Boardwalk Empire 1x10

Another very good episode in which several of the plot lines start to converge in interesting ways. Richard Harrow has a dream in which he walks the beach with one of the prostitutes of the Four Deuces, his face still unscarred. Then he wakes up from little Emily’s screams, who found him sleeping on the couch without his mask. Everyone’s already on edge, with Nucky narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, and Margaret slowly realizing the humiliating situation she got herself into. Nucky snaps at Harrow for frightening the kids with his horrifying face. He later does explain to Margaret that Harrow is a war hero and is there for their protection. “Success breeds enemies,” he adds, “which you’ll discover soon enough after women win the vote.” As for politics, the ratification for the women’s suffrage that Nucky is alluding to is now in the hands of Tennessee. It’s interesting how Nucky presents his position as progressive – as his only interest is getting more votes come election time. When she is reading to her children from The Wizard of Oz, Margaret invites Harrow to join them – allowing him to compare himself with the Tin Woodsman, which eases the children’s fear of him. Later still, Harrow admits to her that he, too, is troubled by his own face, but can hardly remember what he looked like before his face got disfigured. When the good news about the ratification has been announced, Nucky and Margaret have a glass of champagne, and he asks her if she could speak on behalf of his mayoral candidate Bader at the League of Women’s Voter meeting. She sees through his opportunism, yet she is still drawn to him. She agrees and gives a rousing speech to great applause.

That weasel Agent Sebso plays the innocent victim while Van Alden and Superintendent Elliot interrogate him about the death of Winslow, their only witness implicating Jimmy and Nucky in the massacre in the woods. Elliot exonerates him on account of self-defense in the line of duty, but directs his anger on Van Alden for bungling the case from the start. Hoping that she will be his last chance for a lead in the Schroeder case, Van Alden visits Margaret and confronts her that she is consorting with the murderer of her husband, the father of her children. She catches on to his fiendish obsession with her and tells him to leave, but before he does the hypocrite preaches her about the fires of hell awaiting her. At night, that evangelical prohibitionist walks into a speakeasy, downs two shots of whiskey, sits down with Nucky’s former mistress Lucy, and ends up sleeping with her like a possessed animal. For his part, Jimmy tries making amends with Angela, expressing his admiration for her Impressionist paintings. But things run afoul again when little Tommy blurts out, as they are passing the photo shop on the boardwalk, that they are going to see “Mommy’s kissing friend.” Jimmy has been accusing Angela of having an affair with Robert Dittrich for awhile now. In anger he tears up the studio and throws Robert through the glass door, beating him to a pulp outside. When Angela comes to Mary to apologize, Mary suggests they run off to Paris together, leaving their men behind. In Chicago, Al Capone learns to cast his childish pranks, not because lazy-eye Torrio berates his behavior, but rather at a bar mitzvah. It noticeably changes him. Ready to take on responsibility, he offers to work at Torrio’s brewery and arrange distribution.

Doyle and two D’Alessio brothers visit Rothstein again in New York. These dago hoodlums are such idiots, it’s laughable. Rothstein tries to convey his business acumen, and one of the brother quips, “like the World Series.” After an awkward pause, he adds, “you put the fix in.” Rothstein is seething at their sheer and utter incompetence for botching the plot to kill Nucky. Doyle later approaches Nucky, apologizing and offering to switch sides, telling everything he knows about Rothstein and the D’Alessio brothers. He relates that the D’Alessios have been behind the lynching of Chalky White’s driver, the mugging of ward boss O’Neill, the casino heist that nearly cost Eli’s life, in addition to the foiled attempt at Nucky’s life. They concoct a plan to lure Rothstein’s henchman Lansky over to Chalky’s with as many of the dago brothers as possible. When Nucky and Jimmy arrive, Chalky and Doyle have already tied up Lucien and Matteo D’Alessio, as well as Lansky. While Lansky is trying to reach some kind of accommodation, Lucien tells Jimmy, Nucky and Chalky to go fuck each other. Jimmy grabs his gun. “Oh, oh, fuckin’ tough guy,” Lucien balks, “you’re gonna shoot me for mouthing off.” “I wasn’t going to,” Jimmy replies with a smile, “but you kinda talked me into it,” and shoots him in the forehead. Matteo tells Chalky the his brothers are going to kill him, “like they did that other goon.” Chalky strangles him with his bare hands. “You can go now,” Nucky informs Lansky as he unties him, “and please tell Mr. Rothstein what you saw here tonight.”