By Joe R
This episode had it all! All of the things that have been making Boardwalk Empire increasingly excruciating. We've got a side plot that absolutely nobody is interested in (Gillian's having trouble staying above water at the Maison Derriere!), a random act of violence in order to goose a flagging storyline (Van Alden thinks the prohie he met in the raid is onto his secret identity, so when the guy comes by the house, Sigrid cracks his head open with a wooden beam or something, so Van Alden has to approach O'Banion in order to dispose of the body), and Jimmy James acting like a weirdo while being asked to care about rooting out corruption in Washington. Oh, and as a bonus, the show gets some laughs out of pitting the black guys against the coded-gay-guy when Nucky sends Chalky and Purnsley to intimidate Eddie Cantor into saving Billie's Broadway show. It's really such a charming show.
Nucky's busy on a lot of fronts this week, as Rothstein is furious about the Rosetti blockade and questioning whether Nucky's head is even in the game. It appears that Rothstein goes to Tabor Heights and strikes a backroom deal with Rosetti to change suppliers. But it turns out to be all a ruse in order to ambush Rosetti in his hotel room (where he's taken to choke play with the local waitress). Only they put Benny Siegel in charge of the assassination, and Rosetti made it out alive. Unfortunately.
Meanwhile, Margaret is having trouble getting Atlantic City women to actually avail themselves of the women's clinic's free services. She also is clearly growing ever more fond of Dr. Mason, so of course this is the week we meet his wife. Her week goes from bad to worse when, on a flyer-delivering trip to the Belle Femme, she runs into Nucky, who is buying a dress for Billie, who emerges from the dressing room and has a meeting with Margaret that would chill your bones. Then Margaret hands her a flyer for the women's clinic, because she's still pretty gangster this season.