- Margaret drives to Brooklyn to see her estranged siblings but receives a cool response, Van Alden has a new boss, and the conspiracy opts to eliminate Nucky.
- Margaret goes to Brooklyn to visit her brother, his wife, and her three younger sisters. The reception is mixed. Jimmy and his team have a sit-down to talk about Nucky; Eli wants Nucky shot. What will Jimmy decide? Al offers to make a call to Chicago. Val Alden arrives at his office to find that his desk has been taken over by a women from the DOJ investigating the now-federal charges against Nucky. Lucy takes the baby to see Nucky who makes a call to Van Alden.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- While Nucky enlists heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey to promote the wireless broadcast of his upcoming fight, Jimmy faces a decision that could shape the future of Atlantic City. Margaret travels to Brooklyn for a bittersweet reunion with the family she left behind in Ireland. Irked by the arrival of Daughertyʼs new federal prosecutor, Esther Randolph, Nelson weighs his options as his personal and professional problems converge. Badly in need of support, Lucy visits an old flame for a handout. Owen settles one score, and sets his sights on a new conquest.—HBO Publicity
- We open on Jack Dempsey sparring and getting hounded by reporters who sit ringside, but he responds in good spirits. A midget helps make the show even more of a spectacle. Afterward, Nucky asks Dempsey to do a little promotion for the wireless radio broadcast of the fight, which will draw $0.25 a ticket. Dempsey is alright with it if his promoter is, and since he's taking a 10-percent cut, he's alright with it. Another reporter comes up with another question, but this one's for Nucky. He wants to know what Nucky and the attorney general talked about on the golf course recently. Nucky says they talked about "sand traps," then has Dempsey politely escort the reporter away.
Van Alden gets home to find Lucy smoking in the kitchen, and the baby is sleeping. She says the baby cried for five hours before finally falling asleep. Van Alden reports that his wife has gone to visit an aunt in Milwaukee and won't respond to his calls or letters. Lucy asks Van Alden about the money he owes her and he says he doesn't have it. The baby starts crying again and she again demands the $3,000 he owes her. His response, "Lord knows what I was thinking." He decides to leave because it's "impossible to concentrate" with the baby screaming. Lucy screams to him as he leaves that he "bought" the baby and it doesn't even have a name.
Jimmy is running a meeting at the Commodore's place, where Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky are sitting. Lucky says Manny Horvitz keeps hounding him for the $5,000 Jimmy said Lucky would advance him. In the room are Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Richard Harrow, Al Capone, Mickey Doyle, and Jimmy Darmody. Jimmy explains how quickly things have changed. Nucky, Torrio, Rothstein and Waxy Gordon are now coming to them with their problems. Jimmy also explains that the Coast Guard in Atlantic City is in his back pocket. Gillian brings Sheriff Eli Thompson into the room. Jimmy says they have "special advantages," and that there's no limit to what they can bring in. Jimmy says he's planning on getting Nucky jailed. Al and Lucky mouth off to each other about who actually gets their hands dirty. Eli finally just says they should kill Nucky and get it over with. Al and Lucky are behind it, but Eli says he won't do it himself. Al says he can call Chicago and get someone to come up, do the job and go home. Jimmy is getting nervous. He doesn't like the idea. All eyes turn to Jimmy, who takes a long pause and finally tells Al, "Make your phone call."
Van Alden gets to his Post Office office and finds a woman at his desk. He's irate and she gets off the phone to introduce herself: federal prosecutor Esther Randolph, and her cohorts are Chief Investigator Lathrop, and clerks Pratt and Halsey. Randolph, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting Nucky's case, has taken over Van Alden's desk because the space was needed. Van Alden tries to exert some authority, asking if Randolph's department typically gives advance notification of taking over a space, but her only response is that he and his colleagues will have to practice discretion with anything they hear in the office. She goes back to work and Van Alden tells her the charges won"t stick on Nucky because are "weighted down with graft." Randolph sarcastically responds, "My, that is shocking."
