- With the Commodore's Coast Guard seizing Nucky's liquor, he partners with Rothstein to bring it through Philly, but the Commodore suffers a debilitating stroke.
- At a birthday party for Mayor Bader, Nucky's attorney has a legal brainstorm that could turn the tide in Nuck's election-rigging case. Facing a local liquor surplus, Jimmy and Mickey head to Philadelphia in search of buyers, while Nucky strikes an unlikely deal to get booze into Atlantic City. Eli frets over the Commodore's ability to lead; Margaret doles out staff bonuses; Chalky is cornered at work and at home; Owen puts his munitions expertise to work; Van Alden's agents target Mickey's warehouse; Richard lets down his guard in the name of art; Gillian recalls her "first time" with the Commodore.—HBO Publicity
- Jimmy's new liquor operation is thriving and overrunning its storage space, while Nucky's attempts at flouting the Volstead Act have came a cropper as his shipments are being blocked by the Coast Guard, who are in the pocket of the Commodore.
Gillian (Gretchen Mol) plays a sexual game with the Commodore, strip-teasing in front of him. She tells him he should have come to one of her performances. She says she understands -- and always has -- that he had a city to run. She tells him how grateful she and Jimmy are for what he's now doing for them, and says Jimmy has so much to learn from him. Once she's completely nude, the Commodore starts trembling uncontrollably, and it's clearly not from sexual arousal. Gillian catches on that he's having a stroke.
Nucky leaves early for work, and tells Margaret to not wait up for him, as he's throwing a birthday party for Mayor Bader. Owen (Charlie Cox) turns up, now firmly serving as Nucky's new chauffeur. Margaret doesn't seem too pleased at the liking her maid, Katy (Heather Lind), has taken to Owen. Nucky tells Margaret that Owen is "serving a purpose," though refuses to clarify what that means. He hands Margaret a wad of cash for expenses and a little extra for the staff. She tells him the staff steals from them, to which Nucky counters that that's just something to expect in this household.
Chalky is feasting on breakfast and happy to be home. His son not-so-vaguely mocks Chalky's lack of education when one of Chalky's daughters asks her dad if he'll check her schoolwork. Chalky claims he won't do it himself because he's "too strict." Chalky's oldest sister is planning to have her boyfriend over for dinner. Chalky's a little taken aback, but concedes.
Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) comes to Jimmy's house in the morning looking for him, though only finds Angela. As they chat, Richard notices Angela's artwork and admits to enjoying an artist's work he saw in Paris.
The Commodore has suffered a stroke and has lost control of his entire right side. When the doctor asks Gillian if he was excited or agitated, she claims she found him that way. The Commodore gestures for Eli to come over and he tries to say something to him. It's awkward and uncomfortable and Eli is upset later. Eli is nervous about how things will turn out, as the Commodore's operation is in debt by $75,000. Despite Jimmy's assurance that the debts will be paid when the booze is sold, Eli suggests he sell it out of town.
Nucky walks Eddie through planning Bader's party, telling him not to make a production out of it. Midway through planning, he goes to his office to call Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein is nursing a tender stomach when he gets Nucky's call. Nucky requests Rothstein's help at finding a backup port to bring his liquor in, since Atlantic City is off limits. Rothstein offers Philadelphia as a suitable alternative, though they will have to give local gangster Waxey Gordon a 20% cut of any profits to ensure safe passages. Rothstein also needs 20 percent, but his cut includes men to oversee the operation. Nucky thinks it's a high price, but Rothstein tells him to go ahead and direct his ships to Philly.
Chalky holds a town hall meeting to meet with his constituents, who have concerns about things happening in the community. Most of the complaints, like an older woman who complains about her neighbors' loud parties, and a young man who complains about brutal working conditions in the kitchen at the Ritz, Chalky can agree to look into. Everyone seems happy as Chalky wraps up the session, but then a few women stand and lodge complaints about their family members being killed working for Chalky's bootlegging operation. Despite Chalky's reassurance that they will be compensated accordingly, the widows are not convinced.
Van Alden and his agents are going through the money seized from busts around the city. Van Alden says he'll handle the cash himself and locks it in a safe. When Van Alden leaves the room, the agents gossip and speculate that Van Alden is taking bribes or otherwise working with bootleggers. They stop talking when Van Alden returns to the office from the restroom, and he says "heads will roll" if he finds out who scribbled an obscenity about him on the restroom wall.
Margaret tells the maids that they're considering cutbacks in staff, but gives them the extra $2 each in their pay that Nucky wanted her to give them. Katie asks if this is a one time thing. Margaret reminds them to say "thank you," which they do, but it's clear there's an awkwardness. She asks them to speak their minds and Katie says they were expecting a raise. She says Nucky came in one night a couple of weeks earlier and rather jubilantly promised them raises. Margaret says "it's a special kind of fool who relies on the promises of a drunkard." She send them back to work.
Jimmy and Mickey travel to Philadelphia, where Mickey introduces him to a Jewish gangster named Manny Horvitz (William Forsythe), who runs a butcher shop as a front. Manny likes that Jimmy can speak "it's nice to meet you" in Yiddish. After exchanging pleasantries, during which Manny gripes about Waxey Gordon being a pain in his side, they strike a deal where Jimmy pays Manny $5,000 cash, then supplies Manny with about 100 cases a week and build from there. Jimmy promises delivery the next night. Manny agrees, though makes an implicit death threat by mentioning that his icebox contains body parts of partners who screwed him over, illustrating the dire consequences of Jimmy doesn't honor his deal.
