'Boardwalk Empire' Season 4 premiere review: Bit muddled

Some fans may find themselves wondering where this is going and whether they want to go there with it. You will (believe me, you will) but just gird yourself for something new, and in surprising ways, something better. "Empire" is richer, deeper, and -- if possible -- even more beautiful. And this does remain very much a thing of beauty and craftsmanship. The huge creative challenge for "Empire's" fourth season is escaping the long shadow cast by the third -- a crowd-pleaser with archetypical villain, Bobby Cannavale's Gyp Rosetti, who tended to suck up so much oxygen there wasn't all that much left for most of the other characters. The series takes its time doing that, and probably needs to. What happens after the extraordinary fifth episode, "Erlkönig," on Oct. 6? Guess we'll all find out together.