Season two of the Godfather of Harlem is set to return to Epix on April 18. Given how season one ended, there’s a lot to look forward to and many questions that need to be answered. Before we enter into season two of the Forest Whitaker-led drama, take a look back at season one. Through the “Rewind” series, examine the highs, lows and mind-boggling moments from each episode of season one. A new edition of the “Rewind” series is available each day at 9 a.m. ET. NOTE: The article below contains spoilers for the fifth episode of the first season of The Godfather of Harlem
Trailer
Synopsis: “It’s All In The Game”
“In an effort to break Bumpy’s bank, Chin fixes a bet. As a result, Bumpy owes the winners more than he can cover. Police arrest Stella and Teddy for kissing. Elise looks toward the Nation of Islam in order to better herself,” EPIX writes.
Winners
Elise Johnson
In a series where most the main characters go through a series of ups and downs, Elise Johnson seems to find a way to forge forward no matter what. Following the catastrophe that took place Fiddler’s two episodes ago, Johnson finds her way back to the Nation of Islam. This time around, she’s all the way in. She also offers an insightful look at her father, Bumpy Johnson. Elise says that her father’s biggest fear is being just another Black man in America once he leaves Harlem.
Vincent “Chin” Gigante
Vincent “Chin” Gigante finally put points on the board in his ongoing feud with Bumpy Johnson. After falling short in his battle for the apartments and his bid to fix the Ali-Jones bout, Gigante finds a way to fix the numbers at the race track. By doing so, business continues as usual for him while Johnson ends up owing upwards of $300,000 to cover everything. In an effort to find the extra money, he makes a deal with Joe Bonanno to sell dope at a lower tax rate than Gigante is offering. However, Gigante catches on and steals the dope. This puts Johnson into deeper debt…until Bonnano finds out that Gigante killed his son.
Losers
Ernie Nunzo
Ernie Nunzo manages to continue to lose more and more each episode. During the first episode, he nearly starts a war with Bumpy Johnson in the butcher shop. Then, Chin Gigante sends him out to kill her daughter’s boyfriend and he kills the wrong guy. Now, he finds out that Stella Gigante’s boyfriend, Teddy Greene, is not dead and he can’t quite tell Chin Gigante because he’ll never trust him again. Not to mention, Stella Gigante is holding it over him that he killed the wrong guy. I guess he got the kiss he always wanted from Stella. Does that count for something?
Bumpy Johnson
It’s hard to think of someone who had a tougher day than Bumpy Johnson. The day starts off with the death of one of his closest friends. Then, the numbers game goes all wrong. After that, he finds a solution only to have it thwarted by Chin Gigante. Oh yeah, he’s also in serious debt with a number of dangerous people. In the background, Margaret Johnson is getting closer to finding out that Elise Johnson is her mother.
Somewhere In Between
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. is closing in on an opportunity to make a big splash in Washington, D.C. He has promised his constituents that he will put an end to the discriminatory practices that exist within the illegal numbers game at the race track. During his sermon, the reverend says that he’ll expose the name of one Italian New Yorker per week that is involved in this numbers game. While this wins over many voters, there’s just one problem. He doesn’t know of any Italians working this illegal numbers game. He’s managed to hold off on any names during this episode, but there will come a time when he’ll need one name at least.
If you’ve missed any of your recaps so far, catch up here: Episode One | Episode Two | Episode Three | Episode Four