Mayor Bader's birthday party is attended by boxer Jack Dempsey, who signs autographs on the way in. Inside, topless women dances and serves drinks, and spank Bader (Kevin O'Rourke) in a festive birthday surprise. (When he's presented with a cake and told to make a wish, he says this was his wish). Jack Dempsey walks in, introduced by Mayor Frank Hague (Chris Mulkey) of Jersey City. Hague is building a new arena for Dempsey's next fight, but is teased by everyone in the room about the smell in Jersey City. Nucky suggests Dempsey train in Atlantic City for the fight. The conversation turns to the fact that the prostitutes in the room are from Philadelphia, and that they helped win Republican votes in the last election. Nucky's lawyer, who'd just had one of the ladies sitting on his lap, pulls Nucky aside. He tells him he just figured out a way to get Nucky's election case dismissed. Moving prostitutes across state lines is a federal charge (the Mann Act), he explains.
Van Alden gets a call in his office from his wife. She says his boarding house operator said Van Alden no longer lives there. He assures her there's nothing for her to worry about. She tells him she's lonely and she doesn't like the way she sounds. He says there are important matters for him to tend to and ends the conversation.
Chalky tells Nucky he needs revenge on the white men who are killing black people. Nucky tries to fix everything with money, but Chalky tells him it's going to take more than money to ensure justice.
The Philadelphia prostitutes are signing affidavits stating that they were brought across state lines to do sexual favors for men in an attempt to ensure that they would influence voters in their blocs.
Richard sits down in a chair at the Darmody house, and stares, contemplating, as Angela sketches him. They make small talk, with Richard talking about his twin sister Emma, who nursed him when he came back from the war. She treated him no differently as if his injuries were nonexistent, but he suddenly felt different toward her. Then, when his wounds healed, he moved to Chicago and hasn't spoken to her since. He's shaken while he tells the story, and removes his mask, revealing the empty eye socket and scars on the left side of his face. Angela stares at Richard, perturbed, and after a few moments, quietly pulls out a new sheet of paper.
Owen puts together some explosives and explains to Nucky and Damian that he made such bombs for the IRA in Ireland. He puts a timer on the bomb and is directed by Nucky to take out Mickey Doyle's warehouse.
Rothstein shows up at Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky's card game. He tells them about his new deal with Nucky and says he wants them to "be the muscle" in ensuring the product gets from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. He also tells them he had dinner with Joe "the Boss" Masseria, who gave the distinct impression he still wants Lucky and Lansky dead. Lucky is upset that Rothstein broke bread with Masseria, but Rothstein counters that it was necessary for the sake of business.
It's dinnertime at Chalky's house but Chalky is not happy. Chalky's wife welcomes Samuel to the table and asks him to lead in the saying of grace. Chalky interrupts, asking about the duck on the table. He says he asked for Hoppin' John. His wife says that isn't proper food for a guest. Chalky gets enraged when his wife asks Samuel to forgive Chalky's "country ways," slamming his fist on the table and declaring that "this is my house, and my country ways put the food on this (expletive) table." Chalky sees his daughter is upset and crying. Samuel offers to leave and Chalky tells him to stay there, "inside the house." He then leaves the table after making a reference to himself with a racial epithet specific to a slave who works in the field.
Angela finishes the sketch of Richard and show it to him. He offers to pay for it and she refuses. Jimmy gets home and Angela tells him she was sketching Richard. Jimmy tells Richard he's going to need to go to Philly tomorrow for the delivery. After Richard leaves, Jimmy seems somewhat surprised that Richard sat for her, and explains that he never knows quite what's going on in Richard's mind.
Margaret reads the headline announcing that the prosecutor has revealed Nucky provided prostitutes for Republican voters. He tells her it's a great idea to get the charges off, saying "it was a means to an end." Margaret believes it's not much to be proud of. Nucky explains that the whole thing can now be upped to a federal indictment, and she realizes that means the Attorney General, who's in Nucky's pocket, can help. He explains that's "how things work." Nucky assures Margaret he had "no relations" with any of the women. She tells him she needs $100 for clothes for the children, which he hands over. She heads off to bed.
In the middle of the night, Sawicki and Clarkson, Van Alden's two agents, sneak up on Mickey's distillery, which is deserted. As they're about to break down the door, the bomb planted by Owen goes off, severely burning one side of Clarkson's face. Sawicki helps put out the flames before carrying Clarkson away.
Back at Nucky's house, Margaret slips the $100 into an envelope she keeps hidden in her vanity. It contains a significant amount of cash in it already.
At Chalky's house, Chalky's oldest son is playing piano for the rest of the family while Chalky sits outside carving a wooden stick.
Gillian tries to feed the Commodore. She asks him if he remembers when they met. She says he'll never forget his smile, and that Jimmy sometimes has it. She has a very romantic memory of their first night together -- at least at first. She then recalls "a crushing feeling," as she describes how he covered her mouth and groped her. She asks him if he remembers, and he struggles to speak. She tells him it still wakes her at night when she's struggling to sleep. She asks again if he remembers that night. He struggles to speak and she slaps the helpless man repeatedly and violently.
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