Just finished watching this. I think its pacing as a whole is pretty one-note, and its script patterns are also quite predictable (with some exceptions - see below), but the acting is all-round excellent. Michael Stuhlbarg, though less is demanded of him than of others, steals just about every scene in which he appears.

Last four episodes are great. Penultimate episode: haven't felt as tense as that since the final few episodes of The Sopranos. And I literally cheered/laughed with relief and clapped when Eli returns, tells Nucky he "made a deal... with him", and the men part for Capone. That moment of relief, when the shit's long past hitting the fan, backs are against the wall, and then the one man ballsy enough to back you shows up with words of assurance.

Episode 9's hiliarious - Nucky concussed/confused, mistaking Chalky for his shoeshine.

How do people feel about the handling of Owen's death, straight after Rosetti bashes a guy's head in on the beach? A pal of mine warned me of this moment without spoiling details, saying he thought it was dreadfully handled - the emotional and dramatic weight of the scene in which Owen's body is discovered completely ruined by the all-out murder scene before it. But it worked for me; I was shocked and gutted by it - and regardless of what came before the scene, the fact that Owen's death happens off-screen seems to heighten the character's vulnerability, Masseria's threat/power and the actual stakes Nucky's dealing with.

Buscemi's great.