Boardwalk Empire Season 2 Finale - REALLY!!!???

[ChancellorKremlin]

OK, so I have to talk about this with my favorite internet community just because I was literally speechless at this. I don't think I need to say that if you're still watching Boardwalk Empire up to Season 2, or plan on watching it in the future, ignore all this as its filled with *MAJOR* plot spoilers.
 

Anyway, I only just recently got into Boardwalk Empire, it started off slow and gradually built up midway of Season 1 and throughout 2, when I started to enjoy it more, even if the plot was something quite typical of your Scorsese type production, the unending tug and pull of the mafia underworld with its shifting alliances, changing fortunes, predictable backstabs and so on. So I was looking forward to a little build up, some sort of resolution, sense of normalcy, in fact, just a little "win" for somebody that wasn't immediately destroyed in the next episode, which was basically what the first two seasons were about.
 
But... I wasn't expecting that. Did they REALLY:
 

just kill off Jimmy Darmody?

 
... WTF? I can't remember anything remotely similar to this in TV series history. He was THE reason I watch the show. I loved his character, together with Richard, and I was looking forward to him just going berserk and taking revenge for what happened to his wife and all that... and they just KILL HIM OFF? WTF IS THAT ABOUT!!!??? I mean, yeah, I get it, his character was kinda stalling, and there was little for him "left" with his wife dead, but that was exactly why I was looking forward to him "getting it back" or fighting for it, or making a name for himself. As it is, he was always just some mid-level wannabe. They've totally ruined any and all impact he may have had thus far in the show.
 
It's like saying "Oh, all that you just watched? All that connection and feeling you just got for that character? Yeah, that counted for nothing..." - to me it was a massive slap in the face. I actually had to watch the start of Season 3 just to make sure this wasn't some kind of trick. And I hated the first episode. I don't really care for Nookie, or anybody else for that matter. I'm finding it hard to summon the interest to continue watching the series now, because the other half of the cast doesn't really appeal to me. 
 
Like I said, I don't think I've seen something like this in... forever. Gotta hand it to them, it was bold. But maybe there's a reason people don't do it. 
 
Thoughts?