I really like how the finale came full circle, but like Juice said, I never thought they'd kill off Nucky. I kind of wanted him and Margaret to live happily ever after in his new Manhattan apartment. And they way they showed him selling Gillian to the Commodore...in my head, I pictured that whole exchange differently. I remember that exchange being mentioned in a previous episode, and I thought Nucky was more coldhearted at that point in his life--meaning he had already lost Mabel and was more criminally involved. The way they showed it definitely stuck with me more and was a great way to end that whole flashback sequence.
What are you talking about? That was Enoch Johnson, a completely different person! They had to change the ending because of the moral story they told. Also, it would have been boring as fuck if it ended with a title card or some old man version of Nucky dying in his bed. I liked the ending, didn't love it. They sort of telegraphed a few things before it actually ended. The whole thing with the guy being Tommy was really a good surprised, but not sure why the guy didn't kill him earlier.
Four months late here but whatevs. I really liked the whole final season. I didn't like the flashbacks at first but Nucky's eventual breakdown to "get ahead" by taking Gillian to the Commodore made Nucky's entire arch come full circle. Fuck them for making me feel for Gillian too, motherfuckers. I think they tied up just about everyone's story pretty fucking well. After reading that how Terrance Winter wanted to convince the audience of a happy ending between Nucky and Jimmy in season 2 until the very last moment. It doesn't surprise me they set up so much for Nucky's post prohibition life only to have him pay for his sins in the last episode. I liked Chalky's exit. Paying with his life so his love and daughter can have theirs. Nice to see Narcisse get clipped too. I think the only missteps I didn't enjoy was Capone's storyline. They played him for the whole season as the larger than life caricature we've always heard about. Then for one scene he has a touching last moment with his deaf son trying to harken back to the powerful moment in the first season where Capone turns to see Jimmy notice his son's disability (probably one of the most poignant scenes of the entire series). It'd have been nice if they peppered more humanizing moments throughout the season for him. Parker is right that you can't hit home runs every time. I think Van Alden's entire series arch was probably the show's biggest fumble since he started off as one of the most compelling side characters in recent memory. I just didn't like how he went from an almost psychotically pious federal agent, to a jittery brow beaten husband. While his death was gruesome it was abrupt and didn't do much for me. All in all one of the better series final season/finale that I can think of.