HBOFirst Family Guy kills off Brian Griffin and now this?! TV, you fickle mistress. We wish we could quit you.
On last night's Boardwalk Empire season-four finale, the HBO hit pulled a fast one on us. We were sure as shootin' that Eli (Shea Whigham) was going to meet his maker at the hands of his brother Nucky (Steve Buscemi), because that's where all the signs pointed to, and we walked along like a eager plot-following beaver. But then, bam! It was fan-favorite Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) who took multiple bullets and died, alone, under the boardwalk, after a botched sniper attempt.
For all your hopeless romantics out there who think there is a slight chance that Richard survived, series creator Terence Winter confirmed to TVLine that he is indeed dead. And he also explained why it was time for the beloved character to go.
"We felt like we took his storyline as far as we could. By the end of the last season, he essentially felt unworthy, having picked up the guns again after getting away from that life and then going into a downward spiral; he basically felt that that was all he was good for," Winter tells the site. "After he went home [this season] and had his moment with his sister where he says he doesn't want any more of it and buries the guns, we just felt that if we ever do bring him back out of that—to the point where he's gonna pick up a gun again—we can't keep going back to that well. There had to be some conclusion to his story. The events of this year really brought him full circle as a man. He ultimately got what he always dreamed of, a family and a life and somebody who loved him, but [it ended in] a very tragic, unexpected way."
So what did you think of the finale and Richard Harrow's death? Did it shock you or did you see it coming? Take our poll below and tell us what you think!