Margaret arrives in Brooklyn and finds a densely populated Irish neighborhood. She walks up a flight of stairs, clearly to the home of the family she's long left behind, and is greeted by two young girls, her sisters Beth and Ailish (who decides at the last moment that she'd prefer to be called Juliet). We next see Nuala, Margaret's younger sister, and Eamoinn, the oldest of the bunch, Margaret's brother. She thanks him for replying to her letter. Margaret enters and hands Eamoinn a gift of taffy from the boardwalk. He thanks her and gives her an awkward hug before inviting her to stay for dinner and asking the young girls to take Margaret's hat and "make her feel at ease."
Back at Nucky's office, his attorney Isaac Ginsberg is giving him the lowdown on Esther Randolph. She's from California, a USC grad, and was a public defender for 10 years before landing with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Isaac says he doesn't think Harry Daugherty can get rid of her. Isaac doesn't think he can be much help, but Nucky wants Isaac to ensure that someone else takes the fall. Eddie interrupts to tell Nucky he has "two visitors." Lucky walks in holding her baby in a basket. Nucky's first words to Lucy: "You and I have not seen each other since May 23rd of last year." Lucy tells him not to "start that way." She puts the basket down on his desk and he apologizes before congratulating her. He tells her she's glowing, but she disagrees. She admits she thought about trying to shake him down, but she knew she couldn't and she didn't think that was any way "for a mother to act." She reminds him about the "really good times" they had, and calls him "daddy." He tells her "things change." She says there's now "someone else I gotta make happy." She tells him she needs money. Nucky asks if there's a father and when he suggests she doesn't know who the father is, she tells him she does, and adds, "I think you might, too."
Ward Boss Neary is giving a deposition on a Dictaphone, testifying for the state against Nucky. Van Alden is trying to listen in through the sliding doors that have been closed. Van Alden's phone rings. He answers it. Back in the other room, Neary says he "made a deal with the other prosecutor" and Randolph tells him that deal is null and void and adds that she can make his life very difficult, and might enjoy that. Van Alden, meanwhile, rushes out the door after his brief phone call.
Back in Brooklyn, Margaret tells Ailish about life in Atlantic City with her two children. Eamoinn asks about the children's father and Margaret explains that he "passed," and Eamoinn asks who's providing for the children and caring for them while she's in Brooklyn. Nuala thinks the questions are rude, but Margaret answers that she's paying a woman to watch the kids. Eamoinn thinks that's "a bit of luxury." Eamoinn lists off his job digging the 4th Avenue subway line, Nuala's job sewing, Beth's job pressing in a laundry, and Ailish's school requirements, noting, "they send an officer around if we don't let her go." Margaret says she knows they work hard. She offers help and Eamoinn pauses before responding, "We haven't asked."
Gillian is trying on dresses for Jimmy. He asks who she's meeting and she says it's some girls from the Beaux-Arts. She's worried they'll "clock every wrinkle" and Jimmy tells her she doesn't get old. She asks him if he remembers summers on the beach and he says people there always thought he was her brother. Gillian says they "belong here, and it wouldn't be right anywhere else." Jimmy asks her if she knows what happens the next day. She says it's "not important." He says it's important to him. "A man's going to get off a train, he's going to walk up to Nucky Thompson, and he's going to put a bullet in him." He says it's "because I said so." He asks what she thinks and she says, "The world is going to find out what kind of man it's dealing with." He suggests he could call it off and she says his "friends wouldn't like that." Jimmy says they don't care what happens to Nucky, and she says they are watching him closely. She says he shouldn't make the mistake of letting them see him be indecisive. "And that's why he dies?" he asks. He still doesn't like it, but she says "it's already done. It was done when you gave the order. The rest is just bookkeeping." Then she leans and whispers, "Make me proud of you."
