Friendless Child

In its original American broadcast, "Friendless Child" was seen by an estimated 1.95 million household viewers with a 0.8 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.8 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[2] This was a 25% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.55 million household viewers with a 0.7 in the 18-49 demographics.^[3]

"Friendless Child" received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 82% approval rating for the episode, based on 11 reviews. The site's consensus states: "It still leaves a lot of loose ends to tie up, but 'Friendless Child' offers plenty of surprises as it sets the stage for Boardwalk Empire's conclusion."^[4]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9.2 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Friendless Child' finally reached, flashback-wise, the critical moment we've been waiting for. Sheriff Lindsay crumbled under the weight of his own conscience and passed the torch to Nucky, right as Gillian entered Nucky's life. In 1931, series intensity was at an all-time high as, at almost every moment, I didn't know what to expect. Nucky gambled big and lost it all. Despite knowing which side would ultimately win, there were still enough variables to keep it all suspenseful and shocking."^[5]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "'Friendless Child' arguably had too much plot to deal with and as a result wasn't as satisfying as last week's farewell to Van Alden and Chalky. Then again, 'Devil You Know' had the benefit of bringing two characters' stories to a definitive end, where 'Friendless Child' eliminates some side characters but leaves the real closure for next week's finale."^[6] Genevieve Valentine of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "Boardwalk Empire is no stranger to a slow start followed by a sudden burst of plot at the end of the season. Stakes are even higher now, when every hour that passes brings us closer to the end of the entire series. It's no surprise, then, that the modern scenes in 'Friendless Child' are frenetically paced, racing us toward the finish line with an even higher quota of bloodshed than normal. And despite providing something of a through-line for doomed-to-be-miserable Nucky, the rush of the immediate only highlights the dreamlike tableaux of the flashbacks, leading to an episode that feels both overfull and fitful. But when Boardwalk works, it really works, and 'Friendless Child' reminds us that after a season of loss, Nucky still had farther to fall."^[7]

Sarene Leeds of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The decision to bump off two major characters in last week's episode of Boardwalk Empire made for an excellent hour of television, but the unfortunate trade-off is that the show’s penultimate episode, 'Friendless Child,' is almost painfully anticlimactic."^[8] Craig D. Lindsey of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The story of Nucky Thompson and all the gangsters he came in contact with is nearly coming to a close. And even though we have one more episode left to go, the penultimate episode, 'Friendless Child,' makes sure our central character's reign as the boss of Atlantic City reaches its finite end."^[9]

Rodrigo Perez of IndieWire wrote, "'Friendless Child,' the series' penultimate episode, is pretty good when it's sticking to what Boardwalk does best. But this episode is marred by its bookends — overly stylized, contrived sequences that are completely out of character, as if they were made from an entirely different show. It's jarring and strange, especially for a show so committed to its own vision to suddenly tag on these uncharacteristic sequences."^[10] Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "If Nucky comes to her rescue, I wonder if she might play a part in taking down Luciano. Given their history, would he be impetuous enough to allow her to get close to him again? Boardwalk mirrors the history books in many ways, but it is not a given the way the finale will play out can be found there."^[11] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Friendless Child' is a perfectly paced, expertly filmed and acted episode, just a pubic hair off par from the second to the last episode of The Sopranos. My only criticism is that they should have introduced the earlier plotline sooner in the series itself, though I understand that the arc is going to coalesce with the fall and rise of Gillian and Nucky together."^[12]

• "Friendless Child" at HBO
• "Friendless Child" at IMDb