Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey both begin their third seasons in the early 1920’s. There is very little comparison to be made. Atlantic City is the place of dreams, where social mobility is vast and unhindered. Nucky Thompson could not afford breakfast as a child; now he is America’s most prominent mobster. The depiction of America is all rather unruly, fraught with scandalous politicians, kickbacks and unfettered violence. It was, indeed, the Wild West, a description much to the delight of the English. Compare to the aristocratic house of Crawley, where crackling guns are replaced with crackling tongues, and political maneuvering with the game of marriage.

The tie over is Cora, the American wife of the Crawley patriarch, and her mother endowed with an American exceptionalism to rival Maggie Smith’s British equivalent. “Whenever I’m with her, I’m reminded of the virtues of the English,” says the Dowager Countess. When pressed with “Isn’t she American?” she replies a pithy “Exactly.” The cocktails banned during the prohibition of the United States (from which arose the mobsters of Atlantic City) make their way into pre-dinner drinks at Downton. The Dowager Countess was horrified.

The British must deal with a dichotomy at the turn of the modern era. It is clear that the US is firmly the strongest power in the world. Indeed, the US saved the Allies in the First World War and the Cora’s American wealth will have to save Downton from going underwater (again). Britain fears becoming a vestige of the 19th century and relies on its superior sense of tradition to counteract American supremacy. Crawleys mis-dressed in black ties instead of the more formal white ties are compared to “Chicago Bootleggers” (e.g. Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire).

But the cultural cross pollinations is not just one-sided. Atlantic City entertains old world immigrants. The Irish, in particular, are prominent. Revolutionary sentiment had turned them very American. When the youngest Crawley daughter marries an Irish chauffeur, the house is swept up is controversy. In Atlantic City, Nucky marries an Irish immigrant and hires an ex-Irish revolutionary to do his dirty work. The two share pragmatism, idealism and disdain for the old.

Nucky Thompson’s metamorphosis into full-mobster moves the show into foreign territory. I am unsure if it can deliver. The first two seasons relied on some sympathy for Nucky. Albeit a criminal, he exhibited a soft-hearted humanism. However, in an unexpected turn of events, he orders the death of an insignificant thief. The old Nucky would have shuddered. His wife Margaret was a repentant fortune hunter (this respectable synonym for “gold-digger” as used in Downton Abbey) but is set to play a hackneyed independent-feminist. The opener was still highly entertaining, but I fear it’s losing the charm of the first two seasons. We certainly do not need more plain-vanilla gangster dramas.

In Downton, financial troubles are set to create rifts, for what is an aristocrat with no money? The heartwarming marriage between Mary and Matthew in its pomposity ironically diverts attention away from monetary troubles. There are more than enough post-wedding jokes thrown around. Cora remarks to her daughter, “because when two people love each other…everything is the most terrific fun.” But even the tightly-would Mary jokes, “You can leave us unchaperoned. After tomorrow, all things are permitted.” The series does a wonderful job letting the audience share in their hard-earned romance. The episode ends on a happy but foreboding note.