Harrow is the most tragic character on Boardwalk Empire, and possibly the only person on the show who is completely sympathetic. When we are first introduced to him, naturally the first thing you notice is obviously his unfortunate visage. It is an immediately iconic look for the character and his backstory, in which we find out his disfigurement occurred during the war, makes him all the more heroic. Despite his monstrous appearance, Harrow is one of the most humane characters on the show, as evidenced by his devotion to Tommy and the protectiveness he displays when Angela is threatened by her drunken father, and this is what makes him such an iconic figure. It's difficult not to root for Harrow in every scene he's in, thanks to Jack Huston's beautifully nuanced performance, but rather than tug on the viewer's heartstrings with tales of self pity, Harrow proves himself to be one of the most indispensable 'gangsters' on the show with some shocking, but necessary, acts of violence. Taking into account the undeniably cool mask, the voice that sounds like a ghoul from Fallout 3 has travelled back to the 1920's, and the equal dollops of sympathy and fear he invokes when onscreen - Richard Harrow is one of the most badass television characters in a genre rife with them. Most Badass Moment Harrow's single-handed rescue of Tommy at the beginning of the Season 3 finale. For three seasons we were teased as to what the character was truly capable of and in this scene we finally saw the full extent of his awesomeness. The fact that he was doing it all for a kid makes it that bit sweeter.
An opinionated gamer and movie lover. When not writing about Movies, Games and TV, I am usually watching/playing Movies, Games and TV and occasionally trying to be funny on stage. All published articles will be linked to my twitter so feel free to follow me @mark_woodrow
