Over the next few weeks, we at MMD will be paying homage to those characters on Boardwalk Empire who made it one of the greatest television programs of all time. We would like to thank the cast and crew of the show for giving us an unbelievable five season run. Boardwalk Empire can never be replaced.
The first character we want to pay homage to is the infinitely likeable WW1 sharpshooter Richard Harrow. Richard made his first appearance in season one at a Veterans hospital in Chicago. This is where he met Jimmy Darmody. They developed an almost instant friendship as both were highly affected by the war. Jimmy didn’t treat Richard Harrow any differently than he would have any other war buddy despite the fact that Richard’s appearance was jarring. The left side of Richard’s face was injured in the war and caused him to lose his eye, cheekbone, basically that entire side of his face. To improve his appearance, Richard wore a tin mask that was made to look like the other side of his face. When Jimmy and Richard met, Jimmy was on the lam and working for Johnny Torrio at one of his cathouses. Shortly before he met Richard, Jimmy’s love interest Pearl was slashed across the face by the Sheridan crew to send a message. She committed suicide due to the permanent effects of the injury. Jimmy finds the man who did it, Liam, at a diner. He spoke to him while Richard, was in a building across the street waiting for his opportunity. Shortly after Jimmy got up, Richard put a bullet through the man’s head with a sniper rifle and so the friendship was sealed. When Jimmy is summoned back to Atlantic City he brings Richard with him where he serves as a bodyguard for Nucky’s family and as Jimmy’s right hand man. He continues to serve as Jimmy’s right hand through season two as Jimmy tries to take Atlantic City away from Nucky Thompson, taking many lives along the way. Jimmy is killed in the final episode of season two and in season three, when Gillian Darmody turns the Commodore’s mansion into a cathouse, Richard stays there as the caretaker and cares for Jimmy’s son Tommy. In his spare time he attends veteran’s meetings and meets Paul Sagorsky and through him, his daughter Julia whom he falls in love with. He also kills Many Horvitz as revenge for killing Angela Darmody. Richard ends season three with a killing spree for the ages as he clears Gillian’s mansion which has been commandeered by Gyp Rosetti’s soldiers in order to save Tommy. He leaves Tommy with Paul and Julia. At the beginning of season four we see Harrow carrying out hits in the Midwest while working his way to his twin sister Emma in Wisconsin. It’s becoming obvious that Richard can’t take the killing anymore. He goes back to Atlantic City to help Julia and Paul get permanent custody of Tommy instead of Gillian whose past is a show in and of itself. Harrow makes a deal with Nucky wherein Nucky will anonymously provide the police with the location of Jimmy Darmody in order to have Gillian sent away and Harrow will in turn shoot Dr. Valentin Narcisse. He almost has it all, Julia and Paul are on their way to Wisconsin with Tommy to live with his sister Emma, and he finally has a family. Richard no longer has the steady hands he once did and accidentally shoots Chalky White’s eldest daughter, killing her. He is shot and eventually bleeds out under the boardwalk while having a vision of his whole family on the front porch of his childhood home in Wisconsin. He was so close and this was the saddest possible way it could have ended for Richard but at least Tommy was safe. Richard is one of the most interesting characters in television history. The public has been endeared to certain gangster characters but Richard was a killer, he even killed a boy of 13 or 14, yet we absolutely loved him. He was so decent despite being a cold blooded killer that we developed a bond with him. We felt for him. He was a soldier and a good man. Good-bye Richard, to the lost.
Article By: Jon DaBove
