- Nucky decides not to partner with Rothstein on his Tampa operation, Narcisse recruits Dunn from Chalky, and Van Alden switches allegiance From O'Banion to Capone.
- Nucky gets to know Arnold Rothstein over a card game and sizes up an unexpected partner for his Tampa land deal. A newly-promoted Eddie Kessler gets detoured after making a train-station delivery. When one of their collectors is incapacitated, Al and Frank Capone decide to finish his route, enlisting a reluctant Van Alden to tag along. Agent Knox fills Hoover in on the Thompson operation, vowing to exploit Nucky's weakest link. Chalky is intrigued by Daughter Maitland's presence. Dunn Purnsley goes to Harlem and is courted by Valentin Narcisse. Willie and his college roommate, Clayton, carry a practical joke too far.—Anonymous
- Chicago: Jake Gusick, one of Al Capone's men, has a tough time getting up the stairs in an apartment. The overweight man falls over after knocking on the door to make his collection and falls down the stairs.
Washington, D.C.: J. Edgar Hoover and his Bureau of Investigation agents are getting a briefing from the man we've known as Agent Knox, who Hoover called "Jim," about Nucky's whole Atlantic City organization. Jim explains the conspiracy throughout the northeast and over to Chicago. He adds Arnold Rothstein and Joe Masseria's names to the list. Jim says he's going to "find the weakest link" in Nucky's organization and "break it."
Nucky is trying to get out of the habit of giving orders to Eddie, who has business to tend to and can't do Nucky's regular errands. Eddie is heading to make deposits and Nucky gives him instructions to take out $10,000 at the Chelsea branch, wear a white carnation to the train station and give the cash to a man named Mr. Brown.
Daughter Maitland catches Chalky White watching her rehearse. She tries to chat him up a bit, but he doesn't seem to be having any of it. He tells her to just keep practicing her singing for the folks who need to hear her.
Dunn Purnsley, meanwhile, catches Chalky at the bar and says his mother is ill and he needs to go to Baltimore to take care of her. Chalky tells him to go if that's what he needs to do.
Dean O'Banion is out behind his flower shop shooting at pots with Van Alden and another one of his guys. He plays a prank on his guy, handing him a shotgun that backfires dirt into his eye. Van Alden isn't amused, but O'Banion thinks it's hilarious. O'Banion asks Van Alden to take some daisies over to St. Lukes Hospital for Al Capone's man. Van Alden says he'd rather not, but O'Banion fires a shot into the air and Van Alden is convinced.
Eli Thompson comes and asks his son why he's been walking around with his "bottom lip on the floor." Willie says he's "not happy" at Temple. He says the kids there are "a bunch of stuck-up jerks." He says everyone else there is from Philadelphia or other parts, not Atlantic City. Eli tells his son to "try harder" and to "remember why you're there" and "do what you have to do."
Al and Frank bring Jake some food at the hospital. Al and Frank start reminiscing about the last time they did a pick up and Al proposes finishing the three Jake missed. Van Alden shows up and the Capones aren't impressed with the flowers. Al starts pressing Van Alden for information on O'Banion's business.
Nucky is showing Rothstein a map of Florida -- "14,000 acres, $70 per," he says. They're talking about a plan to have ships bring rum from Cuba and whiskey down to Florida from Atlantic City and New York. Nucky is asking Rothstein for half a million dollars. Rothstein is dubious. Rothstein is going to take the night to think about it -- playing poker downstairs. Rothstein asks Nucky to join him, saying "you don't really know a man until you've played cards with him." Nucky asks if they know each other and Rothstein replies, "One would've thought so."
Harlem: Dr. Narcisse is sitting in Mr. Garvey's office talking to Dunn Purnsley, who has hands him an envelope with cash for the powder he sold for him. Dr. Narcisse reminds Purnsley that he was supposed to wait for Dr. Narcisse to come to Atlantic City. Dr. Narcisse tells Purnsley that he's standing in the offices of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
"This is not that," Dr. Narcisse says, motioning to the envelope of cash. "This is something else."
Dr. Narcisse cuts off Purnsley as he's offering an explanation and says the secretary will show him out.
Eddie is met by "Mr. Brown" at the train station -- it's Al Capone's brother, Ralph. He gets the cash and Eddie eventually offers to take Ralph to a nearby restaurant before his train back to Chicago.
At Temple, Willie is preparing to cut the remaining booze to last through another party. He's saving one bottle for his "old pal Henry," the one who embarrassed him at the last party.
Van Alden is with Al and Frank making their collections. Frank smooth talks the neighbor of a guy they're looking for to get his apartment number. We next see the guy thrown from his second-floor window and onto the roof of a car parked on the sidewalk.
Nucky and Eli are high atop The Onyx Club and Nucky asks Eli if he could handle things in Atlantic City if the Tampa thing happens and Nucky has to leave. Eli tells Nucky he shouldn't go, but Nucky doesn't feel as many ties to the city anymore.
Chalky comes up and reports that Rothstein wants Nucky's company at his poker game.
Willie and his friend are in the science lab mixing their own version of milk of magnesia to spike Henry's liquor.
Eddie and Ralph are eating together. Ralph asks Eddie about "the goings on" last summer. Eddie shares that his boys are grown in Germany. One is a Burgermeister's assistant and the other is a dental surgeon. Ralph thinks a Burgermeister is some sort of chef. Eddie says he felt he could make a new life in America. They toast "to new lives."