Van Alden enters Nucky's office and Nucky asks Lucy to give him and Van Alden a moment alone. On her way out, Lucy tells Van Alden, "I didn't know what else to do." He says they'll discuss it at home, and calls her "dear." Nucky offers Van Alden a drink, saying, "If there was ever a time!" Van Alden declines. Nucky pours himself one and toasts to Van Alden, saying, "It is, after all, a blessed event in the life of any man." Nucky suggests Van Alden charm him, adding, "I don't judge people, I help them." He wonders if Van Alden "can see the value in that more than you once did." Van Alden asks what Nucky could help him with, and Nucky responds, "Where to begin?" He wonders aloud how Van Alden can be supporting a wife, mistress and baby girl on a government salary. Van Alden says his financial arrangements are none of Nucky's concern. Nucky says that's "sadly true," and adds, "My concern is Esther Randolph. I want to know everything. Who she talks to, what they say, what's on every scrap of paper that comes across her desk." In exchange, he tells Van Alden his budget problems will go away, "and no questions asked about how you've managed to afford this until now." Before Van Alden responds, Nucky asks what the baby's name is. Nucky tells him he can't go wrong picking something from the Bible, then says that what he gave Lucy is "a gift, no strings attached." Van Alden is incensed.
In Brooklyn, Eamoinn speaks to Margaret alone and tells her that their mother is "in the Earth." She knew that because her cousin, Martin Hennessy told her. Eamoinn sarcastically notes that "at least" she kept up with her cousin in America. He tells her that her mother asked for her. He asks her if she'll weep, "now that it doesn't matter." She says she did what she had to. She asks if he would have seen her off to the Magdeline Sisters, and he says the priest judged it fit correction -- referring to her getting pregnant back in Ireland. He asks what makes it right for others but not her, but she questions whether it's right for anyone, and whether he'd wish it upon Nuala, Beth or Ailish, "or am I the only sinner you've ever met." He asks who the father was and she says it was Douglas Walton, adding, "you must've known." He says, "I'm blind when it comes to that." He asks if he forced himself on her, then adds up the ages of her children. She tells him she miscarried on the crossing. She puts a wad of cash on the table, saying she's returning what she stole. He says she stole from their mother, not him, but Margaret says it was for his crossing. He asks if paying off a debt is why she came to Brooklyn, and she says she wanted "to be among those who know me." Ailish comes back in and Eamoinn quickly snatches the cash.
It turns out Gillian wasn't going to see the girls from Beaux-Arts at all. Lucky is in her apartment and she teases him back into bed after he's having already ripped her dress in the throes of their lovemaking.
Van Alden gets home and Lucy isn't there, but Frieda Short, their downstrairs neighbor, is singing to the child and and rocking her to sleep. She says Lucy had to pick up some formula. She says Lucy left about 20 minutes earlier. Van Alden seems suspicious, then finds that the phonograph player he bought is spinning but there's no music. He opens the lid to finds the title page of "A Dangerous Maid," the musical she wanted to audition for. It's pinned to a dirty diaper. He's furious.
Eamoinn isn't speaking to Margaret as she prepares to leave. When Beth asks about her "man," Ailish spins a tale of how Margaret's man is mysterious and powerful and has "minions," explaining that they're people who do as he says "or they pay the price." Margaret smiles and adds, "with the snap of a finger!" Ailish then adds that he has a deep tragedy, that his heart was broken "and he'll never let anyone near it again." Nuala and Beth says Ailish is being herself "with her stories," and that she always has her nose in a book. Margaret says goodbye to her sisters and leaves. Ailish catches Margaret in the stairwell and says she was "only joking" about her man. Eamoinn tells her it's time to go to bed ,and Ailish quickly asks Margaret to send her books, noting, "I like anything with a horse in it."
Van Alden sits alone, holding the baby in his lap, testing out names. Deborah, Hannah, Abigail. The baby girl's eyes open and she looks at him.
