Writer-creator Terence Winter has discussed the surprising Boardwalk Empire series finale. Warning: Spoiler alert - DO NOT read on if you don't want to know how the show will end.
In an interview with TV Line, Winter said that he and the other writers agreed on the character arc for Nucky (played by Steve Buscemi).
He said: "We came to that conclusion around the middle of season four.
"We had been batting around various possibilities, and we talked about how keeping Nucky alive might be a worse punishment for him - living a life of obscurity for a guy like him might be a horrible thing."
He continued: "But then we just felt like the more powerful conclusion to that story was to have him die at the hand of Jimmy's son."
Jimmy's son Tommy has grown up and reinvented himself as Joe Harper (played by Travis Tope), avenging not only his father but also his grandmother, whose life Nucky had ruined by prostituting her as a child to a twisted older man.
When asked whether he thought Nucky would rather die in this way or serve life behind bars, Winter said: "That's hard to say. But if it was truly life in prison then, yeah, if I was thinking like Nicky I might be like, 'Maybe it's time to cash in. I've had a 'good' life. The idea of eating cheese sandwiches for the rest of my life might not be so great'."
The final season of Boardwalk Empire continues on Sky Atlantic.
