What Happened To Arnold Rothstein? | Boardwalk Empire Explained

HBO’s Boardwalk Empire is a period gangster drama following fictional Atlantic City political giant Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi. The show is set during the prohibition era of the 1920s and features many real life famous and infamous individuals associated with the era, such as Charlie Luciano, Al Capone, Johnny Torrio, J Edgar Hoover and Meyer Lansky. One such character is Arnold Rothstein, the American Jewish Racketeer and businessman, thought to be a kingpin of the Jewish mob and mentor to future crime bosses such as Luciano, Lansky and Frank Costello.

Arnold Rothstein is a main character in Boardwalk Empire, but he does not appear in season 5, being killed off-screen. Why was this? And how did Arnold Rothstein die?

[CineRanter]

*The SHOCKING Reason Why Boardwalk Empire Killed Off Jimmy:*

[docvader]

No Rothstein in season 5 was a bummer. What a great actor and presence.

[Jman]

Broadwalk Empire got too expensive to film that is what I found out. Still I love it. Very underrated tv series. Rest in peace Michael K Williams aka Chalky White.

[elizaanderson]

Stuhlbarg’s performance as Arnold Rothstein was outstanding. Loved every scene he appeared in. I was so disappointed he had an offscreen death. Michael Stuhlbarg is such a shockingly underrated actor!

[TheRobSaint]

The way Rothstein died in the show is very similar to how he died in real life. Even Charlie in his biography claimed nobody knew for certain. It's almost as if someone so big could be killed by someone of such unknown circumstance shows just how common we all are.

[sundaymorning]

Nelson was my favorite. The dude made me laugh so many times. Terrific acting, kudos to the actor that played Eddie, he was also great and funny.

[WarTheory]

So sad to see him not in the last season… i’ve always lived by his one mantra if there’s no move to make don’t make a move

[juancardoza]

100% agree, I loved this show and finding out that AR was killed off screen was a major disappointment. Season 5 in general just wasn't good

[ZChronicNebula]

Season 3 & 4 were my favorite seasons. It's almost like Jimmy's death elevated the show to the next level. Every episode had you on the edge of your seat. Not to say it didn't before, but the focus on the villains getting the upper hand on our main characters made some of the best seasons of all time. It's like when people say season 3 & 4 were the best of GoT, those were the prime seasons... same case for Boardwalk Empire.

[JAV]

My main beef with Boardwalk Empire, and it's hard having any with such a good show, is that they did not feature Frank Costello. They had Bugsy, but no Frank. Just doesn't make sense. And yes, of course, that they didn't show the Atlantic City conference where the American Mafia truly had their beginnings.

[anthonyc]

Season 5 was slow and rushed at the same time with the pacing of Nucky's flashbacks but the creation of the commission was good. And it was fitting that Tommy was the one to kill Nucky.

[justinkroboth]

I agree with you - it was a show that felt as though it built to... nothing. I enjoyed it for what it was, but it didn't hit that Deadwood/Rome/Sopranos/Wire tier for me. I was sad about Darmody's exit from the series (though I think his ending was handled well), but the way they handled Rothstein's exit was far, far worse. I feel as though they didn't quite know how to wrap everything up, given the cancellation. HBO did that to Deadwood and Rome, as well - at least Sopranos and The Wire (at least I believe The Wire was under no such cancellation threat) got to tie things up the way they wanted.

[TraphouseBoominOU]

Almost every show HBO makes I enjoyed. I know you usually do crime/drama shows but as a vet that was in OIF I would love to one day see you breakdown “Generation Kill” it is one of my favorite HBO series. Love the channel.

[traviskeck]

Definitely felt cheated out of not getting more of the great performance that Michael Stuhlbarg was giving.

[wolfy]

It’s such a shame the show had to end the way it did, imagine another awesome show like The Sopranos was cut short what a damn tragedy

[andreedwards]

I am truly a historian of the period of "Boardwalk Empire" and i'ts characters and like many disappointed by some of the omissions of some of said characters and events, the future of "Arnold Rothstien" among others. However hats off to the writers and producers of the show. It will truly be missed by this fan!

[peezyorpj]

Everybody forgets about Frankie Yale…his demise was skipped as well.

[senateb]

Unpopular opinion, but I thought the way they handled his death was really well done. An overall theme of season 5 was legacy and the the contemplation of whether one's life was misspent. As powerful and cunning as Rothstein was, after he died, he just vanished, leaving nothing but a money grubbing wife. His lack of posthumous impact on the story was reflective of Nucky's tragedy: that behind the bravado and fancy suits, he left nothing behind but damaged lives. The show could have chosen to give him a flashy dramatic shootout to give the fans satisfaction, but they went the other way to emphasize the themes they wanted to leave behind.

[robertdemon]

The guy who played him done a fabulous job.

[amberlynn]

I came here after rewatching the end of S5 episode 1, and the beginning of #2 sooo confused bc yeah Nucky just nonchalantly throws it out there that he got killed. Im like how did i miss this???? Hes one of my favorite characters but im happy to hear it wasnt a bitter situation and the guy who plays him (love him as an actor) took it in stride. He did such a phenomenal job playing Rosthein. ❤