I found Season 2 to be far more enjoyable because of the complex nature of all the different stories needing to feed off of each other. The payoff is definitely one that I didn't see coming. Not because the story itself didn't justify it, but because Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) was a good foil to Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). To say that I'm stunned that they actually killed Darmody off is an understatement. I still can't believe it. But it was written on the walls of what was to come. I found Darmody's story to be the most fascinating to watch this season and a lot of loose ends were revealed. His relationship with his mother Gillian, played by Gretchen Mol is both sick and disturbing and my guess is that Jimmy's son is going to befall the same fate. That is if Richard (Jack Huston) doesn't step in and do something about it.

Also interesting was the continued story line of Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon), who is just as f*cked up as Gillian. He is whack!! Overall, this was a fantastic season. My only complaint is that after a great 3 episode opening that had a lot more of Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams), he more or less disappeared for the remainder of the season. I really wanted to see more of his story than anyone else's. If you are a fan of movies or prohibition era story lines, I highly recommend this as a Rent for sure. Fantastic cast and stellar production values.