- Nucky investigates a boardwalk theft; Jimmy scores points with Johnny Torrio in Chicago; Margaret stands up to Lucy.
- Jimmy persuades Johnny Torrio that he should aggressively respond to the Sheridan Brothers Gang about how the territory of Chicago's Greektown will be divided. Luciano finds Gillian's company eases his gonorrhea-caused impotence. Lucy realizes that Margaret is getting more and more of Nucky's attention and tries to intimidate her while Nucky angles with Jersey City boss Frank Hague on how the highway construction allocations will be divided between Jersey City and Atlantic County.—duke1029@aol.com
- It's a beautiful, sunny day on the boardwalk as George O'Neill collects money from businesses that owe debts to Nucky. A kid, Pius D'Alessio, comes and asks him the time, and calls him fat. Then the kid spits in O'Neill's face to draw him into a chase. The clear plan works as the kid turns a corner and when O'Neill comes around the same corner, he's clubbed in the face by another D'Alessio brother. This brother takes the money and runs, leaving O'Neill laying on the boardwalk with no money and spit smeared on his face.
Nucky and Lucy enjoy a post-coital moment. She wants assurance that he isn't getting loving from anyone else, "because I've seen how the other girls look at you." She plays her role of his "little tiger cub," and scratches his chest, making him angry. He leaves.
Margaret shows up to Mrs. McGarry's office looking to speak "about a private matter." Margaret confides in the offer Nucky has made her, albeit without mentioning Nucky by name. When Margaret explains that she doesn't think he'd marry her, Mrs. McGarry says, "There are various words for that kind of woman; none of them flattering."
Mrs. McGarry goes into the story of why she lives in Atlantic City. Her husband sold his oil business in Pennsylvania for a very large sum of money and built a massive mansion on the shore. Six months later, he was dead of influenza and now she lives in a smaller house. She now dedicates her time to "the movement," saying that temperance was meant to protect woman, but the vote will set them free. They only need one more state for complete ratification. Mrs. McGarry tells Margaret to do what she sees fits. "You owe no one an explanation," she tells her. She hands Margaret a copy of Margaret Sanger's "Family Limitation."
Lucky Luciano and Gillian share a smoke after hooking up. He tells her about his little problem, which doesn't seem to happen with her. "You're the only broad in years who put any lead in my pencil at all," he charmingly explains. Rothstein calls and Lucky has to explain he hasn't made it to Saratoga. Rothstein seems to know exactly what's going on and when he asks Lucky for a report on Jimmy, Lucky says he can't speak to that because he's with "his wife" at the moment. Rothstein tells him he's actually with Jimmy's mother.
O'Neill explains what happened and Nucky decides to put Eli on the case. Nucky thinks no one in town would be dumb enough to pull such a stunt. Nucky thinks Lucky might be behind it or knows who is. He wants to know if Lucky is still around. Eddie tells Nucky that Mayor Hague has been waiting for days to see Nucky and is getting impatient. He relays the message from Hague that if Nucky doesn't contact him soon, "there are many roads to Rome, but there will only be one through New Jersey." Nucky tells Eddie to set up a dinner. He then tells Eli, in not so politically correct terms, to bring Lucky in.
Jimmy is playing "five-finger fillet" and Al thinks he's crazy. Jimmy asks Al if he ever played it "over there," and Al hesitates just enough before saying, "We did. We were just more interested in winning the war." Jimmy challenges Al to take a turn, but Al says Johnny's coming. Jimmy stashes the knife into an ankle sheath.
Johnny shows up and says he's got a cracked molar. He says they're going to sit down with Sheridan and get out of Greektown. He doesn't need the money or the aggravation. He says he didn't bring Al down from Brooklyn to get him into a war. Then he asks Jimmy if he's actually smart. Jimmy says nothing. Al, upset, leaves. Johnny is upset that Sheridan spilled blood in his house because Al "don't know how to do business." Jimmy tells Johnny it's a mistake to get out of Greektown completely because they had a foothold in one bar. "I know you don't want a war," Jimmy says. "But retreating? How's that look?" Jimmy says they should talk to Sheridan and "come to an understanding."
Van Alden's boss shows up for a surprise field office review. Van Alden tells Elliot he is placing Nucky at the top of a major organization of alcohol sales. Van Alden tells his boss about the murder of the men on the whiskey run and how it was placed on Hans Schroeder, which catches his boss' attention. He asks Van Alden what his obsession is with Schroeder and notes that Van Alden pulled the immigration records on Margaret. Van Alden claims he was just being thorough. His boss leaves and says he wants to see numbers.
