We begin this week with Jimmy in Chicago hanging out with Al Capone and sleeping with a prostitute from Wisconsin. Jimmy helps out Capone with his dealings in trying to take over Greek Town for Johnny Torrio now that Colosimo is dead. The current gangster in charge is Sheridan and though he pretends to be ok with the new leadership, he is just biding his time, as evidenced by his goons attacking the Wisconsin girl, Pearl.
Back East, Nucky is preparing for his surprise party and using the party as a means to bribe some government officials and let them know what they owe him. He makes Senator Edge know for certain that he needs money for roads so that Atlantic City and the surrounding County can benefit from better traffic.
Eli arrests a KKK leader (Grand Cyclops) for the possible lynching of Chalky’s man in the previous episode. Chalky tortures him and is assured that the KKK had nothing to do with it, and we get confirmation near the end of the episode that it was indeed Doyle and his Italian money lenders who did it. They also plan to rob Nucky so that Doyle can pay them back for the money he owes.
Along with last week’s episode, I feel like this show has finally hit its stride. It no longer has even slight moments of awkwardness and all of the happenings seem to be occurring at a moderate but eventful pace. We get a better characterization of Jimmy when we compare him with Al Capone. Capone is classic gangster muscle, he does not think much, he is somewhat of a prankster, and he knows how to push people. He correctly read that Sheridan would back off because he knows the muscle he has and the muscle Sheridan has. On the other hand, he incorrectly reads defiance as compliance from Sheridan and he underestimates his opponent, something that Jimmy does not do. Jimmy plays it cool and polite, the way that Nucky might play it. Clearly Jimmy has learned a lot from Nucky, and he seems to want to emulate him, especially considering that his impulsiveness caused him to be kicked out of Atlantic City. He does not want to be Al Capone, even if Capone gets results.
Nucky is portrayed as ever the pragmatist. He is not really offended by the officer’s racism when he tells him to leave his sight but by his stupidity, and Eli understands this. I have to say I am glad that Eli stands up to Nucky and that he is not a stupid relative that Nucky put in the sheriff position as a form of nepotism. There was not really a point in earlier episodes that would suggest that Eli is stupid, but from the scene in this episode when they are discussing Chalky and Nucky’s relationship, it is clear that Eli understands Chalky’s importance, even if he does not understand how fragile the relationship might be.
From out of nowhere, Gillian has become a fascinating character in pretty much this episode alone. Credit must be given to actress Gretchen Mol for a captivating performance as she manipulates Lucky Luciano throughout. First she responds to his bravado by putting him down a peg, and showing him that she is not impressed or intimidated by the gangster type. Then she takes control of the relationship by making the first move. She is listed as a guest character in the credits, but I do hope they do not kill her or have her only stay for the first season, if only because her strength is unique as a female character on this show (it is the 1920s after all).
Finally, Margaret becomes much more interesting this episode as they throw away the notion that she is the perfect. For a while now my hesitation with Margaret has been that that she is too good, too nice, too smart, too everything. She seemed like something of a wish fulfillment that the other female characters did not. This episode ends with her stealing from her employer, an act that could get her fired despite Nucky’s help. This is important in so far as it is an utterly selfish act driven by her disappointment in the Anastasia story being fraudulent and from her jealous of Lucy. We get a very clear indication that this is the match that is going to happen this season, and if it does not I will be sorely disappointed. Nucky clearly respects Margaret’s intellect, and she is attractive, although a different type of attractive than Lucy. It is also interesting that in the background we see the Commodore stand up and take notice of Nucky dancing with Margaret, which I can only take to assume that now the Commodore is fascinated in a girl that has fascinated Nucky. I very much want to see a scene with the Commodore asking Margaret about the League of Nations since I am sure that she will have an answer for him.
The only other thing that really struck me about the episode (besides Nucky watching the glass cloudy up which I could not for certain figure out what it meant) was Nucky practicing for his surprise party. That was hilarious; especially when he did at the party for real. I thoroughly enjoyed that scene. Very well played Steve Buscemi.
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