Blue Bell Boy

In its original American broadcast, "Blue Bell Boy" was seen by an estimated 2.11 million household viewers with a 0.9 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.9 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[2] This was a 11% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.36 million household viewers with a 0.9 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

"Blue Bell Boy" received mixed reviews. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.7 out of 10 and wrote, "I have to admit, I wasn't completely thrilled with 'Blue Bell Boy' and the whole 'last gas station in Tabor Heights' locale is getting a bit tired. But there were a few moments at the end of this chapter that seemed to pull the story back together a bit. Not enough to save the entire episode, but enough to make me appreciate going on the journey. And Al Capone singing Henry Burr's 'My Buddy' to his deaf son at the end was sickeningly touching"^[4]

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "I'm not going to contend that 'Blue Bell Boy' was, top-to-bottom, the strongest episode of Boardwalk Empire. It was hushed, dingy-looking, and uneventful on the surface, with the most significant action (at least in terms of the overarching plot) taking place offscreen. But after watching the episode earlier this week, I'm still haunted by the last five minutes and what it has to say about loyalty, strange bedfellows, and what Nucky has become. So I am going to contend that 'Blue Bell Boy' was the most powerful episode of this season so far, albeit quietly so."^[5]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "even though the circumstances are different, and Nucky seems aware of how he's viewed within the show, it's still a frustrating, repetitive kind of episode. As with the season so far, individual pieces work, but the whole of it isn't entirely satisfying, even as the Who's the Boss? theme ties most of the stories together."^[6] Seth Colter Walls of Vulture gave the episode a 2 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It's well written and the acting is fine, but it's a straggler arc on an episode that's already carrying several of those. Missing from this episode are a lot of other more compelling characters: Richard Harrow, Gillian, Chalky White and family, plus the season's main antagonist, Gyp Rosetti, who gets basically a couple of lines. It's enough to make a viewer pipe up with some second-guessing."^[7]

Rodrigo Perez of IndieWire gave the episode a "B–" grade and wrote, "Still in first gear, still fumbling around with several story threads, but failing to make an engaging tapestry, Boardwalk Empire is still looking to gain some forward momentum this season. That's not to say the show is getting boring, as Anne Thompson said, but how long does it take to build and build to the inevitable showdown?"^[8] Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Boardwalk Empire served up one of its most delectable installments this week. While there was a little inconsistency at times with the show's main man Nucky, 'Blue Bell Boy' delivered in so many other ways that in the end it didn't really matter."^[9]

Michael Noble of Den of Geek wrote, "Boardwalk Empire has larger ambitions than simply telling the story of Capone's rise to power. Nevertheless, in this episode, 'Blue Bell Boy', Capone takes a leading role in a storyline that focuses on his family responsibilities."^[10] Michelle Rafferty of Paste gave the episode a 7 out of 10 and wrote, "The hand-wringing induced by this show isn't like waiting for the big twist on a typical procedural. Just as often as Boardwalk surprises, it sets us up to get exactly what we expect. The suspense in the latter then derives from sheer waiting."^[11]

• "Blue Bell Boy" at HBO
• "Blue Bell Boy" at IMDb