Boardwalk Empire: Gillian Darmody

Gillian Darmody is a character in Boardwalk Empire. A beautiful showgirl at Beaux Arts and the mother of Jimmy Darmody, she was a mere teenager when she had Jimmy. The fact that she looks too young to be his mother has been highlighted in many of her scenes. She is a case study in the repercussions of  early sexual abuse.

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Gillian is portrayed by actress Gretchen Mol, also known for her roles in:
Life on Mars (2008-09)
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
The Magnificent Ambersons (2002)

Gillian was “Neptune’s Consort” in an Atlantic City parade when Commodore Louis Kaestner decided he wanted to get to know her a lot better. He instructed then Sheriff Nucky Thompson to bring Gillian to him and Nucky complied. Her pregnancy with Jimmy was the result of that encounter:

Family:
Son: James “Jimmy” Darmody (Michael Pitt), d. 1921 (To The Lost)
Daughter-in-Law: Angela Darmody (Aleksa Palladino), d. 1921 (Georgia Peaches)
Grandson: Tommy (Connor and Brady Noon)

Associations:
Frenemy: Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi)
Business: Eli Thompson (Shea Whigham)
Business: Leander Whitlock (Dominic Chianese)

Known Lovers:
Commodore Louis Kaestner (Dabney Coleman), d. 1921, (Under God’s Power)
Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza)

In Season One, Jimmy Darmody watches the burlesque show at the Beaux-Arts Cafe, and one of the dancers is so happy to see him, she leaps into his arms, kissing him. She is Jimmy’s mother and he has brought her a necklace. She tells the other girls that it’s like a necklace that Jimmy’s father gave her. She had to sell it to keep a roof over their heads and he promised to replace it. Later Jimmy steals the necklace back because he owes Nucky Thompson money.

In Broadway Limited, fortune teller Lady Jean is filling Gillian in on the dark and dangerous man in her future when Nucky shows up. Gillian prevails upon Nucky to keep his promise that he would take care of Jimmy but Nucky says he’s not God. Later, Nucky orders Jimmy to go to Chicago.

In Anastasia, while babysitting her grandson Tommy, the dark and dangerous Lucky Luciano knocks on the door looking for “James.” Gillian confirms that she is Mrs Darmody but rejects his contention that he is a friend since he did not ask for “Jimmy.” Gillian is flippant and Luciano says she has a “fresh mouth for a broad.” Far from showing any fear, she mocks him and shuts the door. He follows her to work later and is entranced by her performance at Beaux Art. Spying him in the audience, she later tells Luciano she knows he’s following her and asks him what he wants. Luciano says she knows what he wants and she says she only knows what she wants. She instructs him to wait until her last show is over.

There’s more evidence of Gillian’s unorthodox nature when Tommy’s mother, Angela, learns that Gillian has put her son to sleep by adding some whiskey to his milk. After describing doing the same thing to Jimmy when he was a boy, Gillian talks of raising her son with help from her showgirl friends. She offers to take Tommy off Angela’s hands so she can be free, reminding her that she and Jimmy are not married. With no money coming in from Jimmy, Gillian tells Angela she needs to get a job, suggesting selling perform or learning stenography.

Lucky Luciano and Gillian are already having a passionate affair when he learns from Arnold Rothstein that she is Darmody’s mother. Jimmy, back from Chicago, rudely interrupts another bedroom encounter between Luciano and his mother, with her full knowledge.

Jimmy’s paternity is revealed in Paris Green, when the Commodore appears to be dying. Gillian explains away Nucky’s role.

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Gillian takes on a more active role in Season Two, offering her son advice in his bid to join forces with his father and take Nucky down. Gillian continues to undermine Angela whenever she can.

While Gillian is entertaining the Commodore, he suddenly has a stroke. With Gillian’s encouragement and support, Jimmy assumes command. When Jimmy is struck in the head by one of the elderly gents who bankrolled him, Gillian advises him not to show any weakness. As the situation gets more desperate, Gillian gives her blessing to an assassination attempt on Nucky Thompson. She continues her romance with Lucky Luciano.

Although we do not see Gillian in Georgia Peaches, she is presumably babysitting Tommy while her daughter-in-law entertains her female lover. Manny Horvitz arrives to kill Jimmy but kills Angela and Louise instead.

Gillian asks for Sheriff Eli Thompson to come out, when she discovers the circumstances surrounding her daughter-in-law’s death. Flashbacks to Jimmy’s time at Princeton reveal more about their damaged relationship. When Jimmy finally returns to Atlantic City, his mother’s nonchalance in the face of his wife’s death compels him to attempt to strangle her. The Commodore intervenes and is stabbed in the stomach by Jimmy. Gillian’s advice? “Finish it, goddam you.”

In the Season 2 Finale, “To The Lost,” Gillian is flabbergasted to learn that the Commodore had a 1914 will that didn’t leave anything to her or Jimmy. Jimmy fixes that, at least for his son Tommy. When Jimmy goes to a meeting with Nucky Thompson, Gillian discovers that Tommy is wearing his father’s dogtags and know her son will not return. She immediately begins planning Tommy’s future.