Thoroughly Modern Margaret

The point of a period drama is, almost always, to make its viewers shake their heads and cluck their tongues about how little has changed in the years between when the show is set and when we're watching it, but last night's Boardwalk Empire may have set a record for dramatic irony. Though one might (reasonably) assume that members of the audience for HBO's original series probably skew Democratic, Empire producers made sure voters couldn't help thinking of last night's plotlines when they are pondering the choice in tomorrow's election, and the issues that are still resonant today. Women having access to contraception: an issue for Margaret (Kelly Macdonald), and an issue for women in 2012 if Mitt Romney is elected. The harmful psychological effects of bullying: an issue for Van Alden (Michael Shannon), and an issue that has haunted the Romney campaign since summer. Women's opportunities for career self-determination: an issue for Billie (Meg Chambers Steedle), and an issue that could confront women in a Romney administration.

There's still almost half a season of Boardwalk Empire to go, and lots of social issues the show could exploit through the characters' semi-anachronistic experiences with them. Our predictions?

• Al Capone (Stephen Graham), father to a Deaf son, is disappointed to learn how few public education resources are available to disabled students.
• Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) thinks he's getting his piece of the American dream when he buys his first home, only to find out he's fallen victim to a predatory lending scheme targeted toward military veterans.
• Gillian (Gretchen Mol) has a hard time getting authorities to act when a client brags to her about his factory's pollution of the Passaic River.
• Andrew Mellon (James Cromwell) teaches his new associate Nucky (Steve Buscemi) creative new ways to evade his income taxes.
• When her life is placed at risk with her twenty-second pregnancy, June (Nisi Sturgis) can't find a reputable doctor to terminate it.
• The accidental shooting death of his daughter Maybelle (Christina Jackson) turns Chalky (Michael Kenneth Williams) into an advocate for gun control.
• Esther Randolph (Julianne Nicholson) finds her Supreme Court nomination scuttled when her political opponents gin up "evidence" that she's a lesbian based on her having once belonged to a softball team.