The next day, Van Alden gets to his office and asks Mrs. Randolph -- she corrects him with "Miss" -- for a word in private. Her colleagues leave. He opens with, "I am a married man," and she sarcastically responds, "There goes my dream." Van Alden doesn't laugh, but confesses that his "self discipline was compromised" last autumn and that he has a daughter out of wedlock. He explains that he's telling her this so she'll know that he's honest. He hands her a file on Nucky he's made over 16 months that includes all manner of crimes, "up to an including murder." He says he was ordered by his supervisor to focus on illegal alcohol. She asks if he'll testify to it, he agrees, and she says it could prove useful. She says they get his "domestic situation" all "sorted out." She adds, "Just don't go telling everyone."
Margaret spots Ailish on the street in Brooklyn and gives her a gift. It's "The Girl, a Horse and a Dog." Margaret asks her to tell her all about it. They agree they'll have a "secret correspondence." Ailish asks what their mom was like. Then she asks if the horse dies in the book, adding, "I wouldn't like that." Margaret invites Ailish to come visit in Atlantic City. Eamoinn walks up and sees the book Margaret gave her and says she's "keen on those." Ailish tells Eamoinn he'll make him breakfast, but he tells her to go read. Ailish goes home and asks Margaret if she's going to "rescue" Ailish. Margaret asks if he must hate her so. He tells her he doesn't hate her and adds that he doesn't think much of her at all. He hands her the money she gave him the night before, saying he can't accept it because he doesn't know where it's from. She questions his "honesty," and lists off all the ways he tries to stay out of trouble, never questioning anyone in positions of authority and never standing up for her. She reminds him she begged him for help when she had nowhere else to turn. He says she did what she wanted and always has. Margaret says she can make Ailish's life better. "The way you've made yours?" he questions. He tells her to leave and says, "there's no one here who knows you." Margaret gets back into her car and cries as it drives away.
Nucky gets home and hasn't heard from Sleater all day. Eddie also doesn't know where to find Sleater. We see Sleater in a bar, where he spots a man named Del Grogan who he knows. They commiserate a bit about the fighting going on back in Ireland and how they're "free and clear" in the States. Sleater offers to buy Grogran a drink. He first declines, but then accepts before heading off to the restroom first. Sleater follows him into the restroom and tries to sneak up on him. Grogan pulls a knife and a scuffles ensures, with Sleater eventually strangling Grogan while someone else is trying to open the door which Sleater has jammed shut with a spoon. Once he's killed Grogan, Sleater spits on his dead body, saying to the corpse, "Leading me on a merry chase these last five months, you traitorous (expletive)."
At Babette's, Jack Dempsey is getting ready to promote the radio broadcast of his fight. He takes the stage and the crowd loves him. He announces the fight while Nucky spots a lady in the crowd who smiles slyly at him. Jimmy then emerges from the crowd and stands face to face with Nucky. Jimmy tells Nucky, "It doesn't make a difference if you're right or wrong, you just have to make a decision." Jimmy walks away and another man walks up and shoots Nucky point-blank. Another man shoots back from behind Nucky, announcing that he's a federal agent. He shows a badge. Jimmy leaves and someone utters, "It's OK, he's alive." A crowd tends to Nucky, who lies bleeding on the floor.
Margaret gets home and Sleater is the only person there. He takes her bags and they chat a bit about New York. He follows as she walks through the house. She asks Sleater why he isn't with Nucky and he says he had some business and just missed Nucky. She asks if he shouldn't be making an effort to find him. He says nothing and puts her bags down, asking her if she finds it odd in the U.S. He says, "Everything's off. The air, the water, the people and yourself." He says he wonders, "If I vanish now, who'd care, or even notice?" She suggests he go be on the beach with Katy if he's worried about life passing him by. He reminds her that she wanted him to go find Nucky. "In either case, you needn't be here," she says. He offers to go if she wants him to go. She asks if he's hers to command, and he says, "If you like ." She continues walking up the stairs and tells him he can bring the bag up. She has Sleater put the bag on a bench in her bedroom as she stands in front of the mirror taking off her jewelry and letting down her hair. He asks if she's the cool one, and she says she's not how he sees her at all. She tells him, "When we're done you'll leave and will not speak a word about it. Ever." He says, "It's all between strangers anyway," and steps forward to kiss her. They begin making love.
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