At the party, Willie and his buddy are plotting the spiking of Henry's drink. Doris comes over and chats up Willie, but he accuses her of having been a part of the embarrassing scene at the last party. She goes and dances with Henry. Willie goes right over and pours the formula into Henry's drink. Henry drinks it.
Nucky and Rothstein are playing poker and Nucky is hedging on his next bet. There's another man at the table criticizing Rothstein's play. Nucky raises $5,000.
Purnsley, who has been waiting outside for Dr. Narcisse, who allows him to walk with him for a couple of blocks. Purnsley apologizes for coming to Dr. Narcisse's place for business. Purnsley offers his services to Dr. Narcisse for anything he needs in Atlantic City, but Dr. Narcisse has other plans. They get to the house Dr. Narcisse is going to and there is a man outside making cat calls and causing general trouble. Dr. Narcisse suggests to Purnsley that the man needs someone "prepared to instruct him in the uplift of the race." Purnsley, saying nothing, walks up the steps to confront the man, toss him over the short ledge and step down to beat the man. Dr. Narcisse, saying nothing more of his own, looks down at the beating and walks inside.
Van Alden is still walking about with the Capones. Frank suggests to Van Alden that he should come to Cicero. They see a bread truck, which O'Banion uses for booze deliveries, and the Capones decides to steal it. Van Alden is unwillingly brought along.
Still playing poker, Rothstein and Nucky are still chatting and the other guy is still annoyed. Rothstein reminisces about when they first met, with Rothstein saying Nucky was a type he'd recognized -- "a small-town glad-hander, peering over the fence so he'd get to stick his finger in a new piece of pie."
"I don't like pie," Nucky says.
Meyer Lansky, standing at Rothstein's shoulder, is getting annoyed with the guy, but Rothstein calmly tells Lansky that it's all part of the contest. Rothstein asks for $200,000 from the house and Nucky approves it. Rothstein immediately puts it all in. Nucky has a flush, queen high.
"I figured you for a straight," Rothstein says.
"Then you figured me wrong again," Nucky replies.
Nucky says it's been good getting to know Rothstein again, and picks up his chips.
Ralph and Eddie are still at the bar drinking, now with a group of other Germans. Eddie tells his German friends about his promotion. Eddie suddenly kicks the whole bar off in a song.
Willie and his pal are waiting for a reaction from Henry. He runs to the bathroom, but Willie has locked it. Willie then calls out for Henry to show everyone the Charleston again. Suddenly, Henry explodes and everyone reacts. Willie says most people his age are out of diapers, and goes outside with Doris to get some air.
Al asks Van Alden to take the wheel while he snorts some cocaine. He offers some to Van Alden, who declines. Al asks if O'Banion has been treating him right. Van Alden says O'Banion is a jokester and prankster who doesn't treat him with respect. Al suggests Van Alden could come work for him in Cicero. Theres a pounding on the back of the truck. They pull over and find that the guy O'Banion had played the shotgun prank on comes out. He says he "didn't see nothing" and won't say anything, but Al gives the guy a 10-second head start and hands a pistol to Van Alden, who isn't sure what Al wants him to do with it.
"It don't matter to me if O'Banion finds out about this," Al says.
Van Alden shoots twice and his pistol jams. Suddenly, Al starts blasting dozens of rounds into the darkness with his tommy gun, laughing hysterically.
Willie's friend wakes him in the middle of the night and there's a small crowd in the dorm building. Henry is dead, with blood splattered all around the bathroom. Someone says he heard Henry going to the bathroom all night.
Rothstein is still losing and asks for a fresh deck of cards. Lansky suggests they go, but Rothstein refuses. The dealer starts a new deck but Rothstein doesn't like the feel of it. Rothstein is visibly frustrated and Lansky leans in and whispers, "Wouldn't it be best people don't see you like this?"
Rothstein stands up and walks away.
"Thanks for the pocket change, Goldstein," the annoyed man at the table says.
Rothstein walks back as aggressively as he's generally ever been, but stops short of the man, leans forward and calmly says, "Rothstein." He walks away again.
Lansky comes to Nucky, who is drinking alone at the bar, and asks Nucky not to extend Rothstein anymore credit just because he's in a bit of a rough patch. Nucky says he's taking the Tampa deal off the table. Nucky says he can't go into business with someone so obsessed with winning. Lansky asks Nucky if the terms of the deal would be the same for him, without Rothstein. Nucky asks Lansky what kind of man he is. Lansky tells a story of getting jumped by a gang of kids three days in a row for his lunch money. He got beat and they took his money twice. The third day, the leader asked him to join the gang. The leader was Lucky Luciano. That's how they became partners. Lansky says he and Lucky can watch the Tampa deal themselves. Nucky tells him he needs $500,000. Lansky says it's "done." They shake on it.
The Capones drive Van Alden home and make fun of the dumpy, pre-fab house he lives in. They tell him to stick with them and they'll get him into a house with indoor plumbing.
Lansky is waiting outside for the guy who was talking to Rothstein during the poker game and beats him senseless.
Nucky gets home and calls for Eddie while pouring himself a drink. Tom comes and asks if he needs something and Nucky says he's fine.
Eddie sends Ralph off for his train back to Chicago and they're still laughing about the fun they've had and the German song Ralph couldn't learn. Ralph leaves and Agent Knox and a partner confront Eddie, taking him out of the train station while telling him not to make a scene.
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