Margaret is laying in Nucky's arms. They joke a bit about whether he wants her to sound "American" or like "an Irish maiden." Margaret wonders what her neighbors will think and Nucky says they won't be her neighbors anymore. He's getting her a new flat. She notices the scratches Lucy left him on his chest and he says they're from a "hunting accident."
"Who was hunting whom?" she asks. He doesn't say. Margaret leaves to pick up her kids and get back to work.
"No, you don't," Nucky tells her.
"Then what am I?" she asks, before going to the bathroom. She pulls out the "Family Limitation" pamphlet and looks up the directions on using Lysol as a post-sex birth control solution.
Jimmy is over at Al's house for dinner. When Pearl's tragedy comes up, Al plays on the lie he's told his wife about her having been hit by a streetcar. Al's mother disapproves of his Irish wife, and Al talks disparagingly about his wife and his "dumbbell son." Jimmy talks about his own son and Al says, "I'll bet he comes when you call him, right?" When Al's mom trips over a toy in the kitchen and makes a mess that Al and his wife have to tend to, Jimmy notices that Al's son, Sonny, barely reacts. Then Jimmy snaps his fingers right next to Sonny's left ear several times, and Sonny doesn't budge. Al notices.
Lucy is at the dress shop looking for lingerie. She describes to the manager what she wants: "Something sheer, vampy, with a cut-out right here," pointing down to her nether regions. When she goes to find something, Lucy turns to Margaret and says, "Some job, sister."
"I've done worse," Margaret replies.
"I'll bet you have," Lucy says.
When the manager returns, Lucy looks at an undergarment and says she wants to see what it looks like ... on Margaret. Margaret takes the piece into a dressing room, where Lucy is sitting and waiting to watch her disrobe, which she does. Lucy tells Margaret she should wear a bra because she's "saggy" and it's clear that she's had children.
"You look like the kitchen help," Lucy says. "A quickie bent over the table."
"He doesn't seem to mind," Margaret fires back, softly but effectively.
Lucy tells Margaret that Nucky was raised Catholic and "once in a while, he starts thinking he might go to hell, and that he better change before it's too late." Lucy then says all she has to do is give him a look and spread her legs, "and then he doesn't feel so Catholic anymore."
Margaret replies by sharing a story about when she was a girl in Ireland. A raggedy man would come around in spring with a bantam rooster he'd trained to peck out the "Mountains of Mourne" on a toy piano the man hung off his chest. She says the first year, everyone thought it was magical. The second year, they laughed at the "odd man and his tatters," and the third year they didn't even go, "because the 'Mountains of Mourne' was all that little rooster could ever do." Lucy asks for the point of the story and Margaret tells Lucy that maybe her sexual appeal (although she put less delicately) "isn't quite the draw you think it is." Lucy says nothing. Margaret walks out and quits.
We next see Eddie moving Margaret and the kids into their new flat. Margaret tells the kids not to break anything, and Eddie says that if they do, it will be fixed. Eddie tells her there's is food, a room for each kid, and a master bedroom. Margaret asks Eddie if Nucky is nice to him. Eddie says Nucky is a very nice man.
We next see Nucky spewing expletives at Lucky Luciano, trying to get to the bottom of who robbed his collection man. When asked about his penchant for hanging out in Atlantic City, Lucky says he likes the view between Gillian's legs, prompting a smack from Nucky. There's a bit of a struggle, but Eli gets Lucky in a choke hold with his baton. Nucky says Gillian is free to do as she pleases, but he strongly suggests Lucky treat her with respect. Nucky warns Lucky that everything in A.C. belongs to him and if he steals from his men, he steals from Nucky. Lucky thanks Nucky "for showing me how it's done here."
Jimmy puts some cash in an envelope for Angela, with a note that reads, "To use as you see fit." There's a knock on the door and a girl walks in asking if he really wants to be in his room all by himself. He says he does. She hands him a book that Pearl left in her room. It's "Free Air" by Sinclair Lewis. He flips through it and finds a cartoon drawing from an ad with two faces kissing. Pearl had written "Jimmy" and "Pearl" on each of the faces. He puts the ad in a drawer where his dog tags were stashed. He takes out the dog tags and puts them around his neck.
Van Alden shows up to Margaret's old house and her neighbor, Edith, tells him Margaret is not there. She proceeds to tell him Margaret is out all hours and was just driven away in a blue Rolls Royce limo. Edith caps her information by telling Van Alden that Margaret is "a whore."
