where he can live after the fact. There are only eight episodes in this season.