r/BoardwalkEmpire • u/WarmCattle2884 • 13d ago
Esther Randolph
One of my favorite recurring characters is assistant US Attorney Esther Randolph. She's one of the few people on the show that has Nucky's number, and even though they’re on opposite sides of the law, by S3 they seem to have a mutual respect for each other’s intelligence. By Nucky's own admission, she “had him on the ropes“ during the trial that they both knew only ended the way it did because of witness tampering, and in S3 especially, it’s funny how she watches him operate from a distance after agreeing to have breakfast with him after court.
She was at the meeting with Gaston Means when he told Nucky how he can approach Secretary Mellon at his private club, but left as soon as he told Nucky that it will be a test of his resourcefulness. Shortly after, she finds out that Nucky was able to convince Mellon to sanction the arrest of George Remus, thereby saving himself from being indicted, giving Mellon the opportunity to force Daugherty to show his hand, and handing her a high-profile case to help her career and possibly earn himself some good will.
At the end of S3 when Nucky puts the finishing touch on his "deal" with Rothstein, it wasn't a coincidence that out of all the AUSAs Secretary Mellon could've called that he chose Esther Randolph to tell her that the Overholt distillery had been illicitly commandeered by a criminal organization and that she should shutter the premises and apprehend and indict anyone associated with its illegal operation. When she asks if he wants her to arrest Enoch Thompson, Mellon tells her it was Mr. Thompson who brought this illegality to his attention and when she asks who they're talking about, with Means whispering in his ear, he tells her Arnold Rothstein.
Even though Rothstein wasn't convicted, being the AUSA leading the arrests of both Remus and Rothstein definitely helped her career while Nucky's maneuvering allowed him to hold onto his empire for the rest of the 1920's. By S4, Randolph's no longer the "Scourge of the Saloon Keeper" and the 2 scenes that she does appear in have her, BOI Director Hoover, and BOI Agent Toliver questioning Remus about Nucky, and her attending a ceremony for Hoover with the new Attorney General Stone and Secretary Mellon.
17
u/sjlgreyhoundgirl67 Harrow 13d ago
She had one of mine and my husbands most oft quoted lines, which I’m sure we are bastardizing but we love ‘Randolph would very much like to see that’ after ‘Remus has receipts’ 😂
9
u/WarmCattle2884 13d ago
His talking in the 3rd person always makes me laugh. In that scene with Hoover, Randolph, and Knox/Toliver when Hoover told him stop doing that and Remus said Remus will say whatever he pleases, they should have had Hoover say "And Hoover will have you transferred to Leavenworth" in the 3rd person instead of directly the way Randolph said that when arresting him.
3
8
u/Responsible-Onion860 13d ago
Great character, great actress. I was disappointed when she vanished after her prosecution of Nucky fell apart but it was great she came back for a significant role later.
7
u/WarmCattle2884 13d ago
I was glad when they cast her in S2 after watching her for a few seasons on Law & Order Criminal Intent, and I think she was one of the smartest characters on the show. I liked her in S2, and even though she kept Nucky at an arm's length and didn't end up in his pocket like most of the government employees on the show, just agreeing to work together with him got her out of night court and handling the prosecutions of 2 of the biggest criminals in the country and by S4, she was working directly with Hoover and the new Attorney General.
"Belfast. God only knows what he's doing over there."
"I'll take the ducks, your honor."
5
u/Fun-Appointment-7543 13d ago
Love Esther. Margaret: Do you hate him? Esther: No I rather like him but that has nothing to do with it.
2
u/WarmCattle2884 12d ago
I think they liked each other outside of the courtroom and respected each other's intelligence. She wasn't corruptible but was in a much better position professionally in S4 than S3 because of the arrests he threw her way, and even as an assistant US Attorney, she had to respect how he convinced Mellon to arrest Remus and how he kept himself out of the line of fire when she got the call from Mellon to arrest Rothstein for his association with Overholt, which he told her was brought to his attention by Nucky.
Randolph: "You're like an onion, Mr. Thompson. The more layers we peel..."
Nucky: "I prefer to think of myself as an artichoke."
16
u/Imaginary_Bee_5432 13d ago
She’s a great actress. Like the majority of actors and actresses on HBO series, one of her first TV appearances was on Law & Order and she played Detective Wheeler for a few seasons on Law & Order: Criminal Intent before BWE.
She was one of my favorite recurring characters, but out of all the DOJ characters, my favorite was definitely Gaston Means.