Johnny, Jimmy and Al show up to their meeting with Sheridan. Sheridan says he and his men are packing heat, but if they wanted to kill Johnny, Al and Jimmy they wouldn't have made it through the front door. Al tells Sheridan they were just dipping their toe into the Greektown water, and Jimmy tells Sheridan that Pearl was just 18. He reminds them of the Greek whose jaw Al broke, and Johnny looks to chalk it all up to a series of misunderstandings. Sheridan agrees and apologizes about Pearl.
Sheridan begins telling Johnny he'll give him some territory where there are some places that will bring business. Before he gets to the end, though, one of Sheridan's men notices the knife in Jimmy's ankle sheath. His men all pull guns on him, and it's a tense moment until Sheridan agrees to let bygones be bygones and asks for a round of drinks.
On their way out, Johnny says he's going to use the restroom. The coat check girl is handing out coats and hats. It's a different girl from when they all arrived for the meeting. She hands Jimmy his coat and hat and he gives her a nod and a "thank you". This coat girl has snuck guns into their coats, which Capone and Jimmy use to execute Sheridan and his crew. After executing Sheridan by shooting him point-blank in the head, Jimmy takes back his knife and walks out.
Nucky and Margaret are smooching when the phone rings and Nucky has to leave. Nucky tells Margaret that Hardeen, Houdini's brother, is performing and Nucky has to show up. He asks Margaret to come along and they'll have dinner with the magician afterward.
Johnny, Jimmy and Al are partying at the brothel and Johnny praises Jimmy's strategy. Al stands up and toasts (and roasts) Jimmy. Al makes a reference to Jimmy's time in the war and Jimmy suddenly isn't laughing much anymore. He starts pressing Al about his time in the service.
"The Lost Battalion?" Jimmy says, mockingly. "He got so lost he thought Brooklyn was in France."
The room erupts in laughter, but Al doesn't seem to find it very amusing.
Nucky has dinner with Mayor Hague and says that his partnership with Sen. Edge could pay off for both of them. Nucky invites Hague to see Hardeen.
Jimmy is in his room when there's a knock. He asks who it is and there's no answer. Twice. Jimmy cocks his gun as he approaches the door. He opens it, and it's Al laughing. Al is holding something behind his back and Jimmy keeps the gun pointed at Al until he shows what it is. It's a packet of steaks. Al says he drank too much and opened his mouth. He then says that what Jimmy said in front of the guys about him in the war made him look bad. Al says they're buddies and Jimmy says he thought they were accomplices. Al wonders if there's a difference.
Al then starts talking about his son, acknowledging that he's deaf. "It kills me to think he's being punished for (stuff) I done," Al says. Al gets emotional talking about how he sings to his son and plays the mandolin, but he doesn't know what it is. Jimmy tells him to keep at it. "Medicine now," Jimmy says. "They're finding new things every day." Al leaves, but not before making a joke about Ed Sheridan -- the man Jimmy killed.
Nucky and Hague continue their meeting. Nucky says he wants a highway: two lanes coming south from Newark and a straight shot to the Pennsylvania border. "New York and Philly," Hague confirms. Nucky wants to shake on it. Hague says nothing. He tells Nucky he wouldn't bet so big on Se. Edge, "because he's a silent partner in a paving company" in Jersey City, where Nucky's roads aren't. Hague says he's giving Nucky the information "because guys like Edge will come and go, but bosses like us ... we're here to stay."
Margaret is reading to her kids in preparation for leaving them with the babysitter for the night so she can go see the Hardeen show. The babysitter says she sits "for all the young ladies." Margaret then gets a call from Eddie saying that Nucky has business and won't be able to do the show with her. Then, another young woman brings her small daughter over to see if the babysitter can watch her child, as well. She tells Margaret, "Us girls all help each other out here." She explains that the "girls" are "the concubines." Then she marvels at Margaret's three-bedroom place.
"Wow," she says. "You're fella's certainly sweet on you."
Van Alden sits at a desk going through Margaret's immigration file. It notes that she was pregnant upon departure and was vomiting, bleeding and suffered a miscarriage upon arrival. He finds a picture of Margaret at 16.
Mayor Hague is having a grand ol' time with a couple of girls provided by Nucky, who sits off to the side, fully clothed, with a naked girl sitting on the floor at his feet.
"I try to be good," Nucky tells her. "I really do."
She tells him it's too late to be good tonight, and begins undoing his pants.
Margaret, meanwhile, sits at home in the dark.
Van Alden, then, sits Margaret's picture on the nightstand, sits upright in his bed, pulls out his belt and proceeds to lash himself repeatedly on his back, grunting and shouting in pain with every smack.
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