Nucky obviously wants to return back to the good old USA and set up shop there as an exclusive distributor of Bacardi rum, among other things, since Prohibition is on its way out.
Along the way, we see bits and pieces of the past life Nucky has led, including scenes of the boardwalk when it was first becoming the draw it is during Nuckys time. His childhood is a fascinating tale weaving together the various elements of the past few seasons and giving us a sense of nostalgia for a time when life was simpler, though harsher, and the world was new.
Hints at the upcoming bloody spectacle that the Boardwalk Empire will become are dropped along the way, ensuring the viewer will be once again immersed into the century that was. Boardwalk has been a seriously entertaining romp into a time when this country was still trying to iron out the kinks of a society trying to find its own center. Against the backdrop of violence and agony, we are glimpsing the power struggle that made our country what it is today. Not without dirty hands did we rise, my friends, into the spotlight. We were animals still when this was happening.
One wonders how far we have come.