Anyone else notice how there's a distinct difference in his voice when he's Muller and Van Alden. He almost sounds semi-scarred and unassuming when he's Muller, but when he's at the brink of potentially being killed or found out, bam! Van Alden comes out to handle shit, like his mind created a split personality to keep his cover.
Alot of people have an imaginary friend who helps them cope with reality. He probably hides him self to the world & just before its time to do gangster level shit, he drops the curtain. Have you ever seen the movie Mr. Brooks with Kevin Costner?
I had to replay that so many times because I couldn't understand what he said. I thought he said about the guy who took the iron to the face 'the whites of his eyes came out' and was both confused and horrified.
I love the smug face his old boss has just before Van Alden pulls out the gun. Fists raised, ready to get a piece of the action himself, he got a piece of the action alright lol.
chris Thomas Yeah, and he helped worsen the situation when they were all working at the iron company too... Especially when they had that sales competition, and his boss screwed him over. It built up
It was stupid to keep talking and slowing hit him. They should of just beat his ass if they wanted revenge. You corner a man like that and anything could happen.
I'll always wonder if he was really waiting for the train, pretending to be scared until the time he could pull his gun, or did he just finally snap and it happened to be when the train went by. Either way, the train is a discussion we can have that separates real fans of BE (people that notice the train) vs casual fans (people that didn't notice the train because they were shocked by the scene itself.) (I hope you all realize I'm joking. I don't think there are any diehard fans of BE, like there is for MCU, LOTR, especially Star Wars and Star Trek. Yeah, nah, I'm just digging myself a deeper hole now... time to quit while I'm behind.)
It’s a testament to Michael Shannon’s acting ability that he can portray the same character in two very different lights. In this one scene we see both versions of Nelson Van Alden, the wimpy, coward, polite Nelson, and the cold, vengeful, authoritative, and furious Nelson. I love how Nelson’s true character pokes out whenever he’s backed into a corner. Wish we got more of that instead of three seasons of the wimp. But his last stand was iconic.
Joe Kerr But their karma had to come from the hot steam iron. Don’t forget they were bullying and humiliating him at the job. Plus the boss fixed it for Mueller to lose the iron selling competition, for he was saving to buy a house for his family.. It’s not so much a person could take. He could’ve just shot the bullies then.
Also, I just noticed his old boss says the same line in both season 3 and 4. "Now George, be reasonable." The first time, Van Alden just looked at him, almost contemplating those words for a moment before smashing up the office in defiance. The second time he put a bullet in each of their heads. The bottom line is, don't tell Nelson Van Alden to be reasonable, because if you do, shit is about to go down lol.
@little drane The guy with the scar and the guy with glasses had visible bullet holes in their head, while the other guy was shot at Nelson's shoulder height which is level with his head.
@@FrostSoul-qs6kq Well the guy was big and strong and had already shown them what he was capable of. If they wanted payback , they were ill prepared and even below amateur . They didn't even bring a knife to the gun fight.
The best part is this echoes a line from the first time he snapped and melted the dude's face with an iron. I'm pretty sure it was a different guy that said it though.
If he a daughter who was 12 and being rapped by some old fella and his name was George, and he caught them but still carried on. He would be like ‘Now George, Be reasonable’
This episode finally used Van Alden properly. And this scene, as well as the one with O'Banion afterward, were brilliant. This really shows how Jekyll and Hyde Van Alden really is.
I just don't understand why they weren't afraid of him the first time. If I saw a bloke go batshit bonkers and iron a man's face, I'd do everything I could to avoid bumping into him in the workplace, much less piss him off. Saying that, though, wasn't he fired/he quit? Either way, I'd stay out of his way, but bullies aren't too bright, I suppose. Personally, I'll never understand workplace bullying - it's fucking immature and petty, excuse my French.
@@liamroberts1458 Van Alden was always polite and kind to everyone. They took that for weakness, which one should never do. Bullies are sociopaths actively interfering instead of cooperating . Van Alden is the honorable psychopath who seeks cooperation above all things. If you say no to that offer of kindness, do not expect him to forgive you. That's why you should always be general kind/respectful to everyone you work with. If you are honest up front the dishonest people will expose themselves for you.
LMAO, he has bigger worries than not being to able to make a sale for 2 months now. Wait scratch that, he actually doesn't need to worry about anything anymore. Seriously, after seeing him go crazy and burn someone's face off, did they really think it was a good idea to go after him again?
They were all a bit too steamed to iron out their differences, they Pressed Van Alden to hard, so he Pull that Iron out and left all 3 as stiff as a board, apparently there was a few wrinkles in their plans to attack him, you'd be hard pressed to find a less ironed out plan, but I was in creases when Van Alden stream his face...
Oh wow fancy running into you here. 👍🏽 I feel like mob movies/shows tend to punish our criminals with a quick death, followed by disgracing their corpses. I mean, for most viewers, that’s justice, but not for me. Not to spoil the Sopranos, but I’m sure you’ve seen it if you’re watching this. Just in case though, you’ve been warned. When Richie is killed by Tony’s sister, that was quick and easy. Two gunshots, fast and low suffering. His reputation and body however wer disrespected in the lowest way they could have been. Now to most, that’s enough punishment for what he did to Beansy, but for me, I Richie he got off easy since he’s dead and doesn’t know his rep/body were treated like trash. Then we have Ralphie. Piece of trash guy got the beating he deserved, after the way he beat that poor girl and the way he acted. Anyways, yeah, just a minor thing I noticed in these mob stories. A nitpick if you will.
@@Vandalle. They should make an origin movie with Shannon as Jaws, like Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Except of course they'd have to use a different title.
@@mattyboyanderson That'd be awesome, I just can't imagine James Bond doing origin stories..Would be good to tell it through a run of different bond movies though.
One of my all time favorite and most rewarding scenes in the entire series! Michael Shannon is so amazing in that role. What a complex and deranged character is Nelson Van Alden. Fvckn LOVE him!!
The pudgy bastard says, "now george, be reasonable." I mean, the only reasonable response to being pummeled in the face by a billy club would be to use deadly force in my book.
Cy clennon they fooled around with nelson to much they made his life hell at work and wen he took action he lost his job then they jump him down the line he gave them fair warning too leve him alone and they didn't they got what they deserved
These creeps again? I thought they'd learned their lesson last time. I guess not. And Van Alden schools them in why you don't mess with the tall twitchy guy.
@@TehDawg I dont like that notion tbh. Yes as If killing somebody was such an easy thing lol You got to have balls or be fucked up to be able to pull the trigger
'Now George, be reasonable!' You would have thought he would have remembered how well that went down last time he said it... Some people never learn. Lol
in this scene we could see the quality of Shannon's acting, he really could change expression in a snap just like from confuse and worried to emotionless cold person.
I love how similar the dialogue is to the scene where he puts the iron on his coworkers face. "Now George, be reasonable!" Is said verbatim in both scenes. And George was being extremely reasonable until he snaps on both occasions.
I think the boss got them killed; without him, Van Alden might have just thought 'fair enough, I was due a beating for what happened'. But Gulliver being there gave the violence 'authority' that could only be countered with deadly force. I think that's what the writers were trying to convey.
My favorite character in this show. I love how he was portrayed with his two personalities. You have George Mueller: Insecure, nervous, overly polite, timid. But then you have Van Alden: Calculating, ruthless, cold, angry. And he is aware of this, he is constantly in an implosive state fighting with these two versions of himself.
Michael Shannon is one of the greatest actors ever. His face is known more than his name but he's a deep actor. Notice how goes from cowing to killer, instantly!
To the co-worker who had his face burnt by an iron thanks to his bullying of Van Alden: What on earth made you think it was a good idea to go after him again, given that you literally had proof BURNT INTO YOUR FACE of what happened the last time you pushed him around? To those who accompanied him: WTF were you thinking after seeing him in action last year? A tip: When he says this it's not a good time, take his advice and RUN while you still have your life...
He gave them multiple chances to walk away but they insisted on assaulting him. By the time he drew his gun, they were liabilities and witnesses (carrying a gun in those cities was illegal and had he been caught, would have had his identity blown). Once he was forced to draw his gun, they had to die.
“Now George, be reasonable.” This was a pivotal moment in this series of Van Alden’s character, maybe the most important. At that moment, Nelson says “I am relaxed” was a paradigm shift in his life. He finally accepted his life as on the other side of the law, as a gangster, a villain, a Godless criminal. An in that moment, he was relaxed, and did what he was good at. He failed at normal life, but he found himself GREAT as a criminal.
He wasn’t really-he got busted in everything he did. He was good muscle, that’s all. The whole point of the character was to show that he was an honest man pushed into a dishonest world through circumstances he couldn’t control
I always thought it was funny they would continue to harass Nelson but as soon as he retaliates then everyone wants to tell him to calm down and be reasonable... nah fuck that.
I swear, the way Shannon is able to flawlessly transition from an absolutely terrified Mueller to the calm, composed, and absolutely ruthless Nelson Van Alden that we all know and love is spectacular. And the fact that he waited until he was about to be beaten to death to show his true self made the whole situation even better. He’s hidden as Mueller for so long, that I bet he almost forgot who he really was. Bits and pieces of his former identity were coming back after the iron incident, but he had to bury it to keep up appearances, but when push came to shove and he had to bury his cowardice and become his true self, it was time for Van Alden to be his old ruthless self and kick some ass. Honestly, those assholes had it coming. And the fact that Nelson only had to fire three consecutive shots in order to kill those guys shows that when he is focused, calm, and collected, he is dangerous.
I love how RU-vid thought this was appropriate to recommend even though I've never seen this show just because I've watched Tuco's relax scene a dozen times
If a man calmly tells you “it’s not a good time” without being angry after you sucker punched him , that man is not to be disturbed. One the most important rules in life- know who you fuck with. I’ve really come to enjoy Michael Shannon. I didn’t appreciate him as an actor at first, but he is so believable and powerful in all his roles. Sometimes he seems psychotic and twisted and other times so innocent and vulnerable.
Been re-watching Boardwalk for the first time since the original airing and man, I'd so forgotten what an incredible character arc Van Alden had. Michael Shannon absolutely nails this role.
One of my all time Favorite Psycho characters....U just knew it was gonna go bad for these 3 idiots..loved it. scumbags humiliated him, he showed them he is no one to mess with, and now they come back for more ?.. complete freaking idiots. I like how he plays WEAK, lets them do their thing, like "go ahead let me see how stupid you are" .. and then just executes them. No more sales for you..
***** Yeah honestly I love how this character is both funny and a badass when he wants to be. He just has that trigger in which he can just snap at anytime and you would cheer for him because mostly everyone treats him like shit
***** Lol I started liking him more toward season 2 since I just then realized his funny ways in the show. Not going to spoil anything but you will laugh and like his character even more... I mean he is Zod after all
***** Yeah I might watch other movies with these actors/actresses on them. I remember the actor who played Jimmy was in some movie about a murder that actually happened if I am correct so I might watch that since it looks interesting
Van Alden fucking up his bullies twice, the first time when he was a iron salesman, makes me feel so goddamn good. Seeing a bullied character getting revenge with all the anger he can muster is cathartic to watch. Especially if it's played by an amazing charismatic actor like Michael Shannon.
